I'm FREE ! (BT's 'Free' Answer 1571 Service)

Member Name: chele2002

Product:	BT's 'Free' Answer 1571 Service
Date:	05/01/02 (733 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Its free

Disadvantages: Its not free for the person calling you but then the disadvantage is to them

When we switched over telecom provider from our somewhat frustrating, and at times annoying Eurobell to BT, we were offered the option to have BT's free 1571 answer service. Having had a similar service with our previous telecom provider, I was a little unsure to say the least. You see when we had the service prior to moving over to BT we were paying for it, as it was classed as line rental plus, which worked out to be around a pound extra per month, for a few more services than you would normally get, for example call waiting, call reminder (my ex alarm clock) and so on. I found that the options to customise were very limited as far as how many rings before the answer service would kick in, not only that but it interfered with our call waiting service. Let's just say it took a lot of convincing from the polite sales man at the end of the phone line for me to agree to include it on our phone line.


So madam, did you know that BT has now introduced a new answering service, that you can access by dialling ............... as I interrupt the poor man by saying ?not the one where you dial 1571 and listen to this sarcastic voice telling you that you have X amount of un-read messages and so on?!

Well in a way madam yes, it's along the lines of that, so would you be interested?

Well to be honest, no not really! We found it a pain in the butt! Well I did on many occasion's.

Oh really! Why was that madam?

Well the thing is we have laminate flooring down in our living room (I can just imagine the puzzled look on his face), are you with me so far?

I am not sure where this is leading madam!

Oh! I am sorry; if you let me carry on it will become clear.

Well as I was saying we have laminate flooring down in our living room, on many occasions I am in the kitchen, the phone rings, I dash to answer the phone, almost break my neck on more than one occasion, as I skid along that damm baby blanket
some kind sole has decided to dump there, for what? A sore bum, no message left and no number stored! On top of that it played havoc with our call waiting and to cap it of, with the 1571 you have to dial followed by *, followed by your pin number, then a few more directions before you even get to listen to your messages, that was somewhat long winded, and damm right annoying

Oh, I see madam, how many rings did your 1571 service ring for before it went into the answering service?

Well to be exact four, unless you wanted to customise it and let it ring for even less, like two, which is far worse, trust me!

Oh, it doesn't sound very good when you put it like that does it madam?

Believe me it wasn't, I have the sore bum to prove it!

Well madam, I can assure you that with BT?s 1571 answer service, it will not be activated until it has rang for the seventh time. Also to get to your messages is a quick and easy task; there is no need for pin numbers etc and the service is free.

So would you be interested?

Oh, ok then, might as well try it, it can't be as bad as the last ones.

You do realise to madam, that if you don't get along with it you can have it deactivated just simply phone us up on this number and it will be done A.S.A.P.

Ok then, thank you, so it looks like I will be ringing you up again in less than two weeks to have it cancelled ...... Sorry, only kidding, it's just my bad sense of humour.


So now you have the gist of how and why we decided to have it included on our phone line, so let's talk about what the 1571 answer service actually is.



So what is BT 1571 answer service?
--------------------------------------------
Well it is a free service provided for BT customers, which will answer your calls for you when you are away from home or engaged on another call, through BT's network based answering service. In the c
ase of this happening, when you pick up the phone receiver, you will hear a broken tone which means that you have a new message in your mailbox.


How do you use the service?
----------------------------------
The service is very simple to use, when you pick up your handset and you hear a broken tone, you simply dial 1571, which takes you straight to your mailbox, you will then be told how many new messages you have, how many saved messages if any. It will then go thought to play back your messages starting from the most recent. After listen to your messages you will be able to edit them, normally by following the easy instructions to either save, or delete. Provided you have listened to the message for long enough you will find that the message will automatically be saved, if you replace the handset with out choosing any of the options, or as I have done many times is just replaced the handset to soon to find that the tone is still broken and the message is still showing as un-read.


Does this service cost?
---------------------------
Quite simply no, the service is totally free to use and free to access. The only cost incurred will be to the person who calls you, where they will be charged for the call provided the phone has rang for more than it seven rings, before they decide to hang up, regardless of whether or not the leave a message.


What are the features?
----------------------------
Well with BT's answer service it can store up to 10 messages at any one time and these messages can be saved up to 20 days once they have been listened to, with each message being able to be recorded for up to 2 minutes. In the event of you mail box being nearly full you will be alerted by a recording when 1571 is accessed.


How do you get the 1571 service on your phone line?
---------------------------------------------- ------------------
You can either order the 1571 service online by going
to www.bt.com or by dialling the free phone number 0800 003 800 or 0800 917 1571 from the line you wish to use the service. In the event of dialling the free phone number you will be taken through step by step though the automatic registration. You will then get a confirmation through the post, along with instructions of how to use the service and the service should be with you within seven days.



How have we found the service?
---------------------------------------
To be honest, not too bad at all compared to the previous service provided by our old telecom provider, where we were actually paying for the service. The recorded voice is far less annoying, gaining access to your mailbox is far faster to what we had before and no more dashing to the phone within 4 rings, my bum feels a whole lot better for it, those 3 extra rings makes the world of difference.

You can always try it and if you don't like it simply phone up and have it cancelled, so there is nothing to lose.

Summary: