Interfering little blighter! (BT's 'Free' Answer 1571 Service)

Member Name: moonbailey

Product:	BT's 'Free' Answer 1571 Service
Date:	18/01/02 (406 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: you don't need an answerphone any more

Disadvantages: it pisses off your family and all your friends - who may never call you again.

Oh boy, do I hate change!

My beloved answerphone has been spurned and cast out by my flatmates! They never got the hang of how to play a message and tripped over the little thing every time they needed to reach the video cabinet. It's days were numbered - then erased.

In an attempt to de-clutter the living room and create a state of harmonius message retrieval, my little baby was replaced with BT's free 1571 deal.

At no cost to ourselves, we can now access messages that are left while we're out, on the phone or surfing the net.

Well that's nice.

Only trouble is - I'm still walking into the room and checking the old answer phone for that exciting 'somebody loves ya' flashing light.

But the lights are all out.

So now I have to remember (what's that?) to go looking for my messages. If I don't pick up the phone to make a call, I never know if there are messages to hear. The only hint that someone has left one is a blip in the dial tone - a bit too subtle for me.

So, you pick up the phone to make an urgent call - hear the blip - listen to Mrs 1571 sounding altogether too chirpy for her own good - then have to choose the fate of each message by selecting 1 to repeat, 2 to save and 3 to delete.

And then you've completely forgotten about that call you actually were about to make.

The messages are from two days ago - requiring your immediate attention - and all of them are angry that they don't know if they got the wrong number as it wasn't my voice any more.

Usually, (pre 1571), if someone's on the phone, there's an engaged tone and my friends know to call back in about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, they can now leave a message - which I may or may not get in a few days time - probably when I pick up the phone to call them - asking why they never called me to invite me to that party - only to find out that they did - three
days back...


Worse case so far, was my brother calling from Australia for the first time since emigrating months back. Instead of finding the phone engaged, thus waiting 10 minutes to find my flatmate off the phone - and me very excited to get his call, I got a message - eventually, on 1571 from him saying:

"Bloody Hell Maz, why dya hiv ta get this bloody thing on ya phone? (he's picking up the accent already) it costs me $6 every time I call England, whativer the lingth of thi call. It's just cost me $12 to try you twice. Get rid of that 1571 thing or I'm not going to bother agin!"

And he didn't.

Then I heard the second message from the day before...:

"Hello, it's your mother - I think. Hope I've got the right number - there's some ghastly woman answering your phone. Can you get rid of her please - she's very annoying".

When I called her back, the phone went dead in the middle of our conversation as the 1571 cut in - after about 5 minutes?! The message she left must be left to your imagination, to save my dooyoo reputation (pah!)


So, I'm not a fan. It may cost us nothing to have, and free up a 4" by 6" space next to the sofa - but it's no friend of mine!

I haven't the memory to check on the service and my family don't have the patience to leave messages any more.

My view of 1571?

Stick it up your AR58!

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