New phone launched to block nuisance calls

Last updated: Feb 8th, 2013
News by Hugh Morris
7 Comments -
Phone and money

Annoying calls chasing your fictional PPI claims could be a thing of the past after BT unveiled a new landline phone which allows customers to block calls from a host of numbers.

The BT6500 will give owners the power to block up to 80% of unwanted calls, including international numbers, numbers without a caller ID and up to 10 personally selected numbers.
 
The telecoms company said the launch was in response to the 50,000 complaints a month received by its Nuisance Calls Advice line, with customers usually citing silent calls, automated messages and marketing cold calls as the worst offenders.

Ofcom, the communications regulator, said older consumers are more likely to be affected with 80% of people aged between 65 and 75 reporting nuisance calls.

Peace of mind

John Petter, managing director of BT's consumer division, said: "We know from talking to our customers that nuisance calls cause huge frustration and even anxiety at times.

"When people feel as though they are being harassed in their own homes they need to be able to take action and block the offending callers.

"We believe this phone gives customers the peace of mind that when the phone rings it should be someone they want to speak to."

The phone is available from BT, Argos and Amazon now and will be in Tesco and Sainsbury's from the end of the month.

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Your Comments

Valjean:
Fri, 08/02/2013 - 15:11

Would be helpful if the article gave a bit more detail on how this works, ie does one have to input a known nuisance number to prevent further calls?  If so, apart from the fact that one would have had to receive at least one call first to identify the number, many such calls are "withheld numbers" so no way of knowing what they are. 

hesperus:
Fri, 08/02/2013 - 16:53

If it refuses to accept all 'Unknown', 'international unknown' and 'withheld' numbers lead me to it!

jallanw:
Sat, 09/02/2013 - 13:27

Blocking 'withheld'numbers is all very well and in many cass valuable.
But a number of profesional callers use 'withheld' numbers when calling out (my GP for instance, has a separate numbr for in calls which are taken by a receptionist who can deal or put through as appropriate)  This enables him tp deal with all his patients who want telephone advice without his phone being blocked by callers wanting,eg, to make appointmnts. I have noticed the same with specialist depts in my local hospital/
Do I really want to b;ock such calls, which are likely yo be important?
We need much more detail of how this will work

jallanw:
Sat, 09/02/2013 - 13:29

Blocking 'withheld'numbers is all very well and in many cass valuable.
But a number of profesional callers use 'withheld' numbers when calling out (my GP for instance, has a separate numbr for in calls which are taken by a receptionist who can deal or put through as appropriate)  This enables him tp deal with all his patients who want telephone advice without his phone being blocked by callers wanting,eg, to make appointments. I have noticed the same with specialist depts in my local hospital/
Do I really want to block such calls, which are likely to be important?
We need much more detail of how this will work

dodie.c:
Sat, 09/02/2013 - 13:53

I have just checked the price on Amazon the phone the selling price  £95.95 plus you need a memory card that is £26 so it will cost you over £122 and a bit over.

sonia:
Sun, 24/02/2013 - 09:12

I have the same question, Valjean. How would the phone block 'private' numbers? Would it automatically block the call if it's withheld? I wonder if that's how it would work, too. 

sonia:
Sun, 24/02/2013 - 09:20

If this new phone will work, it'd be a great thing to have. I've been getting a lot of unsolicted calls and they're frustrating that I reported them all to http://www.callercenter.com in an attempt to raise my concern to the proper authorities.