Posted by chris on April 18, 2000 at 14:44:10:
Ann-
You may want to call the phone company back and ask them to send you the catalog of services you can select for your phone. If your phone company offers voice mail they most likely offer all of these other options such as a special ring pattern when someone from a specific number calls. I was paging through the catalog we received when voice mail was setup and there were at least 12 options to pick from when I quit counting.
-Chris
Call forwarding question - Posted by Dmitry
Posted by Dmitry on April 18, 2000 at 09:28:45:
Hi,
Does anybody know if there is a service out there that will allow me to forward phone calls to wherever I want? Here is what I want to do. I currently live in an appartment and I can not have a second phone line installed there. I would like the callers to call some local number, that will be assigned to me (not my home number), and have their calls forwarded either to the answering service or to my home number on weekends or at nighttime. This will allow my wife, who is home during the day, not to worry about answering RE-related calls, plus when I move out of this appartment in the near future, I would be able to keep the same number in all my ads, business cards, etc. I do not want to put the answering service phone number there, because I would like to stay flexible in choosing a different service or being able to answer the calls myself when I wish so. So, basically, I am looking for a “second line” that will only work in a call forward mode without actually installing it. Something similar to those free fax services (like jfax) that will provide you with a dedicated fax number, and then email the fax to you. Did I just confuse you?
I looked into cellular phones, but they charge for each forwarded call based on talk time. I am looking for some call forwarding service based on a flat monthly fee. Also, MCI offers an 800 number, but the calls are forwarded to your home number and it can not be reprogrammed.
Does anybody have any suggestions? What are your solutions to similar problems? Any input will be appreciated.
Thanks.
Dmitry
Thanks everybody!!! - Posted by Dmitry
Posted by Dmitry on April 18, 2000 at 15:09:20:
Wow!
This is amazing! I guess it pays to read your phone book! In my area (covered by Bell Atlantic) this “Custom ringing” feature mentioned in Corey’s message is called Distinctive Ring, and it gives up to 2 additional numbers (@ $4.50/month each) that can be linked to a home number or used to forward calls elsewhere.
Thanks John Behle-it’s even better than I thought! - Posted by MilNC
Posted by MilNC on April 18, 2000 at 14:54:50:
I forgot to ask my phone co how many numbers, so I called them back: Here, (AllTel)I get 3 numbers per line, and they are unlisted at no extra charge.
I have two lines, so if I add call fwding to the computer line, I could forward my computer line
incoming calls to my other residential phone and have a total of
6 numbers. Turns out it is only $2/month for one additional number, $3.75 for 2 and $5.25/mo for 3, depends on your area.
It pays to ask, and to know what to ask. I didn’t know,
so I only received partial info until JB’s post.
Ann
Re: Call forwarding question - Posted by MilNC
Posted by MilNC on April 18, 2000 at 11:41:19:
I have uReach also. No monthly fee, and the lowest
pay for incoming calls that I could find on a no monthly fee basis. I think you can forward your phone TO that number.
They take faxes, too.
So does efax.com–they have recently changed but still have some free services. For that service, the sender
pays long distance-40 seconds or so-- and you don’t use
up all your free minutes with uReach. Having more than one option lets you chose how to manage it.
And as I’ve posted before, for fax-on-demand documents, use efax: it goes into your email, and doesn’t use up any ink… good in case the machine goes down, power outtage, etc.
Always good to have a backup.
I believe thinklink.com give a local number, but costs
more. Still, some people need a local number.
Possibly get ans machine with mailboxes in it.
Best wishes,
Hope this saves you some time!
Custom ringing - Posted by Corey (ND)
Posted by Corey (ND) on April 18, 2000 at 11:34:58:
If you live in a USWEST area they have what they call custom ringing. You can have up to 3 phone numbers all ring to the same phone (such as your apt.) Lets say your home # is 555-1234 you could also have 555-9876 ring to your house but when it does ring it sounds different than your regular #. Then you know it is a real estate call. Would work great for what you want to do. I am not sure if other companies offer it but it is pretty slick.
Good luck
Re: Call forwarding question - Posted by Lisa
Posted by Lisa on April 18, 2000 at 10:24:26:
You can check out www.ureach.com. They offer free 800 #'s that can follow you anywhere. I’m not sure if there is a charge for the forwarding or not. They also have VM and Fax options. Good luck.
Re: Call forwarding question - Posted by Bob In Indy
Posted by Bob In Indy on April 18, 2000 at 09:51:30:
This service has been around for years. I chose remote access call forwarding. It lets me forward any of my phone lines to either my home phone in the evening or to my cell phone during the day. When I’m out of town, I forward my phones to either an answering service or to an investor friend. The cost is minimal, since you can remain responsive to prospects 24 hours per day.
Local number cities for thinklink.com - Posted by John Behle
Posted by John Behle on April 18, 2000 at 13:52:23:
Just looked at the site and the following cities are listed as having local numbers:
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle
Re: Custom ringing - Posted by John Behle
Posted by John Behle on April 18, 2000 at 13:44:53:
Ours does up to four numbers per line and you can actually have the primary line transferred and the custom ringing comes through, goes to a fax, etc.
We have lines in different cities and for different businesses and always know what a call is and where it’s from by the ring.
WOW! Thanks for posting! - Posted by MilNC
Posted by MilNC on April 18, 2000 at 11:53:20:
i just read your post and called my phone company, and I have it available with AllTel, and didn’t know it.
They call it “Ring Plus” and it’s $3/month, no
connect fee, no disconnect fee.
Gee, Thanks!!
Ann