FleXtel Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Please select a topic:
- What will the FleXtel service cost me?
- What are the main differences between FleXtel Personal and Business numbers?
- Are FleXtel numbers intended for business or personal use?
- Why is a FleXtel number better than using a call divert service?
- Why is it better to use a FleXtel Personal number as a mobile number?
- Can a FleXtel Personal number help screen incoming calls?
- How long may I retain my number for?
- How can I tell if a call is being made to my FleXtel number?
- Is my FleXtel number ex-directory?
- Why do I get Caller Withheld when I dial 1471?
- Does FleXtel provide a voice/faxmail facility?
- Which destinations are barred?
- Can I select an international destination for my FleXtel number?
- When I travel abroad, can I take my FleXtel Personal number?
- Can international callers ring my FleXtel number?
- Why doesn't my PIN work?
- Why won't the reroute system respond when I press my telephone keypad?
- Why can't I use FleXtel's Secure site
- How do I report a fault?
- What is Dialled Number Display™ (DND)?
- What is Intelligent Call Diversion™(ICD)?
- What is FleXtel Number Presentation™ (FNP)?
What will the FleXtel service cost me?
The FleXtel service is completely free of all call, rental and subscription charges to the number owner.
All numbers attract a one-time purchase fee depending on their category e.g. Standard, Silver, Gold or Diamond. Please see our FleXtel Price List for more infomation.
What are the main differences between Personal and Business numbers?
FleXtel Personal numbers begin with the code 0701. They can be diverted to any UK landline or mobile number, with no additional charges to you. Please see our FleXtel Price List for details and an idea of calling costs for 0701 numbers.
FleXtel Business numbers, suitable for national business, begin with 08. They cannot be diverted to mobile numbers but can still be diverted to landline numbers as no additional charges to you. They also have the added advantage of having lower calling costs than with Personal numbers, but the exact rate will depend on whether the number dialled is 0871, 0870, 0845 or 0844. Please see our FleXtel Price List for details and an idea of calling costs for 08 numbers.
You can also compare Business and Personal number routing capabilities by visiting our Which Service Do I Need? page for more details.
Are FleXtel numbers intended for business or personal use?
Either, the choice is yours. Have a look at some of the examples covered in the applications section.
Why is a FleXtel number better than using a call divert service?
A Call Divert service is expensive, as you have to pay for the diverted part of the call. If you diverted your landline to a mobile number, you would then be liable to pay for the diverted element of the incoming call at mobile rates.
A FleXtel number eradicates that cost factor, as you do not pay anything to receive the call at whatever location you choose.
Why is it better to use a FleXtel Personal number as a mobile number?
What if your handset gets damaged, stolen or the SIM card fails? Or what if your battery goes flat either at home or in the office? No problem, just reroute your FleXtel number to any landline phone near you, or even a friend's mobile phone. When the phone is fixed, or the battery is recharged, just reroute your FleXtel number back. What if you are in an area of bad network coverage, or you cannot take it to the building you are going to, or your partner/spouse/child took it without reminding you? Just take your calls on the nearest phone or mobile from another network. If you want to change network, then dump that subscription or old prepay SIM! Then get yourself the latest, best deal on the high street. It can take days and is sometimes impossible to port your mobile number, but with FleXtel you can flip your number to your new service in seconds and save money or enjoy better network coverage immediately, without having to tell all your friends and colleagues your new mobile number.
The above are just a few examples of the problems that can happen if you own a mobile phone. A personal number frees you from being tied to your mobile and lets you grab the best deals as they come along.
Can a FleXtel Personal number help me screen incoming calls?
If you have a mobile service, this will help you a great deal.
Your mobile voicemail is on a separate number than your mobile number.* Obtain this through your service provider if you are unsure as to how to locate this on the network information settings. Assign one FleXtel number for priority usage and the other for regular. Route both numbers to your mobile number. When you only wish to receive priority calls, route the regular number to the voicemail destination. You now get call screening and can respond to messages at your leisure! * Orange does not have a separate voicemail number.
How long may I retain my number for?
To avoid number wastage your FleXtel number must be used at least once per year. Therefore you only need to receive and answer one call each year to retain your FleXtel number indefinitely. Naturally, this is subject to any future change in Telecoms legislation and our standard terms and conditions.
How can I tell if a call is being made to my FleXtel number?
FleXtel's DND feature, when activated, automatically displays your FleXtel number on your caller display instead of your caller's CLI. Full details are given in the User Guide.
Is my FleXtel number ex-directory?
All FleXtel numbers are not only ex-directory, but in fact are completely unlisted by default. FleXtel does not share customer information without the express permission of the customer or as required by the authorities.
To have your FleXtel number listed in the BT and Phonebook and electronic databases, logon to your account, select Phonebook Entries from the dropdown menu and complete the relevant online form. Business entries to the BT Phonebook also have their numbers listed free of charge in Business Directories such as BT Yellow Pages and Thomson Local directories.
Why do I get Caller Withheld when I dial 1471?
FleXtel always passes any caller number through its systems so your caller may have asked their service provider to withhold their number? If they have, ask them to dial 1470 before the FleXtel number if they want to show their number.
Alternatively, your caller may be calling from a location that does not provide outbound Calling Line Identity (CLI), such as from a switchboard extension or from a low cost call service provider or small telecom operator.
Does FleXtel provide a voice/faxmail facility?
FleXtel does not currently offer a voice/faxmail facility because most people prefer to use their mobile voicemail that notifies them when they have a message. This means that they can choose not to spend time and money checking their answer machine. The best mobile systems will also receive faxes in the mailbox.
Which destinations are disallowed?
Fixed Fee Pagers: Certain Pager calls are charged at a rate higher than FleXtel or have a very high initial charge (12p or above per call). Therefore, these cannot be connected to a FleXtel number free of charge.
Premium Rate Services (Information/Adult etc.): These services cannot be connected and will not be connected in the foreseeable future.
Can I select an international destination for my FleXtel number?
Yes for some services. FleXtel only offer international destinations when international connection can be offered with acceptable cost, quality and reliability. International charges and delivery technologies are still changing rapidly and once FleXtel is satisfied that a permanent lifetime service can be offered then we launch it immediately. Once this powerful facility is introduced, we know our customers grow to rely on it. We have therefore adopted this cautious approach to avoid potential disruption to our customers.
We continue to keep international tariffs and cost saving technology (such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) ) under constant review. Customers will be notified of service enhancements (and when they become available) on our website and via Email.
You can compare Business and Personal number international routing capabilities by visiting our Which Service Do I Need? page for more details. You can also see the latest destinations in our International Routing table.
When I travel abroad, can I take my FleXtel Personal number?
Yes. When you travel abroad, simply buy a SIM in the locality you're visiting and route your 0701 number directly to its mobile number.
You can determine what the FleXtel international routing capabilities are by visiting our Which Service Do I Need? page for more details. You can also see the latest destinations in our International Routing table.
Can international callers ring my FleXtel number?
You should be able to receive international inbound calls to your 0701 number, but this depends on which network your callers use. If they use some of the low cost foreign telephone companies, then these companies may not be able to afford to connect more expensive codes such as 070 Personal or 079 mobile numbers. Please contact your foreign telco for further information. However, most foreign telephone companies have the 0870 codes open from abroad and this is the best choice for foreign advertising. Don't forget to ask your callers to remove the initial 0 and replace it with +44 or (+ denotes the international prefix, 00 in most of Europe and 001 in the USA) for example formatting 0701 0700 700 as +44 701 0700 700 and 0870 321 1000 as +44 870 321 1000.
Again, you can determine what the FleXtel international routing capabilities are by visiting our Which Service Do I Need? page for more details.
Why doesn't my PIN work?
Did you note the PIN information correctly? We recommend that all PIN information is either printed or saved to disk for future reference. Did you connect within the advised timescale? If your chosen FleXtel number was not connected within that time, your number will have been suspended. This means that you have to contact Customer Support to have a new PIN allocated. FleXtel will need to confirm that you are the number owner before releasing any PIN information. [ Top ]
Why won't the reroute system respond when I press my telephone keypad?
To use the automatic rerouting service you need to call from a phone that has a keypad with a star (*) key and which dials using modern tones. To check if you have the right sort of phone, lift the handset and dial 0870 321 0000, if you hear tones as you dial then you have a tone phone, if not and you hear clicks instead, then you probably have not got a tone phone.
However, in some cases the phone will not send tones until either the star (*) key or a key marked "POT","MF" or "TONE" has been pressed. This "tone" key should only be pressed after normal dialling has been completed, such as when ringing is heard.
If you do not have access to such a phone or have any queries then call our customer service line during normal office hours on 0870 321 1000 and we can advise you or make the changes for you.
Why can't I use FleXtel's Secure site?
To avoid problems with FleXtel and other very high security sites, you may need a simple upgrade to your software to handle High Encryption properly. Early versions of Internet Explorer (before version 5.5) did not include High Encryption and some versions had faults.
The Upgrade is available as a free download at: Windows 95/98/NT or Windows 2000 ...Or just click on Help/About in your version of Internet Explorer and use the Update Information link there.
If you still have problems, then you might decide to do all your shopping and control work without security, but remember that the information you send us might be read by others and therefore you do so at your own risk. Alternatively Email us at ask@FleXtel.com and our trained technical staff will try to help.
How do I report a fault?
For residential fault reporting please call 0701 0700 151. For business fault reporting please call 0701 0700 154.
This service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What is Dialled Number Display™ (DND)?
A powerful advanced feature, which shows on your caller display the FleXtel number dialled instead of the callers CLI. Full details are given in the User Guide
What is Intelligent Call Diversion™ (ICD)?
A powerful advanced feature, which allows you to automatically Divert a call to your FleXtel number, if the Destination is busy or unanswered. Full details are given in the User Guide
What is FleXtel Number Presentation™ (FNP)?
A powerful advanced feature, which displays your FleXtel number to the person you are calling. Full details are given in the User Guide
