GTFC_Adam

I've never understood the benefits of witheld numbers. Even though we're ex-directory, we still receive prank calls, with no one there and no way of tracing where the call came from.

Should we pledge to ban this menace?

B.A.Ware

You are right if you are phoning somebody legitimately why would you want to withhold your number. I say stop this practise immediately.

mkpdavies

I agree too. If you are going to call someone, you should have to give that person some idea who it is. End it!

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Hartlepool

Good idea.Lets use it.

Paul Birch

Not at all. Callers should have the right to withhold their telephone number. And you should have the right to set your telephone to bounce such calls without bothering you with them. Just as you have the right to refuse to give shopkeepers your name and address or show an ID card. And just as a shopkeeper should have the right to refuse to serve anyone who does refuse to identify himself.

B.A.Ware

Once again Paul you seem to think its up to the consumer to set their phone to do things, why should they, they have bought a phone for their own personnel use.
Could you imagine elderly people who have trouble setting their video setting their phones to take this call or that call? I really cannot see your logic on this, what benefit is it to anyone to be harassed in your own home

UKIP MAN

If you have stored telephone numbers of people you call and know, you can put 1470 in front of their number so when you speed dial it reveals the number to the person you are calling.

private numbers you should have choice.

But all commercial numbers should be revealed.

cheggers

BT offers a service (for a fee) which automaticaly rejects numbers that are withheld. The problem I have found with this is that commercial organisations with internal exchanges have difficulty calling me.

Paul Birch

That's as daft as asking why consumers should have to set up their televisions to watch the channels they want - why shouldn't the television only show the right programmes? There are many legitimate ways of using telephones. If you want to restrict the way you use yours, you can either try and bully everyone else INTO phpbb_accepting the exact same restrictions (the statist way), or you can set it up your own phone appropriately yourself or pay someone else to set it up for you (the market way).

For most elderly people the default of accept-all-calls should be the best option. They have time on their hands, so don't usually mind chatting with salesmen. And technophobes don't check incoming numbers anyhow, so it makes no difference whether they're withheld or not. However, if there are types of call an elderly person does wish to exclude, they can just pick up the phone and talk to customer services, who will gladly arrange it for them.

Furthermore, and for whatever reasons, it is mostly the elderly who choose to withhold their numbers.

Merely receiving a call from a withheld number is not being harassed. That depends on the content of the call. There are often good reasons for withholding one's number, though if you do so you take a risk that you won't be able to get through. Conversely, if you block withheld numbers you take a risk of missing calls you would have liked to receive.

B.A.Ware

I’m sorry Paul could you give me an example of why someone would legitimately want to withhold their number.