Call Screening

[datasync]

Does Virgin Media have its very own call screening?

Does using a third party call screener incur charges?

Caller ID

trueCall virtual assistant

Filter/announce all calls

Block nuisance calls

Ex-Directory

And lastly does voicemail charges incur whether they are handled by Virgin Media or third party?

[John_GS]

Hi datasync

Thanks for posting and welcome to the community.

• Does Virgin Media have its very own call screening? - No we don't I'm afraid. 
• Does using a third party call screener incur charges? - You can buy a landline phone that has it as one of the features of the telephone
• Caller ID - Free of charge
• trueCall virtual assistant - No we don't.
• Filter/announce all calls - Can you elaborate on this for me? 
• Block nuisance calls - We do offer this yes and you can find out about it here 
• Ex-Directory - Yes we can put the request in for you to be Ex-directory.

Best,

[datasync]

• Does using a third party call screener incur charges? - You can buy a landline phone that has it as one of the features of the telephone. Could you confirm any features that incur charges?
• Filter/announce all calls - Can you elaborate on this for me? I think this is part of trueCall. That any phone call must be announced prior to a connection being made. Does a third party device feature incur charges on Virgin Media?
• Ex-Directory - Yes we can put the request in for you to be Ex-directory. I request this with permission for you to proceed.

Are there any additional steps known to Virgin Media to avoid nuisance calls? I did register at https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/

And lastly does voicemail charges incur whether they are handled by a third party device?

[datasync]

• Does using a third party call screener incur charges? - You can buy a landline phone that has it as one of the features of the telephone. Would you confirm these features do not incur any charges on Virgin Media, and/or any that do incur charges?
• Filter/announce all calls - Can you elaborate on this for me? I think this feature is within trueCall, or named call screening. It is where a caller has to announce itself before a connection is made. 
• Ex-Directory - Yes we can put the request in for you to be Ex-directory. I request this with permission for you to proceed.

Do Virgin Media offer any other forms of blocking? I did register with https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/ some time ago.

And lastly do Virgin Media voicemail charges incur where they are handled by third party?

[goslow]

You're on your own as far as call screening/blocking is concerned on a VM landline. The only service VM offer is anonymous caller rejection (ACR) which only stops 'withheld' numbers. Not much use for scammers who fake the caller ID and actually unhelpful in the case of also blocking legitimate hospital/doctors' surgery callers who may withhold their number.

The trueCall device does screen calls but it is a physical piece of hardware you buy yourself (not an add-on service on the line)

https://www.truecall.co.uk/category-s/116.htm

Some BT phones have a 'lite' version of the trueCall technology built in but they are not as configurable as the standalone unit.

Costs on using the trueCall device may include an optional £20 p.a. if you want to use the 'weblink' service to administer the unit remotely (free for first year). The unit does sometimes need to 'phone home' to link with the trueCall server and may incur a call charge if it does that outside any free calling time in your VM package.

trueCall manual is here

http://www.truecall38.co.uk/manuals/callblocker.pdf

which explains how it works in detail.

[Ayisha_B]

Hi @datasync,

I trust @goslow was able to answer your additional questions? (Kudos for that goslow!)

I will send you a PM now @datasync so we can look into your Ex-Directory request.

Cheers

[datasync]

No, not fully. For clarity would you please answer

Does using a third party call screener incur charges? - You can buy a landline phone that has it as one of the features of the telephone. Would you confirm these features do not incur any charges on Virgin Media, and/or any that do incur charges?

Filter/announce all calls - Can you elaborate on this for me? I think this feature is within trueCall, or named call screening. It is where a caller has to announce itself before a connection is made. 

[goslow]

Both points covered in #5 but for clarity ...

VM does not charge customers for using call screening phones/devices on a VM landline. However, if the trueCall unit is not set up correctly and dials out during a chargeable period of the day (depending on your VM landline package) then this would be logged by VM as a short chargeable phone call to a 0208 number. You would need to refer to the manual for the individual device you choose to buy on how any other possible similar charges might be generated by the device.

Have you looked at the trueCall manual link provided at #5? Overview page 3

When a phone call arrives, trueCall looks at the caller’s number and decides how to handle the call. In the standard setup, if the caller is on your Star list, your phone will ring as normal. If they are on your Zap list, trueCall will answer the call for you and ask the caller not to call again. If the caller is unrecognised, they have to identify themselves before your phone will ring, and when you pick up the caller is announced, allowing you to choose whether you want to take the call or not.

Some BT phones using trueCall technology operate in a similar way but you would need to consult the manual of the phone you intend to buy to find out how exactly the calls are screened.

[datasync]

I require confirmation from Virgin Media.

As feedback to Virgin Media. The landline telephone has been around for some time. There should be some convenience reading and understanding the product faster than multiple pages of tariff information. Device clarity is very vague. Protection levels available are non existent unless asked, the option while ordering is somewhat questionable because I am contacted here regarding ex directory even though I remember marking the box during checkout. It's very long winded.

[goslow]

One of the VM forum team will come back to the topic in due course and give you an official VM comment.

VM's web pages are, indeed, often somewhat convoluted and heavy on the legalese and T&Cs but this one

https://www.virginmedia.com/landline/calling-features

does cover all landline features (basic and optional and voicemail options) in short bullet points.

You've specifically asked about trueCall and that isn't a VM product so the forum staff can't/won’t advise you on it, nor is there anything like that on a VM line, just ACR. That's it as far as VM call blocking goes and adding ACR to the line is probably more of a hinderance than a help.

You've posted on a VM community forum and most of the people answering on here will be other VM customers. The forum team will usually reply on each topic at some point but not always.

Wait for one of the VM forum team to come back to the topic in due course and confirm (or correct) what has already been posted.