Virgin Media Community

[lowill]

After getting a divorce and inheriting the Virgin Media account I am still getting called for my ex husband. 
I want to change my landline number to stop this. They call even when I say not at this number.

Is this possible ASAP please? I tried calling but gave up after being on hold for what felt like half the afternoon.
Thanks in advance!

[HowardML · Accepted solution]

If that is your only problem (and I mean it) you may be in for a terrible shock and a nasty surprise if you ask for a number change. There are no new numbers in the system. You will be issued with an at random choice of a new number which will almost certainly be on some spammers list somewhere and you will be inundated with spam calls. 

In your shoes (and however distressing it may be at the moment) it would be best to patiently explain the situation, which as people discover what has happened will be come less of an issue. The alternative is likely to be much, much worse.

If you decide to go ahead wait here for a response from the Forum Team. About a week. This is not regarded as urgent. May be quicker.

[lowill]

It’s been nearly a year and I still get calls for him.

Some stopped but others haven’t. 
I think your advice is good and I should grin and bare it for now 👍

thank you. 

[nodrogd]

Most modern landline phones have call blocking facilities. While these don't work well with scammers, if you are persistantly being called from the same number just a handful these are easy to block.

[goslow]

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@lowill wrote:

It’s been nearly a year and I still get calls for him.

Some stopped but others haven’t. 
I think your advice is good and I should grin and bare it for now 👍

thank you. 

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@HowardML is quite right to warn of the potential problems of a 'new' number. There have been lots of complaints on the forums in the past from customers getting a 'new' number (= a 'recycled' number owned by VM), only to find it has an unwelcome history attached to it. Past examples have included numbers used by a business or a previous customer with debt problems being chased by debt collectors etc. etc.

Instead, you could consider using a call screening device which filters the calls before deciding whether to ring your home phone or not.

When a call comes in, the caller hears a message. In your case you can record the fact that your ex-husband is not at the number any more and calls for him will not be accepted. The caller is then asked to say who they are and press a key on their phone to progress the call. Only then will your home phone ring. Most unwanted callers will not go beyond this point.

If any do, then your home phone will ring. When you pick up you will hear the recording of the caller announce who they are and you can decide to accept or reject the call. When you reject you can simultaneously block the number of the caller. You can do all of this without actually speaking to them.

You can also program the device so that your known contacts in your phone address book (who you do want to speak to) can ring through uninterrupted and bypass the screening process altogether.

After a short time of failing to get through, your unwanted callers should soon get the message and the calls should subside.

trueCall offer a standalone screening device which you can use with an existing phone (cordless phones are the best arrangement).

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

You can download the manual (which is easy to read) which explains how it works

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

BT also offer a range of cordless phones with trueCall technology built in (look for that in the product description) but the trueCall standalone device is better IMO as it can be customised more easily.

[lowill]

Thanks for this. I have called ID.

I will try the recorded messages say he is no longer on this number, great idea. Thank you! 🙂 

[goslow]

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@lowill wrote:

Thanks for this. I have called ID.

I will try the recorded messages say he is no longer on this number, great idea. Thank you! 🙂 

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Well, you'd need to get either the trueCall device or a BT phone with trueCall incorporated into it for the screening to happen automatically as described above.

If you have an answering machine on your existing phone, you could record your own message on that and let all calls go to answering machine.

Your existing phone and phone address book may possibly have a feature called 'VIP callers' or 'Categories' or similar terminology (which is a way of tagging people in your phone address book). On many phones you can give people you make 'VIP callers' their own distinct ringtone.

If you have that feature on your phone already, you could then answer calls with the VIP ringtone (as they will be people you know) and let anyone else go to answering machine with your own message for unwanted callers not to call again.

[lowill]

I have a BT phone with a call block feature. I will see if it does the prerecorded message but I don’t think it does.

I may just get a new handset that definitely screen calls.

Thanks for you advice, much appreciated  🙂