Phone calls from the UK

[phetchy]

Can anyone shed any light on this.  I'm in Thailand and I speak with my mother in the UK twice a week.  She calls me one week and I call her the next.  When I call her my Thailand number shows up on her phone in the UK.  When she calls me a different Bangkok land line number shows up on my phone.  Often the same number, but not always.  When I call the BKK number it's the usual "this number does not exist".  I've not been too concerned about it until a Deliveroo charge showed up on her phone for 45 quid sterling.  She has never used any form of internet/smart phone apps.  She never uses the phone to do anything other than call/receive local calls on her UK Talk Talk land line.  If it's a scam, how can she avoid this rip off via a third party?,  Nothing too technical if possible please,  she's at the time of her life when changing the time on the microwave for GMT/BST  is a challenge.

 

Many thanks if non-technical solutions are available.

[monsieurhappy]

I can't help you with the billing on your mums phone but you could try VIBER.

It's an internet phone service so if you and the person on the other end are within WI FI it's a free call.

My brother, like your mum does not do internet and only has a landline so I use something called ( I think ) Viber Out.

I put about 10 US dollars on Viber once in a while, lasts ages, and call his landline.

I am nothing at all to do with Viber, just a user! But I find this the cheapest way to call a UK landline.

Other people may come up with something better.

Just Google Viber.

Hope this helps!

[CharlieH]

Coukd it be possible she mis-dialled ? Just a thought.

 

Why not get her to install LINE and you can chat for free.

 

Just a suggestion.

[monsieurhappy]

12 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Coukd it be possible she mis-dialled ? Just a thought.

 

Why not get her to install LINE and you can chat for free.

 

Just a suggestion.

Can you use Line to call a foreign landline?

[CharlieH]

7 minutes ago, monsieurhappy said:

Can you use Line to call a foreign landline?

Ok, so I assume from that, the mother uses a landline, in which case no it wont work.

 

Heres an idea, get a UK skype number, she dials a local number (cheaper) and you can have it ring (divert to) whatever number you choose.

 

 

[monsieurhappy]

I don't want to sound like I'm pushing Viber but you get 263 minutes call time for $4.99.

And you use their own number to call without having to be reconnected.

When I phone my brother I use the international number for UK 0044 the code and my brothers number. Easy

[Eindhoven]

No one can answer your question. There are too few details; as in who is her provider, how the Deliveroo charge can exist since you can only order via their website or via their application. 

So unless she has the app with her payment details attached, how can she have a £45 charge?

 

Where? On her phone bill? Makes no sense at all. Does it make sense to you the way you have explained it?

 

So try again? How is she calling you?

 

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, phetchy said:

Many thanks if non-technical solutions are available.

I finding it hard to beleive that your too old or something and never heard of facebook.

Nothing technical about it ya mum joins facebook and you join facebook problem solve by using facebook messager.

[Eindhoven]

7 minutes ago, monsieurhappy said:

I don't want to sound like I'm pushing Viber but you get 263 minutes call time for $4.99.

And you use their own number to call without having to be reconnected.

When I phone my brother I use the international number for UK 0044 the code and my brothers number. Easy

 

You sound like you are pushing Viber. How do you use Viber Out from a Talk Talk landline?

263 minutes isn't actually great value and likely you are referring to one way; to the UK.  The other way is more than 300% more costly.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Eindhoven

[Scouse123]

7 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I finding it hard to beleive that your too old or something and never heard of facebook.

Nothing technical about it ya mum joins facebook and you join facebook problem solve by using facebook messager.

 

You can have messenger with or without Facebook as they act together or independently

[Eindhoven]

 

Quote

 

Let's Chat. - Deliveroo

https://deliveroo.co.uk › contact

 

1.  
2.  

Please note we don't accept orders over the phone - so if you'd like to place an order, please place it online.

 

 

 

So how? 

 

 

[Scouse123]

If it's do difficult for Mum, why don't you just call her and tell her not to call you if she is just using a landline?

 

You can install whatsapp and call her free and she doesn't even need to have whatsapp,  as long as her phone number is in your phone!

 

Sorry.....I am wrong....I confused myself not Whatapp for UK landlines, I use Yolla internet calling from Thailand for landlines, if they are not on messenger or whatsapp which is obviously for mobiles

 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by Scouse123

[Scouse123]

OP I would be checking if there are any family or friends with access to your mother's phone to be ordering from Deliveroo.

[Kwasaki]

15 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

You can have messenger with or without Facebook as they act together or independently

Yeah well me not a tech guru but facebook & messager is what I use for contact with my family mob in England taking care of business. ????

[kickstart]

Does mum have a mobile phone ,when I am in the UK I use  Lycamobile it was about 5p minute to phone Thailand  ,SIMs from your local corner shop .

With a mobile she would be in complete   control. 

[Eindhoven]

Anyway, it seems that people are not grasping that the young lady is using a landline and not the Internet.

 

Personally I use and have set my mum up with two options.

 

One is https://www.18185.co.uk which might be a little difficult for her as will have to first dial the Freephone access number and then your number.

 

and 

 

https://www.localphone.com/call/thailand which will be a lot easier once set up as their will only be a need to call one local number which then connects to you. Cost between 1.5p and 3p per minute. I'm guessing it will be the higher amount as likely you have a mobile phone and not a landline.

But Localphone will only be useful if local calls are included on her tariff. Smartphone users don't have that issue as can connect via 3G/4G/5G/WiFi via their mobile application.

So you may need to check what is included in her TalkTalk package before deciding the best way to go.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Eindhoven

[Eindhoven]

22 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

OP I would be checking if there are any family or friends with access to your mother's phone to be ordering from Deliveroo.

 

You cannot order by phone with Deliveroo. Also not aware that they can make a charge to someone's telephone/Internet bill. That doesn't sound right. 

[Eindhoven]

If the OP has a Smartphone, he can use Localphone to call his mum @ 0.5p per minute.

If his mum has local calls included, the same service can be used to call the OP on his mobile from the UK for less than 4p per minute.

[Eindhoven]

This is the 18185 service that you can set up: https://www.18185.co.uk/rates-mobile#t

3.5p per minute with a 4p connection charge.

 

Would have to dial 0808 1 703 703 to access the service and then dial your number. Once dialled if all ok, will hear a tariff message stating the call with cost 3.5p a minute to your mobile. If happy with that wait to be connected. If not, hang up immediately.

 

If your mum is happy to dial the freephone number first, then that may be the way to go. There will be no charges on the Talk Talk bill at all.

If the are free calls included on the TalkTalk package, then you can consider Localphone. Then you can both use the same service.

[Polar Bear]

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

Heres an idea, get a UK skype number, she dials a local number (cheaper) and you can have it ring (divert to) whatever number you choose.

 

This is what I do. I have a UK Skype-in number. I chose one with the same geographic code as my Mum, so it's charged as a local call for her, and she gets free local calls on her landline, so it doesn't cost her anything. 

 

She calls me from her landline, and it comes through to me on Skype on my mobile, as long as I have a data connection. 

 

Then I also pay for an unlimited UK landline package, and I can call her from Skype to her landline number. You can also just use credit for that, but the package works out cheaper for me. 

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Nobody in civilized countries should be using landlines for personal calls.

Too Expensive and No Video. Surely someone can help with that as necessary.

Simple Cheap Smart Phones enable Free Intl. Video Phone Services like Whats App. & Internet.

Just Ignore / Delete ALL unauthorized billing from Unknown Providers (same as scam emails)

[Scouse123]

1 hour ago, Eindhoven said:

 

You cannot order by phone with Deliveroo. Also not aware that they can make a charge to someone's telephone/Internet bill. That doesn't sound right. 

 

Ah so its app based ordering?

[Scouse123]

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

Yeah well me not a tech guru but facebook & messager is what I use for contact with my family mob in England taking care of business. ????

 

No worries!.

 

I found out through my sister as she is on messenger but because of her job doesn't use Facebook.

 

I am on both but find Messenger very useful along with whatsapp.

[wmlc]

This indicates she is using some type of VOIP service. Ask her to call her phone company to clarify. This is probably the long distance plan she has set up with her phone. Did you think she would be able to call you for free from her home phone? If this charge is the only bill for her calls to you then this is set up through her phone company for long distance calls to overseas. Before posting, using common sense and asking her to call her phone company would be the first thing to do. I would only be worried if she was billed twice for the calls.

Edited June 24, 2021 by wmlc

[DiDiChok]

11 hours ago, monsieurhappy said:

Can you use Line to call a foreign landline?

Oh yes you can, as long as the LINE account is not a UK one.  I have a UK one and a Thai one and the Thai one lets you use LINE OUT and when calling the UK it shows my Thai mobile number.  Works well.

 

But by 2025 there won't be any landlines left in the UK any more.  BT is gradually moving over to SIP and you'll plug your phone into your router.  I've got a geographic SIP number now for the UK and I log on to the service here in Thailand as well.  Incoming calls ring the phone at the same time in the UK and on my PC wherever I am.  Really useful for calling UK numbers from Thailand as they are charged as local UK calls by my SIP provider.

[Crazy Noobie]

Wow, I really didn't know there were so many ways to call and talk to someone back in your home country. As for myself I use a product called Magic Jack. I connect the Magic Jack device to my internet router or computer, then attach it to my phone. I live here in Thailand and now I can call anyone in the USA and anyone can call me. No charge at all for the call. When you purchase the Magic Jack device for $39 or $49 (good for the year), you are assigned a USA phone number. So it's like having a regular landline right in your house. So I talk to friends & family, just like if I was still in the USA. And like I said, the cost is only $39 or $49 per year for their service.

[Bigz]

Isn't deliveroo a food delivery company in the UK? I don't think that charge is for international calls. Regarding the Bangkok number displayed during the call probably Talk talk using a Thai partner company and they reroute the call to you from BKK.

[jomtienisgood]

13 hours ago, monsieurhappy said:

I can't help you with the billing on your mums phone but you could try VIBER.

It's an internet phone service so if you and the person on the other end are within WI FI it's a free call.

My brother, like your mum does not do internet and only has a landline so I use something called ( I think ) Viber Out.

I put about 10 US dollars on Viber once in a while, lasts ages, and call his landline.

I am nothing at all to do with Viber, just a user! But I find this the cheapest way to call a UK landline.

Other people may come up with something better.

Just Google Viber.

Hope this helps!

Skype, etc,etc,

[jomtienisgood]

52 minutes ago, Bigz said:

Isn't deliveroo a food delivery company in the UK? I don't think that charge is for international calls. Regarding the Bangkok number displayed during the call probably Talk talk using a Thai partner company and they reroute the call to you from BKK.

All telecom Companies in EU use VOIP. ( Voice over Internet ) , costs them almost nothing but is charged as a normal call. That'why incoherent ( non existing ) numbers show up. Same with Skype or others; but then again YOUR cost is minimal....

[AlQaholic]

I would go with the missdialed theory. For the BKK number showing up when she calls you from the UK, It may be that the landline operator uses whatever service is cheapest at the moment, meaning when she calls a number in Thailand, the land line operator automatically routes the call over a third party internet service, which has a local number in BKK call you up. I see that a lot when I'm getting scam calls from the UK trying to sell me some investment <deleted> from a boiler room operation.