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Alternative Technology and Renewable Energy can be great fun and very rewarding, especially if done at home. On this blog I share my ideas and tips for mainly simple and inexpensive alternative technology projects.

Friday, September 10, 2010

My problems with a Trial of RingCentral UK (formerly BT RingCentral)

I signed up for a trial of RingCentral UK, which is a full feature virtual switchboard, controlled by a web interface. The spec seemed good and the price was right so I gave it a go.

When I called my new 0845 number with my mobile, it showed as "Withheld" on my office Caller Display. If I used the same mobile to call my office direct, Caller Display was fine. Also I could not get Call Whisper to tell me which extension had been selected by the caller. This was essential so that I could tell which website the caller was enquiring about.

I phoned their first level support (in the Philippines) and had real difficulty getting then to understand my problems. They even thought "Withheld" was a company name! After checking my settings, they told me that Call Whisper could not announce which extension had been called. I told them I was unhappy and they transferred me to second level support in the US. After a long wait and much more explaining and misunderstandings, I said I had had enough and wished to cancel my service.

After another long wait, I was connected to cancellations. They asked me for my RingCentral phone number and after three tries insisted there was no record of my account. I wouldn't have been worried except that they take your credit card details when you sign up for the trial! Then I reminded them that it was a UK phone number and it all clicked into place and my cancellation was accepted.

I can see why BT dropped their marketing of Ring Central and it is such a shame that the service didn't live up to my expectations and the support was such hard work. The 0845 number was great though....Roll on Google Voice in the UK!

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