I had to do it sooner or later

I just knew that I would do this sooner or later.

I have a Sipgate number via an ATA connected as a fourth line on my Meridian
Compact, the other three lines are connected to PSTN, two BT, one cable.

I went to dial a friend of mine who is on Sipgate using his Sipgate number
which is 999XXXX, no prizes for guessing what happened next.

Yes you've guessed it, I pressed the wrong line button and was promptly
answered by a lady saying Emergency Services, how can we help you, or words
to that effect. After explaining that I had accidentally misdialled,
apologising and confirming my name she went away leaving me feeling a right
Charlie.

AFAIK Sipgate now seem to have stopped using numbers beginning with 999, but
why an earth did they choose to use the code to begin with and why were they
allowed to by OFCOM, or whoever. Surely they must have known that folk are
going to do exactly the same thing as I did, resulting in needlessly wasting
the time of the emergency services operators?

Mike

 

message

I did that once, for a number in Coventry. As (in the UK at least) VoIP
isn't required to be connectable to the 999/112 service, I don't think
they were actually doing anything wrong by using numbers starting 999 (so
I don't think Ofcom or whoever comes into it), but I agree it was somewhat
daft..!

Ivor

 

....and if done from a cable line costing the cable operator a couple of quid
for connecting to the emergency services IIRC.

 

That's interesting.

 

My 999 story is that I transfered a customer to 999 by using a Cisco
IP phone, using the address book, attempting to phone someone in the
company called Zoe, not realising that my button to go into the
address book hadn't worked, so just transfered them to 999.

Andrew.

 

Pitmy Bowdes used to supply a special telephone to its customers for
ordering its goods or services.

It had a bank of permanently programmed one-touch keys intended for end to
end DTMF signalling. One of the frequently used keys had 999# programmed in
it, an accident waiting to happen I thought.
--
Graham.



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