Allocation of funds.
The BIG Lottery Fund will confirm the award amount and organise a separate meeting to discuss the formal set-up of the grant with the winning groups.
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I am a Typetalk user; can I still participate in the voting?
The BBC has made best endeavours to cater for TypeTalk users. Some users may find difficulty with accessing the service.
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I’m calling from a Pay As You Go phone and I heard a message telling me I am barred from calling. Why is this?
It is common policy for mobile network operators to bar Pay As You Go (pre-pay) customers from calling all premium rate numbers. To lift the bar, you must contact your mobile network and they will advise you of any additional surcharges they have decided to levy on the tariff. If you are happy to meet these surcharges and if you want to have the bar lifted, this can usually be done very simply. They will send you a text message with a SIM card update and you usually have to turn your phone off and on again for the update to load and the bar to be lifted. Please note calls from mobiles may cost considerably higher than from landlines, check with your operator for call costs.
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I’m calling from a Pay As You Go phone and all I heard was silence. Why is this?
Some mobile network operators play out a warning message alerting you to the cost of the call before the call connects. From time to time there can be a delay of several seconds (when you hear silence) before the message is played out. You are not charged to listen to the warning message but, if you keep listening, you will be charged for your call and you will hear the proper Primetime voting message. Therefore, if you hear silence, we recommend you hold on the line a bit longer before giving up. If this still does not overcome the problem, please contact your mobile network operator to see if they can help you.
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The voting system did not recognise my vote, what’s gone wrong?
Your number maybe withheld, please re-dial 1470 before the appropriate premium rate number. You may also have exceeded your vote limit, which is 5 calls from per phone number.
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I received the busy tone when I called. Why is this?
There are many thousands of lines on the Primetime service but even this does not guarantee that you will never hear the busy tone. The BBC has done everything possible to reduce the likelihood of calls failing to get through. Most callers are not charged when they hear the busy tone but you should double check your phone contract to be sure of this. For example, some mobile phone companies make charges even when a call has not connected. Please also note the cost of calls from mobiles or other non-BT network s may vary. We recommend that you check your phone contract for details.
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I received a number unobtainable tone when I called. Why is this?
A minority of callers may hear the Number Unobtainable signal (a continuous tone) or a message saying that they can't be connected when they dial the Primetime voting number. There are several reasons why this may happen.
- You may have mis-dialled the Primetime voting number so it is a good idea to try dialling again before looking for other explanations.
- If you are phoning from a company telephone you may not be getting through because many company switchboards automatically block calls to premium rate numbers. It should be possible for this to be changed by whoever controls the company's telephone systems.
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How do I bar my phone from making premium rate calls?
If you would like to prevent premium rate calls from being made from you phone, you should firstly contact the company that provides your telephone service. All premium rate numbers in the UK start with "090". For many people their telephone service is still supplied by BT even though it may be via a cable company.
BT customers should dial 152 (this is the "BT Domestic Sales" line) and request to have premium rate numbers barred. BT will need the account number (see your phone bill) and address but then BT can put the call-bar in place immediately. This can only be reversed by writing to BT.
BT's business customers must dial "BT Business Sales" and follow the same procedure. However, many company switchboards automatically bar the dialling of premium rate numbers anyway.
Customers who get their telephone service from suppliers other than BT should contact their supplier. Contact details will be provided on telephone bills or on the contract for service. The procedure should be simple and swift. If anyone experiences any difficulties doing this, they should contact the network operators' regulator Ofcom.
- If you are dialling from a mobile phone, you may find that your phone contract bars you from dialling premium rate numbers. You may be able to get this changed by contacting your mobile service supplier.
- If you have a prepaid mobile with little credit remaining but can't get through, it may be because under your mobile contract you are charged more than than the 15p call charge to get through and therefore the credit is insufficient.
- If you are phoning from a domestic phone, it may be because premium rate calls have been call barred.
- You may be calling from a telephone network that has not registered the Primetime telephone number. To find out if this is the case, try dialling ‘1280’ before ‘the premium rate number. If this works please tell your phone company as they can correct the problem for all callers.
If you do not think any of the above applies to you and you are still receiving the unobtainable tone, you should speak to the company that provides your telephone service.
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I've just got my phone bill and have been charged more than 15p. Why?
Calls made on a standard BT phone connection will be charged at 15p each. Calls from other operators may vary, please check with your operator. Calls made from a call box will be charged at a more expensive rate. Mobile phone companies may charge more than the stated 15p, calls from mobiles will be considerably higher. In these circumstances there should be a price list available so please contact the supplier of the telephone service for details.
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