To wonder why big companies with-hold their phone numbers in these days of caller display?

[APairofScarletSequinedWings]

Having just had a chat with a large appliance retailer regarding non delivery, I was told they tried (they didn't). When I asked if they could ring me when it was on it's way, I asked if they withheld their number, which they do. As do the GP's surgery, most NHS numbers, and other large companies with nothing insidious or underhanded to hide (although I see why debt collectors and their ilk may do so).

In this day and age of caller display, and most peoples phones set to either not allow with-held numbers (including mine), or people call screening and not picking up with-held numbers, why do they continue the practice? Apart from if you have to contact someone who could harass/threaten you if they had your number (ex, abusive family member, etc.) why would you with-hold your number to all and sundry, if you are someone with a genuine reason to need to get hold of them?

Or should we all hide our numbers and make it into a kind of Russian Roulette of answer/not answer?

Interested in other peoples take on this, especially the issue of large companies/public sector with-holding their number.

[BabyOrSanta]

I work in back office retail.
When they upgraded our phone system it automatically did this and took a while to make us show up again (after many people complained).
I think in some companies/sectors it may just come as standard with no thought.

[MatildaTheCat]

Hospitals do so for privacy reasons. Unfortunately it results in a lot of important calls going unanswered.

[DunkMeInTomatoSoup]

Because the outward call centre isnt the same numebr as the customer service inwards department number and they dont want to be ironically spammed by complaints?

[Glumglowworm]

I work for a large company that does this but I don't know why

If I have to call someone whose phone won't accept withheld calls there's a number I can press before I dial to unwithhold it (that I have to google every time ).

I did once get an answerphone message that was a guy ranting about people calling from withheld numbers and how he would report us to the police.... same message happened when I dialled from an unwithheld number so I think he was just a crackpot

(My company is legitimate, we don't do sales or upselling or cold calling, I only call people relating to their account, almost always because they've contacted us first)

[BenLui]

I presume it’s so that you call back to the central switch board/call centre number rather than to the desk phone of whoever called you.

[SerJorahsWhore]

Dds' school have a private number. Dd2 was sick a few weeks back so they rang me. I was driving so by the time I'd pulled over and got my phone out it had gone off. Obviously I didn't know who it was so couldn't ring back. So started driving again and after a few minutes started again. Repeat of before. (Remember I don't know who it is ringing) I ended up parking up waiting to see if it'd ring again. Had they had their number available I could have just rang them back.

[APairofScarletSequinedWings]

Dunkme & Glowworm, I get that it's a system that's generally automated, but as pointed out, most of them have the facility to press a number to display.

Matilda the cat, this is the thing, isn't it? People are missing important calls because they don't want unwanted callers spamming them, and lose the vital calls in the process. I can't help thinking that if TPS worked properly, and included 'surveys' in the rules, then fewer people would bar with-held numbers. It was certainly a factor with me, because I seemed to get every 'accident' and 'PPI' company going, and ticking the 'NO third party' box on websites when registering doesn't really work, either.

It's easy to block individual numbers these days, too, so maybe all companies should not be able to hide their number, and anyone who doesn't want their calls can just ignore/bar theirs, rather than needing the blanket ban of all with-held numbers?

[APairofScarletSequinedWings]

Serjorahs, yep, had that, too. Waiting for a number that was going to show as private, didn't get to the phone in time, and couldn't call back as no number. That was when I had a phone that didn't block, so unwanted callers whose numbers showed up were just named 'Ignore'!