to be fed up with schools 'withholding' their number

[bigbird2003]

I deal with 3 schools and everyone of them withhold their numbers. If I am working, driving or shopping unless it's important or I know who is calling I will leave it til later

Why?? Do they have something to hide, do they use the phone to play prank calls?

And then they never leave a message and when finally get hold of me, say how hard I am to track down!

No, come up on my phone who you are and I will answer or phone you back when it's convenient

If the call comes from a biggish computer network, eg one with lots of extensions, it never seems to come up with the number - happens if I phone from work, or if DH phones from his work. So it may not be intentional. Though the not leaving a message obviously is.

I was going to say that Jackie - a lot of PABX networks with-hold the number, not sure the technical reason why but it isn;t deliberate.

It's probably because they have several extensions that calls can be made from but only one number - so if you were to ring 1471 and call back, the office wouldn't know who had tried to call you or why ... so wouldn't be able to help you anyway.

Our local hospital had to permanently withold their number because the switchboard was forever getting people doing 1471 and ringing them back - and the receptionists hadn't got a clue who had tried to call them.

It's the system, not the school.

If DH rings me from work it never leaves the number either, even his work's mobile doesn't list.

Its the system, something to do with automatic switch board, trouble is some people (won't say who as I will be jumped on again) get suspicious of these phone calls where the number appears to be withheld if they call 1471 and arrange so their phone won't accept calls unless the number can be 1471'd.

It means that if a hospital has to call them about an urgent medical problem then the call cannot get through (have to go through operator in this case)