Sometimes it happens … usually at the worst possible time.
Your battery is flat
You left your phone somewhere
You’re in an area where there is no coverage or the local mast has a temporary problem
giffgaff has a nifty feature that can take care of that … Divert on Not Reachable.
You can divert to a landline or another mobile. The codes you need to know are:
To set up a diversion to 01234 567890 you would dial **62*01234567890#
There’s one small snag. How are you going to set up Divert on Not Reachable when your battery is flat, you’ve left your phone somewhere or you’re in an area with no coverage ?
The answer is simple – don’t wait until you have the problem. Do it now !
[EDIT] There is now an idea at https://labs.giffgaff.com/idea/16709084/be-able-to-set-divert-on-not-reachable-via-the-web-sit to be able to set Divert on Not Reachable from the web site so that it can be set from another phone. desktop browser or wifi even when your service is already down.
The next question is where to divert to. Maybe the home landline, or the office number if its a dedicated number for you. If you choose a mobile, its best if its on a different network (ie, not o2/tesco/giffgaff). Carrying a spare sim for another network is always a good idea – and this is the way you can continue to receive calls if you need to use it.
You may want to change the divert destination occasionally. For example, when going on holiday, the home or office phone may no longer be the best divert destination. Again, you’ll have to change this in advance if the intention is to protect you against the suggested circumstances.
Some things to know …
Unlike voicemail, your callers should not be charged for a wasted call if the number diverted to is not answered.
But … if you answer the diverted call, you’ll be paying for the diverted part of the call – it will cost you the same as if you dialled the diversion destination from your giffgaff phone, so it will take either minutes from your goodybag or use PAYG credit. For most people, that’s preferable to losing the call. If the call is going to take more than a minute or two, you can always call them back from the other phone.
[EDIT to ADD]:
Since February, all goodybags have unlimited minutes, and therefore it costs nothing for anybody with a goodybag to divert calls to a standard rate UK number. But PAYG users would be paying 25p per minute for the diversion. So if you don’t have a goodybag, consider getting at least the £6 goodybag. Or, hang up those calls and call them back by a cheaper method.
