Frequently Asked Questions


Welcome to the FAQ centre. This section aims to help you with all those questions you may be asking about the Contact Box service. You may wish to view our user guide here

Is the Contact Box service free? | Back to Menu

Contact Box offers a number of free services in one package. There is no set-up fee and no monthly charges. You access the Internet at local call rates, and have unlimited Internet access, unlimited e-mail accounts, 25 Mb free web space and Full Newsgroup Access. This free Internet access service and the e-mail account that is opened is always free.

In addition to the Free Internet access you also get the option of having a free 'Follow Me' Personal Number through which you can have fax and voice calls forwarded to a UK number of your choice anytime, or messages can be received in the Contact Box system and forwarded to your e-mail or retrieved by phone or fax.

How is Contact Box different to other Free ISP's? | Back to Menu

Contact Box gives you the best value offering in the market. Not only do you get Internet access at local call rates, with no monthly fee Contact Box also gives you unlimited e-mails and 25 Mb of free web space (few Free ISP's do)., and high speed Internet access to ensure you have fast Internet connections. This alone represents a better offering than the majority of ISP's.

On top of this you also get as a free additional option of a 'Follow me' Personal Number linked to your Contact Box e-mail account. This enables you to have your calls 'follow you', or sent to your Contact Box where you can receive voice and fax messages.

No other ISP comes close to giving this level of quality and value.

Who should sign up with Contact Box? | Back to Menu

Absolutely everyone.

Will I receive the same type of Internet access as other ISPs that may charge a monthly fee? | Back to Menu

Unless another ISP is giving you a specific service that you are paying for - Contact Box offers a service that is superior to most ISP's. Every Contact Box FREE account comes with UNLIMITED E-mail Addresses, 25 Web Space with FTP access and gives you access to the World Wide Web and Newsgroups. However in addition you get the option of free voice mail and fax linked to your e-mail, and a free personal number, and 'follow me' facilities.

What is a 'follow me' Personal Number? | Back to Menu

A 'follow me' Personal Number is one you can redirect. So you never miss any calls or messages you can divert calls to your Contact Box number to any UK non-premium rate number of your choice - so your calls 'follow you'. Alternatively calls can be diverted to your Contact Box and you can then view and listen to your messages from your e-mail (see User Guide).

How much do calls to Contact Box numbers cost? | Back to Menu

A. Contact Box offers two types on numbers - 0870 and 0702. Calls to 0870 numbers are charged at national rate 8ppm (pence per minute) daytime, 4.2ppm after 6 p.m., 3ppm weekends.

Calls to 0702 numbers are charged at 37.5ppm daytime, 25ppm after 6 p.m., 12.5ppm weekends.

What is the difference between and 0870 and an 070 number? | Back to Menu

The main difference is in the call charges. With 070 you can divert calls to your home, office or mobile, and any other non-premium rate UK number. This feature is not available with 0870 numbers.

Is there a limit on the number of messages I can receive? | Back to Menu

Contact Box offers you the option of forwarding all faxes and voice messages to your e-mail address. It also allows you to retrieve voice messages by phone, and fax messages by fax direct from the main Contact Box server.

When you first get your Contact Box all messages and faxes are automatically sent to your e-mail address and are not held on the Contact Box server (and therefore cannot be accessed by phone or fax). In this mode there is no limit to the number of messages you can receive.

If you choose to have messages and faxes also held on the Contact Box server so you can access remotely by phone and fax - an option which you can set up - see Update Box Settings - then there is a limit of 30 messages (fax and Voice) that will be stored on the server.

I already have voice mail/fax software on my PC why do I need a Contact Box? | Back to Menu

Contact Box offers a number of advantages over your PC. Usually you will need a extra phone line - not required with Contact Box. Also to receive messages on your PC it needs to be on all the time. Contact Box can receive calls 24 hours a day. With your PC receiving messages you have to get to your PC to retrieve messages, with Contact Box you can receive messages from your e-mail account on any PC connected to the Internet. In addition your Contact Box number can be set up to divert calls to wherever you are.

Can I use my existing phone number to link to Contact Box? | Back to Menu

Yes. You can forward calls to your number from your existing Contact Box number. You can then have all the advantages of Contact Box's call redirection capability and message handling.

Can I use my existing e-mail address to link to Contact Box? | Back to Menu

Yes. You can pay a nominal fee to have the Contact Box service set up with your existing e-mail - see Other Services.

Will I be able to send and retrieve attachments? | Back to Menu

Yes, using Contact Box as your Internet Service Provider means you gain all the benefits of all Internet Service Providers facilities, including a POP3 mailbox . All voice or fax messages can be sent to your E-mail account as attachments, you can either look at these in third party programs such as Microsoft Outlook Express.

What about Privacy? | Back to Menu

Safeguarding your privacy is extremely important to us. Contact Box collects the minimum amount of Information necessary to operate this service. See our Full Privacy Statement.

Is it easy to send mail to other Contact Box Users? | Back to Menu

Just address your e-mail message as you usually do to username@contactbox.co.uk

What connection speeds do you offer, and can I connect if I have a Apple Mac or Amiga? | Back to Menu

Contact Box offers connections for V32, K56Flex, V90, 64K and 128K ISDN modem types. The services is totally compatible with Windows 3.11, 95, 98, NT, Apple Macs and Amiga Workbench OS.

Is there any technical support? | Back to Menu

Connect Box offers telephone technical support at £1 a minute on a premium rate number 09069 60 59 58, e-mail support is free and available by sending an e-mail to support@contactbox.co.uk Contact Box also offers comprehensive technical support on this site - see User Guide.

How can you give all this? | Back to Menu

Contact Box using leading edge technology to bridge Internet and telecommunications services in a way that is far more efficient that any other comparable technologies. Contact Box makes a small profit on calls on the local rate 0845 numbers and the Contact Box numbers.

When I receive voice mail or faxes into my Contact Box e-mail account what exactly do I receive? | Back to Menu

You receive voice or fax messages as an attachments in an e-mail forwarded to your account. It is not cut down but is the original version of the message you receive - all the audio, and the complete fax - with all graphics.

Note: In order to listen to our .vox format files, you first need to install the Contact Box Media Player. This will set-up the .vox file association on your system to use our player.

How big are the Contact Box Audio Files? | Back to Menu

.vox files in terms of file size are very comparable to Real Audio files, this being nearly a tiny 1k per sec. So working this out 30 seconds of audio is around 30k, which would take most modems around 5-15 seconds to download.

How do I remove the Contact Box Info pane in OE5?  | Back to Menu

If you require to remove the Contact Box Logo within Outlook Express 5 to increase your screen working area (useful for 14" Inch monitor users), then Go to View Menu, then selected the Layout Option and finally uncheck Info Pane box.

 

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