[affiliate]
Have you ever been at a festival or event when you’ve lost your phone or your battery dies, you’ve also lost your friends, and you don’t know anyone’s numbers off by heart? We’ve all had those moments of desperation where you just need to get hold of someone to let them know and make a plan, but are unable to do so. I’ve even resorted to writing numbers on my arms in permanent marker which, spoiler alert, still rubs off in sweaty/muddy festival weather. Thankfully a new service has been launched that makes these disasters a thing of the past, and it doesn’t rely on 3G/4G/5G phone data so is perfect for when you’re stuck in a field. I’m excited to introduce you to 0800PHONEHOME.
0800PHONEHOME launched in the UK in June 2021 and is the first of its kind in the UK, and as far as they’re aware, the world.
The service allows members to access and call their contacts from any phone in the UK – mobile, landline or payphone – and is for those occasions when we’ve forgotten our mobiles, the battery has died or the handset is lost, broken or stolen.
The service was launched by 2 friends, David Butler and Alex Clarke, from an idea by David: “As a dad of 2 teenage girls, I wondered what my daughters would do if they were out with their friends and they couldn’t use their phone. How would they call someone if they needed to? For that matter, what would I do?”
How does 0800PhoneHome work?
Members sign up for the service and store their top 5 contact details (name & number) in their online account. Then, if their mobile is inaccessible, they can dial 0800PhoneHome from any phone in the UK, enter their own mobile number and 4-digit PIN and select from a menu any of their stored contacts. The service will then dial the contact and put them straight through – all from the same call.
You can change the 5 contacts that the service stores easily by logging in to the website. So you can log in and change the numbers to people you are attending the festival with! (plus maybe one person who’s still at home just in case! 😉)
The service provides a real benefit to anyone with a mobile phone for those occasions when that mobile is out of action: “The proliferation of mobiles has brought many benefits to us as users, but one drawback is that nobody knows anyone’s numbers off by heart – they’re all stored in our mobiles” pointed out David, “When those mobiles are out of action we can’t contact anyone in an emergency”.
Instead of having to memorise several different mobile numbers, members just have to remember a simple name, 0800PHONEHOME, to be able to call their contacts from anywhere, anytime. The service works from any UK mobile phone, landline or payphone. As it’s an 0800 number the call is free to the phone owner so you can borrow a friend’s mobile, a landline in the office or out at a restaurant, even a stranger’s phone in a festival field! If you use a payphone you won’t need any change.
How much does this awesome service cost?
0800PhoneHome NORMALLY costs just £2.99 a year for a single account, or £9.99 for a family of 4, but I’ve partnered with them to offer Where’s My Tent? readers a discount.
You can sign up today on this link or with code WMT2021 for just £1.99!
Members buy a modest amount of Call Tokens when they set up the account and these are deducted to cover the cost of any calls made. 15 call tokens cost just £3 and never expire. So for only £4.99 today you can sign up and ensure that you won’t get caught short this summer, at festivals or wherever else you may be!
“We wanted to keep prices as low as possible to keep the service available for everybody. The service isn’t for everyday use but for those maybe 1 or 2 occasions a year when you can’t use your mobile but really need to contact someone – we wanted the pricing to reflect that” – David Butler
I’ve partnered with 0800PHONEHOME because I do truly believe this is an excellent service at a really good price that is perfect for festival goers but also is just a great safety feature for general life! I have had COUNTLESS moments where my phone has died, my battery pack is not working/I’ve lost it, and I’m stood in a field just waiting and hoping I’ll spot someone I know… Or I’ve had to head back to the tent and just wait until friends turn up, wasting valuable festival hours. There have even been times I’ve been picked up after a festival by friends or my parents, and without my phone I have no idea where to meet them or when exactly they have gotten through traffic. Being able to access 5 contacts by borrowing a phone from someone would be invaluable at that moment in time!
The 0800PHONEHOME service provides an invaluable safety net for all of us, making sure we’re never out of contact from those closest to us.
[The links on this page are Affiliate Links, meaning wheresmytent.com will receive a small compensation from every sign up, however as mentioned this is a service I truly believe in, have paid and signed up for myself, and am recommending to friends]