Hi everyone I know similar questions have been asked before and I have read as much as I can.

I am looking for a service that I can use for calling the UK and that service will allocate me a UK number that I can pass onto my banks in the UK. I have been locked out of 2 accounts (one recently changed their system without telling customers) and can't get in because I can't receive the SMS which I have an old UK number registered with them (which no longer works).

Ideally I am looking for services that you can add credit and you can carry forward your credit month to month without losing it so I don't have to pay any monthly fees just add credit when needed. I have read that Skype may be the answer but I'm interested in those that definitely allocate you a UK number, reliability and of course cheap and keeps your credit until it's used. I will rarely use it it's really only to get around the bank problems and to get the SMS pass codes.

By the way I am already expecting lots of problems and know that I have to call at least 2 of them. One apparently takes one hour to answer the phone. Once I can get access I'm shifting my money out of their accounts they have been very unhelpful 🙄🤬

Thank you in advance to all those answering and offering your advice 🙏🏼👍🏼🇹🇭

UPDATE:

Well here is my update for those interested and anyone who may come across this searching for the same.

I ended up finding a fair few solutions all providing various options at various prices so it entirely depends on how you intend to use a provider. For me I'll always use free apps such as WhatsApp to make calls home so I only ever wanted to be able to call banks, possibly some businesses and receive bank OTP codes.

I have compiled a list of the best I found in case I eventually need a back up or to change service.

I found and decided on Vyke in the end (also suggested by someone else in this thread) but it wasn't without initial problems and frustration which was eventually resolved. The problem was that you need to actually have + symbol before the number (something that wasn't explained to me by technical support over an entire day of emails bouncing back and forth!). A lot of the time you see international numbers presented as 0044 or +44 and then the number just dropping the '0'. However the software's keypad doesn't easily present you with the + sign in fact when you press on it you get a ZERO. So I was constantly entering 0044, 044 and with or without the '0' because I couldn't get it to work. The keypad ONLY recognises the actual + symbol and it won't work when entering 0044 etc. The way to get the + symbol (which I only discovered after tech support finally sent me an example showing one of the numbers I was trying to call) was to press and hold down on the + symbol. It then put it into the number line. This was a simple error that took an entire day to resolve all because tech support were unable to give sensible instructions.

When I complained to them they tried to say it was common knowledge that this is how it works on Android phones. Well excuse me but how many of us need to phone home when we are more likely to use something like WhatsApp? I was relying on memory from years ago I can't remember the last time I needed to call home whilst away.

Another thing one person at tech support who I got lumbered with all day was to accuse me of dialling +66 when trying to call the UK. Even after telling her I never once entered +66 she still didn't believe me because the logs showed this..obviously another glitch that their software can show this! I found her attitude really annoying and frustrating but I had previously and since messaged others in tech support who were very good so I think it depends who you get like most companies. They did eventually say that they will try to include instructions in the FAQ's.

I did eventually do a test call and got through to my sister in the UK.

That all happened yesterday so today armed with the knowledge of how to put in the + symbol which I realised myself by experimenting I decided to call two of my banks that I had locked me out of my account.

I started with Virgin because I thought that they would be the worse and take the longest call (I was worried about running out of credit 555). They were surprisingly very good. The line was very clear and the staff I dealt with excellent. It took about 15 minutes to get through to someone (I expected an hour after reading something online). Everything was dealt with reasonably easy after going through security and they updated my number and allowed me to access my account whilst still online. During this process I needed to receive the dreaded OTP code and it came through immediately via the app. It doesn't show for long but I later realised they sit in the list of notifications so it's easy to see it later. I have to say I was relieved to see my money again and have access!

I then called the second bank First Direct. The line wasn't great but having called Virgin where it was crystal clear I put this down to First Direct rather than Vyke. Regardless it was good enough to get the job eventually done. First Direct were appalling speaking to me in a condescending way (you know those types that speak to you like you are a child!) and just about everything with them was a pain in the arse. I was on the phone to them for over one hour it took about 28 minutes just to go through security! I was so sick of them I got transferred to a manager (who was useless and just as annoying!) and then onto someone to close my account with them. Thankfully after gritting my teeth for more than an hour my account with them was closed and I had my money transferred to another account. You know that saying good riddance to bad rubbish well this is perfectly apt for First Direct. Interestingly and god knows how they have an excellent reputation for customer service on Trusted Pilot and MSE Martin Lewis recommends them for that reason. My experience has been entirely different and I will be slagging them off on Trusted Pilot when I get the chance.

So in essence Vyke is good once you know how to use it. You can set up voicemail and decide if you are available or not. Calling out is good the quality of calls to my sister and Virgin were excellent. The SMS is instant so great for the OTP. Cost wise it's extremely cheap. I have paid $5.99 for 3 months (12 months is only $15) and call costs are around 1.5 p per minute to UK landlines 3p to mobiles. All said it's very cost effective and similar charges for anywhere in the world. Not sure why it's in $ as it's based in London. I put a $15 credit on to pay for the 3 months and some call credit and that converted to a little over £11. I still have just over $6 credit left after the 3 calls and it's unlikely I'll need to call anyone again for a long time so I just need to renew the contract in 3 months and next time pay for 12 months. I am pretty sure from my research this is the cheapest I found on the market.

If you call regularly others may work out better as I said I made a list if anyone wants it PM me.

Hope I haven't bored you all to death but hopefully the information will stop people wasting a day of their life 555

Good luck what ever you choose and thank you to everyone for your help and suggestions much appreciated.

🙏🏼👍🏼🤞🏼