Private Numbers: What They Mean for your Business

How does using a private number affect your business?

Customers will feel wary when called by unknown numbers. Although calling from a mobile number or standard area code may look unprofessional compared to Freephone numbers like 0800 business numbers, it may still be better than using a ‘No Caller ID’ number.

These private numbers can also be associated with scammers and bad business, and could affect your business negatively by damaging brand image and giving you a higher volume of call rejections.

There are some reasons to use private numbers for your business. For example, they can be helpful if you use your personal mobile and you don’t want people contacting you out of hours, or if you run a customer service line and don’t want people ringing back and engaging the line. However, even in these cases, you should be prepared for a higher rejection rate for your calls.

How Virtual Landline can help

With a Virtual Landline number, you won’t need to use private numbers. Simply choose a number that suits you, and whenever a customer or potential customer rings your business the call will divert to your own landline or mobile number. This way, you’ll have a number that best represents your business, and you’ll no longer need to advertise your personal number. 

You can also benefit from a variety of pro features that will further improve your communication system, such as auto attendant, whisper tone and more. Learn more about how Virtual Landline works, read why you should choose Virtual Landline and view our case studies for real-life success stories.

View our tariffs for a deal that best suits you and get free £5 call credit on us.

Alternatives to using private numbers 

We offer a variety of virtual numbers that you can use as an alternative to private numbers. Local numbers give the impression that you have a presence in a particular city while allowing you to run your business from anywhere in the world. We have local numbers available for a variety of UK locations, including London - see how local numbers can benefit your business today.

We also offer 0330 and 0800 numbers, which are great for increasing your volume of incoming calls. See how 0330 or 0800 numbers can impact your business.

And if you’re looking for customers to remember you, take a look at our Golden numbers: when used in conjunction with a good marketing campaign, their success can be phenomenal!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us - we’ll be happy to help you expand your business and boost your sales. Sign up to the best UK virtual landline service today.

Private number FAQs

How do you block private numbers?

On most phones, you can find an option in settings (under call rejection or call options) that allows you to block private numbers. Look for the ‘auto reject list’ in your settings - from there you should be able to block any unknown numbers.

How do you call through a private number?

To block an individual call in the UK, dial the prefix 141 (in the USA, the prefix is 67) before the recipient’s number and then ring as normal. This will hide your number from the recipient, so that it shows up as something like 'No Caller ID' on their phone. Bear in mind, though, that this will only hide your number for this one particular call'; you'll need to repeat the same process each time you want to block your number.

How do you hide calls from a mobile?

On most mobile phones, you'll be able to change the settings so that your number is hidden each time you make a call. While the process is likely to vary from phone to phone, many will have an option like 'hide my number', 'restrict my identity' or something similar. On lots of smartphones, you can choose to save your settings to make your number private on all calls going forward; change your settings as and when it's appropriate.

Are there more ways to block your number?

You may also be able to contact your mobile provider and ask them to adjust your preferences.