Fuss Free Phones Partners With Rnib To Help Blind People Stay Connected

LONDON - June 14, 2016 - PRLog -- Vision UK - Fuss Free Phones, the UK's only personal mobile phone service, today announces a partnership with RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People), the UK's leading sight loss charity.  Together, they will provide a mobile phone handset and service that offers independence for people with sensory loss.

Fuss Free Phones is the only personal mobile phone company offering a combined handset and friendly human telephonist service to help people with sight loss stay in touch and enjoy all the benefits of a mobile phone. Users can press the big button on the fuss-free handset to speak to a friendly local telephonist who manages customers' phone books, places calls, filters incoming calls, sends and reads text messages and finds information on the internet.

"As traditional phones become more technically developed, they can become less user friendly for sensory impaired people. For example, Siri is a great innovation but is hard to use for people who are both elderly and experiencing sight loss," said Simon Rockman, founder at Fuss Free Phones. "We are thrilled to be working with RNIB to help blind and partially sighted people communicate using all the same channels that fully sighted people do."

"Graham Barry, Senior Product Manager at RNIB, said: "We are excited that our customers are now able to buy one of our most popular mobile phones, Doro 612 PhoneEasy, loaded with the Fuss Free Phones telephonist service. Fuss Free Phones serves as a personal concierge service and you can also opt to only receive calls from the numbers on your list. We hope this new product will help people feel more confident in using their mobile phones."

By managing a call list for all customers, Fuss Free Phones' telephonists ensure only genuine calls are put through and unwanted calls and texts are blocked, mitigating nuisance calls.

"Before I had Fuss Free Phones I had to use my own directory. Because I couldn't see properly, a friend gave me an enormous magnifying glass. This worked well for a while but as my eyesight deteriorated I needed a different way to contact people," said Mary Beskeen, a Fuss Free Phones customer. "Now, all I have to do is pick up the phone, tell the telephonist who I want to speak with and be put through. Now I have over 200 people in my contact list and getting through to them is so easy."

RNIB customers can order a Fuss Free Phones handset and SIM card through the RNIB online shop, by calling RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 and through RNIB's eleven resource centres across the UK. For more information please visit http://shop.rnib.org.uk/accessible-technology/telephones-...

About Fuss Free Phones

Founded in 2013, Fuss Free Phones is the UK's only personal mobile phone service combining a handset with an around-the-clock live telephonist to help people stay in touch and protect them from nuisance calls. Available 24/7, customers can press the big button on our fuss-free handset to speak with a friendly local telephonist who will place calls, filter incoming calls, send and read text messages and find information on the internet. Fuss Free Phones encourages independence for our customers and offers peace of mind for friends and family. For more information, visit www.fussfreephones.com/costs.

About RNIB

Every 15 minutes, someone in the UK begins to lose their sight. We are the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and we're here for everyone affected by sight loss - that's almost 2 million people in the UK. If you, or someone you know, has a sight problem, RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk

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NOTES TO EDITORS

1) Hardware: The product handset is Doro 612 PhoneEasy

2) Pricing: Fuss Free Phones are affordable and have a low monthly subscription. The Retail Price (Phone only) for a Fuss Free Phone is £66.67 ex VAT or £80.00 inc VAT. There are three subscription options available:

-1 month at the cost of £16.67 ex VAT or £20.00 inc VAT

- 6 months at the cost of £99.00 ex VAT or  £118.80 inc VAT

-12 months at the cost of £179.00 ex VAT or £214.80 inc VAT

Users can call the Fuss Free Phones call centre as many times as they like, 24 hours a day.

3) What are the benefits of having a real live telephonist?

a)        It saves programming the phone address book or remembering or writing down numbers. You simply ask for the person you want and get put through.

b)        Because Fuss Free Phones has your call list, you can opt to only receive calls from the numbers on your list. The call centre answers and screens any other calls. If it's a PPI call they reject it, if it's your optician they put the call through.

c)         Blind people can now communicate by text message! The telephonist will send messages on your behalf and if you receive a text response they will call and read it to you.

d)        The telephonist can look up phone numbers, addresses and other information on the internet for you.

e)        If you are in trouble or need help, they can be a line of support and can connect you to emergency services and message your children or friends.

4) Are customers tied into a contract?

A. There is no contract, it's a pay monthly service. For anyone needing to stop the services, Fuss Free Phones will cancel from the next monthly billing period, even if they have purchased for six months or a year.