Editing Last-call return

{{Short description|Feature giving details of the last call}}
{{redirect2|Call Return|Star 69||Star 69 (disambiguation)}}
{{use American English|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
'''Last-call return''', '''automatic recall''', or (on [[private branch exchange|PBX]] and [[centrex]] service) '''camp-on''', is a [[telecommunication]] feature offered by [[telephony]] [[service provider]]s to subscribers to provide the subscriber with the [[telephone number]], and sometimes the time, of the last caller. The service may also offer the facility to place a call to the [[calling party]].

The general public tends to refer to the service by the [[telephone feature code]], the telephone number it has in their country; for example, in North America, this is ''*69'', while in the UK, it is called ''1471''. ''[[The New York Times]]'' described '''Call Return''' in 1992 as a new service.<ref name=CallRetNYT1992>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
   |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/28/nyregion/phone-company-introduces-call-return-quietly.html
   |title=Phone Company Introduces Call Return, Quietly
   |author=Linda Saslow  |date=June 28, 1992 |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> It can be paid for per-call or subscribed to monthly.<ref name=CallRetNYT1992/>

{{Listen
| filename = Star69.ogg
| title = Example of Last-call return from Verizon Home Phone Service
| description = Last-call return (with a fake [[NANP]] number, 987-654-3210). Voiced by [[Pat Fleet]].
}}

==Feature code==
The number for this facility varies with country and provider:
* [[United States]] and [[Canada]]: [[Vertical service code]] *69; 1169 on [[rotary dial|rotary phone]]/[[pulse dial]] telephones. The prompt voice behind most U.S. [[AT&T Inc.|AT&T]] implementations of this feature is [[Pat Fleet]]. Where available, it is offered on a per-call charge (typically 50¢)  or an unlimited-use monthly subscription for a few dollars. 
* [[Australia]]: *10# for [[Telstra]] services<ref>Telstra [http://www.telstra.com.au/homephone/features_services/call_return.html "Telstra Home Phones and Plans – Call Return"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314000130/http://www.telstra.com.au/homephone/features_services/call_return.html |date=14 March 2011 }}</ref> or *69 on [[Optus]] HFC Telephony network.<ref>Optus [http://personal.optus.com.au/web/ocaportal.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=Template_wRHS&FP=/personal/customerhelp/producthelp/homephonehelp/homephonehowtoguides/usingcallreturn&site=personal "Optus Personal – Using Call Return"]</ref> This only allows one to return the last unanswered call, and can cost 35 cents per use.
* [[France]]: 3131
* [[Israel]]: *42
* [[Japan]]: 1361 to get number, 1363 to call back.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/release/0007/000717b.html |title=NewsRelease |website=NTT East |access-date=20 June 2013}} {{cite web |url=http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/denwa/service/136/gaiyou.html |title=Number OSIRASE 136 |website=NTT West |access-date=20 June 2013}}</ref>
* [[United Kingdom]]: 1471 (also used in [[Gibraltar]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Isle of Man]], [[Channel Islands]], and the [[Falkland Islands]])

In the UK, after dialing 1471, the caller can press "3" to automatically return the call. Previously free, since August 2004 the return call service incurs a charge.

The service provider may also offer a facility by which the calling party can prevent their number being revealed to the called party, either permanently or on a per-call basis. This is achieved by prefixing the dialed number with:
* Australia: 1831 on landlines and mobile phones, or #31# from a mobile<ref>{{cite web|title=HOW TO: block your number when calling someone|url=https://exchange.telstra.com.au/how-to-block-your-number-when-calling-someone/|website=Telstra Exchange|publisher=Telstra|access-date=28 May 2017}}</ref>
* United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, and Channel Islands: 141 on landlines and #31# on mobiles <!-- on landlines, and #31# on mobile phones -->
* United States: *67
* Sweden: #31#

Conversely, to send the caller number on a line where the number is normally withheld, the following prefixes can be dialed:
* Australia: 1832 on landlines, or *31# from a mobile
* Ireland: 142
* United Kingdom: 1470 (also used in Gibraltar and the Channel Islands)
* United States: *82
* Philippines *999
In Gibraltar and formerly in Ireland, [[Silent number|ex-directory]] or unlisted numbers are withheld by default.

In [[Germany]], most contemporary telephones have a specific button functioning as call return, which is an internal function of the telephone itself (the number of the last caller is stored inside the phone at the time of that last call) and thus doesn't have a numeric code.

In [[Communications in Canada|Canada]], the feature is commonly marketed by telephone companies as a combination of two features:
* '''Call again''', a form of [[automatic ring back]], allows a caller, on reaching a [[busy signal]], to hang up, dial a special code, and be called back automatically when the called number is no longer busy, usually with a limit of 30 minutes.
* '''Call return''' allows a customer to dial a code that identifies the last incoming call. On some types of central office equipment, it announces the number and offers the call-back option; on others, it simply attempts a connection without an announcement.

==See also==
* [[Vertical service code]]
* {{portal-inline|Telephones}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last-Call Return}}
[[Category:Teletraffic]]
[[Category:Telephone service enhanced features]]
[[Category:Calling features]]