General FAQs

Where the Services involve the supply of VOIP services, then it is agreed that the following shall apply and the customer accepts that:

(a) the customer’s ability to make emergency calls and their priority treatment cannot be guaranteed and that any suspension or interruption of the VOIP service may result in the customer being unable to make emergency calls;

(b) if the customer experiences a power cut, the customer will not be able to access emergency services using VOIP and should ensure they have alternative means for access to emergency services.

(c) it must, prior to activation, register with Focus Group the principal fixed location(s) for use of VOIP outbound calls and update that information with Focus Group if there is any change to this principal location, or if any new locations are to be added.

(d) the VOIP services are generally not considered to be as reliable as calls made over conventional telephone lines and customers are advised to maintain the ability to make telephone calls other than through a VOIP system;

(e) the customer acknowledges that the VOIP service may sometimes be limited, unavailable or interrupted due to events beyond Focus Group's control, such as those specified in clause 18.1 (force majeure); and

(f) the VOIP services may not offer all of the features or resilience that the customer may expect from a conventional telephone line

999/112 calls functionality:

For technical reasons, the functionality of 999/112 VoIP emergency calls may not be available or be curtailed in various circumstances, including but not limited to:

Broadband connection - the quality and speed of the broadband connection and other usage on the broadband connection.

Power Failure - the Service will not function in the event of a power failure.

Equipment Failure - if your system access equipment fails or is not configured correctly, or if your VoIP service is not functioning correctly for any reason, including VoIP service outage, suspension or disconnection of your service due to billing issues, network or Internet congestion, or network or Internet outage. In the event of a power, network or Internet outage; you may need to reset or reconfigure the system access equipment before being able to use the VoIP service, including for 999/112 emergency calls, changing location - if you move your system access equipment to a location other than that described in your account information or otherwise on record with (company name).

If your agreement with Focus Group has ended and you do not have a live service 999/112 emergency calls will not be available

If you have an interruption of your service and you believe you are a vulnerable person or have no access to an alternative method (such as a mobile telephone) to connect to emergency services please let our Support Team know.

Your first invoice will include charges for part of the month when your Line transferred to Focus Group as well as the current month and your advance charge. From then on you will just receive the charge for the advance line rental.

Rather than offer call bundle packages filled with small print and unexpected charges, Focus Group offer low and transparent pence per minute rates to our customers.

Toll Fraud (also known as dial-through fraud) is becoming increasingly common in the UK. It occurs when someone 'hack' into your telephone system, ISDN, analogue lines, SIP lines, or Network with the specific intention of running up very large bills. This goes completely undetected and the only time you will know about it is when you receive your next phone bill.

Many people may have heard of Toll Fraud but mistakenly believe that it does not happen in the UK. In fact the UK is one of the top 5 countries in the world where toll fraud occurs and 40% of companies have been hit at some point. It is believed that Toll Fraud actually costs UK businesses £1.3 to £1.5 billion per annum and this figure is set to rise more and more. No company or organisation is immune; high profile victims include the Department of Homeland Security and Scotland Yard. Professional criminals set up powerful auto diallers to randomly search for telephone system passwords or public IP addresses which when hacked allow access into the voicemail boxes, lines or SIP Trunks which then dial out repeatedly on your lines to a premium number, or pre sold expensive destinations which over the course of a weekend, overnight, or Bank Holiday can run up tens of thousands of pounds of calls on your account which you will, by law, be liable for.

Please take note of the below points:

1) Change all your passwords regularly and make sure they are not default passwords. This includes Network, Systems, Routers, Modems, and Computers.

2) Ensure that every mailbox on your voicemail system has a secure password, not a default one.

3) Disable all Conference facilities if you don't use this function, or regularly change the access code.

4) Be aware that SIP trunks are particularly susceptible via the public IP addresses attached to the Telephone System or your Computer network.

5) Be aware that you are responsible for the security of your lines, your telephone systems and your Computer network and for any calls charged to your account as a result of hacking.

6) Bank holidays and weekends are a favourite time for Hackers to try and access your systems.

Focus Group has taken steps to protect our clients from what has become a significant risk. Our Lines and Hosted Solutions are now available with a fraud protection service called SafeGuard that could potentially save your business thousands of pounds.

Specifically we can:

• Automatically cut off any phone number with usage of over £500.*
  If your phone number spends more than £500 in 24 hours on traffic which is not UK geographic or UK mobile we will cut it off automatically (we can easily turn it on again).
• Guarantee the charge limit on any breaches*.
  If the 24 hour threshold is breached, you will not be liable for usage above £500.
• Automated notification of any cut-off *.
  In the event of any of your numbers being cut-off, we will send you an email to notify you that a block has been applied. We can then remove the block, if required.

The monthly cost of this service is just £1.49 per analogue telephone number, £1.99 per ISDN2 telephone number and £9.99 per ISDN30 telephone number.

Should you have any further questions about this service or would like to opt out, please contact the Customer Relations team.

*please see our Fraud Protection terms and conditions for further details.

If you have an issue with your service please contact our support team on 0330 024 2000. Fault reporting is available 24/7.

Openreach aim to have your fault fixed within 2 working days with the standard Care Level 2 option on lines. This lead time is subject to change due to engineering availability in the area and the complexity of the fault.

If your fault is associated with a major service outage in your area then lead times may be drastically extended depending on the work required to fix the issue. In these cases associated Care Level lead times will not apply.

If you are concerned about the lead times associated with your business lines then we can offer you enhanced Care Level options:

Care Level 3 - repair by End of Next Half Working Day (Inc Bank Holidays) Mon-Sun.

Care Level 4 provides a target 6 hour fix; this is the actual repair time and not response time, so essentially the lines can be up and running within 6 hours.

This is applicable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and includes all bank and public holidays. This is particularly good for companies that rely heavily on their phones or those that require out of office response times. Please speak to your Focus Group Account Manager to discuss the pricing on our enhanced options.

If you require a divert, please let our Focus Group support team know as soon as possible on 0330 024 2000. A charge of £5 will be applied for all diverts and is charge that is levied by BT Openreach. In some instances it will not be possible to divert your lines during the same day so please be aware of this when organising any business arrangements around a remote divert.

There is a lead time associated with all diverts which is anything up to 2 hours. Most diverts do go live within 40 minutes.

1571 is a single analogue BT messaging service. If this is something that you would like applied to your line please contact your Account Manager who will be able to confirm pricing. The lead time for this order is 1 working day. If you would like a more enhanced voicemail which allows you to personalise your mailbox greeting then BT Call Minder would be more appropriate. This service is for single analogue lines only.

If you are moving premises within the same exchange area you should be able to retain your current number. If you are moving outside your existing exchange you can still retain your number using our Inbound product. Please contact your Focus Group Account Manager to discuss your options.

Lead times for new lines depend on the line type and also the engineering availability in your area. Focus Group won't have an exact lead time for your install until we place the order. Lead times are also subject to change due to additional work that is sometimes required. These are the guidelines for new line installations:

• Analogue lines - 10 to 14 working days
• ISDN2 Circuits - 2 to 4 weeks
• ISDN30 Circuits - 6 to 8 weeks

Please note that these are guidelines only and vary according to area and availability.

Focus Group can supply, install and maintain a telephone system to suit your business’s needs. Click here to find out more about what systems we install and maintain.

Focus offer bespoke contract terms to suit your business's needs. Please contact your account manager or our customer relations department to discuss your contract terms.

Inbound is a telephony service for both geographic and non-geographic numbers that provides online access to a full range of call routing, monitoring and managing tools to empower any business with the perfect customer service.

Available as Contact Point, Contact Path and Contact Pro, Focus Group Telecom's Inbound services need no capital outlay, can be set up on the network in minutes for maximum operational flexibility, and are incredibly easy to use.

The benefits of Inbound

• Can be used with any number, anywhere, from any device - available on both geographic (01/02) and non-geographic (08/03) numbers and accessed through a secure user friendly website that can be accessed from any device
• Easy to use - the entire service is designed to be jargon free, intuitive, and enables users to become very productive, very quickly
• Immediate to set up - everything's online and directly feeds into the network giving the ability to instantly create or make changes to call plans, announcements and other features
• No capital outlay - no set up costs means that it can be funded out of operational spend, enabling quick decision making and implementation

Visit our Inbound Solutions page to find out more about how this could benefit your business.

You should have received a Welcome Letter detailing the name and contact details of your Account Manager and these details are also included on your monthly invoice. Please contact the Customer Relations department here at Focus Group, who can confirm these details.

We pride ourselves on our customer experience so if an issue arises, we would like to hear from you. Our Customer Relations team are on hand to take your call.

Go into Settings and look for Email accounts. Select add new and choose the option that best suits your Email set up (whether it is work, personal or both).

If it's a Work account, you will need to obtain the set up information from your IT department to complete or pass to them for completion.

If it's a Personal account, then enter your credentials when prompted and follow the set up procedure - you may need to speak to your ISP for additional information.

Turn off any WIFI connection and see if you can open web pages on your device over the Mobile network (3G or 4G) - if you can open a site then the problem will be with your email set up so please check your user settings with your IT company or your ISP.

In the first instance please restart the device - where possible remove the battery for a couple of minutes and then replace before restarting.

On iPhone devices, go into the Settings and switch on Airplane Mode for a few seconds and then switch Airplane Mode off again. If this doesn't work then go into Settings, General, scroll down to Reset and select Reset Network Settings only.

If neither of these works then try the SIM card in another handset where possible - if you then have signal it is most likely to be the handset that is at fault. Please contact us to discuss the warranty options.

If you have received a replacement SIM card for an existing number, then please contact us and quote the Mobile number and SIM card number you have received and we will activate it for you - this can take up to 24 hours but in most cases is a lot sooner.

If you have received a new SIM card with a new number, then generally Focus Group will have already dealt with the activation process and you may find it is already active when inserted into the handset.

Please note in either instance if you have placed the new SIM card in your device and it shows 'No Service' then please switch the handset Off and On again at regular intervals until service has resumed.

Please notify us a couple of days prior to travelling so Focus Group can lift any restrictions that may be in place. If you do not let us know and are already outside of the UK we can request that any restrictions are lifted but cannot guarantee the changes are completed as you will by that stage be on the foreign network.

Focus Group UK Pay Monthly APN Settings

Unless otherwise stated, all handsets with the exception of iPhones are supplied with a 24 month warranty with a next working day exchange for faults as a result of a manufacturers defect. Please contact your Focus Mobile Account Manager for assistance.

iPhones are supplied with the standard 12 month Apple Warranty and any faults or servicing needs during this time are directed to your nearest Apple Store, who will be able to diagnose and rectify or advise on a suitable resolution.

You should have received a Welcome Letter detailing the name and contact details of your Account Manager and these details are also included on your monthly invoice. Please contact our Customer Relations department who can confirm these details.

We pride ourselves on our customer experience so if an issue arises, we would like to hear from you. Our Customer Relations team are on hand to take your call.

If you’re thinking of joining Focus Group, we’d love to have you on board.

You will need to find out from your current provider how to give us a PAC or STAC code so we can take care of switching for you.

Please note the codes will only be valid for 30 days.

We’re sorry to hear you’re thinking of switching. If you’d like to discuss your options or see whether you’re eligible for an upgrade, please get in touch with your Account Manager

Keeping your mobile number when you move to a new network (known as ‘port number’) is something you can do by requesting your PAC code from your Account Manager. We’ll give you a Porting Authorisation Code – known as a PAC – so you can keep your number when you switch.

Once you receive your PAC you’ll need to give it to your new provider before they complete your order. This is so your number switches and you’re not billed by two providers at the same time.

PACs are valid for 30 days, which gives you lots of time to decide if leaving Focus Group is right for you.

If you wish to have a new mobile number, you’ll need to give your new provider a Service Termination Authority Code (STAC). A STAC makes sure you don’t get billed by two providers at the same time. A STAC can be requested from your account manager.

When you get your STAC, give it to your new provider before they complete your order. STACs are valid for up to 30 days.

We currently require customers to email a PAC or STAC request for account identity and security reasons. If you telephone us to request a code, we will require you to follow up with an email and will provide the information within 2 Working Days.

Where you have requested PAC or STAC via SMS, we are reliant on the timeframes of our suppliers and will respond to any request as soon as information becomes available.

If you decide not to switch, you don’t need to do anything at all – your code will just expire in 30 days. If you have any questions, just contact your Account Manager.

If you’re switching to more than one network, you can provide the same PAC or STAC code to each network. Just give them your code.

Focus Group have no set minimum or maximum user count that we will take on, however our minimum managed support agreement charge is £200.00 per month. All support agreements include remote and telephone support, server monitoring and access to our IT ticketing system. Additional bolt on services such as patch management, mail filtering and cyber security etc are available at extra charge.

In order to raise an IT support request, please compose an email to focusit@focusgroup.co.uk - in the subject line outline the issue e.g. cannot access sage, then in the body of the email explain in a bit more detail the nature and urgency of the problem along with your contact details.

Once received by us, you will be sent a confirmation that your request has been logged, at this point an operative will assess urgency of the request, assign it a priority level and allocate to a technician. The priority level will either a P1, P2, P3 or P4. Response times are 4 hours, 8 hours, 16 hours and 3 days respectively. If you feel your request has been given the wrong priority please escalate to your Focus Group account manager or call our service desk on 01273 874140.

Most organisations allow users to change their own passwords, in order to do so, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE and select 'Change a password'. If this option is not available it may be that the ability to change passwords is disabled. You will need to contact your system administrator, or, if we provide your IT support raise a ticket with our helpdesk.

Go to https://www.office.com/login and enter your email address and email password. From there, click the admin button. This will take you to your Office 365 control panel.

You should have received a Welcome Letter detailing the name and contact details of your Focus Group Account Manager and these details are also included on your monthly invoice. Please contact our Customer Relations department who can confirm these details.

We pride ourselves on our customer experience so if an issue arises, we would like to hear from you. Our Customer Relations team are on hand to take your call.

Fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) is the latest and fastest broadband solution for businesses. FTTC is being rolled out all over the country but whereas for ordinary "ADSL" broadband it was sufficient to know if your local exchange had been provisioned, with FTTC the cabinet that your line directly connects to also has to be fibre enabled. The easiest way to find out what is available to you now, or when you might be able to use this service is to contact Focus Group.

The lead times for a broadband installation can vary depending on the product and the solution you require. The normal installation time for a standard broadband connection is seven to ten working days however a fast-track service is sometimes available. Please contact your Account Manager for further details.

Customers must note that they must take responsibility for their own internal networks, servers and Static IP configurations.

• Using a Focus Supplied Router:
  We can supply you with a preconfigured router which will be preconfigured with your login details.
• Using an alternative Router:
  If you have purchased your own router, please follow the manufacturer's instructions referring to the Account Details and Setup Information sheet included with the Welcome Letter we will send you.
• Please Note:
  If you choose not to receive our preconfigured router and need help in configuring your existing router, we would be happy to provide this service at our discounted rate. Please contact your Account Manager for further details.

You should have received a Welcome Letter detailing the name and contact details of your Account Manager and these details are also included on your monthly invoice. Please contact our Customer Relations department who can confirm these details.

Focus Group pride ourselves on our customer experience so if an issue arises, we would like to hear from you. Our Customer Relations team are on hand to take your call.

Depending on your requirements at the time of installation you may have more than one time mode setup on your system. If you do there are two different types outlined below:

Manual time service. 

This is where you change your system time mode manually every time you want to route calls differently, there is a maximum of four time modes programmable on the system.

This will be activated by a pressing a pre-programmed button on your nominated phone. The button is normally labelled up as 'time mode' or 'night Mode'. Simply press this button and the display will change stating the time mode the system is now set as. When you want to set it back to day mode just repeat the process until you see the time mode you require.

Automatic time service. 

This is commonly setup where you have a predetermined closed period that happens on a daily basis, for example, lunchtimes. If you have this in place the system will be pre-programmed with your schedule. Therefore, you will rarely need to override this other than bank holidays where you may be closed longer. If you have an automatic time mode set up on your system, you will already have had one of your phones pre-configured with the ability to override this. This Phone will be pre-configured with two buttons marked up as; 

'Override' or 'Time Override' or 'Time Service Override'

And

'Time Mode' or 'Night Mode' or 'Time Service'

To override your schedule locate the phone with these buttons pre-programmed.

Press the button called 'Override' or 'Time Override' or 'Time Service Override' the phone will then show 'Manual' on the display and the button will illuminate. This will disable the automatic timer and the system will now stay in the time mode you leave it in

You can then set the system into a time mode manually by following the manual time service instructions above.

The system will now stay in this mode until you next change it.

When you want to re-enable the automatic time service reverse these steps.

Press the button called 'Time Mode' or 'Night Mode' or 'Time Service' until you go back to the mode you want to be in. Then press the button called 'Override' or 'Time Override' or 'Time service override'

You will see on the display of your phone showing 'Automatic'

This means your schedule is now reinstated.

If you require any further assistance on how to override your schedule or for changes to your schedule please contact a member of the support team as soon as possible.

On the Extension you want to forward, dial '7102' followed by the Extension you want to forward your phone to follow by '#' then pick up the handset or press 'SP-PHONE'      

Example: '7102201#' this will forward all calls to your extension immediately to extension 201

If your system is configured to allow calls to forward offsite you can divert to an external telephone number (This will depend on your system and line configuration).

To forward calls externally, Dial '71029' and the number you want to forward to followed by '#' then pick up the handset or press 'SP-PHONE'      

Example '71029077XXXXXXXX#' this will forward all calls to your extension immediately the External number you have input.

On the Extension, you want to cancel a forward on dial '*7100' then pick up the handset or press 'SP-PHONE'

Note: If you normally use voicemail you may require different codes to re-enable your extension forward to voicemail.

Dial *7105 followed by your voicemail access code and then a # - then pick up the handset or press 'SP-PHONE'

This will vary depending on the type of voicemail system you use.

If you're not sure of the code for your voicemail system please contact our services desk.

This is a system-wide change.

This can only be programmed from the main programming/managers extension. Normally this is extension NO.201. However, this may differ on some phone systems. This programming can not be completed from the smaller phones.

1.           With the handset down press the 'PROG' or 'PROGRAM' button. 'Sys-Pgm No?' should appear on your screen.

2.           Then dial '**1234' then dial '000' the phone should then show 'Date & Time Set'.

3.           Press 'Enter' and then the up arrow key button. 'Date & Time Set HH-MM: **:** AM/PM'

4.           Press the 'TRANSFER' button to clear the current set time then enter the hour you wish to set. (2 Digits In 12 Hour Format).

5.           Press the right arrow key button. Enter the minutes you wish to set. (2 Digits).

6.           Press the right arrow key button to highlight AM or PM then press 'SEL+' (Third Hotkey below the display)

7.           Press 'AUTO DIAL/STORE' button to store the time you entered.

Lift the handset from the phone and hang up this will take the phone out of the programming mode.

Press the 'PAUSE/PROGRAM' button.

Now press the button you want to program

Now dial '1' followed by the extension number you want to monitor.

Now press 'AUTODIAL/STORE' to save.

Lift the handset from the phone and hang up this will take the phone out of the programming mode.

This can only be programmed from the main programming /managers extension/phone. Normally on extension NO.201. However, may be different on some phone systems 

You must have a larger 24 Key or bigger handset plugged into this extension. The small 8 Key phones cannot be used for programming.

1. First press the under the display on the left side where it says 'PROG' or 'PAUSE/PROGRAM'
2. Press '**1234'
3. It will then show 'sys-Pgm NO?'
4. Now type '004' it will then show '004 Ext Name' press 'Enter'
5. It will then show 'Ext Name / Ext No?'
6. Now press the 'Down Arrow' to scroll through the extensions until you get to the one you want to change. Then just use the numbers on the keypad to enter the letter to make up the name you require. Then press 'AUTO DIAL/STORE' or 'Enter' to save.
7. Then repeat for other extension numbers as required.
8. Once you have finished programming just lift up the handset and place it back down, this will set the phone back to normal.

Make your first call as normal, once the first person is connected Press the 'CONF' button

This will place the first call on hold.

Now dial the next caller, you need to wait until the second caller has connected.

Now press the CONF button again and it will link yourself and both callers together.               

Using this method you can link up to 4 parties together.

Please note: if you hang up your phone you will cut all parties off

If you need to find the MAC address on your Panasonic IP phone you will find a label showing this on the bottom of the phone.

Your IP phone will usually be set to pick up an IP address from the network automatically. However, if your phone is set to use a static IP address you can find this using the following instructions:

1.    Unplug the phones power supply or network cable if your phone is powered this way.

2.    Wait 10 Seconds and plug back in.

3.    The phone will start to boot up, When you see the 'SETUP' or the software 'Ver No' the display now press the 'SETUP', 'ENTER' or 'PAUSE/PROGRAM' key

This will then show 'NETWORK' on the display

4.    Depending on the model of the phone you will now either have to use different keys see below:

(smaller IP phones) use 'SP PHONE' Button, (If it shows DHCP Enable your phone is not using a static IP address) Press 'SP PHONE' it will Show 'IP address?' Press 'SP-PHONE', and it will show the currently assigned IP address of the phone. If the phone shows a blank address field, the phone may not yet have been assigned an IP address, if this is the case press the 'HOLD' button once then 'SP-PHONE' to re-enter into the menu.

To exit the menu keep pressing 'HOLD' key unit the time and date appears              

Or

{Larger IP phones} use 'ENTER' button once, (if it shows DHCP Enable your phone is not using a static IP address) Press the enter key again and it will show you the current static IP Address. If the phone shows a blank address field, the phone may not yet have been assigned an IP address, if this is the case press the 'EXIT' button once then 'ENTER' to re-enter into the menu.

To exit the menu keep pressing 'EXIT' unit the time and date appears.   

This can only be programmed from the main programming/managers extension. Normally this is extension NO.201. However, this may differ on some phone systems. This programming can not be completed from the smaller phones.

Storing the names for the number locations

1. First press the button under the display on the left side where it says PROG

2. Press '**1234'

3. It will then show 'sys-Pgm NO?'

4. Now type '002' it will then show '002 speed dial Name' press 'Enter'

5. It will then show 'Speed dial Name / Location No?'

6. Now use the down arrow to scroll through the entries until you get to the entry you want to change. If you want to add a new entry keep scrolling until you come across a blank entry. Then just use the numbers on the keypad to enter the letters you want to make your entry I.E '153:Patrick'. Make a note of the entry number and name as you will need it later in this example '153:Patrick'

If you want to delete a letter, press the 'clear' button while on the letter you want to delete. Then press 'AUTO DIAL STORE' or 'Enter' once you have completed your entry.

7. Then repeat for other Speed dial names as required using the button under the display where it says NEXT.

Storing the numbers against the name location

8. Once you have programmed all the speed dial names you then need to programme the corresponding number locations. (The number next to your entry I.E 153:Patrick'

9. So now press the hold key so that it shows 'sys-Pgm NO?'

10. Now type 001 it will then show '001 speed dial No'. press 'Enter'

11. It will then show 'Speed dial No / Location No?'

12. Now use the down arrow to scroll through the entries until you get to the one you want to change. Then just use the numbers on the keypad to enter the number you require. You must remember to prefix the number with a '9' and the number in full. I.E 901273828430. Then press 'AUTO DIAL STORE' or 'Enter' to save.

13. Then repeat for other Speed dial names as required using the button under the display where it says 'NEXT'.

14. Once you have finished programming just lift up the handset and place it back down, this will set the phone back to normal.

The top right of your Panasonic key phone is normally used to show new voicemail messages. However, this is actually a multipurpose light; 1. A new message notification light and 2. A ringback notification left by a colleague.

This is purely there to notify you that a colleague was trying to call you and wants you to call them back.

To clear this simply press the 'MESSAGE' button, the display will show the extension so you can see who called you. If you want to call them back simply pick up the phone and once you have completed the call the light will go out. If you just want to clear this notification, while the number still on the display press the 'TRANSFER' button and it will clear the log and the light will go off. 

If you're trying to call a colleague and they don't answer the phone you have the option to set their phone to show them visually that you are trying to get hold of them. When your colleague returns to his desk they will see the red notification light lit on the top right-hand side of the phone. When they press the message key it will display your extension number and if they lift the handset it will call your extension.

To set a ring back notification on your colleague's phone just press your 'MESSAGE' button while their phone is ringing and it will log the ring back request.

To recover a call that you have placed on hold simply press the flashing green button on your phone, this will pull the call back to yourself. If a colleague has put someone on hold the button will appear flashing red button on the line the call is held against.

To recall an internal transfer press the flashing green line button this will pull the call back to yourself if the receiving party is unable to take the call for any reason.