Answering Service That Never Lets You Down
Stop losing business to missed calls and voicemail. Our AI-powered answering service handles every call professionally—booking appointments, answering questions, and capturing leads 24/7. From just £199/month.
Based in Chester, serving businesses UK-wide
- Answer every call—24/7, 365 days a year
- 50-70% cheaper than traditional call centres
- Zero hold times—never a busy signal
- Books appointments directly into your calendar
- 30-day money-back guarantee
The True Cost of Missed Calls
Every unanswered call is a customer choosing your competitor
Why AI Answering Beats Traditional Call Centres
Traditional call centres served their purpose, but they come with limitations that frustrate both businesses and callers. Our AI-powered Voice AI technology delivers a better experience at a fraction of the cost.
Traditional Call Centres
The old way
- Long hold times frustrate callers
- Quality varies by agent and mood
- Limited hours—evenings & weekends extra
- Busy signals during peak times
- High costs: £800-2,500+/month
- Staff turnover means constant retraining
AI-Powered Answering Service
The Hand On Web way
- Instant answer—zero hold times
- 100% consistent quality, every call
- True 24/7 coverage included
- Never busy—unlimited capacity
- From £199/month—60% savings
- Perfect recall—never forgets your info
Answering Service Cost Comparison
See how our business answering service compares to traditional options in 2026.
Why UK Businesses Choose Our Answering Service
Professional call answering service UK businesses trust for reliability, quality, and value.
Available 24/7/365
Your business answering service works around the clock—nights, weekends, and bank holidays included at no extra cost.
Zero Wait Times
Every call answered within 3 rings. No hold music, no frustrating queues, no "your call is important to us" loops.
Never Engaged
Handle unlimited simultaneous calls. Your callers never hear a busy tone, even during peak periods.
Consistent Quality
Every caller receives the same professional experience. No bad days, no staff turnover, no training gaps.
Appointment Booking
Books appointments directly into your calendar system. Confirmations sent automatically to you and your customers.
Detailed Messages
Complete call transcripts and summaries delivered by email. Never lose important details from a call.
How Your Calls Are Handled
From ring to resolution—here's exactly what happens when someone calls your business.
Call Comes In
A customer calls your business number. If you're busy, closed, or want all calls handled, it routes to your answering service.
Instant Answer
Your AI-powered answering service picks up within 3 rings with a professional, customised greeting using your business name.
Natural Conversation
The caller explains what they need. Your answering service asks relevant questions, provides information, or offers to book an appointment.
Action Taken
Depending on the call: appointment booked, message taken, FAQ answered, or urgent call escalated to you or your team.
You're Notified
Receive instant notifications for important calls. Full transcripts and summaries delivered by email.
Answering Service for Every Industry
From healthcare to trades, our phone answering service adapts to your industry's unique needs.
Healthcare & Dental
Patient enquiries, appointment booking, prescription questions. Triage urgent calls to on-call staff.
Examples: GP surgeries, dental practices, physio clinics, care homes
Learn more →Legal & Professional
Capture new client details, schedule consultations, handle basic enquiries professionally.
Examples: Solicitors, accountants, financial advisors, consultants
Learn more →Trades & Services
Never miss an emergency callout. Capture job details, book appointments, dispatch to technicians.
Examples: Plumbers, electricians, locksmiths, HVAC, builders
Property & Estate Agents
Viewing requests, buyer/tenant enquiries, property information. Capture leads 24/7.
Examples: Estate agents, letting agents, property management
Automotive
Service bookings, MOT enquiries, parts availability. Route urgent breakdown calls appropriately.
Examples: Garages, dealerships, breakdown services, body shops
Small Business & Startups
Professional call handling without the cost of reception staff. Scale as you grow.
Examples: Consultants, agencies, freelancers, e-commerce
Simple, Honest Pricing
No hidden fees. No long contracts. Start with a 14-day free trial.
Starter
Essential call answering for small businesses
- 200 calls/month included
- Business hours (9am-6pm)
- Professional greeting with your business name
- Message taking & email delivery
- Basic appointment booking
- Google/Outlook Calendar sync
- Call recordings & transcripts
- Email support
Professional
Full 24/7 coverage with smart features
- 500 calls/month included
- 24/7/365 coverage
- Premium natural voice
- Smart appointment scheduling
- Outbound confirmation calls
- SMS appointment reminders
- CRM integration (HubSpot, Salesforce)
- Lead qualification & routing
- Transfer to human with context
- Custom call scripts
- Priority support
Enterprise
Unlimited calls for high-volume businesses
- Unlimited calls
- 24/7/365 coverage
- Ultra-realistic voice
- Advanced call routing
- Outbound calls + follow-up sequences
- SMS + Email + WhatsApp notifications
- Multi-location support
- Custom automation workflows
- Full CRM/ERP integration
- Dedicated onboarding
- SLA guarantee
All plans include: GDPR compliance, UK data hosting, call recordings, and email support.
Complete Business Communication Bundle
Voice AI Answering + Website Chatbot — cover phones AND website enquiries, reducing your call volume significantly
- Voice AI Answering (Professional tier)
- Website Chatbot (Standard tier)
- Unified conversation history
- Reduce inbound calls by 40%+ (FAQs handled by chat)
- Transfer from chat to call when needed
- WhatsApp & Telegram included
- Single dashboard for all channels
- Cross-channel analytics & reporting
Why Choose Hand On Web?
Based in Chester, UK
We're a UK company serving UK businesses. Local support, GDPR compliant, and we understand what British customers expect.
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Try our answering service risk-free. If you're not completely satisfied, get a full refund—no questions asked.
Free Consultation
Get a personalised assessment of your call handling needs. See exactly how our answering service can help your business.
Powered by Advanced AI
Built with Voice AI technology using ElevenLabs for natural, human-like conversations callers appreciate.
Answering Service FAQs
Common questions about our phone answering service UK businesses ask.
What is a business answering service?
A business answering service handles your incoming phone calls when you are unavailable, busy, or closed. Professional operators answer in your company name, handle customer enquiries, take detailed messages, book appointments into your calendar, and escalate urgent calls. Our AI-powered answering service does this 24/7 without hold times, busy signals, or the limitations of traditional call centres.
How much does a phone answering service cost UK?
UK phone answering service prices vary widely. Traditional call centres charge £400-800+ monthly for basic packages, with premium services costing £1,500-2,500+. Hiring in-house reception staff costs £25,000+ annually. Our AI answering service starts from £199/month — significantly cheaper than call centres while providing 24/7 coverage, unlimited simultaneous calls, and automatic appointment booking.
Is an AI answering service as good as a human call centre?
In many ways, better. Our AI call answering service UK uses advanced voice technology that sounds remarkably natural. Unlike human agents, it's available 24/7, never has bad days, handles unlimited simultaneous calls, and delivers perfectly consistent service. It costs 50-70% less and callers appreciate the instant response with zero hold times.
Can the answering service book appointments into my calendar?
Yes. Our business answering service integrates with Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Calendly, and many practice management systems. It checks your real-time availability, books appointments, sends confirmations to both you and your customer, and can handle rescheduling or cancellations—all automatically.
How do I get calls forwarded to the answering service?
We set up conditional call forwarding from your existing business number—you keep your number, and your customers call the same number they always have. You can forward all calls, only when busy/no answer, or only during specific hours (like after 6pm or weekends). Your phone provider handles this automatically.
Can the answering service handle emergency or urgent calls?
Absolutely. We configure clear escalation rules for your answering service. True emergencies are immediately routed to your on-call staff via phone call, SMS, or app notification. The AI is trained to recognise urgency signals and never leaves genuine emergencies to voicemail.
What information can the answering service provide to callers?
Everything you want callers to know: opening hours, location and directions, service information, pricing basics, appointment availability, answers to frequently asked questions, and more. We configure your answering service with your business knowledge so it can handle common enquiries without needing to take a message.
How long does it take to set up a business answering service?
Most businesses are live within 5-7 business days. This includes configuring your call scripts, setting up your greeting and business information, integrating with your calendar or CRM if needed, and thorough testing. Our Chester-based team handles everything—you just provide your business details.
Is the answering service suitable for small businesses?
Our phone answering service is ideal for small businesses. You get professional call handling 24/7 without the cost of hiring reception staff (typically £25,000+ per year plus NI and benefits). Tradespeople, consultants, medical practices, and professional services across the UK use our answering service to capture more leads and provide better customer service.
What happens to calls outside business hours?
Your answering service handles them the same way—that's the beauty of AI-powered call answering. Whether it's 3am on a Sunday or Christmas Day, calls are answered professionally, appointments can be booked, and urgent matters escalated. You'll find call summaries waiting when you start work. See our dedicated after hours answering service for more details.
How does your 24 hour answering service work?
Our 24 hour answering service uses advanced AI voice technology to answer calls any time—day or night, weekends, bank holidays, Christmas Day. Unlike human-staffed services that charge premium rates for out-of-hours, our pricing is flat rate: £199-699/month includes full 24/7 coverage. There's no per-call fee and no extra charges for unsociable hours. The AI handles calls identically at 3am as it does at 3pm.
What is a virtual receptionist and how is it different?
A virtual receptionist is essentially the same as an answering service, but typically implies more comprehensive services beyond just message-taking: call screening, appointment booking, FAQ answering, warm transfers, and CRM updates. Our AI virtual receptionist does all of this automatically—it's like having a full-time receptionist who never sleeps, never takes holidays, and handles unlimited calls simultaneously for a fraction of the cost.
How do you compare to Moneypenny answering service?
Moneypenny is a well-known UK answering service using human receptionists. They charge £200-600/month PLUS per-call fees (typically £1-2 per call), and out-of-hours often costs extra. Our AI answering service is £199-399/month flat rate with zero per-call fees and 24/7 coverage included. Key advantage: we answer in 3 seconds with no hold time, handle unlimited simultaneous calls, and actively book appointments rather than just taking messages.
Do you offer a free trial of the answering service?
Yes! We offer a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. During the trial, we set up your custom greeting, configure your business information, integrate with your calendar if needed, and you can test with real calls. If you're not completely satisfied, simply cancel—no obligation. We also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee after you subscribe.
What industries use your telephone answering service?
We serve businesses across all industries: healthcare and dental practices, legal and professional services, tradespeople (plumbers, electricians, locksmiths), property and estate agents, automotive services, e-commerce, consultants, and small businesses of all types. Our answering service adapts to your industry terminology, common questions, and booking requirements.
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Learn moreReady for an Answering Service That Actually Works?
Get a free assessment and see how our AI-powered answering service can capture more leads, delight customers, and save you thousands. Based in Chester, serving UK businesses. 30-day money-back guarantee.