Is there a way to schedule the pilot Hunt Group Numbers to be blocked during business hours or all hours? Robo callers keep hitting our pilot numbers during the day and causing no answer calls. Our provider advised us there is no way to block our Pilot Numbers numbers from the PSTN.

If you block them how will you receive incoming calls

I have more questions here than answers. I too, have to ask how you would receive any calls if the pilot number(s) are blocked from being accessible from the PSTN.

Back in the days of REAL telcos, they offered make busy circuits where you could throw a switch and mark an entire trunk group busy, regardless of the number of trunks. I seriously doubt that you'll find a service provider willing to do this now.

We used to configure relays that were controlled by a single button on the receptionist's 1A2 phone. When pressed, these relays would be activated and placed a short on all of the trunks.

Of course, these tricks were performed on traditional loop- or ground-start copper lines. Since the original question doesn't provide enough information, it's hard to provide an answer except to speculate.

You might be able to have a menu answer that says "please hold for the next available team member". and then forward it to where the calls would ring normally. But that assumes you aren't doing something like that now.

It is a " business closed" hunt group which i the LDN is steered too after hours, it only needs to be accessed by the LDN after hours, but ROBO calls are hitting the pilot number directly

It sounds like you need a way to selectively block incoming calls. Legit calls would ring in....while calls from spoofed ANIs/telemarketers etc, would be stopped either before reaching the company, or, sent to a dead end.

The only way to minimize this is to have the calls answered by an auto attendant which prompts them to dial some digits in order to reach the after hours service. Most robo callers cannot dial anything after the call is picked up.

-Hal

And to add to Hal's suggestion...

At the beginning of the recorded message prior to playing the actual "Thank you for calling..." record the telco intercept tone. It may help.

Recording intercept tones would, likely, have negligible impact. Modern dialer equipment would also be looking at Answer Supervision.

Hardware Supervision means a working telephone number. No Supervision means an inactive number, or, a busy number (in conjunction with a busy signal).

having centrex service may be the gotcha. as stated, the real telcos offered some solutions; ground start trunks, multi line hunt groups with no secondary directory numbers or even pri will reduce the number of hang up calls your receptionist gets. but not all communication systems can accommodate either. if i understand correctly, it is the actual directory numbers associated with lines two through x that are receiving multiple robo calls. i have often wondered, if robo calls were answered and received an sf tone before an auto attendant option transfer to live attendant, would it reduce the amount of automated telemarketing calls, but loop start service as centrex complicates early call disconnect service.on the other hand loop start is required for caller id service .