About CallBack Buddy

Keep your place without staying on hold

CallBack Buddy lets you ask an organisation to ring you back at a time that works for you, instead of waiting in a queue. Their team picks the request up in HoldFree Hero, already knowing what you need.

Both are made by PlusSocial.org, which builds positive, inclusive, user-controlled online experiences. Choose a time that works for you — nobody should have to give up their afternoon to a hold tone.

How it works, step by step

1A customer asks for a callback, choosing how and when they would like to be reached.
2They can add as much or as little detail as they want about their situation.
3The request joins the organisation's queue straight away, with its own reference number.
4A team member reviews it, confirms it, and either answers in writing or rings at the agreed time.
5The outcome is recorded, and the customer can see exactly what happened.

A callback is only promised once the organisation confirms the request.

Everything CallBack Buddy can do

Ask for a callback in under a minute

Choose the organisation, say what the call is about, and pick a time window that suits you.
Say how you would rather be contacted: phone, text, WhatsApp, Messenger or email.
Get a short reference number you can keep, and a plain-English status page.

Prepare your call, in your own words

Write notes for yourself so you are not caught on the spot.
Explain what is happening, what you have already tried, and what a good outcome looks like.
Ask for a short message about two minutes before the phone rings.
Choose a call style: gentle and unhurried, brief and to the point, or text first.

If you are calling for someone else

Tick that you are a carer, family member, friend, support worker or appointee.
Give the name of the person the call is about, and your connection to them.
Tap a care topic — care visit times, medication or pharmacy, appointments and transport, a quiet call while they are resting, care plan changes, money and benefits.

Often sorted before anyone rings

The team can answer in writing first — you get a clear message explaining what they have done.
You decide: “Thanks, all sorted” releases your callback, or keep it if you would still like to talk.
Move your time window without losing your place in the queue.
Your status page keeps itself up to date, so you never have to sit and refresh it.

Built to suit how you read and hear

Five colour themes including a dark one, four text sizes, and the Atkinson Hyperlegible typeface.
Reading comfort spacing, an option to reduce movement, and an optional gentle sound when something changes.
Large tap targets, full keyboard use, clear labels, and status shown in words as well as colour.
Your requests can be remembered on your own device only, so you can reopen them with one tap.

What everybody gains

The same change — no more waiting on hold — saves something different for each side.

For customers: time, energy and peace of mind

Around ten minutes of queueing given back per call, and no repeat attempts on another day.
No paid or mobile minutes burnt while waiting, and far less battery used.
No stressful queue to endure for anyone who finds phone calls hard, and no need to keep a room quiet while waiting.
Time to prepare, so the call itself is shorter and the answer usually arrives first time.
Carers can act for someone else without repeating the story twice.

For organisations: manpower, money and control

Demand spread across the day instead of arriving in spikes, so fewer people are needed simply to hold the line.
Calls that are answered in writing instead — the cheapest call is the one nobody has to make.
Shorter calls because the team already knows the situation, and more matters settled at the first contact.
Fewer abandoned calls, fewer chase-ups, and fewer complaints about waiting.
Daily limits and opening hours that protect the team, plus a clear record of who did what.

For the environment: energy not spent waiting

Every minute on hold keeps a phone screen, a mobile network and a call system working for no purpose. Those minutes simply stop happening.
Requests sorted in writing use a fraction of the energy of a voice call held open.
Answers sent digitally mean fewer printed letters and fewer posted forms.
Fewer unnecessary trips to a branch, office or surgery to ask something that could be settled remotely.
The team dashboard shows the running estimate of hours, energy and carbon avoided — careful estimates, shown to make the shared benefit visible, not as a target.

Where it helps most

Home care and care homes, family carers arranging visits and medication, GP surgeries and clinics, councils and housing teams, benefits and debt advice, mental health and wellbeing charities, utilities, banks and insurers — anywhere a queue is long and the question matters.

What it does not do

This version runs on sample data and does not place calls or send real texts yet.
No payments are taken, and no artificial intelligence reads your words.
It never gives medical, legal, financial or emergency advice. In an emergency, please contact the emergency services directly.
No callback is promised until the organisation confirms the request.

Request a callback Check a request