Relay UK 4+

Brilliant assistants

I have enormous problems hearing on the phone, especially when calling e.g. government services. This app is an absolute boon. The assistants are fantastic and so patient. The most recent call had me on hold for over an hour, and the assistant was very reassuring that it wasn’t a problem. When we finally got through, the actual call only took two minutes.

Others have said it’s annoying that your words get displayed in the body of the message every time you tap the space bar. It’s certainly not what people are used to when using something like WhatsApp, but here, the person you are typing to is talking to someone else on your behalf and typing *their* response, which takes time. When they finish typing what the person had said, they always end with “GA” (does that mean “go ahead”?). Wait for that and it doesn’t matter if your words appear one by one.

Also, if calling a number where you know there will be a series of automated options, I always type a summary of what my call is about using a Notes app, then copy and paste it into the Relay app as soon as I’m connected so the assistant doesn’t have to type out all the options. Brilliant app - hugely appreciated

Developer Response ,

Many thanks for your review and detailed feedback, much appreciated!

A Lifesaver

I rarely review apps but this has genuinely changed my life. I’m hearing-impaired and struggle with selective mutism; I’ve been using Relay for maybe half a year now, and once I figured it out an entire world opened up to me. So many things were uphill battles before because so many places had no way to contact them without phoning, or needed me to phone to do a security check, and I couldn’t, and no one seemed to understand that. There are some issues innate to certain features (e.g. the sending one word at a time thing means it is constantly sending my typos and mistakes before I can correct them) but the good it does blows any small problem out of the water. Every assistant I’ve had has been friendly, patient, and helpful, even putting up with calls where I had to remain on hold for ages or where they had to type out a long terms of service speech to me. I hope it’s not overstepping or misusing the resource, but I’ve also recommended Relay to some friends with severe anxiety disorders who can’t make calls, as well as some with semi-verbal autism. I think this could genuinely change lives for many kinds of disorders outside of deafness and speech impairment.

Developer Response ,

Many thanks for taking the time to write this review. Your detailed feedback is very helpful and we're really pleased that Relay UK is helping you make the calls you want and need to.

Absolutely amazing.

I am not fully deaf, but I have hearing loss and tinnitus. Phone calls can be extremely difficult for me, and on a bad day, can actually be painful. I downloaded the Relay App about a year ago but was too worried about using it. I wasn't sure how it would work, and I was really nervous. I finally plucked up the courage to give it a go. I've chosen to type my side of the conversation and have the other persons side typed too. This means that for me, any call I make is just like using a live chat facility and it has been a life changer for me. I've always had to have someone else with me when I was dealing with a company who only let you call them, and had no email/chat facility, but being able to make calls to anyone by myself has been such a massive help to me.

I feel less of a burden to my friends and family, and have regained a little bit of my independence.

Whoever came up with this idea deserves every single medal and accolade, and the agents who deal with these calls are godsends.

Thank you to all involved in this incredible service.