Phone handset fun

I've an old (6 years at least) Philips Zenia 200 base unit with three handsets that's been working fine, however one of the handsets decided to throw a wobbly. If I could buy an extra handset (and it seems I can't) it would cost around £40, as I could buy a brand-new system for £80 I might as well take this route.

So I pick up a Philips CD255 from Argos, get it home and set it up. All four handsets assign themselves appropriate numbers, and incoming call makes all the handsets ring and the intercom works fine. However one small snag appears, I don't answer the test call and it shows up on the handset as a new call - okay fair enough, but when you delete it, it still shows up on the other three handsets. Screwy? Anyhoo I tap in an entry into the phonebook and then test it's visible from the others - it isn't.

I check the manual and it warns me that only one handset can access the phonebook at a time - fair enough except I can access each handsets phonebook at once. I recheck the registration, check online forums - nothing.

I now phone up Philips and get this - No, each handset has it's own phonebook as we had complaints about parents not wanting their children to be able to access all the numbers. But that's why you have both a shared and private system as was the case for my 6 year old phone, I replied. They've taken it out.

Okay what about the missed calls - yep you have to go around to every handset to delete it from all their memories.

Now I could have bought one from the 4 range, rather than the 2, that allows you to transfer phonebooks and entries from one handset to the other, but it'll still have an individual call log.

Now this is seriously dumb, what other options are available to me? I have a look at the BT products and their near top of the range Synergy 5500, I give them a call and ask the questions.

No shared phonebook, but you can transfer them from one handset to another; and yes you have to go around and delete the missed call from each handset.

Just to clarify this - my current 6 year old phone has more features and is better designed than all the latest phones from Philips and BT. Hmm a fresh look at Panasonic suggests they do phones with a "station" phonebook [Update - No they don't it's the wonderful transfer system, but it will clear missed calls from all the handsets at once. So we're halfway there. Best line yet "Our older systems used to do that, but they took that feature out"]

[Update - Can't get a telephone number out of Siemens and their website tells me nothing I want to know; and Motorola's phone section keeps pointing me at a non-existent address, oh and I can't get a number for them either]

Now I can understand if I had four different handsets plugged into extension sockets that without a switchboard type system they'd all act individually, but that's what the bloody base should be for to link them up and treat them as one phone system not four individual ones.

I'm really going to give that handset a fresh inspection and have a damn good search to find another handset it possible.