An alert control method in telephone equipment allowing communication with a certain person to be ensured is disclosed. A last-communication time of day related to a name of a person to communicate with is stored in a phonebook database. It is determined whether a predetermined time interval has elapsed after the last-communication time of day without communicating with the person. When it is determined that the predetermined time interval has elapsed without communicating with the person, an audible or silent alert is made to alert the user to make a call to that person.