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Thread: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

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    BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    BT in there stupidity ceased my phone line at the end of Feb when I notified them of the death of my mother and asked for her phone to be ceased.

    We are now back on some temporary number which gets nuisance calls daily and they keep saying/guaranteeing every 48hrs that out old number will be re-instated and this has gone on for nearly a month now. I cant get Bethere to re-instate my broadband until I have a permanent line back.

    BT/Openreach are really getting to me now and I dont know where to go to get this resolved.

    Can anyone ofer some advice?

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    Editable... jimbouk's Avatar
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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    Ask to speak to managers and then ask to be referred to Ofcom. If you have the date and time of the original call then ask them to review this if it was recorded.

    Alternatively speak to another provider and see if they can get your old number back and re-instate the line properly. Bethere do phone as well so you could ask them to take it over.

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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    Quote Originally Posted by jimbouk View Post
    Ask to speak to managers and then ask to be referred to Ofcom. If you have the date and time of the original call then ask them to review this if it was recorded.

    Alternatively speak to another provider and see if they can get your old number back and re-instate the line properly. Bethere do phone as well so you could ask them to take it over.
    I have not been allowed to talk to a BT manager, whoever I talk to talks to the manager and pass messages onto me. They have said they are very sorry and the manager has raised an internal complaint on the issue of the line being ceased. They said the employee who ceased it will be sacked if they had done it previously.

    I think as they have now provided a line albeit with a different number they are ignoring the original complaint/issue as it is now a different issue of simply not being able to retrieve my old number, which they probably dont prioriterise.

    I have tried to get help from Bethere but they cannot do anything until BT/Openreach sort out the original line number as they need a permanent line number first. So I am still paying them for no broadband service until I get a permanent line number back. They did tell me the old number is showing in the openreach database as unavailable.

    Update: Just spoke to Bethere about my broadband charges and they are waiving this months charge because I havn't used it, but insist I get back onto BT to get the line number re-instated with Openreach asap before they can help further. They said I could move to another phone provider but they will also use Openreach for the line number. I suppose I will have to move to someone as BT are even refusing to give us another line number now.
    Last edited by Cole200; 27-03-2013 at 04:42 PM. Reason: Update

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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    Quote Originally Posted by Cole200 View Post
    I have not been allowed to talk to a BT manager, whoever I talk to talks to the manager and pass messages onto me. They have said they are very sorry and the manager has raised an internal complaint on the issue of the line being ceased. They said the employee who ceased it will be sacked if they had done it previously.

    I think as they have now provided a line albeit with a different number they are ignoring the original complaint/issue as it is now a different issue of simply not being able to retrieve my old number, which they probably dont prioriterise.

    I have tried to get help from Bethere but they cannot do anything until BT/Openreach sort out the original line number as they need a permanent line number first. So I am still paying them for no broadband service until I get a permanent line number back. They did tell me the old number is showing in the openreach database as unavailable.
    Well I certainly wouldn't put up with that - you need to put your foot down and insist that the manager speaks to you. If they say that the manager will not speak to you then get the name of the manager, and insist to speak to the managers manager. You should also follow up with complaint letters and emails, direct to their complaints department - at this point there is no harm in getting ofcom involved either. Also make sure that you keep a log of who you spoke to and when.

    In your communication I would also advise them that you will also be billing them for your broadband that you are unable to use, as it is due to their fault that you can't use it. And you should also ask about what compensation they are going to give you (not just offer).

    Also have you tried calling your old number? it may be that they have already reassigned it to someone else, and are too afraid to tell you so. I'm not sure at that point if they can get the number back at all (although they should be able to).

    Just remember to try and keep your cool during phone conversations, as you will generally get further with poiliteness, as it is not normally the fault of the person that you are speaking to. However if they continue to try fobbing you off then losing your cool a bit is then allowed , just not to the extent of abusive language.

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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    BT will use every means possible not to speak with you about your problem preferring that you use their internet based service as it is altogether much more easy to manage.

    You can call 0800 800 150 and raise a complaint - in my experience this has usually led to rapid resolution of the problem (I have worked many years in telecoms and had many similar experiences to yourself).

    Most important - insist on speaking with the supervisor, keep detailed notes of names/dates/times of contact, agree an action programme, agree a refund settlement.

    As said, from experience they are usually pretty good even if they are not always quick.

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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    Sorry to disagee but the 0800 800 150 number just ends up with a Priority faults team who keep saying there is no fault on the line and the refuse to accept my complaint or let me talk to any supervisor. They are only willing to pass the message on internally to the correct team who they promise will call me back, but they seldom do.

    The priority team have just phoned my home number and talked to my wife to say they are still having problems releasing the number and a further update will be made on 3rd April. Presumably because they cannot try to do anything until the 2nd and it only takes effect from midnight so we won't know about it until the 3rd. It has been raised to the highest possible level, but Im sure they said the same thing weeks ago......

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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    If you're not on there already, sign up to Twitter, follow BTCare and tweet them your issue - getting it into 140chars is tricky, but it's worth it in my experience.

    They dislike having 'issues' raised in such a public medium and tend to sort it quicker than you'd manage dancing round call centres.
    |Kata: "Read title as 'fisting'. Not sure why I clicked. Relieved, really."|
    |TAKTAK: "It was so small that mine wouldn't fit into it"|

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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    After explaining the situation for the umpeenth time and requesting a deadlock letter to take this to Ofcom and stressing we have been a BT customer for over 25 years but are now on the point of leaving we have finally been assigned a manager to our case....

    Nothing is resolved yet but its a step forwards.

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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    Well the manager tried to get our old number back but it is so securely locked away they just cannot get it back. So I was offered £20 for my inconvenience.

    I'm trying to sign up with O2 now as its the best phone/broadband package for me.
    BT have sent us a letter saying we will be charged £65 for leaving. I suspect this is because in provisioning a new line it started a new contract and they havn't bothered to realise that they ceased the original line in error. So I'll have to explain it all over to the retentions team to get the charge removed.

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    Re: BT Phone Line Ceased in Error and still waiting for old number 1 month on...

    Huh, BT are terrible!

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