This topic

Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 14:25:07 GMT

Can anyone help me!

I changed over my landline and broadband from Plusnet to BT's digital voice service at end of October. The switch day was 11th November. Broadband setup was fine, however initially digital phone was not working at all, this was reported to BT and after 5 days I could make outgoing calls, however it will still not accept any incoming calls. I do not need the broadband as I use mobile internet, but I do need a working landline as I have an elderly mother who needs to stay in contact and mobile signal is dodgy indoors.

I have made endless calls to BT complaints, but getting nowhere on getting this issue sorted. I keep being promised dates that it will be working by, they come and go and still no one can phone me on the landline number. The new earliest date BT have told me it will be resolved by is 16th December, which I think is totally unacceptable at over 5 weeks without a working phone, but the problem is I don't believe them now as I have been given so many dates before which have come to nothing. Why the very long delays?

BT have no sense of urgency, no compassion or understanding why I need to be contactable on a landline phone. I requested to cancel the new phone/broadband package so I could go back to my old provider but they told me if I did this I would lose my landline phone number so I feel held to ransom now that I have lost my copper phone line. When I signed the BT contract it told me the old line would not be switched off until the digital line is working but that wasnt the case.

Who can I escalate this issue to? I have reported these issues to ofcom but they dont respond to individual complaints and the people supposedly from BT complaints I speak to have proved incompetent at getting this issue sorted. My experience is certainly a bad example for other customers dreading the forced switchover.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

jac_95 — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 14:27:39 GMT

Hi CarolineW1,

Thanks for the post and welcome to the Community.

This is an automated response as I can see you have a question about BT’s Digital Voice service. Rather than waiting for a response from the Community, you may find an answer to your question by using the search bar on the Community homepage. We also have a thread that contains a wealth of info related to BT’s Digital Voice, click this link to take a look, Digital Voice FAQs.

Got some questions or want to learn more about BT’s Digital Voice rollout? BT are running localised events as part of the regional rollout of Digital Voice - Click here to view the Digital Voice events

To learn more about the nationwide change to this Internet based voice service visit landlinesgo.digital

If you have already looked for the answer to your question and have not found anything that can help, then please ignore this message. One of our Community members will be along shortly to help you further.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 15:08:06 GMT

Re your automated response message:

My issues arent covered by the BT's help pages. They dont seem to know how to sort my issues out themselves, or maybe they just cant be bothered.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

RIC9380 — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 16:11:06 GMT

The final paragraph of the automated message. "If you have already looked for the answer to your question and have not found anything that can help, then please ignore this message. One of our Community members will be along shortly to help you further."

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

Michael_D — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 10:33:25 GMT

Hi @CarolineW1

Welcome to the community.

I am sorry to hear that this has been your experience, especially so soon after you have joined us and when you are relying on the line so much.

When you have spoken with our team over the phone, have they given any indication as to what is happening with the line, or has it just been that they have given you the dates that pass by?

Is the complaint case still open on the account or have you had notification that it has been closed?

Michael

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 17:01:35 GMT

Hello,

Thank you for your reply.

My complaint is still open. Following my call on Saturday from BT in which they advised me of the latest expected date for the telephone to function of 16th December (which is outrageous!) I emailed the BT's complaints departments to inform them I wished to escalate the complaint, as that what it tells you to do in their complaints code of practice. I am waiting to see if anything will be done now, as I have been going around in circles with them for too long now. The only explanation I have been given from BT is that the order "failed".

Many Thanks

Caroline

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

Peter_W — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 08:14:18 GMT

Thanks for the update here @CarolineW1.

If there's been a failure with the order then this will sometimes need a bit of investigation in the background by our support teams, but we would always aim to get this resolved for you in the end, and I really appreciate you'll want to be kept in the loop whilst this is ongoing too.

When was it that you emailed complaints again to escalate this?

Peter

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

pddco — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 10:41:31 GMT

@CarolineW1

Appreciate it’s very frustrating and sorry if you’ve already done this. But there’s perhaps a couple of things you can try to at least find out what’s happened to your phone line. If you dial 17070 your line should be confirmed as your original number.
There’s an option to press 1 and get a ring back. If the number is right, press 1 and hang up. Now in your case we’re assuming the phone won’t ring. In which case, give it a few seconds for it to try and ring you back and then pick up the phone. If you just get dial tone then there’s indeed a network / routing issue that BT needs to resolve. But if you get a spoken confirmation from the system, then it could be a phone issue that you may be able to sort yourself. Worth a try?

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

pddco — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 11:56:07 GMT

@CarolineW1

Where I said ‘.. give it a few seconds for it to try and ring you..” Should leave it at least 15 seconds before picking up the phone again.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 18:40:16 GMT

Hello Pddco,

Thanks for reading my problem and for your suggestion to try.

I dialled the number you mentioned. An automated voice read out my landline number correctly. I pressed option 1 and hung up, it did not ring. I left it for quite a while before I picked it up, but it was silent until I pressed the green answer button on my phone which started the dial tone sound.

I got another call from the executive complaints team today. They have now said my phone can be set up on 6th December, but thats still 11 days away and will mean nearly a month without a working phone so I am still very unhappy about the whole thing.
As there is no one higher in BT to escalate the complaint further to, I have asked them for a deadlock letter so I can take it to the ombudsman. BT deserve a huge fine for treating people like this. If they intend on switching the whole country over they need to improve their systems to prevent cutting people like me off. They seem to have forgotten many of us still need a phone.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 18:56:49 GMT

Hello,

I escalated my complaint on an email to BT on Saturday.

I had a callback from the execute complaints dept this afternoon, now saying they will set my phone up on 6th December. When I said I still wasn’t happy with this date the stupid BT complaints girl suggested I use Whattsapp instead!. I am sure my elderly mother without a mobile will love trying to contact me on WhatsApp in an emergency. I don’t even have Whattsapp!

6th December is still 11 days away and will mean nearly a month without a phone so still unacceptable to me. As no one in BT is able to help further I have as now asked for a deadlock letter so I can take it to the ombudsman. Probably won’t help me get my phone sorted any quicker but BT deserve to be fined my Ofcom if their broken systems allow this to happen and they shouldn’t be allowed to continue the roll out of digital voice across the whole country if it doesn’t work.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

pddco — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 20:36:58 GMT

@CarolineW1

Another thought. Have you tried calling your landline from your mobile while you’re in the house and answering the call while it’s ringing out from the mobile even if it didn’t ring? If so, what happened?

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 20:54:24 GMT

Hello,

I have tried this one. It’s deadly silence on the landline Bt phone I am afraid. Just the mobile has a ringing tone. Thanks anyway though.

Caroline

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

pddco — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 21:39:53 GMT

Hi Caroline

You say your mobile signal is poor? Do you have WiFi calling included in your mobile plan? Some do, some don’t. But if it has, your mobile should be able to make use of the strong broadband WiFi to make and receive reliable standard mobile calls when the normal mobile signal is weak.

The mobile should switch to WiFi calling automatically. But an easy way to check is to put your mobile in Airplane mode. And then try and make a normal mobile call.

Check that the mobile still has WiFi switched on after putting it in Airplane mode. Some phones switch the WiFi off too - which you don’t want - WiFi must be on - so you may need to switch it back on again.

If you find that this doesn’t work, yet your plan includes WiFi calling, you may need to delve into the mobile network settings of your phone to enable it.

Oh, don’t forget to switch off Airplane mode when you’re done with the testing.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 21:05:55 GMT

Thanks for thinking of alternative solutions however I really need need my landline for people to call me on as not every person and organisation has my mobile number.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

pddco — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 22:11:00 GMT

Of course. Fully understand. Just seeing if there was something else you could try while you’re waiting for BT to get its act together. And at least have some assurance that you can be contacted reliably provided WiFi calling worked for you. Frustrating when all it might take is a few keystrokes to sort it! Hope it gets fixed soon.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 18:13:56 GMT

BT complaints have now told me that my telephone service (digital voice) won’t be restored until 16th December after saying 6th December on Monday. (Will now be 5 weeks with no incoming calls) but I’ll believe it when I see it, and part of me thinks I have lost my phone forever now.
Absolutely shocking how this can happen. I could be a pensioner who has no outside contact with the world other than through their phone.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

SS66Cornwall — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 19:51:59 GMT

Any luck with this? My mum is having the same issue!

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls

CarolineW1 — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:28:37 GMT

Hello, Sorry to hear your Mother is affected by this as well.
I’m afraid I am still without a working phone. I have been told it will be fixed on 16th December so only another 10 days to go (if they stick to their word) although I haven’t much confidence. I have been following BT s formal complaints procedure to the very end where they have to issue you a deadlock letter if it hasn’t been resolved. They told me they issued me a deadlock letter over a week ago but I still haven’t received anything from them yet so probably another BT **bleep**-up.
I have reported details of my problems to OFCOM and I suggest you do the same for your Mother. I know they won’t get my phone working, but they need to know the way BT is failing the public so badly for such unacceptably long periods by their faulty systems, and the impact on vulnerable people of losing a potential lifeline. I hope they give BT a massive fine and are forced to make urgent changes to their systems.

Re: Digital Voice phone no incoming calls (not solved)

CarolineW1 — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 22:55:01 GMT

Why is my problem now marked as “solved” when it is not solved

. I have been without a phone for a month now, and I have been told it will be another week at the earliest before it is fixed.