Land line number

[VOLVO940]

In the process of changing to BT they have ‘lost’ my landline number which I have held for over 40 years. I have been told I will have to accept a new number. This is a massive inconvenience and typically just another example of BT transferring their problem back to the customer. Any advice?

[imjolly]

if you have had number for 40 yrs then I assume it was originally issued to you by BT?  which is your previous ISP?  have you moved address since number was initially issued to you?

are you getting Digital Voice?

[VOLVO940]

It was originally issued by BT

i haven’t moved address

My ISP I’m moving from is Shell Energy

I’m getting Digital Voice

[Keith_Beddoe]

@VOLVO940 

Once your service is active with a new number, then you can ring BT and ask for a re-number back to your original number. Its not normally a problem, but may need manual intervention as the helpdesk may see it as a "stopped" line.

You have to be issued with a new number to start with, as they cannot provide service otherwise.

There is normally a small charge for a re-number.

[VOLVO940]

Sounds simple enough but Just wonder why BT don’t apparently know this solution. 

[imjolly]

from some previous post there have been problems retaining your number when moving to Digital Voice

[Keith_Beddoe]

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@VOLVO940 wrote:

Sounds simple enough but Just wonder why BT don’t apparently know this solution. 

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The issue is down to the scripts that the helpdesk have access to, they will not allow them to allocate a "stopped" number, its not even an option.

Try customer services first, once your service is active. If they cannot help, then its possible one of the moderators can help. Its never 100% guaranteed, but they usually succeed.

[VOLVO940]

Thank you for the replies. I remain perplexed that there are apparently simple and doable solutions to my problem which BT are unable to apply. At every stage of my conversations with BT I asked for reassurance that I would keep my original number and this was confirmed. I’m starting my 11th week dealing with this nightmare company and still no nearer a solution.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@VOLVO940 

If you were promised that you could keep your number, then it should be honoured.

Its only a technical issue where the incoming route of your original number needs to be altered to point to your connection, and the outgoing identity to present the same number.

I doubt very much is this is possible from the normal customer front end, but it should be possible by the network provisioning people, even if it means manually entering the network routing data.

When existing customers are moved to DV, then there must be a standard process to do this, as that involves a very similar process except that the routing is directed away from the exchange equipment.

[NeilO]

Hi, @VOLVO940 welcome to the community and thanks for posting, I'm really sorry your number was not transferred over when you switched to BT. 

I'll send you a private message in a moment so you can send over your details to the moderation team and we'll be happy to see if anything can be done to resolve this for you.

Thanks

Neil