Landline number porting prolems

[Hedgetop]

Hi,

I'm having trouble having my BT landline ported.

I've been told ofcom rules say landline number must be left active for 30 days after service ends to allow for number porting requests to be processed.

This hasn't happened in my case and now I've lost my landline number I requested to be transferred.

Can anyone advise me what to do I've been told my old number is now gone

Any help would be great

M

[imjolly]

When you placed your order with your new ISP did you not request your number be ported during the transfer?  It was then up to your new ISP to organise line and number porting

[Hedgetop]

Yes I requested to keep the number, they say the porting request was sent as requested, BT say they didn't receive the request.

I'm stuck with what to do now, I don't even know if the number is still active or not

[iniltous]

Your post implies you have left BT and joined another provider, you  don’t state who the new provider is, but as they are now your provider, it’s should be them , not you , to sort out any issue , if the number you wanted to port from BT hasn’t been successfully ported to the new provider .

I recall seeing something about a 30 day window for porting issues,  but cannot recall if it were just a proposal or was now policy, but even if it is policy, it shouldn’t be yourself doing the chasing, getting the issue resolved should be an indicator of how good ( or bad ) your new provider is.

FWIW , in every porting problem I’ve seen on this forum and ones like it, the ‘new’ company always blames the old company, but the fact is your contract is no longer with the old company, and if your new company uses that ( its the other company’s fault ) then it’s nothing more than an excuse .

[Hedgetop]

You're quite right, unfortunately my new contract is with virgin media. Yes I would expect them to be doing all the legwork also but all they are doing is, like you say blaming BT.

BT have been very helpful but without an active number I'm stuck, and virgin media aren't helping

It was VM who suggested I reach out you you guys, nightmare...

[-Richie-]

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@iniltouswrote:

I recall seeing something about a 30 day window for porting issues,  but cannot recall if it were just a proposal or was now policy, ct is no longer with the old company, and if your new company uses that ( its the other company’s fault ) then it’s nothing more than an excuse .

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They are new proposed rules for switching, not due to come into force until December 2022.

The regulator will also be making some “limited” changes to phone number porting, which includes giving customers the “right to port their number for one month after they have terminated their contract and a prohibition on charging customers to port their number.” This should be a big help as at present it can be quite tedious to get your number back if it’s lost during a switch.

Providers have been working behind the scenes for a while to develop a new switching process through the Office of the Telecoms Adjudicator (OTA) and a separate consultation is due to follow, which will set out the technical details of the proposed process. These are significant changes to how switching processes work and as such, the new rules are NOT expected to come into force until December 2022.

Source - ISPreview

[Hedgetop]

Thanks for taking the time to help.

I'm afraid I may be at the mercy of VM

[pompey1898]

I suspect Keith may be along shortly but I have a feeling you can't port a BT number to VM.

Either way it is VM's problem, not BT's, as VM is your provider now and you should post on its forum

[Keith_Beddoe]

Its down to VM to sort this out, but I can see problems, as both networks are totally separate and I am not sure that VM can "emulate" phone numbers from other providers, unlike Sky. TalkTalk, and some others.

There is nothing this forum can do. If the number is really important, then you would have to retain your BT landline, and just take the other services that VM offer.

[Hedgetop]

Thanks Pompey,

I first posted this on the VM forum the other day. It was VM who suggested I contact this forum ( I know it sounds crazy ).

I'm just trying everything to keep my number.

A few treads on the VM forum show it can be done but the details are through private messages.

Thanks again