End of The Line With BT

[Trev012]

Hi,

After 40+ years with BT, I'm afraid it's time for me to go but not by choice.

My current Broadband and phone deal expires in March but BT have already been sending me emails advising of better deals available. So I called them this morning only to find a different picture has been painted.

I'm currently on Fibre 1 with unlimited calling plan for my phone but I'm now being told that they no longer extend this contract and I need to go on to something called Fibre Optic/Digital Voice [Apparently the same thing]. This is the new broadband, requiring new hardware inside and outside my house. It is cheaper than my current price but if I decide to take it, I'll lose my home number that I have had for my 40+ years as the "new" phone system is currently used over the broadband system.

Sadly, I thought they were extremely unhelpful and as there's nothing nowadays for loyalty, they've lost me and my family as customers.

Trev012

[licquorice]

First of all, you won't lose your number by moving to Digital Voice. Secondly, all providers will be moving to a VoIP solution for voice calls from 2025 as the analogue phone system will be discontinued then.

If you do nothing, your current contract will just continue as it is on a monthly rolling basis. You will, however, lose any discounts you may currently have

[imjolly]

if you move to digital voice you must use the SH2 as the dect base station for your VOIP phone supplied free but you should still be able to retain your existing BT phone number after changeover.  there are numerous posts on the forum about this if you use search facility  

also suggest you read the digital voice FAQ

[Trev012]

"if you move to digital voice you must use the SH2 as the dect base station for your VOIP phone supplied free but you should still be able to retain your existing BT phone number after changeover".

In laymans terms, please?

Trev012

[licquorice]

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@Trev012 wrote:

In laymans terms, please?

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You get a free Digital Voice phone which connects to your BT Smart Hub that operates in exactly the same way as a normal cordless phones.

If you read the FAQ https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-phone-including-Digital/Digital-Voice-FAQs/td-p/2207485

all is explained

[Trev012]

Hi licquorice,

Many thanks for your reply/post.

You say I won't lose my number [Which would be great] so why did the agent I spoke to tell me I would?

If this were the case, I would sign up today but I just cannot lose a number I've had for 40 years.

Can you please advise who I would contact to get 100 per cent confirmation of this and to probably sign up?

Regards,

Trev012

[imjolly]

sorry there is no 100% guarantee you will not lose your number but it is very unlikely that would happen.  should it happen then forum mods can usually investigate and often get number back 
moving to digital voice will happen by 2025

[licquorice]

There is no reason to lose your number, but obviously nobody can give a 100% guarantee that you won't as there may be extremely rare circumstances that make it unavoidable. However, if you move provider you are much more likely to lose your number.

If you have had the same number for 40 years, it is extremely unlikely there would be any problems.

As all lines will be transferred by 2025, it is obvious that existing numbers will simply be transferred to DV

[JohnC2]

Hi @Trev012, thanks for posting. The advice given by @licquorice and @imjolly  is correct. The change over to Digital Voice at your current address is very unlikely to result in the loss of your number.

Cheers

John

[Trev012]

Hi @JohnC2,@licquorice and @imjolly,

Many thanks for your replies. I wish I could say I am reassured by them but something in the back of my mind tells me it won't go according to plan.

It's not that I want to leave BT [After 40 continuous years] so I will call them again tomorrow. Hopefully I will get a different agent who has more knowledge and will be able to give me fuller information as to exactly what will happen, as I don't know if :-

1) My floorboards will need to be lifted to allow different cables into my house to where my existing master socket is

2) Am I still able to use other phones [not handsets] in bedrooms upstairs

3) Can I still use my existing walkabout phone or does that stop working

Is there a certain department I should be calling as the agent this morning was not very forthcoming with the information I needed to make my decision on.

Regards,

Trev012