BT Digital Voice renumbering delayed for elderly personal alarm user

[IslandGirl]

I'm hoping someone from BT can explain whether this is normal or if something has gone wrong.

My elderly relative recently migrated from Plusnet to BT by the specialist team assisting customers who use personal care alarms, as Plusnet's Digital Voice service was not going to be compatible with her need for a landline / personal care alarm.  She lives in an area where there is virtually no mobile coverage.

The BT broadband and Digital Voice service were activated using a temporary phone number, with the intention of renumbering the line back to her long-established landline number.

Yesterday, she received an email confirming that the renumbering had been completed, and that it "might stop working for a few minutes while we switch over". However, the original number is still not working. The temporary BT number works perfectly for making and receiving calls, but if anyone calls her original landline number they hear a message saying the number has been disconnected.

Today when she contacted BT, she was told the renumbering won't actually be completed until 1 July – more than a week after the service was first activated.

Given that this migration was specifically arranged for an elderly customer who relies on a personal care alarm, I had expected the process to be managed more smoothly.

Many friends, family, neighbours, healthcare providers and other organisations only know her original landline number, so callers currently receive a disconnected message. That is particularly concerning for an elderly person who has had the same telephone number for many years.

I'm struggling to understand:

• Why BT sent an email confirming the renumbering is complete when it clearly isn't.
• Why there appears to be a gap of more than a week where her long-established phone number is simply disconnected.
• Whether this delay is normal, or whether something has gone wrong with the renumbering order.
• Whether there is anything BT can do to restore the original number sooner than 1 July.
  

Unfortunately, this is just the latest issue in what has been a very frustrating migration process. We have already experienced:

• Delays because the required hardware wasn't delivered on time.
• The installation date having to be postponed.
  
• A BT representative suggesting that she cancel the first account and start again with a completely new account
  
• The equipment then being delivered twice (and needing to return the first order)
• An engineer coming out to install the service 2 days ago, but telling her she would have her internet working at midnight, but then being left without a working landline for two days in an area with virtually no mobile phone coverage.
• Having to book a second engineer visit to complete the installation.  The engineer that came today seemed to be very switched on!

I'd appreciate any advice or assistance from the BT team.  We want to expedite the renumbering service and make sure that she doesn't lose this long established home phone number.

@Peter_W - I've seen you comment on a post similar to this, so wondering if you can help.

[IslandGirl]

The sales team supporting residential customers who are migrating to BT because they have a personal alarm are really lovely, and it makes you feel confident that the process will go smoothly.

However, in our experience it has been quite a stressful experience, and they were left without a telephone/internet service for 2 days (they live in an area where there is virtually no mobile signal). 

My elderly relative was migrated from Plusnet to BT Digital Voice through the specialist personal alarm migration team. BT initially activated the service with a temporary phone number and then sent an email confirming that the line had been renumbered back to her original long-standing landline number.

However, the original number is still disconnected. The temporary BT number works, but anyone calling the original number hears that it has been disconnected. BT has now told us the renumbering won't be completed until 1 July, more than a week after the service was activated.

Can you explain why the renumbering is taking so long, why a completion email was sent before it was actually complete, and whether anything can be done to restore the original number sooner?

Unfortunately, this is just the latest issue in what has been a very frustrating migration process. We have already experienced:

• Delays because the required hardware wasn't delivered on time.
• The installation date having to be postponed.
• The equipment then being delivered twice.
• A BT representative suggesting we cancel the original order and start again with a completely new account, which would have created even more disruption.
• Being left without a working landline for two days in an area with virtually no mobile phone coverage.
• A second engineer visit being required to complete the installation.

Given that this migration was specifically arranged for an elderly customer who relies on a personal care alarm, I had expected the process to be managed more smoothly.
@James-B 

[licquorice]

Please don't post the same question on more than one thread, it just causes confusion and doesn't expedite things.

I have already alerted the mods to your post, they will respond in due course.

[IslandGirl]

Sure, noted. But I felt perhaps the marketing team that shared the "Do you or someone you know use a telecare alarm?" might be interested to know the real experience of their elderly customers who use personal care alarms.

[licquorice]

They won't be reading the forum. This is a customer to customer self help forum.

[Peter_W]

Welcome to the Community, @IslandGirl 

I'm keen to make sure we're doing everything we can to support your relative here, so I've just sent you over a private message so we can take a few more details.

Speak soon,

Peter

[IslandGirl]

@Peter_W
Thank you. I've just replied

[licquorice]

@IslandGirl just to clarify, the problem isn't really about the alarm.  Plusnet don't actually provide a Digital Voice service, hence the requirement to move provider to maintain telephony going forward. The problem is one of porting the number. Had your relative already have been a BT customer, the changeover to DV would have been straightforward and would only have required moving the connection from the master socket to the router.

[iniltous]

As stated , Plusnet don’t offer a telephone service anymore and are proactively offering it’s existing telephone customers an ‘in house’ move to EE that maintains the existing PN term length and price , and seems the obvious choice for PN customers that want to keep telephony ( with the existing phone number ) so why didn’t you take that ‘easy’ PN assisted offer to join EE , and decide to migrate to BT instead ( something presumably instigated by yourself ) , was your decision to move to BT because you received a PN notification with a deadline to join EE or voluntarily remove telephony and remain with PN just for broadband or because you knew this was going to be necessary sooner rather than later so you acted without any actual deadline from PN ?

Although it’s nothing more than speculation and can’t be proved one way or another , taking the migration to EE and not arranging your own move to BT may have been a lot less disruptive and not needed any temporary telephone number being allocated.