BT says I will lose phone number

[SuzyQ15]

Hi

i am new to this. Totally getting lost with BT. 
we have been BT customers since 1986. We are near end of contract on Halo 1. Numerous calls with BT mean that if I want to keep FFTC (and not dig up my driveway) then I’d be put on Halo 3. BUT they say I WILL lose my phone number. 
yet I have read some posts here where people say the exchange can keep your number? All the staff I have spoken to at the BT Value Team, including their managers, say it isn’t possible to keep my number. 
Just don’t know what to do. I will be out of contract in a week’s time and paying god knows how much more money. 

[Keith_Beddoe]

@SuzyQ15 

Your number should be migrated to BT Digital Voice, provided that you specify that you want to keep your phone service when you renew, as its now possible to have broadband without a phone service.

There should be an option, on renewal, to retain your phone service. I cannot see why there should be an issue if BT Retail own your phone number, and it was not ported in from another provider.

Not sure why BT want you to upgrade to Halo 3.

[SuzyQ15]

Hi. My contract ends next week and they say they no longer do Halo 1. I have fibre to cabinet (concerned that full fibre will mean digging up new driveway). So this is what they offered but said we would lose our number. This was confirmed in various phone calls plus managers. Just seems their computer systems follow a certain route and the customer service can’t add any value. No one seems to really know what they are doing it why.

[Keith_Beddoe]

The issue of your driveway, has already been discussed on your other thread.

[jac_95]

You're in an exchange area that has Openreach copper based product restrictions imposed on it. That's why communication providers now only say full fibre is available and that if you took a voice service too it would need to go onto the new VoIP network (in this case for BT that's Digital Voice).

As for keeping your number that's usually fine when BT move you onto digital voice as part of their mass migration but as you are trying to renew it's essentially a new order.

I would of thought as you are a trial exchange area that there would be a order journey to port your existing number onto the digital voice as the exchange no longer allows new orders for traditional voice service over copper line.

There was a similar post I saw a while back, I'll post a link once I've found it.

[SuzyQ15]

That’s very informative. Thanks

[RobbieMac · Accepted solution]

Hi @SuzyQ15

Welcome to the BT Community and thanks for your post!

I'm sorry for the confusion around retaining your existing phone number when moving to Digital Voice.  As your services are currently with us, a migration to Digital Voice would let you retain your existing phone number.

See this link for more info:  Moving to Digital Voice

Thanks,

Robbie

[SuzyQ15]

Thanks. I am very wary atm. I think I will wait for the contract to end and then see what options are offered - plus I would have a cooling off period.
I’m still not sure why the Value Team’s computer system says I can’t keep my number.

[jac_95]

@RobbieMac 

As @SuzyQ15  is in a situation where the they aren't yet migrated to digital voice under BT's mass migration but rather wanting to renew or regrade their contract but sit in an exchange area with Openreach copper based product restrictions. Therefore not a normal renew or regrade workflow as they would need to:

a) Order new FTTP product (as a single order FTTP product)
b) Cease FTTC product they have today (and would possible cease current WLR product too)
c) Move to Digital Voice (but would need to retain number but if part b happens then number may go back in pool)

I know processes are/have been built for these different scenarios but aren't yet a common journey as the number of exchanges being added to the copper product restrictions is still slowly ramping up and therefore customer service agents may still be getting used to these changes/going through a learning curve. Therefore what's the best approach here as obviously the customer shouldn't go through the pain and receive lots of miss information but at the same time customer service teams need to go through that learning curve of these types of order journeys and scenarios as they will become more common as more and more exchanges get added to the Openreach copper product restrictions list.

[SuzyQ15]

Spot on! I have spent days trying to sort this out. TBH it has made me incredibly stressed too.
My contract ends this week and I have no idea how much it will cost in the future. I feel I am stuck with my current system and increased costs for the foreseeable future.
No one at BT seems to understand. It’s as if ‘computer says no’ then it’s a ‘no’ I still have my complaint open with BT but all they do is dump me onto the contract people at ‘value team’ and I go round the houses again.