Successful number port

[KevG000]

Thanks David. I received confirmation of the order 24th Oct 2023 – the following was included in the content 

You'll be assigned a new phone number that hasn't been used at this address before. Once your new number is active, you won't be able to get any old numbers back. If this is incorrect, please call us as soon as possible.

– hence why I immediately contacted BT and spoke to a lady named Alaba the same day

The service is due to be installed 8th November. Having checked this morning, the equipment has still not been shipped yet.

I would have thought that stating the above and requesting contact from the customer would flag up on the order that the existing number needs to be retained?

[DavidM]

Hi @KevG000 and thanks for the reply.

We can't guarantee that the number will port over. Your confirmation states a new number will be on the account but once that's all connected we can try to do a renumber back to the original one if it's avalable.

Cheers

David

[KevG000]

Thanks again David.

Plusnet gave me a guarantee, confirmed by email,  that the number would be retained

You have confirmed my fears that no one at BT can give me any reassurance of the number being retained. 

Why can't the renumber to the existing line be actioned on the order? 

BT states that 'once the new number service is live you wont be able to get any old numbers back'......and to contact them if this is a problem.....which I have done

can't get the renumber until the service is live but when the service is live you wont be able to get the old number back.....

......going round in circles , 

[iniltous]

As it’s Plusnet that are offering this option to move potentially penalty free ( normally the migration process wouldn’t require you to involve the provider you are leaving you simply sign up with someone else  ) , are Plusnet  managing this change end to end ( basically they made the offer , if you accept , they effectively say ‘leave it to us’ )  or did they give you a specific number to contact with BT , or is it you go down the normal migration route , and all they are saying is that they won’t apply the usual early termination charges should they have normally applied.

If this change is being handled by PN , with no mention of you contacting BT independently you run the risk of messing up the transfer by getting  involved, if all PN are offering is not to raise ETC , then the normal migration process stops short of an absolute guarantee because of factors beyond the CP control, but should have an option to ‘retain my number’ .

The fact that your communication from BT suggests a new number has already been allocated , suggests that the ‘retain my number ‘ wasn’t selected on the BT sign up  ( that’s if the normal BT sign up was used and not some bespoke PN migration process ) were you offered the option to retain the number ?, 

[KevG000]

There was no direct ‘sign up’ through BT.  Plusnet offered the migration to BT because they couldn’t offer digital voice with FTTP.

PN then confirmed to me by email that I would retain my existing number and also there would be no termination charges (otherwise I would not have made the move). After agreeing the deal with PN I then received the official order from BT 

PN did not give me any specific number to contact with BT. From the point of receiving the order from BT I have then used them as the point of contact for the order.

It is, as you suggest,  a bespoke PN to BT migration deal not the normal migration of sign up to a new provider and then they pick up the detail.

As for messing things up – all I’m endeavouring to do is get some assurance from BT that I can retain the number. As stated previously I’ve had the same number with both BT and Plusnet respectively for more than 25 years. I fail to see what the problem is to what should be a very simple process

Frustrated beyond belief now - It’s starting to prove easier for me to simply cancel the contract with BT and stay with Plusnet as I don’t get service from BT until the 8th Nov and there’s no equipment been sent out yet

[imjolly]

Plusnet cannot guarantee you will receive the same number when porting to another ISP as that is up to the receiving ISP - BT Retail in this case

Like others before you when you transfer then you receive a new number and once your order completes with BT you can request a renumber back to your previous number.  the mods will help should you get problems after order completes but there is no guarantee that you will retain the number

[iniltous]

The potentially messing it up is because in more traditional migrations , people sign who up with a new provider, then instead of leaving it to the new company to serve their notice the consumer independently and at odds with the process , calls their own provider, this call is interpreted as a standalone request to leave , and messes up the migration.
My comment about messing up was dependent on how the migration was approached, if you only approached BT after receiving notification from BT ( that presumably being after BT received something from PN ) stating your number would be changed , is worrying, and it’s understandable you would want clarification, initially it wasn’t clear who instigated contact with BT .

[KevG000]

Contact was received from BT (details of the BT official order) after I had spoken with Plusnet regarding the migration.

The migration was their suggestion not mine as they advised they couldn't offer digital voice with FTTP.

My only contact since receiving the BT order has been with BT.

According to the community it appears that Plusnet cannot guarantee (neither will  BT) that I will retain my existing phone number when moving to BT from PN. Which is at odds with the email I have received from PN

The termination charges being waived also look suspect now as well based on the above so I have contacted Plusnet for further clarification. The service install is scheduled for the 8th Nov and then there's the cooling off period so cancelling the contract looks a likely option at this point

[KevG000]

Thank you for your reply.

It looks like you are correct and, to put it bluntly, have been lied to by PN when it comes to retaining the existing number 

However, the message from BT is also at odds as it clearly states I will lose my old number when the new number comes live into service........hence my frustration 

Any help is appreciated.......I'm awaiting a response from PN otherwise it looks like waiting until the service is live, trying to get the 'renumber' and if that's not fruitful contact the mods to see if we can have any joy........if it's not sorted I always have the cooling off period to consider cancellation .....all hassle I can well do without

[Keith_Beddoe]

@KevG000 

Not sure what cancelling would achieve, as Plusnet can no longer supply a phone service, which is why they are moving customers to BT Retail. You would be left with no phone service at all.

There are going to be very few ISPs that are going to be prepared to spend the extra cost needed to provide a phone service, which many people probably never need.

There are plenty of third party VOIP providers who would be more than willing to take on new customers.

If your number was originally issued by BT Retail, then it would be owned by them, so it should be possible to port it over, provided its still within the same geographical area.