Not able to receive all incoming calls

[Zubs7]

Apologies for reviving an old thread. 

Hi @Annie70 

Did you manage to get this solved? I too had a similar issue since May! Phone calls back and forth with BT having to chase up about my old landline every month a BT rep told me they would ‘personally’ fix the issue and also finally put a ‘complaint’ through last month and today I had the chance to call back as I had a rare day off work as they left it as it was from the last correspondence back in early September and they had the cheek to cancel the complaint! 

So, was told today my old number which we had with BT for roughly around 30 years plus cannot be transferred to digital voice which at the time of getting full fibre they told me it wouldn’t be an issue and they pushed me to digital when I clearly told them I’m happy with copper line! I really felt like I was being fobbed off since May with me constantly calling them for updates and no one from BT bothered to call me back as they promised and still taking full months payments. 

[Annie70]

Good morning. I emailed  the ceo of BT ( there’s a website which shows all companies ceo email etc, I think it’s ceo.com) . I had an almost immediate reply from one of his assistants. Within 48 hrs the line was receiving incoming calls on my “ old” number. Can’t remember exactly what the problem was but think they said somewhere along the procedure someone hadn’t “ closed “ the order. Hope this helps.

[Zubs7]

Thank you so much for your response @Annie70 I will give that a try now and hopefully it can’t be resolved 6 months in. 

thank you 😊

[Annie70]

You are welcome. I hope it works for you. BT voluntarily gave me a month free too for the inconvenience. The only problem you may have is if your number has been allocated to someone else , but fingers crossed it hasn’t. Good luck. Let me know how you get on 🤞

[Zubs7]

Hi @Annie70 

Unfortunately they weren’t really much help, I did get an email back and they called me around 11am and they said they will not be able to retrieve my old number as it has exceeded the 30 day window which is no fault of mine as I stated and they saw on the notes that I’ve been chasing up everyday or two since May trying to get the number back so they said they will ‘investigate’ as to why the number wasn’t transferred over, they made it blunt that my old number is gone completely but will get a callback (yet again) on Friday to see what they can do. Which is really annoying as I’ve been chasing this up since I got full fibre and digital voice in May so it’s really not my fault so I am still lost, we heavily rely on our old number as hospitals have that number on their system etc. The fact BT admitted this was their fault and still can’t get my original BT number is appalling.  

[Firefox1701]

Cynical as I am,  I'm amazed that you've had this response from the CEO's office.    However:  have you tried ringing your old number and see what happens?    If you get an answer  -  even if you get a ringing tone  -  that would suggest that it's already been allocated elsewhere,  in which case you definitely won't get it back.    If you don't get a ringing tone,  it may well be the case that it hasn't actually been allocated,  in which case,  it's not a question of whether they can get it back for you,  it's a question of whether they will get it back for you.    At this level,  irrespective of the  '30-day window',  it should certainly be within their power to retrieve the number if they wish to,  so long as it hasn't already been re-allocated.

In any battle,  it is wise to measure the potential cost in terms of time,  effort and resources against the best possible outcome.    In light of the fact that this has been going on for,  what,  five months or more?  -  it occurs to me that for better or worse,  you've obviously managed without your old number for that period of time,  regardless of the rights or wrongs of whether or not you should have had to.    If even the CEO's office are failing to deal appropriately with your complaint,  I feel this might be the time to ask yourself how much more time and effort it's worth investing in the flogging of what looks increasingly like a dead horse.

If,  for you,  this is a matter of principle above pragmatism,  by all means press on;   you even have the option of the Ombudsman if the complaint remains unresolved to your satisfaction.    However,  I can tell you now that that is an extremely protracted process that will make five months seem like the flight of a gnat by comparison,  and there is a very high chance they will side with BT in any case.   If the CEO's office continue to come up empty,  as bitter a pill as it is to swallow,  in practical terms,  you might be better off just accepting that you won't get the old number back,  in which case I would seriously consider going with another provider.

The only postscript to all of that is that if you do decide to go elsewhere,  be prepared for the possibility that you may find yourself no better off in the long run;   as flawed as BT are,  in my experience,  all of the major providers are much of a muchness.

[Annie70]

Fully understand your frustration & anger especially regarding the hospital contact aspect. I think I was lucky ,as I was still inside the 30 day period,  & my temper rose quite quickly as I felt I was being pushed from pillar to post , & therefore decided quite quickly that I was going to do my best to speak to someone at the top. One agent said he was  going to transfer me to the appropriate department and then I found myself back in the queue just to speak to another agent! Unfortunately you have maybe been too patient,  but don’t give up, although if you’re number has been given to someone else you may be snookered. Let me know how you get on.

[Zubs7]

@Firefox1701  Thanks for your response, yes if I call my landline using my EE line it does indeed go through, apologies should have mentioned that on the first post however, if I use say an o2 line it will not go through. 

I totally understand where you’re coming from in regards to waiting 5 months for the line but I was constantly calling up regarding this and they opened and closed the order 7 times to get this number through so assumed this was getting transferred over, with hospital appointments we ended up call diverting it to one of our mobiles in the end, majority of the relatives were getting in contact via what’s app hence why we survived without a landline as in my mind this was getting ‘rectified’ as I’ve been told and that it will be working soon. 

I’m really hoping they can sort this out as this an original BT line, the rep on the phone did tell me they did not retrieve the number properly and it’s their fault and left it as an investigation for now. 

[Zubs7]

Hi @Annie70 

Yes will definitely let you know how it goes and yes I have been too patient only because they were constantly telling me this will be fixed within x amount of days etc so I assumed it was going to be fixed, even the rep this morning saw the notes and was shocked the amount of times I was chasing up. The most annoying thing was having to repeat myself to them constantly which was really stressful at one point but I’m hoping this can get rectified this week. Thanks for all your help 😊

[Annie70]

I found that going over the problem again & again was extremely frustrating too. Let me know how it goes 👍