Number porting

[anneblair43]

In  October 2022 I moved a  landline  service for an 87 year old lady from Shell to BT. Her original number was to have been moved from Shell to BT but this is proving very difficult as BT tell me that since Shell ceased the number they cannot retrieve it. Shell say that they have done every thing correctly and that BT is now the range holder for this number. The Shell landline ceased on 15/03/23n and  despite numerous phone calls and emails to both companies I cannot get this resolved.  I am seriously thinking of contacting OFCOM to see if they can help get this resolved. Any help or suggestions how to resolve this would be greatly appreciated

[Keith_Beddoe]

@anneblair43 

Welcome to this user forum for BT Retail phone and broadband customers.

This is just a customer to customer help forum, everyone here, including myself, are just customers.

The only BT Employees are the forum moderators.

I assume she is now a BT Retail customer?

It may be too late now to recover the number, but I have asked a moderator to assist.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@anneblair43 

Please can you also confirm that her  number was originally issued by BT, and not Shell?

If it was not originally issued by BT, then its not going to be possible to recover the number.

[anneblair43]

Thank you for replying, her number originally was a BT number { this was confirmed by BT themselves when I made the request to both BT and Shell for the number to be ported} she was with BT until she moved to the Post Office who were then taken over by Shell. Hope this helps. Best wishes

[anneblair43]

Thank you I am at my wits end here trying to sort this out as I said she is 87 years old and she also is quite hard of hearing.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@anneblair43 

I assume she only has a phone line and not broadband as well?

[anneblair43]

Thank you Keith_beddoe,

My apologies I should have made things clearer. I only referred to the landline as this is where the number porting was relevant. She had a landline and broadband from Shell and I started the process of moving her to BT in October 2022 for both landline and broadband.   

Due to various delaying factors the Shell service wasn't terminated until 15/03/23 { it was supposed to have finished on 27/02/23} BT has placed orders for this number on at least 6 occasions and each time they are unsuccessful BT say that the problem lies with Shell.

I have been in touch with Shell by email and phone almost non stop and they are adamant that they have done everything correctly and that the problem is with BT.

I think that you would agree that I am caught between a rock and a hard place!

[Keith_Beddoe]

@anneblair43 

That might be the issue as most new broadband orders require that any phone service is carried over BT Digital Voice via the BT Smart Hub 2, as the analogue phone network is closing down.

Under those circumstances a number cannot be ported to Digital Voice unless its within 28 days of it being ceased.

Can you please confirm that she has a new number, and its carried over Digital Voice, with her phone plugged into the back of the BT Smart Hub 2, or she is using one of the free BT supplied portable phones?

[anneblair43]

Keith_Beddoe

Yes she has a new number and a new Digital voice phone { supplied by BT}  it is connected into the new BT Smart hub.

Her original line came in by copper wiring and was connected to a non digital handset. This was the line that the Shell service came in on.

One of the delays in moving to BT was that a new fast fibre line had to be installed to her house. 

[anneblair43]

Keith_Beddoe,

Don't know if the following is of any help, but on practically every occasion that I rang BT about the porting order for the old BT number, I am told that because Shell ceased the number on 15/03/2023 they cannot retrieve it and that Shell needs to reinstate/reactivate the line for them to retrieve the number.

Shell have said that when the number was ceased on 15/03/2023 it would have been released back to BT within 10 working days of the line being ceased and that BT would have had full control of the number from then on. and that BT is now the Rangeholder for this number.