VOIP landline port

[ChrisB66]

Hi, I'm moving my landline number to VOIP via Sipgate and have just had a port request rejected according to Sipgate by BT because of incorrect postcode for address.

The postcode on the forms is correct (I have had this once with another company's database that could not find my postcode although the property has been here 50 years) I have sent an image of my latest BT bill to Sipgate as proof.

Anyone had this, or know who to contact at BT - seems like a way for BT /Sipgate to make money out of a database error?

Thanks

Chris

[iniltous]

I don’t see how a database error can be interpreted as a money making scheme, if BT Consumer are currently your ‘landline’ provider , you need ask them to arrange an ORDI ( Openreach data integrity ) check with Openreach, if you get no joy with regular customer service , the BT Mod’s on here may offer to help , correcting any error  should align your OR address with the ‘official’  Post Office / Royal Mail entry for your address, and then any further issues would be with the new provider.

[ChrisB66]

Thanks, my reason for suspicion is repeated fee taking for failed porting requests hiding under a 'wrong postcode' error. Difficult to 'know' what's actually happening when one provider rejects another's request, you would hope people would use a bit of discretion to call the customer to authorise rather than going back to square one. 

I decided to do the legwork of going through normal customer support and after checking my address is as it should be, eventually speaking to someone technical in Ireland regarding the situation.

They could see the request and thought the rejection was some sort of automatic security block, they have noted on my account that I do actually want to switch provider, but could see nothing that would give a 'wrong postcode' error.

I have therefore asked Sipgate to try again, for which they will take another £30.00

[Keith_Beddoe]

If you move your number, that will cease your broadband account, as the records are linked together, which is why a security alert is raised as normally that would involve you moving your whole package to another provider.

[ChrisB66]

Yes I know I have an alternative broadband (non telephone line) service already working and was informed previously that porting it would cancel both, not that I'd need to cancel my broadband before putting in a porting request for the landline number.

That again has nothing to do with the reported reason of failure. I have to say BT are making things complicated just to split a landline number away, I may have carried on with broadband with BT had there been an option to port without canceling the line.

[iniltous]

Not sure why you think BT are making it complicated, if your choice of VoIP provider ports your working BT number into themselves, your linked BT broadband will cease to work as it no longer has a ‘host’ telephony service, currently your VoIP provider is ( apparently ) failing to port the number because of a mismatch  in the Openreach records for your address, this address error would exist even if BT were not your telephony provider and it were some other company 

If your VoIP provider charges you £30 for a failed port , that is entirely between yourself and them .

[ChrisB66]

The why is because I would not have to do it at all, if BT did not want to push Digital Voice at customers and instead for a reasonable charge just provided a basic VOIP service.

The only way to unlock your old landline number for VOIP involves totally leaving BT, as you say, porting a landline number results in the cancelation of the telephone service and anything else connected to it. This is despite the fact that I would have considered just a broadband service from BT (even if there had been a short interruption) now I'm staying away for a least a year.

To say BT have nothing to do with the rejection of porting request is missing the point that I'm still their customer, for now, they could have held the rejection until checking with me if I wanted to move provider instead of blocking it (*the address reason looks to be a red herring).

I know BT and Openreach are not the same company, however they are closely linked and must have shared my data when the line was installed. I have *checked now (as I said) that they did have and do have my correct address information connected to my phone number and account.

You are correct in saying that it is only consequential that I have had to pay for a failed porting request. I have however now demonstrated that the correct information was given on my behalf to BT, to the best of my knowledge they send the actual forms I completed. BT however say they have no mechanism to reconsider a past request so  the only option to retain my number is to try again.

I started this to find who to contact at BT, the people I talked to at BT were helpful, I just feel that this is overly complicated and that many will just 'give up'. 

[iniltous]

BT didn’t reject your port request, they cannot do that, but if the VoIP provider submits incorrect address data the ‘wholesale’ system could reject it , the address on your BT bill is no indication of what data Openreach holds for your address..that presumably is where the mis match is…TBH, what the VoIP provider has told you isn’t necessarily 100% accurate, after all they are hardly impartial.

Your assertion that BT should have checked with you , is misguided , the regulator doesn’t want ‘losing’ providers the option of contacting their soon to be ex customer  ( the gaining provider being the driving force behind this,  they obviously  don’t want the losing company to have the chance to persuade their customer not to leave ) it's regulator that mandates this policy, basically  BT are not allowed to contact a customer that’s about to leave to check ‘is this really what you want ?’ 

[ChrisB66]

Thanks for the replies. Intention and reality can be different things as I have had to talk to BT to try and resolve the situation created, going against what the regulation intended.

Once I knew of a potential issue with my address information I talked to BT (before getting your first reply). I explained the reason 'given' for the rejection and was transferred a few times to someone I was told had the technical knowledge to assess why that may be.  They were doubtful of the reason given to me and could see nothing wrong with my address information and could see the request, I assumed that they checked more than my billing information given the context I had explained. 

I then told Sipgate to re-submit having been given this information, so I'll have to see if it works this time.

[iniltous]

There is a very similar question posted on another ( more technical ) forum, in that case it wasn’t a simple port of a residential line to a VoIP provider , but involved two addresses , business PBX lines, and another Telco as well as the VoIP provider , was that yourself posting there ?, if it were , apart from this forum being a BT Consumer forum ( not business ) you have somewhat misrepresented the issue , obviously if that other forum question wasn’t yourself , then I apologise.