topic Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli in My Account/Billing

Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppliers

thwackety — Tue, 06 May 2025 02:28:52 GMT

So, been a plusnet customer for 23 years and moving away because they're forcing me to.

Moved my landline from BT to plusnet about 2-3 years ago. (Landline actually matters to me - since various parts of the NHS fail hard for non-landline calls)

Been told that my contract ends in 1 month, at which point my price will be hiked 100%

I know that landlines are disappearing at some point soon - but have been offered a "deal" which is a massive price hike next year and year after. Not only that, that plusnet won't be providing a digital voice offering (despite using the same router as BT which has a digital voice port)

So I go looking for alternatives.

Since I have a VoIP account with Andrews and Arnold, I go to see if I can port my landline number to them.

The one touch switching there gives an error: "The requested service was not found against the matched customer / account / subscription" -- which specifically means "Plus net found the account, but are telling Andrews and Arnold that my landline doesn't exist as a service" (even though it very much does)

I then think, OK, let's try someone else. So I try Sky Broadband. Go through all of their forms, only to be told *again* that Plusnet are denying the existence of my landline / landline phone number. Specifically Sky says "There is no active landline service matching your Plusnet account details, but we found a broadband service." and then it goes on to say "We found a broadband service provided by Plusnet with the account number xxxxxxxx."

That means I'm entering the right details.

It means that both A&A and Sky Broadband are correctly querying plusnet for the details of my landline, but Plusnet's systems are lying and saying that I don't have a landline with them. (I do, and have the phone bills to prove it)

That means PlusNet have me over the proverbial barrel because broadband is vital to our jobs, and landline is essential to my caring responsibilities.

Plus net haven't responded to emails about this, problem.

The only phone number they provide is a *sales* line and I actually need someone to update their systems to tell other providers "Yes, I have a phone number".

Technically, the error is that plusnet's end of the OTS (one touch switch) system is responding to other providers that I don't have any NBICS (Number Based Information Communications Services) - which is plain wrong - and so they're preventing a switch. (illegally)

My products: (copy and pasted from the portal)

* Unlimited Fibre Extra inc. Line rental

* Line Only

If I click on "Phone", that says:

* Your phone service

* Product: Line Only

* Phone number(s): (correct number)

* Call Plan Price (per month): £0.00

This is clearly plusnet being incompetent on their end, but if they only have a sales line, don't answer emails, and just point people here. Well ... hence this post here in the vain hope that maybe someone from plusnet support will respond?

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

MisterW — Tue, 06 May 2025 06:24:50 GMT

but if they only have a sales line, don't answer emails, and just point people here.

The support number is 0330 1239 123 its shown on the contact us section of this page https://www.plus.net/help/phone/

I suspect there is an error in a database somewhere linking your phone number to an address, If you've not changed supplier for a long time , its prorbably been there since the last change!. It could be Plusnets database or it could be Openreachs. That is causing the OTS system to fail to retrieve the correct data and thus prevent a switch.

It probably needs an ORDI (OpenReach Data Integrity) request submitted to correct the data. The support line OUGHT to be able to arrange this but otherwise, I'm sure one of the Plusnet help team will pick this up.

BTW you can not just switch the phone number to A & A, it will cease your broadband as well.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Tue, 06 May 2025 07:43:01 GMT

The support number is 0330 1239 123 its shown on the contact us section of this page

https://www.plus.net/help/phone/

That's very helpful, thank you. (I hope plusnet reimburse you superusers for your effort!) I'd missed that. I was referring to the pages that relate to leaving plusnet - which seem to think the only solution is sales. Thanks!

I suspect there is an error in a database somewhere linking your phone number to an address, If you've not changed supplier for a long time , its prorbably been there since the last change!. It could be Plusnets database or it could be Openreachs. That is causing the OTS system to fail to retrieve the correct data and thus prevent a switch.

Plusnet is wholly owned by BT. Openreach is wholly owned by BT. The phone number was moved from BT to plusnet. No matter which way you look at it, they don't really have any excuse - they're at fault, and frankly it's pathetic. (I'm a software engineer, primarily of network systems, so I say that very emphatically - it's pathetic of them)

It probably needs an ORDI (OpenReach Data Integrity) request submitted to correct the data. The support line OUGHT to be able to arrange this but otherwise, I'm sure one of the Plusnet help team will pick this up.

I'll give one of actual staff there a chance to look at this here.

Though I must admit have very low opinion of plusnet now after seeing how incompetently they manage things. Every time there's a change they break something. They knackered my payments a few years ago because they unilaterally decided that the council authority was part of my postal address (which was irrelevant to the change at the time). I mean that was ludicrous, and yet the support member of staff I spoke to back then thought I was in the wrong, even though everyone said he was wrong including the royal mail, bank and council (who do after all have to know addresses for people). Anyhow, I digress. I'll give someone from plusnet staff a chance to reply.

BTW you can not just switch the phone number to A & A, it will cease your broadband as well.

Yes, A&A web systems flagged this up on their porting page when I decided to click on the "not OTS" button, and it noted that this would cause a cessation of broadband at that instant. But because it was broken that's why I decided to check sky broadband - which noted that they could do both the phone & broadband as a single step. At that point Sky's systems detailed precisely the problems - that Plusnet was reporting that I have broadband but not phone.

Oh minor detail though regarding this:

The support number is 0330 1239 123 its shown on the contact us section of this page

That's not gonna work from the service they provide. Also, Plusnet can't phone our landline at the moment though - it says it's constantly engaged. (it isn't though)

They've actually additionally broken our phone line at the moment - can't make this up. (though I don't know if that's since last night) It's showing a fault now if I look here -- https://www.plus.net/my-account/tools/phone-troubleshooter/ -- something that I've had confirmed by Openreach - as a problem outside our property, so again their collective fault - according to them.

Just as well NHS clinics always use mobiles to contact people. Oh, no, wait, they don't - they prefer the landline, and rarely try mobiles if the landline fails - at least round here. (being a registered carer for 2 people this is a real issue, not that plusnet would care because if they did, I wouldn't have to jump through hoops just to try to maintain a service they can easily continue to provide if they wanted)

Broadband is working though, for the moment. Who knows if it'll keep working.

Nice to see they want to increase my monthly charges to nearly £62 for this gold plated <self-censored> service. (Wonder why I'm trying to leave.)

Anyway, thanks for the tip. I'll see if anyone from plusnet staff replies. I mean that's what we pay for, right?

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

Anonymous — Tue, 06 May 2025 07:55:42 GMT

@thwackety

"broadband is vital to our jobs"

Not relevant to your current problem, but do you have a residential broadband and telephone service, or a business one?

A business service gives a better SLA, (Service Level Agreement), in therms of how long it should take to get any fault fixed.

Also, as you rely so heavily on your broadband, do you have a backup option in case of a fault,even a mobile phone set up as a WiFi hotspot?

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

MisterW — Tue, 06 May 2025 07:58:50 GMT

They knackered my payments a few years ago because they unilaterally decided that the council authority was part of my postal address (which was irrelevant to the change at the time). I mean that was ludicrous, and yet the support member of staff I spoke to back then thought I was in the wrong, even though everyone said he was wrong including the royal mail, bank and council (who do after all have to know addresses for people). Anyhow, I digress. I'll give someone from plusnet staff a chance to reply.

That sounds like it could be when the database inconsistency started. Plusnet will (like any other supplier using Openreach) use the Openreach database. Every property has a UPRN , it would be interesting to lookup the UPRN for your address here https://www.findmyaddress.co.uk/ and then use the BT wholesale address checker https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL/AddressHome , put in your postcode and see if the details fro your entry in the list match the UPRN and address .

They've actually additionally broken our phone line at the moment - can't make this up. (though I don't know if that's since last night) It's showing a fault now if I look here -- https://www.plus.net/my-account/tools/phone-troubleshooter/ -- something that I've had confirmed by Openreach - as a problem outside our property, so again their collective fault - according to them

That doesnt sound good, its a bit too coincidental to get a fault just as you've started to look at a transfer!. It MIGHT indicate that one of your attempts to transfer actually DID start the process !!

I'll try and escalate this thread to get a staff member to pick it up...

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Tue, 06 May 2025 08:25:10 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Not relevant to your current problem, but do you have a residential broadband and telephone service, or a business one?

A business service gives a better SLA, (Service Level Agreement), in therms of how long it should take to get any fault fixed.

It would, but then you don't worry about things if they're generally working. (I've normally caught issues caused by plusnet before they've become an issue for us practically speaking)

Without going into too much personal details, for one of us the lack of home connection is a major inconvenience (due to health risks), for the other, they needs to have a connection. (Previous employer paid for the other half to have a separate broadband but when they moved on we didn't revisit a replacement second line. However, new employer doesn't - I guess that could be dealt with via tax return though thinking about it) Given that the actual connection has been pretty solid for 23 years, it's not something I'd worried about too much. It's literally only a problem because plusnet are choosing to make it one for customers.

Also that said, having seen multiple horror stories of people on here (and elsewhere) saying that switching over to plusnet (and from) has left them without broadband for weeks in the past, it's a concern. The odd few days here and there are manageable. Weeks? Far less so. Lack of landline phone though? Again, back to NHS cancelling necessary appointments.

Also, as you rely so heavily on your broadband, do you have a backup option in case of a fault,even a mobile phone set up as a WiFi hotspot?.

Yes, multiple phones each with some limited data allowance. And the hotspot thing is something I know works.

Anyway, thanks for asking and suggesting that.

Just as a general comment though -- it's not an unusual situation though to rely on broadband - even just for personal stuff - given that cutting the cord and doing all TV/Radio/etc over IP is relatively common now.

Anyway, thanks for the reply - if I'd not known about those options that would've been very welcome. 🙂

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Tue, 06 May 2025 08:42:37 GMT

@MisterW wrote:
That sounds like it could be when the database inconsistency started.

That was the primary reason for mentioning it TBH. Could be. Might not be though.

Plusnet will (like any other supplier using Openreach) use the Openreach database. Every property has a UPRN , it would be interesting to lookup the UPRN for your address here https://www.findmyaddress.co.uk/ and then use the BT wholesale address checker https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL/AddressHome , put in your postcode and see if the details fro your entry in the list match the UPRN and address .

Did the usual thing of house number and postcode, and it gives the right address. That system agrees with Royal Mail, the council, etc 🙂 (ie You've found another system that disproves the mistake that was made by that person who acted like I was in the wrong back in the day..)

They've actually additionally broken our phone line at the moment - can't make this up. (though I don't know if that's since last night) It's showing a fault now if I look here -- https://www.plus.net/my-account/tools/phone-troubleshooter/ -- something that I've had confirmed by Openreach - as a problem outside our property, so again their collective fault - according to them

That doesnt sound good, its a bit too coincidental to get a fault just as you've started to look at a transfer!. It MIGHT indicate that one of your attempts to transfer actually DID start the process !!

I don't think so - apparently it's possibly been like this since at least friday. Dialling our number says there's another call in progress - even though there isn't (and no dial tone) - and apparently that might've been the case on friday. I say might because I didn't know until today, and it was apparently when someone tried calling and got an engaged message, even though it wasn't... Also, you don't tend to think of testing your own landline until your ISP declares you don't have one...

(We don't get *many* NHS calls - waiting lists etc - but when they do it's important they're not missed, because they don't call back - and they tend to come in bursts. Similarly the carer support people don't try mobile number or try again, and just remove you from the lists if you're not careful)

I think the co-incidence is just me checking it after seeing multiple systems say that I don't have a landline.

I'll try and escalate this thread to get a staff member to pick it up...

I'll give a fair period to wait, if they don't pick it up, I'll give them a call.

And thanks - you're a very kind person 🙂

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Tue, 06 May 2025 13:08:49 GMT

That doesnt sound good, its a bit too coincidental to get a fault just as you've started to look at a transfer!. It MIGHT indicate that one of your attempts to transfer actually DID start the process !!

I'll try and escalate this thread to get a staff member to pick it up...

After they tried to sell me an upgrade (I guess anything working completely working would be an upgrade), and ignoring the issue, I reiterated why I'd phoned and was put through to someone who actually sounded technical, and was very helpful.
The long and short of it is the system not only checks the data you mentioned but also checks that the line is functional. If it isn't it won't allow it to go through. Since it wasn't it couldn't.

Apparently the reason the line is bust is because of the special way that Openreach are working at the moment. The upshot is a) Openreach broke the line b) Allegedly this means that this is why the OTS failed. c) Because I checked the line and reported it last night, Openreach have 48 hours to fix the problem meaning d) when it's working, it also unblock the OTS - or at least mean the ORDI update can happen - and the that'll unblock the OTS. Whether this is actually the case depends on alot of different things, but it is at least plausible.

Had to quote mine and your posts to both the sales person who I was put through to first - even though the reason I was calling was because of a fault in the OTS and the faulty landline. The guy flat out said it has to be A&A or Sky's fault - ignoring the fact that for it to happen to one is unfortunate, two smacks of carelessness. Sales guy also didn't seem to understand why I wouldn't want to go somewhere else, even though the one thing they're supposed to get right - the landline & broadband - doesn't work. The sales guy didn't understand a word of it...) Second guy though was great and said "that all makes perfect sense" - made obvious checks etc and mentioned the possible solution - "what for openreach to fix the line first ~ 8th May and then see if that's fixed it."

Anyway, thanks again MisterW - very helpful.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

MisterW — Tue, 06 May 2025 13:23:29 GMT

The long and short of it is the system not only checks the data you mentioned but also checks that the line is functional. If it isn't it won't allow it to go through. Since it wasn't it couldn't.

Well I dont want to sound like mr doubtful, but that's a new one on me! AFAIK the OTS system just attempts to tie the service to the address. Im not aware that it has any data to indicate whether the service has a current fault or not.

Apparently the reason the line is bust is because of the special way that Openreach are working at the moment.

Again , a new one on me!

The upshot is a) Openreach broke the line b) Allegedly this means that this is why the OTS failed. c) Because I checked the line and reported it last night, Openreach have 48 hours to fix the problem meaning d) when it's working, it also unblock the OTS - or at least mean the ORDI update can happen - and the that'll unblock the OTS. Whether this is actually the case depends on alot of different things, but it is at least plausible.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the fault is fixed...

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Tue, 06 May 2025 17:03:15 GMT

* Well I dont want to sound like mr doubtful, but that's a new one on me!

Yeah, well. I said it sounded plausible. Benefit of the doubt and all that... Whether it's true or not I don't know. If it'd come from the sales guy I would've claimed BS, because he essentially acted as if plusnet could do no wrong - and the problems the other ISPs had with them

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Fri, 09 May 2025 16:06:53 GMT

Well, as a further update to anyone reading this:

* This still hasn't been resolved.

* Fixing the landline didn't fix the problem

* Speaking to multiple people at plusnet hasn't resolved the issue

* Posting on here repeatedly hasn't fixed the issue.

* First time I phoned to get it resolved I was put through to sales person instead which was extremely annoying

* Said sales guy wrongly said the problem was definitely with A&A and Sky Broadband because it couldn't possibly be plusnet's fault

* He put me through to the (hopefully) technical guy - who I gave the benefit of when he said that waiting for the landline to be fixed by openreach might well fix the problem. It didn't. (note, plusnet doing *nothing* here and it didn't work)

* At this point someone at plusnet decided to change my marketting preferences from "do not contact" to "spam with everything", which was the cherry on the cake. (which breaches ICO guidelines)

* To their credit someone who monitors these forums DID contact me and I genuinely believe they want to help - after my landline had come back, and listened to the problem and committed to go away and get it resolved either today or monday next week.

* I then another person phone from plusnet's to try to effectively "upsell" me not having a landline (Their "retention" team who despite being told firmly and politely why I was leaving - need to have continuity of landline number 0 still tried upselling me to not having a landline.

So far as I understand it - though I could be wrong.

* They also sent me an email before all this that breached OFCOM regulations because it the cheapest option I could have to stay was not available on the website page they linked to.

* They've breached ICO guidelines/data protection law (by changing marketting preferences without permission)

* They're in breach of OFCOM guidelines with regard to switching

Anyhoo. Going back to the annoying sales guy who claimed "It can't plusnet's our fault" (paraphrase because he blamed A&A & Sky), I'd checked plusnet's one touch switch system, by testing with multiple broadband providers with sad results:

* A&A - can confirm I'm a customer of plusnet, can't confirm landline number/service

* Sky Broadband - can confirm I'm a customer of plusnet with broadband, can't confirm active landline

* Virgin Media - does indeed make the check (if you hunt for where), but errors if you ask it to continue landline number

* Zen Internet - does indeed make the check, but errors if you ask it to continue the landline number

* Vofafone - does indeed make the check, but errors if you ask it to continue the landline number

When I mentioned this to the nice support lady who monitors these forums, she agreed that it's clearly a plusnet issue, and may well date back to the time when they took over the line from BT (which wouldn't surprise me given the stupidity that arose then). As I said at the time I think that's pretty awful of plusnet because frankly BT, Openreach and Plusnet are all part of the same BT group.

As for now, this whole thing is caused by a business policy decision by plusnet not to enable a specific service on the hardware they send out. I also note now that they've taken over EE as well, that 2 of the 3 parts of the consumer facing part of their business offer this, so this is literally just spitting in the face of long standing customers IMO.

Anyway, as it stands, nothing's been fixed. I've spoken to 4 people at plusnet - on the landline provided by plusnet no less - the landline their systems deny exist when other companies query them.

I mean, it's one thing for plusnet to agree that it's their fault, but no-one in the company seems to be able to fix a simple database issue.

Who knows though, what next week will bring. Will I be gaslit further by more random sales people phoning up unwanted? Or will there actually be a resolution to the issue. I'm not a betting person, but at this rate I'm betting that I'll be starting legal proceedings against them.

So, in summary - definitely plusnet's fault - so they are still denying me one touch switching of my landline by denying existence of my landline to other suppliers. No one has been able to or willing to commit to a deadline to fix. No matter how nice any individual people are I've spoken to nor how reasonable I've been when speaking on the phone, this simply isn't acceptable.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

MisterW — Fri, 09 May 2025 16:29:01 GMT

As I said earlier, I was dubious that the landline fault was preventing the switch. However what was thought was that the Openreach systems were rejecting the port due to the active fault report on the line. Now this has been cleared we seem to be back to the original problem that the OTS system can't match the address for the landline number. This may be in the Openreach database in which case Plusnet will have to follow Openreach procedures to try and get this corrected which may take time.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Fri, 09 May 2025 17:46:22 GMT

@MisterW wrote:

As I said earlier, I was dubious that the landline fault was preventing the switch. However what was thought was that the Openreach systems were rejecting the port due to the active fault report on the line. Now this has been cleared we seem to be back to the original problem that the OTS system can't match the address for the landline number. This may be in the Openreach database in which case Plusnet will have to follow Openreach procedures to try and get this corrected which may take time.

Yes - thank you Mister W for escalating this to the nice lady who monitors the forum. I think this is just stupid, but raising the issue here was the right way to do it IMO. I posted a summary because there's people like me who check these forums but don't post, but are looking for a resolution.

Like yourself I was dubious about the "wait and hope" approach, but I've seen so many stupid bugs on systems and software in the past I thought it worth giving the benefit of the doubt.

The reason I have little patience with them though is because:

* The landline service was originally taken out with BT, probably 25 years ago, who own openreach

* BT spun out openreach some years later (which will have been for business not consumer benefit), but still own openreach

* BT bought plusnet a year later

* 15 years after BT bought plusnet, 16 years after BT spun out openreach, we switched our landline from BT to plusnet - after 22 years with BT

* 11 years ago, EE was bought by BT

So all in all, all these BT owned companies have no excuse not to have gotten that right.

Fast foward to now:

* BT provide a digital voice product with their full fibre offering using a specific router (They won't test the OTS settings without you actually commiting to their service)

* EE offer a digital voice product with their full fibre offering. (They won't test the OTS settings without you actually commiting to their service)

* Plusnet use *the same router* as BT just configured differently with a sticker over the digital voice port - essentially saying "No"

So plusnet *could* just make life easier for customers and just offer a product that people want and will pay for, but no. Heck

So I'm left with being a moaning myrtle and complaining on a public forum about something that a communications company that's all part of the same group left pointing fingers at each other blaming each other an not resolving the problem. Yes, I understand the "fact" that they're all separate businesses, but frankly, the same applies to many other companies that actually get this right, so that's not really an excuse. Especially given that plusnet has been a subsidiary for 18 years, openreach a subsidiary for 17 years, etc.

Meanwhile, I'm now barely 3 weeks away from being charged £62/month by one subsidiary of the group of companies - with the only way of avoiding it to either shift to a different contract without the landline phone number, or to renew for a ridiculously long period of time over which plusnet cannot guarantee to hold up their end of the bargain. (Given the region I'm in is expected to start having copper/landline switch off happening this summer - meaning they want me to renew for 18 months - which means they should welch on their side of the contract within 3-4 months, BUT expect me to continue paying for something they won't provide.)

If someone at plusnet high enough up could actually be bothered to listen to customers or their forum staff (whom I do believe are trying here) then I wouldn't even be needing to have this conversation here, and would just go the path of least resistance. But they don't and so here we are.

If these companies were 2-5 years old it'd a) be more understandable b) they'd be called cowboys c) anyone using them would be told they were idiots for using said cowboys. But plusnet as a company is nearly 30 years old if you go back to its founding. EE is was founded 15 years via a merger with t-mobile-UK which was founded 32 years ago, BT itself is nearly 180 years old and the various different parts of BT Group of companies all appear to be blaming the youngest past which is a mere 19 years old. So hardly companies new to this, and therefore have no excuse.

Meanwhile, I'm left with one arm of BT Group not speaking to another part of BT group, while the latter part of BT group points fingers at another part of BT group for not switching a BT product to themselves properly, because they can't get their act together, and the only "solution" they offered (by the plusnet sales guy) is to buy a product from a different part of BT group because their management can't be bothered to offer the same service that 2 other parts of the BT group are perfectly capable of offering using the same hardware and physical infrastructure.

It's beyond stupid.

The fact that they rely on volunteers such as yourself Mister W is particularly sad, but your comments here and escalating to the forum staff are particularly welcome, and as I say the forum staff member I spoke to do appear to be trying as hard as they can within the limits of the incompetent systems they're working with...

Sigh...

Maybe next week I'll be able to post something positive.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

MisterW — Sat, 10 May 2025 07:01:18 GMT

(Given the region I'm in is expected to start having copper/landline switch off happening this summer - meaning they want me to renew for 18 months - which means they should welch on their side of the contract within 3-4 months, BUT expect me to continue paying for something they won't provide.)

The regional switch-off is BT Retail converting THEIR phone service to digital voice, its not a general copper switch off. Openreach will at sometime , currently after Dec 2025, switch off the PSTN.

EE offer a digital voice product with their full fibre offering. (They won't test the OTS settings without you actually commiting to their service)

* Plusnet use *the same router* as BT just configured differently with a sticker over the digital voice port - essentially saying "No"

So plusnet *could* just make life easier for customers and just offer a product that people want and will pay for, but no. Heck

It's not quite as simple as just enabling the service in the router, it requires infrastructure and support to provide a digital voice service. The current landline service and support is provided entirely by Openreach, ISPs have little support needs, they effectively pass all faults straight to Openreach. With DV , suppliers need their own diagnostics and support functionality.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

Anonymous — Sat, 10 May 2025 08:30:25 GMT

@thwackety

"BT spun out openreach some years later (which will have been for business not consumer benefit), but still own openreach"

Actually, it was OFCOM that forced BT Group to spin out Openreach into a separate company within the BT Group.

This was done to ensure that rival telecoms companies had equality of access to BT's local network - so ultimately it was for the benefit of consumers.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Sat, 10 May 2025 12:36:40 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

@thwackety

"BT spun out openreach some years later (which will have been for business not consumer benefit), but still own openreach"

Actually, it was OFCOM that forced BT Group to spin out Openreach into a separate company within the BT Group.

This was done to ensure that rival telecoms companies had equality of access to BT's local network - so ultimately it was for the benefit of consumers.

Just stop it - I'm not interested.

So, you agree that they're still a part of BT Group. Well done.

You may have also noticed that this hasn't actually worked - a BT Group line that was taken over by another BT Group company, transferred to them by another BT Group line was transferred in such a way that when a customer of BT Group company tries to leave a BT Group company with their landline number cannot do so because one of the 3 BT Group companies involved did so in a broken fashion such that the last BT Group company is incapable of telling other non-BT Group companies that said customer has a landline with BT Group company because they're blaming a different BT Group company for not shifting a BT Group product from a different BT Group company correctly in the first place.

Do you understand that you are at this stage coming across as a troll simply to be annoying - and the ONLY reason - THE ONLY reason I am posting in here is because plusnet have a history of only responding to public shaming as far as I can tell.

Please let the plusnet forum staff do their job - the nice lady I spoke to from them last week said she'd try and get it sorted BUT it's far more difficult and awkward for her than it should be and the only reason I am posting in here is because of BT Group company's incompetence.

Is your sole purpose here just to be annoying - I mean, you're not actually working for plusnet are you? You're just being annoying for the sake of being annoying?

Yes? OK. Please, just go troll someone else.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Sat, 10 May 2025 12:54:36 GMT

@MisterW wrote:

(Given the region I'm in is expected to start having copper/landline switch off happening this summer - meaning they

It's not quite as simple as just enabling the service in the router, it requires infrastructure and support to provide a digital voice service. The current landline service and support is provided entirely by Openreach, ISPs have little support needs, they effectively pass all faults straight to Openreach. With DV , suppliers need their own diagnostics and support functionality.

This is utterly irrelevant to the problem in hand.

Yes, as a software engineer who's built network systems for the past 1/4 century I know it's not quite as simple as just flicking a switch. But frankly it's not difficult, and it was a simple business decision on their part. It IS pretty trivial to run a VoIP service - especially if bought in as a white label service. Now where could the buy that in from? Oh yes, another part of BT Group amongst many other possibilities.

Please this isn't helping.

Mansplaining things like this isn't helpful.

I'm personally close to looking into legal options to get this sorted because I know they take time and if I have to escalate this through the courts I will. Telling me that plusnet are incapable of making alternative business decisions isn't helpful either. They are. They could make the decision and either buy it in as a white label service, or hire the staff. Simple stuff. (It's not like VoIP is a new technology after all with many variations over the past 60 years)

Not only that I've said before that the key reason why I need to take the landline number with me is because I'm a registered carer for 2 people and need to ensure that the NHS can get through on the landline number because they do not ring back on mobile numbers - at least not round here. (maybe they do near you, they don't here) This does lead to appointment cancellations and being thrown back in the appointment queues even for things that are important. I'm not going to argue the points on medical realities on a public forum either.

I only say this to ask that yourself and Mr_Paul decide to stop second guessing every single thing I say that you take issue with. Ask yourself "Is my heckling this upset person helpful?" You're not going to convince me that Plusnet are a good and decent company any more, and does just make me upset and doesn't solve the core problem. (If it was possible on these forums to block other users, I'd block Mr_Paul at this point since he's only trolling/heckling/piling on)

I do appreciate you trying to guess what Plusnet have got wrong.

I do appreciate you escalating it to their staff. But this isn't helpful.

I've now got 21 days as this ticks down for Plusnet to get this resolved, and you're not helping.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

MisterW — Sat, 10 May 2025 13:03:04 GMT

I'm sorry if you feel my comments are unhelpful.

I'll now leave you in the hands of the Help team.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

Tina11192 — Mon, 12 May 2025 07:23:49 GMT

Good morning @thwackety and everyone that has taken time to respond to this post, and to @MisterW for escalating this to our attention, our apologies for the delayed response.

Just to follow up on this case, I have raised this matter with Stategic Imperatives (WLR), as they also cannot see any reasons for the failed port number, they have raised an ORDI (OpenReach Data Integrity), this was raised over the weekend and there are no further updates at the moment. As soon as I have some movement I will update this post.

Re: Denied One Touch Switch of Landline Number Plusnet deny existence of my Landline to other suppli

thwackety — Mon, 12 May 2025 11:34:00 GMT

Hello Tina,

Thank you for this. I'll give 48 hours for you to complete this investigation. (Based on the fact that I know that openreach have a default of 48 hours for most things, nothing more)

To be clear, I've tried this now with multiple providers, none of whom are able to confirm that I active an active landline with Plusnet. This means it is clearly a problem on the plusnet side of things with the One Touch Switch, not others - since it's precisely in this case that the OTS system is supposed to work.

Furthermore, the providers I've checked have not been "jonny come latelys" but well known long standing companies:

* Andrews and Arnold

* Sky Broadband

* Virgin Media

* Vodafone

* Zen Internet

If you don't believe me, I can and WILL create screencast of the problems to prove the point. Where would you like that posted?

So whichever part of BT Group is at fault, I would appreciate it if you could get this resolved, and get it resolved quickly. I'm considering legal options at this stage if you start charging me £62/month at the end of the month for your collective incompetence with regard to this.

As a reminder, history:

* BT Customer for landline since before 2001

* Plusnet customer since 2002

* Moved a few times, staying a customer of both - until we moved to current location in 2010.

* In 2010, was still a BT Customer for landline; a plusnet customer for broadband

* Switched my Landline service over from BT to Plusnet IIRC about 17 months ago, possible 35 months ago

FWIW, Sky theorised that the problem might be related to the fact that the number was ex-directory. So I phoned yourselves at the weekend to get that changed. It should have been completed now. The person I spoke to blamed the other companies for "getting it wrong", but frankly that doesn't seem reasonable, considering that there's literally 5 companies that I've had check to see if they can do the OTS, and identify if I have a landline and confirm they can take the number over.

The fact that the 5 well known, reputable, etc businesses cannot ascertain whether I have a landline service with yourselves - as we all know I do, means that this is very much a plusnet problem that you are making my problem. You can blame other parts of BT Group all you like, but fundamentally you're all part of BT group, so please, actually get this resolved so I can stop talking about it on here.

Also, what happened to Cri who was dealing with this? Or Josh who she said might take it over?

And in case you're wondering, I just checked again with the same results.

"There is no active landline service matching your Plusnet account details, but we found a broadband service."

No matter which way you dice this, it's a plusnet issue that you're making my problem.

Thank you again for looking, but I am running out of patience.

Michael.