topic Re: According to Customer Services....... in Broadband

According to Customer Services.......

bazzer — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:05:26 GMT

I cannot upgrade to FTTP with PN and have my landline ported to another provider.

My options are:

1) Move to EE

2) Have FTTP with PN and lose my landline

3) Leave PN and take everything to another provider if I do not want to switch to EE.

I believe this is wrong and that I can stay with PN for FTTP broadband only and have my landline ported to another provider.

The CS agent said she would transfer me to technical support, but instead cut me off.

I phoned PN because I wanted to know how to notify them to quarantine my landline number to prevent it from being lost.

Re: According to Customer Services.......

bmc — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:22:07 GMT

@bazzer

Your number gets automatically quarantined for 30 days after your service is ceased as per OFCOM rules.

Brian

Re: According to Customer Services.......

bazzer — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:28:36 GMT

@bmc It's a shame PN CS don't know this.

I had all this last year when I called them to renew my contract and ended up losing my account and all my email accounts because they incorrectly advised me that I could not continue with my landline.

Thanks to people within this forum who knew better, I managed to stop them from cutting off my telephone.

Re: According to Customer Services.......

Penny — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:47:08 GMT

@bazzer wrote:

I cannot upgrade to FTTP with PN and have my landline ported to another provider.

My options are:

1) Move to EE

2) Have FTTP with PN and lose my landline

... The CS agent said she would transfer me to technical support, but instead cut me off.

I phoned PN because I wanted to know how to notify them to quarantine my landline number to prevent it from being lost.

@bazzer I'm not a techie but as far as I understand it, you can opt for FTTP with PN and subsequently have your landline number transferred to VOIP.

To quote (partially) from the second half of a post I made here:

Within the first 30 days after your landline is ceased (for whatever reason), it should be possible for the number to be retrieved by a firm like https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-information/ .

I believe ceased-landlines go into quarantine *automatically*. Others here (several other threads) have recommended setting up an aa.net account (with some random new number) *before* the landline is ceased, so that it is then easier/swifter to get the ceased landline-number retrieved and reinstated in VOIP.

As far as I understand it, the set-up cost for VOIP is £12 plus ongoing cost of £1.50 plus VAT per month for a single number, and there are various options shown on that page for dealing with incoming calls (eg forwarding to a mobile charged at 4p/minute).

From what I've read on the forums here, most people use VOIP for incoming rather than outgoing calls, but (a) it means your previous landline-number remains current (so people can contact you) and (b) it means you don't need to notify all the people who usually call the landline-number, straight away. Additionally you shouldn't need to buy a new handset or an adaptor if you're happy to use their forward-to-a-mobile service and pay for the redirected calls.

Others here will fill in any gaps or correct any inaccuracies in the above but as far as I'm aware, there's nothing PN can/should do, to quarantine your landline number, this is something that should happen *automatically* when the landline is ceased and the quarantine retrieval-window should last for 30 days.

Edited to add: Sorry, I see @bmc gave you a much swifter reply but I've left what I said above in place, in case any aspect of it is found useful - regards, Penny.

Re: According to Customer Services.......

bazzer — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:48:05 GMT

@Penny I believe you are absolutely correct, and it is exactly what I believed.

I just don't think that some CS agents in PN know this and instead of saying so, they give incorrect information.

Re: According to Customer Services.......

njay — Fri, 08 May 2026 18:34:01 GMT

Bt website not clear either on the 30 day retention as faq says

No, you can’t retrieve your number once you’ve opted for Broadband only. This will also apply if you switch to a new provider.

And in answer to can i change my mind

Yes, you can. If you are outside your 14-day cooling off period, you will need to choose a new package and start a new contract with us. However, you won’t be able to get your old phone number back. We’ll give you a new one instead.

Re: According to Customer Services.......

Penny — Fri, 08 May 2026 18:38:15 GMT

@njay wrote:
Bt website not clear either on the 30 day retention as faq says
No, you can’t retrieve your number once you’ve opted for Broadband only. This will also apply if you switch to a new provider.

@njay Would you happen to have a page reference for that, a link (?)

Re: According to Customer Services.......

njay — Fri, 08 May 2026 18:53:24 GMT

I just searched for bt broadband deals and on the build your package page, scroll down and the faq is section is further down

Re: According to Customer Services.......

Penny — Fri, 08 May 2026 22:09:05 GMT

@njay wrote:
Bt website not clear either on the 30 day retention as faq says
No, you can’t retrieve your number once you’ve opted for Broadband only. This will also apply if you switch to a new provider.
And in answer to can i change my mind
Yes, you can. If you are outside your 14-day cooling off period, you will need to choose a new package and start a new contract with us. However, you won’t be able to get your old phone number back. We’ll give you a new one instead.

@njay wrote:
... bt broadband deals and on the build your package page, scroll down and the faq is section is further down

@njay Took me some while to locate a page with the exact wording you quoted

Just extraordinary.

Thanks very much for flagging this up, @njay . I will ask some questions in the SU group 😐