topic Re: Porting landline problem in Everything else

Porting landline problem

kissinuk — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 07:05:45 GMT

Hi,

I moved to FTTP with Plusnet last week, previously I was FTTC with Plusnet and landline with BT.

I filled out a port request form with A&A last week and said that BT was the previous landline owner, however it came back today to say the port failed. After being on the phone for ages with BT they have told me that Plusnet took complete control of the line last week.

Should I have put Plusnet as the landline owner and not BT? I'm very confused, it wasn't aware that Plusnet would take control of the landline even though it is being ceased.

Cheers,

Paul.

Moderator's note:
Typo corrected, see https://community.plus.net/t5/Everything-else/Porting-landline-problem/m-p/2019051#M39351

Re: Porting landline problem

bmc — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:56:27 GMT

@kissinuk

Have you spoken to A&A Support?

They are generally pretty good at sorting out posting problems.

Brian

Re: Porting landline problem

kissinuk — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 21:24:13 GMT

They've told me to speak to BT. However BT are adamant it's not their problem as Plusnet now have my landline even if it's ceased. Very confused!

Re: Porting landline problem

Gandalf — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 22:09:11 GMT

I’d suggest going back to A&A as number portability is gaining provider led so they should be resolving this.

Re: Porting landline problem

outcast — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 22:41:49 GMT

@kissinuk

The only other case of A&A being unable to port in a phone number, that I remember, was documented here -

Landline number porting rejected

TLDR - that case was finally concluded by getting Voipfone to port in the ceased phone number.

I wonder if @Peter-J has any words of wisdom for you, after is ordeal with A&A ?

Re: Porting landline problem

Baldrick1 — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 06:55:32 GMT

@kissinuk wrote:

I moved to FTTP with Plusnet last week, previously I was FTTP with Plusnet and landline with BT.l.

Can you explain this one please?

Your BT landline service was presumably provided via the old wired PSTN service.. Plusnet FTTP will have come via a new separate fibre service, unless of course there is a typo in your original post?

If your post is correct, as I understand it, you should have been able to cancel the BT service without any involvement with Plusnet, the two services are not be interdependant.

On the other hand if you were on FTTC with Plusnet and upgraded to Plusnet FTTP, that would presumably automatically cancel the BT phone service, not transfer it to Plusnet. You can't 'transfer' a no longer available PSTN service

Re: Porting landline problem

kissinuk — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 07:00:49 GMT

That's correct we were on FTTC with Plusnet and landline with BT. We then upgraded to FTTP with Plusnet which then cancelled my BT phone.

BT are saying their logs show that my entire service was moved to Plusnet on the 28th August and they can't port my number away.

Re: Porting landline problem

Baldrick1 — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 07:07:15 GMT

@kissinuk

To avoid confusion I have corrected your original post.

Re: Porting landline problem

Peter-J — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 10:20:38 GMT

Hi, in my case the porting request was being rejected in error. Both A&A and Voipfone use third party porting services, but A&A essentially refused to follow up with theirs the reason for the rejection. Voipfone asked me to confirm that the number should be available and then emailled their provider who in turn contacted BT/Openreach to query the rejection. That intervention led to the number successfully being ported a couple of hours later.

Re: Porting landline problem

kissinuk — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 13:15:02 GMT

A&A have now given me a Client Letter of Authority form that I've filled out for them. They told me to put Plusnet as the Current Retailer even though nobody seems certain if it's with them or BT. Let's see if this works...

Re: Porting landline problem

kissinuk — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 15:53:34 GMT

So this is the result of the LOA from A&A 😞

But I'm afraid even the LoA form has not worked as the number cannot be found in service. I'm afraid there is nothing else we can do.

How could I have lost the number if I'm supposed to have 30 days to port?

Re: Porting landline problem

MisterW — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:00:05 GMT

as the number cannot be found in service

Well, of course it can't , its in quarantine! It seems whoever A & A are now using for porting just can't be bothered to handle quarantined numbers which often require manual contact with the losing rangeholder porting desk ( BT group in this case )

Re: Porting landline problem

outcast — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:21:57 GMT

@kissinuk wrote:

How could I have lost the number if I'm supposed to have 30 days to port?

@kissinuk

If I were you, have another read of the topic I linked to in Reply #5

and see whether (as in that topic) Voipfone have more determination in recovering your phone number.

While Voipfone isn't your first choice provider, they are one of the best.

Once your recovered phone number is on VoIP and not muddled in with another service or lost in space with Openreach, it SHOULD be easier to at a later date to move the number again from Voipfone to A&A or other provider, if you didn't want to stay.

Re: Porting landline problem

Peter-J — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:40:40 GMT

A&A's provider is called Magrathea, but I could only communicate with an A&A sales guy that didn't understand the number porting process and kept telling me the line would have to be reinstated. I repeatedly asked him to obtain more detailed technical information from Magrathea about the rejection, but I couldn't tell if he actually contacted them and also received a similar reply: "there is nothing further that can be done. Sorry."

In my case, it became clear that this was not accurate because as soon as Voipfone's provider queried the porting rejection, it was successfully carried out.

On reflection, I think that many of the companies involved should have collaborated to put in place a more reliable and transparent process for landline number porting.

Re: Porting landline problem

Townman — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 17:07:11 GMT

Sadly it is probably a training issue or a compliance with training issue.

I suspect that there are different processes for taking over an in service number compared to a quarantined number. Some in volved might not know that a supplied number could be either an assume that it is in service ... or A&A have asked for an-in-service inward port, which is understandably rejected.

Magrathea is a specialist provider, one would hope that they know what they are doing ... if asked correctly.

Re: Porting landline problem

outcast — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 19:15:00 GMT

@kissinuk wrote:

BT are adamant it's not their problem as Plusnet now have my landline even if it's ceased.

I asked Grok -

In the UK, when a traditional BT analogue landline telephone service is ceased, there is a quarantine period of 30 days where potentially a third party voip supplier can import the phone number and associate it with a new voip service.

During the quarantine period, who is responsible for the phone number ?

is it -

1) the previous phone service provider,

2) the original range holder for the number,

3) Openreach as the exchange owner,

4) or the broadband provider which may now have control of the copper landline wires ?

Grok replied -

The quarantine period for a ceased UK telephone number is typically 30 or 31 days (one month), during which the number remains available for porting to a new provider, such as a third-party VoIP service. This aligns with Ofcom's General Condition C7, which requires regulated communications providers to facilitate number portability for at least one month after contract termination, unless the customer explicitly agrees to a shorter period.

During this quarantine period, the previous phone service provider (the one that ceased the analogue landline service) is responsible for the number. They must ensure it remains available for porting and is not reallocated to another customer. This responsibility falls on them as the regulated provider under the terminated contract, and they handle any porting requests in that window.

The original range holder (the communications provider to whom Ofcom originally allocated the number block) only becomes relevant if the number isn't ported and returns to their pool after quarantine expires, but they aren't directly responsible during the quarantine itself unless they were also the previous service provider. Openreach, as the network infrastructure owner, does not manage or control telephone numbers—they handle physical lines and exchanges. Similarly, the broadband provider has no responsibility for the number unless they were also the voice service provider or are taking over the number via a port.

That confirms what we all thought, that BT as the previous phone service provider is responsible for holding the number in quarantine, and that the transfer to Plusnet story is nonsense.

In the case that Plusnet probably ceased both the broadband and the BT voice service, (and therefore BT wouldn't have been the voice cease initiator), Grok clarified -

The scenario you describe doesn't change the responsibility for the phone number during the quarantine period. The previous phone service provider (the voice supplier in this case) remains responsible for holding the number and facilitating any porting requests during that window, as they are the regulated provider under the terminated voice service contract. This applies even if they didn't initiate the cease and it occurred as a knock-on effect from the broadband provider's actions on the shared copper line. The quarantine period is triggered by the cessation of the voice service, regardless of the underlying cause.

So again, BT as the voice service provider, SHOULD have @kissinuk 's number in their quarantine.

Re: Porting landline problem

kissinuk — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 21:35:10 GMT

I mentioned the supplier perhaps needing manual intervention for quarantined numbers, also asked for escalation and was told "Yes, they do know what to do. We put through thousands of these. I will close your order, and sorry that we are unable to help.".

I have instead started an order with Voipfone as recommended, they got back straight away to say the number should still be available. Let's see what happens...

Re: Porting landline problem

outcast — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 21:34:56 GMT

@kissinuk - good luck !

Re: Porting landline problem

kissinuk — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 10:35:12 GMT

Quick update - Voipfone have managed to get the port approved and it should be active later this month.

Big thank you to everyone who recommended them!