topic Re: Parents cut off in Home Phone

Parents cut off

joannemc — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:59:50 GMT

My parents are vulnerable and elderly, they've been cut off from WiFi and home phone calls. My dad can't use a phone as he's deaf and the app he uses to support him making calls does not work as it needs WiFi. My mum can't sort the problems as she's frail and struggling. They were not appropriately supported in changing to EE, and do not know what to do. They don't have a hub as my dad didn't know what it was so sent it back.
Is there anyone who can help them? They've got an engineer visiting on the 6th October, but this is not soon enough. They're stranded.

Re: Parents cut off

MisterW — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 13:04:53 GMT

Can someone from the Help Team assist here please ?

@Rach_H

Re: Parents cut off

ExForce9 — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 13:24:48 GMT

@joannemc

How do your parents get on with their neighbours ? - Could they temporarily use the neighbours WiFi in this situation ?

You could ask EE support whether they could post to your parents one of their 4G WiFi hotspot devices to at least temporarily get an internet connection working while they wait for the engineer ?. These devices are sent out when broadband fails on EE "Premium" and "Ultimate" plans, but I'm wondering whether you could persuade EE support to send a device in these circumstances ?

EE : Stay connected with our Keep Connected Promise

Re: Parents cut off

joannemc — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 13:47:21 GMT

No unfortunately they can't ask neighbours.

Do you have a contact for EE for this?

Re: Parents cut off

Alex_H — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:08:50 GMT

Hi @joannemc,

Welcome to the Plusnet Community

I am really sorry to hear your parents have been left without a connection, I have sent you a private message so that I can get our team to take a look into the situation and help.

Alex

Re: Parents cut off

RadioFox — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:41:44 GMT

@joannemc So were your parents transferred to EE by Plusnet? If so, they should have been kept informed by email. If that is the case, then it sounds like they just need to be sent another EE router to access the internet & plug their landline phone into.

But you say an engineer is visiting? Who did your parents contact to get the engineer to visit? And will he bring a router with him?

Re: Parents cut off

Baldrick1 — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:44:49 GMT

@RadioFox wrote:

@joannemc

But you say an engineer is visiting? Who did your parents contact to get the engineer to visit? And will he bring a router with him?

Openreach technicians and their contractors are extremely unlikely to carry EE hubs pre-configured to a customers account with them.

Re: Parents cut off

RadioFox — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 17:15:52 GMT

@Baldrick1 wrote:

@RadioFox wrote:

@joannemc

But you say an engineer is visiting? Who did your parents contact to get the engineer to visit? And will he bring a router with him?

Openreach technicians and their contractors are extremely unlikely to carry EE hubs pre-configured to a customers account with them.

Yep. That's what I thought. So I'm confused as to why an engineer is visiting.

I may be completely wrong, but my assumption of the info given so far, is that @joannemc parents have been transferred to EE. Her dad mistakenly sent the EE router back, (possibly they may not have received emails to keep them informed?) The Plusnet router no longer works due to the transfer. So I'm wondering what the engineer will actually be able to do?

If I'm correct, they need another EE router.

Re: Parents cut off

Townman — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 18:25:14 GMT

If they are now with EE, is not EE support / their forum the right place to chase this issue?

Re: Parents cut off

Baldrick1 — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 21:00:15 GMT

@Townman

I totally agree. The problem as I see it is that when a loyal Plusnet customer gets transferred, and either EE screw up or there’s a communication failure, it’s Plusnet that gets the flak for moving the customer against their wishes, especially if the Plusnet response is, correctly speaking: ‘not us guv, go talk to EE’, be it dressed up in PR speak.

Re: Parents cut off

Townman — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 23:37:09 GMT

@Baldrick1

Is it really “against their will” or “as a consequence of doing nothing about the well published demise of PTSN”? Users are not being “forced” (the choices have been out there for a while), but rather their in-action is brining about a “protection” of their as is services.

I am in that boat … hung on to the bitter end and a now taking action to avoid changing providers, subsequent to doing nothing about two warning emails.

Re: Parents cut off

mike600 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 12:36:00 GMT

"the well published demise of PTSN"

Is it really that well publicised?

Compared to the digital TV switchover 15-20 years ago, I've seen very little about it - especially with only 4 months to go.

Re: Parents cut off

ExForce9 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 12:57:33 GMT

@mike600 wrote:

"the well published demise of PTSN"

Is it really that well publicised?

I am currently clearing a relatives home, and all the utilities are continuing to be paid as normal.

I have been dealing with the relative's bills for a couple of years now, and they are not flagged as vulnerable.

They have on old turn-dial telephone on a direct wired BT line (no phone socket in the house)

I have been diligently been opening the post, expecting BT to give notice of the end of PSTN,

but as of the end of September 2027, there has been nothing, not even a hint that a change is coming.

I am totally ready to migrate the phone number to A&A VoIP, but am holding off just to see what the BT notice is like.

Re: Parents cut off

jab1 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:09:39 GMT

I don't know if it has been communicated to the public via any media outlets - say the BBC or the Independent channels - as I rarely watch TV these days, and do have a tendency to 'switch off' mentally, between programmes or at ad-breaks, but I don't recall seeing ANYTHING on the subject - AT ALL.

Re: Parents cut off

ExForce9 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:10:37 GMT

@mike600 wrote:

Compared to the digital TV switchover 15-20 years ago

Yes and we've got to go through all that again soon !

After the PSTN retirement in 2027, the telephone exchange decommissioning around 2030, the completion of Openreach full-fibre rollout, the transmission licenses for UK digital terrestrial TV (such as Freeview) currently expire in 2034 - so everyone will need to switchover to TV services entirely via an internet connection. Sky have already stopped installing satellite TV dishes back in 2025, and are phasing out their satellite services.

Re: Parents cut off

pvmb — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:58:23 GMT

@jab1

"I don't know if it has been communicated to the public via any media outlets - say the BBC or the Independent channels - as I rarely watch TV these days, and do have a tendency to 'switch off' mentally, between programmes or at ad-breaks, but I don't recall seeing ANYTHING on the subject - AT ALL."

A couple of years ago there was a fairly short lived campaign on radio. Also, me and a friend attended a temporary public BT enquiry booth on the topic. But generally there doesn't seem to me to have been much high level official publicity about it all, mainly newspaper articles.

Re: Parents cut off

jab1 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:59:39 GMT

So, @pvmb , we can safely assume our caring government assumed everyone was as clued-up about it as us technically inclined individuals - or they assumed everyone would learn about it by osmosis, so didn't bother advertising such a major change.

Re: Parents cut off

MisterW — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 14:03:53 GMT

or didn't understand what it's all about!

Re: Parents cut off

jab1 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 14:05:11 GMT

That is most likely, @MisterW !

Re: Parents cut off

SixCopperKs — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 18:37:23 GMT

For what it’s worth: I can, right now, see someone’s out-of-contract PlusNet account (WLR3 fttc), and —when you log into the account, such as prompted by a monthly bill email— the closure notice is clear: “Your account will not be supported from December 2026.”

It’s a whopping great pop-up, assuming you’re able to see it and are able to log in to that account that you probably set up more than two years ago. [Image attached….]

BUT none of the account holder’s bills (PDFs from the account) have mentioned the fact that their out-of-contract account will be forced to come to a halt.

Missed opportunity to say —in print— “your renewal options WILL be different” and a missed opportunity to say “as you do not have a fixed-term contract, you should review your options because your current service will NOT be supported from December 2026, and your current service WILL change. We will notify you of changes, this may be more than thirty days but we guarantee it will be no less than thirty days. Please speak to our customer options team to make sure the options are right for you.”