Problem switching from Sky to Plusnet

[#1]

Plusnet have now placed a 3rd order for my switch from Sky, the first two having failed for reasons I have no idea. There are 11 different messages from support staff now, all internally generated I have added nothing until today - I am getting worried.

I am now worried I will be without service or lose my number. I feel like I am being held hostage to Sky by all these barriers in place preventing me from switching. Sky are going to cease my services on 17th June but the 3rd order attempt by Plusnet was placed just today, 4th June. Is this likely to be enough time or will I be cut off from the modern world? I have made no contact with Sky, their cease email were generating by the switching process.

I am 77 and have Parkinson's disease, I could do without all this stress, I have had the number since 1965 so cannot change it or lose it now at the end of my life. Of course it was a original BT number, it's from 1965...

The checker says:

Dialed Digits        Valid From   Range Holder

(removed by me)  15-Jul-1994   BT

How long do I have left if I wish to give up the will of switching and stay with Sky do you think? I cannot afford to be without phone service, I will just have to pay what they say and forward everything to OFCOM to show their competition rules are a failure.

Are there any British humans high up the food chain who can take control of this situation and provide some clarity or do I need to call the Press people and warn them they are about to get a sad face in the Daily Mail giving them terrible publicity?

[#2]

Just to clarify, I have only placed 1 order personally, the failed two orders and 3rd orders are the ones Plusnet has done internally to Openreach I presume.

Allegedly after this 3rd attempt I will get an install date in 24 "working hours", this is new to me, I have never heard of a "working hour" before, can anyone define this?

[#3]

Just to update you, problem still ongoing, getting even worse.

Despite someone in the  CSC - CS Escalations department taking this as a "personal ticket" with manager oversight 4 days ago they have,

Made no contact at all with me by any method

No clarity has been forthcoming

No activation dates

No advice or response

Today a new ticket has appeared with further error messages, presumed their 3rd failed attempt to order with Openreach.

I am now having to get my son to drive down today, 100 miles, in order to try and phone sky and re-contract, I am hearing impaired so this is all a nightmare.

THANKS FOR NOTHING PLUSNET!

[#4]

Hi George.

Firstly I'm really sorry for the delayed response on here and to see the issues you're experiencing with your order.

I'm investigating this now and I'll update you very soon.

@oldgeorge, as an update while I'm still investigating, if you're son is around now I'd be happy to give you/him a call to discuss this further?

[#5]

Hi again George.

I'm sorry to see we've been experiencing problems taking over your line and for the concern this has caused.

I'd like to firstly reassure you that your service with your existing provider shouldn't be disconnected until we've got an order in place and that order has completed. I've checked the records of your line with Sky and there are no pending ceases. A pending cease would indicate if your line with them would be pending cancellation.

I've discussed this matter with our suppliers BTwholesale and I've been advised that due to system issues, the orders we've been placing got rejected, however I've also been assured that that system issue was resolved yesterday.

I've now replaced your order with our suppliers and I'll be keeping a close eye on this for you. As part of the order, I have also ensured that we request your telephone number is imported. I'll confirm your activation date once we receive confirmation.

This should be within the next 1-3 working days. Your service with Sky should continue running until we takeover your line and our service starts, there may be a small break in service on the day however it shouldn't take long.

Hope this helps.

Please do let me know if you have any further concerns or queries.

[#6]

Please don't try to phone me as I am hard of hearing.

I have chatted online to sky and they say their system shows you taking over the line on 18th June, you don't seem to know about this? That gives me confidence in you guys!

So now a 4th order is being placed by you, what happens to the pending one you have that you don't even know about?

I have updated the ticket.

[#7]

Thanks for getting back to me.

Please don't try to phone me as I am hard of hearing.

No problem I appreciate you've said that however based on what you've said I also understand your son has come over so I just thought I'd ask if you'd like a call with this information in mind.

The transfer date of 18th June that Sky are advising you would be on the back of the order I have just placed now. However this date is just provisional and I will confirm this once we've received confirmation.

Regarding the failed orders while I do sincerely apologise for the concern, I'm afraid this had failed in our suppliers system due to a problem which they were investigating and fixed yesterday however I do appreciate this could've been handled a lot better previously. From this point on, I don't foresee any issues moving forward however I'll be keeping a close eye on this.

Once your order has been confirmed by Openreach the transfer of your telephone number should go smoothly. As you've also noted your telephone number is owned by BT whose network we use so this should make it easier for us to import.

Thanks again.

[#8]

Thank you for your 4th attempt to resolve this as this failed miserably, there will not be a 5th one.

I do not want you to place any further orders, I do not wish to move to Plusnet, further orders placed with you DO NOT HAVE MY AUTHORITY. For the avoidance of doubt, I REVOKE ALL AUTHORITY FOR PLUSNET OR BT TO CONTINUE TRYING TO TAKE OVER MY SERVICES - ALL AGENTS - DO NOT PLACE ANY MORE ORDERS - THE CUSTOMER REVOKES HIS AUTHORITY.

Do not try to contact me to reverse my decision.

Please confirm you will stop placing orders as doing so is against my wishes and authority.

[#9]

Sad out turn here that due to issues with data held by BT Openreach about the circuits they own (used by all phone service providers) a new service provider is held responsible for the failure for migration orders out-with their control.

One wonders what influence Sky has brought to bear here? They having incorrect data recorded against phone lines (current provider is responsible for ensuring that data is correct) blocking users migrating away to a new provider is not new news! A cynical person might wonder if this is a Sky ploy to make moving away difficult?

[#10]

Thanks for getting back to us.

Sorry for the issues with your order, I discussed this with a BTwholesale team manager this morning and I've been advised that the Openreach records show your line not to be active which is preventing us from taking over your line.

BT have raised this with Openreach to investigate further and correct the records however we have been advised to allow 24-48 hours and once this has been done we should then be able to takeover your line.

However I understand you want to cancel your order, I'm afraid that we are unable to take cancellation requests via our community forums. You'll need to either contact our cancellations team via phone or live chat.

[#11]

This is not for a 77 year old customer to work out and you had a total of 17 days to come to this conclusion.

Blame Sky all you want, it still remains you had 17 days find out what the problem was and in all this time you have kept me in the dark and placed order after order, 5 in total.

Now I have to try and get back my £18.99, return a router to you and I am out for 6 hours of my life already dealing with this and I don't have much life left.

Going by your previous customer service I can envisage this ending up in the County Court as a small claim, so please treat this as a Letter Before Action, I will be restituted.

[#12]

Don't you dare try and take over the line!

[#13]

Thanks for getting back to us.

While I do sincerely apologise for the issues with your order and if my response came off as I was blaming Sky (which was not my intent at all), I've simply been trying to sort this out for you in a way that you don't need to do anything and we'll do all we can to try to make sure your transfer goes smoothly. 

[#14]

Online chat isn't available every time I have tried, again just now. How am I supposed to call and get things done when I am 90% deaf?

STOP PLACING ORDERS, JUST STOP IT WILL YOU!

[#15]

I don't want a transfer, stop responding like the transfer is still going ahead. There is no transfer, there is no authority, you are committing fraud now if you are continuing this.