Messed up keeping Broadband without phone

[#1]

With a phone plus broadband contract ending on 1st June received a call from PlusNet about renewing. Explained wanted to keep PlusNet broadband with current Fibre connection as moving the phone to a VOIP provider then latter would move the Fibre to Full Fibre. This was OKed, contract signed.

On 9th June phone number moved, broadband cut off completely. Over many calls to automated system going through same call back text messages (or no response). On Fri 14th was moved up to a manager who explained the exchange we were on only allowed full fibre, gave us a new name to rush through a connection quickly (two elderly, vulnerable customers). No connection possible till the Monday.

Monday and no internet, lots more automated phone calls and having to wait for phone. Couldn't get full fibre for weeks, no internet. More automated phone calls, finely got to someone in technical department on Fri 20th that yes we could have our original name, cancelled the new one, and contacted Openreach to put the old back in service. Promised for Monday 23rd. Tues still no internet, but old name seemed in place.

More of the dreaded automated phone calls, finely got through to <Redacted> in Technical Dept who got it all connected to internet in about 8 minutes as the Openreach change had gone through.

Apologies for lengthy description but service seemed extremely poor as not progressing issues properly, but ticking boxes.

Moderator's note:
Personal information removed from a public forum (to an area that staff can see).

[#2]

Hello Charles,

A warm welcome to the forums.

Sadly your story illustrates the potentially challenging results of not doing these actions in the correct order.  Porting away a phone number to VoIP on a line also having broadband, will unilaterally terminate the broadband service.  This is not the doing of any particular ISP, but is the way BT's systems (Openreach and Wholesale) work - cancelling the telephone service cancels everything else on the circuit.  That part of the process would have been the same with whoever, unless you moved BOTH services to the same alternate provider.

In that context, porting away the telephone number kills the broadband service and closes the Plusnet account (with the loss of email if you have it).

Having fallen foul of the process, restoration of service is now very complex and subject to standard provisioning timescales, especially where FTTP is available to order and (as here) it is deemed a FTTP priority exchange by BT Openreach / Wholesale.  Exceptional circumstances need to exist and exceptional processes then need to be invoked by the ISP to raise a vulnerability case with BTOR for orthogonal actions to be sanctioned.

This is not simply a box ticking activity but a complex exceptions process.  Looking at what has been seen with other users in similar circumstances, the restoration of your original account and service is akin to a miracle ... all thanks to whoever finally ran with the case.  These cases are rare and never straightforward ... the original 'approach' of ordering FTTP to replace the lost service is SOP.

It would help to clarify what was the original advice provided by Plusnet on moving the VoIP away BEFORE swapping to FTTP.  If it was a kin to "that's all fine", then the approximate date of being given that advice might help a member of staff review the call to see if agent feedback is appropriate.

For anyone one else reading here, if you plan to move your existing voice service to VoIP then sort the plan for your broadband service FIRST.  By all means establish VoIP service on a temporary number immediately, but do NOTHING with the existing number until the broad change is FULLY confirmed as COMPLETE in writing.  Only then should you port the number.

[#3]

Yes, which is why I canciled the phone renewal with PlusNet but told them I wanted to keep the broadband. Trouble seems to have been they didn't do that but instead rolled the phone into a noncontract provision with the broadband. Did get one appologizing for that, but that didn't help.

May almost be safer to cancil the phone without telling them it was going to be moved to a VOIP.but that didn't sound right as they were so insistant I would need a phone.

[#4]

If remaining on FTTC (SOGEA) then you still need the copper line.

It will be difficult to know exactly what confusion took place without a staff member reviewing the phone calls.

Usually PN can switch FTTC+PTSN to SOGEA which releases the phone number.  What I am unclear about is can they do that in a FTTP priority exchange.

[#5]

I'll have to admit to not understanding what went on at PN at all. My guess is wires got crossed at multiple points. Just today (25 June) a letter from PN dated 8^th June confirming our original account username and sorry to hear we were moving our phone line. That if we were not moving our broadband service they would continue supplying at a cost of £17.49 per month after the phone line removed.

We have had a variety of “the only way things can be done” type discussions, often contradictory. Anyway, finely fixed the way we initiated our discussions with PN back in May.

We do now, as of this early afternoon, have our original username and broadband over the fibre to cabinet. Our exchange will only allow full fibre to new customers and no phone.