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Number stolen by BT

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24567

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  • Browntoa
    Browntoa Posts: 49,602 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    or has UW "mistakenly" ceased the line and BT reallocated it as is their right , we all know from the Broadband and other threads that the 3rd party suppliers often blame BT for their mistakes knowing full well that Bt will not talk to their customer direct so they can check otherwise !
    Ex forum ambassador

    Long term forum member
  • Quentin wrote:
    They can't use 1899, primus etc, have to pay a membership fee on top of the line rental and have to pay a minimum charge each month if they don't use the phone much.QUOTE]

    This is not quite correct. UW customers can still use 1899 or 18185 number providing that they have not also taken line rental from UW. Even if you have CPS (Customer pre-selection) set up on your line you can still use 1899 etc.

    It is only when you take line rental that you are unable to use 1899 etc. this applies whether you are with UW talktalk or anyone else for that matter. If you do have UW line rental you can still use the alternative 0808 No's provided by 1899 etc however this is not such good value as being able to use the shorter prefixes.

    You are quite correct in saying UW customers still have to pay the monthly membership fee (£1.76) and are also charged a minumum of £1.00 a month for calls - even if they make their calls via 1899 and do not make any via UW.
    Having previously used the UW phone service (without line rental) I have experienced this, so I tended to use up the £1.00 that I had to spend on dialling 0870 and 0845 no's where there was no alternative.

    If you have Sky TV and a BT Landline and want a really cheap phone service just sign up for their Skytalk. This will give you unlimited calls to geographic numbers for just £5 a month without the need to dial any prefixes. It also still allows you to use 1899 and 18185 for international and mobile calls. So you get the best of both worlds.
    IF THIS POST HAS BEEN HELPFUL - PLEASE CLICK ON THANKS :j
  • Quentin wrote:
    If you have Sky TV and a BT Landline and want a really cheap phone service just sign up for their Skytalk. This will give you unlimited calls to geographic numbers for just £5 a month without the need to dial any prefixes. It also still allows you to use 1899 and 18185 for international and mobile calls. So you get the best of both worlds.

    £5 is equilavent to approx 166 geographical calls a month on 1899. If you make less than that and i guess a lot of folks will its better to use

    https://www.1899.com for peak geo calls and Primus Saver 2 for your FREE Evening and Weekend calls.

    Plus you dont pay if you dont use, unlike sky.
  • gt94sss2
    gt94sss2 Posts: 6,069 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I am a "resting" Utility Warehouse distributor but I still help customers when they have problems. A customer (also a friend) who pays line rental to UW called yesterday to say that her landline had been disconnected by BT and her line and number had been reallocated to a person who lives down the road. Apparently the other person's line had technical difficulties and it won't be fixed until Sept 26th. BT have refused to talk to my friend because she is not a customer of theirs. She has informed UW who are trying to resolve the matter with BT. I intend to complain to OFCOM , surely its not right that BT can just cut off a person who is not their customer and re-allocate the number.

    1. BT do not deliberately disconnect customers without good reasons (instructions etc)
    2. Of course, BT won't talk to your friend if she pays line rental to someone else.
    3. BT don't 'reallocate' numbers in the way you describe. In fact they tend not to reallocate 'used' numbers for several months before giving them to new customers.

    As your friend is a Utility Warehouse customer, its for them to resolve this issue with BT.

    It simply sounds like BT probably tried to repair the neighbours line and the engineers miswired something during the process - sending your friends calls to someone else. They have not 'disconnected' your friend as otherwise no calls to your friends number would get through at all.. (to anyone)

    It should be quite simple for UW to get BT to send an engineer out and correct it - and UW should really pay compensation to your friend in the meantime.

    The 'other person' who is a BT customer should also report what is happening to BT.

    You complaining to Ofcom about this will be pointless. You are not a party to your friends contract anyway..

    Regards
    Sunil
  • gt94sss2 wrote:
    It simply sounds like BT probably tried to repair the neighbours line and the engineers miswired something during the process - sending your friends calls to someone else.

    Literally a case of crossed wires then...
    :T:j :TMFiT-T2 No.120|Challenge started 12.12.09|MFD 12.12.12 :j:T:j
  • gt94sss2 wrote:
    As your friend is a Utility Warehouse customer, its for them to resolve this issue with BT.

    It simply sounds like BT probably tried to repair the neighbours line and the engineers miswired something during the process - sending your friends calls to someone else. They have not 'disconnected' your friend as otherwise no calls to your friends number would get through at all.. (to anyone)


    It should be quite simple for UW to get BT to send an engineer out and correct it - and UW should really pay compensation to your friend in the meantime.

    Correct
    gt94sss2 wrote:
    The 'other person' who is a BT customer should also report what is happening to BT.

    This would probably be the quickest way to get the fault fixed
  • gt94sss2 wrote:
    1. BT do not deliberately disconnect customers without good reasons (instructions etc)
    .
    3. BT don't 'reallocate' numbers in the way you describe. In fact they tend not to reallocate 'used' numbers for several months before giving them to new customers.

    Sunil

    Well this is exactly what they have done, would you like me to give you the lady's number so you can check for yourself?

    Of course the other party have reported it to BT, they are fed up wuth getting my friends phone calls. Why should UW pay compensation if it was BT that disconnected them from their phone line and gave it to someone else?
  • Well this is exactly what they have done, would you like me to give you the lady's number so you can check for yourself?

    Of course the other party have reported it to BT, they are fed up wuth getting my friends phone calls. Why should UW pay compensation if it was BT that disconnected them from their phone line and gave it to someone else?


    They haven't deliberately disconnected your friend and reallocated the number. They have made a mistake by the sound of it.

    Your friend's contract is with UW so it is they who should pay her compensation. It is up to them to claim compansation from BT Openreach (who look after the wires between the exchange and customers' premises) if it turns out to be their fault.

    Do you fully understand what it was that you were selling your friend when you signed her up with UW? It's a pity utility salespeople don't have to have some sort of accreditation like those who sell financial products.
  • Yes it sounds as though BT have made a mistake and they should pay for the compensation. Why on earth do you have to have a contract with someone to get compensation. I did not have a contract with the driver who damaged my car some years ago but he (his insurers) paid up. And yes I fully understood what I was selling my friend, I have been with UW for about 5 years, would you like me to list my academic qualifications?
  • I am not a lawyer so I'm afraid I can't explain the distinction between failing to provide a service you have contracted to and causing damage to another's property through negligence in legal terms.

    If you understood what you were selling you wouild have realised that yopur friend/customer no longer had any relationship with BT so it was no good expecting them to deal with her or to compensate her.

    Anyway, I hope this thread has been useful and the problem is resolved quickly.
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