Phones & TV

Phones & TV

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Unable to Register at 1899

Just noticed that 18866 had increased connection charge again (by stealth) so thought I'd move to 18899. Has anyone else tried to register lately and got this?>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>

Unfortunately your 1899 internet registration has failed.

Due to lack of capacity it is currently not possible to register. Please wait at least 6 weeks before attempting to register again. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

Kind regards,
1899 Customer Services

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Comments

  • This was posted by Edinburgh Lass and is in a sticky at the top of this forum -:

    Sometimes users receive an email saying that capacity is currently full and to try again in six weeks when signing up for 1899, 18866 and 18185.

    Should this happen, sign up again using a mobile number and once you get the email saying you are registered go back into your profile and add your landline number and all should be well

    HTH

    Michael
    Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
  • Posts: 9,235 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Yes both a relative & I had this. I even suspect that it detects from the phone number you enter that you are a 18866 customer and this is the way it bars you. The annoying & deceptive part is that it lets you go to the bother of attempting to register before telling you what the Website could have told you immediately. "Please wait at least 6 weeks" has been going on for a year or so now.

    Look at some the the 0844 and 0871 prefix options on this site - they can work out much cheaper per minute than 18866 nowadays, and the 4p 18866 connection charge means you don't lose out much on short calls either.
  • Posts: 22,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    buglawton wrote:
    Yes both a relative & I had this. I even suspect that it detects from the phone number you enter that you are a 18866 customer and this is the way it bars you. The annoying & deceptive part is that it lets you go to the bother of attempting to register before telling you ...
    let's have facts, not guesswork and suspicion

    it is much more likely to be for the reasons that they say - why on earth would the parent company blacklist its own customers?
  • BugLawton.
    Not everybody that trys to register gets this message, some will be accepted straight away.you usually only get it where they have congestion problems in a particular area.It can be avoided any way by registering your mobile first as already pointed out.

    Dont 0844/0871 short access codes incur a min call charge of 5p with Bt if you dont get through.Where as 18866 4p connection charge only applies if you get through.
  • Posts: 9,235 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It annoyed me because I warmly recommended 1899 to a relative based on my happy experience with 18866 (that used to be cheaper a while ago). He was a bit skeptical so I had to persuade him... then he got the "Please wait at least 6 weeks" email after a delay of some days. So I'm the one that looked an idiot! He was trying to register it from an address that already had 18866 so that he could have his own separate account. Then I tried registering 1899 form a completely different part of the UK (but also from an existing 18866 number) & got exactly the same result.

    For the sake of their own PR, 1899 should warn people upfront they may not succeed and have an online 'test your locality' option so you can see immediately if they will accept your application.
  • Posts: 11,191 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Car Insurance Carver!
    buglawton wrote:
    It annoyed me because I warmly recommended 1899 to a relative based on my happy experience with 18866 (that used to be cheaper a while ago). He was a bit skeptical so I had to persuade him... then he got the "Please wait at least 6 weeks" email after a delay of some days. So I'm the one that looked an idiot! He was trying to register it from an address that already had 18866 so that he could have his own separate account. Then I tried registering 1899 form a completely different part of the UK (but also from an existing 18866 number) & got exactly the same result.
    The fact that the number was already registered with 18866 makes no difference (many of us are registered with 1899, 18866 and 18185).

    The problem is capacity in the area BUT I've never heard of the 'register first with a mobile number and add your landline number after you have received your acceptance e-mail' trick failing.
    Time has moved on (much quicker than it used to - or so it seems at my age) and my previous advice on residential telephony has been or is now gradually being overtaken by changes in the retail market. Hence, I have now deleted links to my previous 'pearls of wisdom'. I sincerely hope they helped save some of you money.
  • Posts: 22,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    buglawton, Heinz has said it, and I also have all 3 accounts, so your continued hints that they blacklist existing customers makes no sense - it is because of capacity issues, and a solution has been suggested to you several times
  • Posts: 9,235 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    1899 arrived later with a more tempting deal, so can only take revenue away from 18866 if the subsciber is the same. So there would be a commercial logic in putting existing subscribers at the back of the list while putting completely new income streams at the front. Yes I'm being paranoid but isn't that the spirit of MSE?
  • Posts: 11,191 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Car Insurance Carver!
    buglawton wrote:
    1899 arrived later with a more tempting deal, so can only take revenue away from 18866 if the subsciber is the same. So there would be a commercial logic in putting existing subscribers at the back of the list while putting completely new income streams at the front. Yes I'm being paranoid but isn't that the spirit of MSE?
    Have you tried the 'workaround' suggested?
    Time has moved on (much quicker than it used to - or so it seems at my age) and my previous advice on residential telephony has been or is now gradually being overtaken by changes in the retail market. Hence, I have now deleted links to my previous 'pearls of wisdom'. I sincerely hope they helped save some of you money.
  • Posts: 22,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Heinz wrote:
    Have you tried the 'workaround' suggested?
    clearly it's more important to whinge than solve it

    both companies have been around for well over a year, so the complaint is rather late
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