Porting from Sky ** warning**

makemdano

Tried to move back to BT on 17/12. They promised porting of number. Failed. Tried again 5 times (giving me 4 different numbers in the process)
Spoke to Sky who say as was on SVBN they OWN the number and won't port. Furthermore SVBN numbers are not included in the Sky BT porting agreement. So I'm stuck with BT and my number is lost!!

What is worse BT are advertising in the national press and I quote
"easy switch from Sky" ring 08 etc.

I've raised a complaint with Ofcom and will follow the complaints process with BT, Sky and almost certainly then with Otelo.

Be warned if you're thinking of switching and don't rely on BT to give you accurate advice. They are the worst customer services reps I have EVER dealt with.

Heinz

So Sky won't release the number and you're blaming BT?

makemdano

Heinz wrote: »

So Sky won't release the number and you're blaming BT?

Why, do you work for BT?

I'm blaming both. Sky for moving me onto SVBN without telling me. No letter and no email and also for operating a restrictive practice.

BT.. well for not having a clue about what they are doing. You can ring the advertised new business transfer number and ask if you can port from sky and they'll just say yes. 0800 800 150 are worse - they have changed my number 4 times when they are supposed to be porting my number that, had they checked, they would have realised could not be ported. Worse for accepting my buiness on the premise that my existing number could be ported when they should have known porting just wasn't possible. We checked with customer services while the OpenReach engineer was in the house and had they been truthful said porting was not possible we would not be where we are now.

iniltous

SVBN ?, presume the S is Sky and the N is network, the V and B are ?
You are being a little unfair.....if Sky can 'import' a BT number, as required by OFCOM and before it OFTEL, then thay have to also 'export' numbers to BT, its a (or should be) a two way deal, it would be anti competitive if it wasnt, and competition is what OFCOM are supposed to promote.....
if Sky wont release the number how is that BT's fault, perhaps you should contact OFCOM if Sky are doing something they shouldnt be, perhaps your warning should be along the lines of ' do sky dont play by the rules'
Was the number a BT number exported to Sky in the first place or is it a Sky number ( from the number range Sky have allocated to then by OFCOM)..but even if the number is from Skys own range of numbers they should still 'port' the number on request and if they dont they are breaking the rules, or more likely, they dont even know the rules

makemdano

iniltous wrote: »

SVBN ?, presume the S is Sky and the N is network, the V and B are ?
I believe it stands for Sky Voice and Broadband Network
"unfair"
I'll tell you what is unfair, that I've wasted over 20 hours of my valuable time trying to sort this mess out!!
When I joined Sky with MY BT number ported I was patched in like most using LLUs. At that point portable both ways. They switched my service without my consent which I believed is an outlawed tactic known as "SLAMMING".
"how is that BT's fault"
Because I only joined BT 'cos they guaranteed they could port the number.
"perhaps you should contact OFCOM"
Yep, done that raised a case against Sky
"they are breaking the rules"
I believe so.
What they can do though is port new customers in with LLU and then switch to SVBN (this is the "SLAM" I believe) - effectively a one way trapdoor thus enabling new customers to join and then its entrapment. To quote the song....
"You can check in any time you want
but you can never leave" (at least not if you want to keep your number)

macman

Sky did not need your consent to switch you to LLU, nor does any ISP/telcom need any such consent.

iniltous

MY understanding is, if you pay line rental to SKY or Talk Talk ,as they roll out their own telephony network they will 'bulk migrate' you and all other people in the same situation in your exchange onto their own network, as they already have end users line rental contract, they dont have to ask you, contractually they were and still are delivering a dialtone to you, its just now from a different source,
If you were a Sky or TT broadband and or calls customer who pay BT for line rental, you would remain on 'BT' because your contact for dialtone is with BT, thats why Sky and TT want you to sign up for line rental with them in advance,so as Sky and TT extend their networks, they can just move you over,this will happen to more and more people, most wont even notice.
TT and SKY 'import' your number from BT when they migrate you, and BT have no choice in doing this,after all most people would object to having their number changed when they are migrated.
If after this migration happens, you obviously shouldnt be 'stuck' with TT or Sky just because they now have your number, in the same way no one is stuck with BT, number portability is a two way street, if a Telco wants to import numbers they also have to export, but as you are finding out, what can you do if they wont do it, BT can request a number to be ported, but if the other CP wont play ball, what can they do ?

makemdano

macman wrote: »

Sky did not need your consent to switch you to LLU, nor does any ISP/telcom need any such consent.

Ever tried reading a post properly before you comment?

I JOINED and was attached via Sky LLU.

then.... now pay attention here

They switched me to SVBN after 1 year WITHOUT my consent.

That is SLAMMING

Any SP that does this is breaching ofcom rules
Check it out before you disagree please

makemdano

iniltous wrote: »

, "they dont have to ask you"

YES they do, it is a change to provision of service and your losing the number portability of service element. They can only do so without consent if terms and conditions remain intact - I've confirmed this with Ofcom today

"what can they do ?"

BT and SKY have a "portability agreement" as do many other SPs. Again under Ofcom guidlines they are required to adhere to this agreement or are subject to the "wrath" of Ofcom
What Sky are doing is reneging on this "deal" if they have a customer on SVBN. This is restrictive practise and disuades customers from leaving Sky. Again we'll see what the Ofcom incident produces.

"Welcome to the Hotel California"

I find it interesting that the spirit of the replies to this post is pro SP and Con customer. Are we infected by "employees" on this forum? I thought MSE was the champion of the customer?

iniltous

I dont see from my posts how you could conclude I'm pro CP and anti consumer, quite the opposite, I think Sky have behaved improperly, but I also think your blaming of BT in this case a little unfair, as I said, BT can ask for a number to be ported, but if the other party doesnt do as requested what could BT do ?, I also would blame OFCOM as they seem toothless to do anything about this and dont seem to get involved when a CP doesnt follow the rules, and obviously dont have a robust procedure to sort out situations like this,
As far as a CP migrating their customers from a network they rent to a network they own, I dont see how this is a change in provision of service, if you have the same number, same facilitys and are paying the same price, as i said there are probably hundreds of thousands if not millions of customers of Sky and TT who havent even noticed that they now get dialtone from a different source, in fact most probably thought they were getting TT or Sky dialtone when they moved their line rental in the first place even though still connected to BT and just paying TT or Sky line rental,
This of course assumes they dont ignore their number portability obligations, if Sky cutomers once migrated lose the option of porting to another CP then this is a change in the T&C's and obviously they should let their customers know 'if we migrate you we have got you forever' but unless OFCOM have changed the rules then this shouldnt be the case ,Sky may say we dont have to port the number, but I think they do...(my original point in fact).. believe it or not I'm actually on your side and hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction, if OFCOM actually sanction Skys behaviour and say its OK for Sky to import customers numbers but not have to export them, how could this be considered 'fair' and even if OFCOM thought it OK there are higher authoritys than them when it comes to this, the OFT for one

syko29793

This may help you get your telephone number back.

If the number originally belonged to BT (Openreach) Then Sky have to return the number to BT (Openreach) 14 days after the number ceased to be in service.
BT Retail can renumber your line once the number is available.