Keeping your existing number.

AndyPK

alot of the providers websites said they can't transfer my virgin number, except talktalk.

However, TT are so incompetent that it wouldn't surprise me they said they couldn't at the last minute

Hurley

I just spoke to an adviser on their live chat and he said you can transfer it out it was transferred in from another provider. But not if it was originally a VM number.

So it looks like I'm OK, but he seemed unsure.

I just need to know how much time I've got, guess I'll have to ask each individual company.

JJ_Egan

Hurley wrote: »

Hi all.

I currently have my home phone and BB with Virgin media. I'm in the last thirty days of my contract and am thinking of moving to a new provider.

I've not decided on a new provider yet, so just want to know how long do I have to decide before I lose my number?

My contract expires October 7th, if I signed up to say Plusnet on the last day of September, would that be too late to keep my existing number?

I just want to know how long I can spend waiting on offers from other providers before I have to sign up to one.

Thanks for any help.

Is VM not like all the other ISPs ?? Contract does not end but moves to a rolling 30 day contract ( possibly at full price )

iniltous

If you just 'quit' VM , giving notice to quit so that the service ends around the same time as your minimum term with VM ends, without first approaching another provider that will provider you a line and import the number, then the chances are VM will just cease your service, the number will revert to the number range holder (BT) and in effect be lost .
Whatever new provider you chose , unless you specify on the application that you want to import the 'working' ( not a soon to be ceased number from VM ) you will probably just get any old number, you would then have a struggle to get the required number back.
It's seems to me you are perhaps approaching this the wrong way, if you want to stay with VM but want a better deal, call them , as you are in the last month of your minimum term, say you want to stay but they need to offer a better deal.

If they don't offer a deal or the deal isn't good enough for you to stay, say 'OK' don't accept anything and say you will be looking else where, but don't say ' cease my line'
Then pick a new provider , ensure they accept that importing the number from VM is essential and start the ball rolling, that 'new' company asking for the number in effect serves VM with your notice to quit.
It may not be possible to time the change of provider to be exactly on the day your minimum term expires with VM, if you go a couple of weeks past, all that will happen is you pay for those days at VM's 'list price'

AndyPK

I thought I read the VM number still needs to be active to port it.

i.e give vm the 4 weeks notice.
sign up and arrange for install on week 3 to give a 1 week overlap just incase something goes wrong

phillw

Yeah the number needs to be active with VM to keep it. I didn't cancel until after my ADSL was live, so I paid for two providers for a month but I wanted to keep the number. Which was lucky I did, because a week later it still hadn't switched. I had to complain and then it took them another week.

The same problem happened when I switched to VM as when I left.

Hurley

iniltous wrote: »

If you just 'quit' VM , giving notice to quit so that the service ends around the same time as your minimum term with VM ends, without first approaching another provider that will provider you a line and import the number, then the chances are VM will just cease your service, the number will revert to the number range holder (BT) and in effect be lost .
Whatever new provider you chose , unless you specify on the application that you want to import the 'working' ( not a soon to be ceased number from VM ) you will probably just get any old number, you would then have a struggle to get the required number back.
It's seems to me you are perhaps approaching this the wrong way, if you want to stay with VM but want a better deal, call them , as you are in the last month of your minimum term, say you want to stay but they need to offer a better deal.

If they don't offer a deal or the deal isn't good enough for you to stay, say 'OK' don't accept anything and say you will be looking else where, but don't say ' cease my line'
Then pick a new provider , ensure they accept that importing the number from VM is essential and start the ball rolling, that 'new' company asking for the number in effect serves VM with your notice to quit.
It may not be possible to time the change of provider to be exactly on the day your minimum term expires with VM, if you go a couple of weeks past, all that will happen is you pay for those days at VM's 'list price'

OK, this makes sense.

The reason I wanted to cancel is because Virgin's offers have been naff thus far. I thought if I cancel I may get a phone call or two offering something better.

I think it makes sense just to keep them on, sign up to another provider and do it that way like you say. It's too much hassle cancelling and trying to get a new provider in time as if there is an issue or a delay with the order then it's a ticking clock to the cancellation date and possibly losing the number.

Thanks for all the suggestions everybody.