Existing phone line when switching broadband?

vladman

Hi,

I'm looking to cancel my contract with Virgin Media, as they're putting up the price and emailed me to say I can end my contract by 12th August if I don't agree with the price increase.

I'm using MSE's tool to find best broadband and telephone deal (as I no longer need a TV package), and even though I have a functioning Virgin phone line, a couple of deals I tried (Vodafone and Plusnet) both say they can't identify my line and then say I will need a new line installing at an additional cost.

I've been at this address for 17 years and have been with Virgin for at least 10 if not longer... Don't really remember who I might have been with before, possibly BT... There's a couple of telephone sockets.

Do I really need a new line???

flashg67

It may need re-connecting/enabling rather than a physical new line if you have a BT/Openreach box already and may incur a charge. My SD went from Virgin (cable) to Plusnet and had to have an engineer visit and some work on the pole outside also - (although this may have just been a general line issue/fault)

jbuchanangb

Openreach look after the connection to your house for every broadband provider except Virgin, so, because you have no active Openreach connection, whichever broadband provider you choose has to assume that there may be a need for Openreach to make a new connection. Whether they have to send a technician to your house depends a bit on what is actually in situ, but until you have placed your order with Vodafone or Plusnet or any other ISP, they can't instruct Openreach to look at the situation.

silverwhistle

I recently left Virgin for Plusnet (BT) and needed an engineer who had to do an internal rewire using an old NTL box. Cost me £50, but still a very large saving over the length of the contract.



I've similar download speeds and far faster (x3 or4) upload speeds and I kept my phone number too.

vladman

Thank you jbuchanangb and silverwhistle.