Misled by Nowtv Provider

225282d

We recently sold our house in Devon and as we were on a 12 month deal with Nowtv wanted to use the same service in our flat in London otherwise we would have to pay a penalty for early cancellation of contract. Our London phone number is very important to us so I contacted Nowtv and was assured verbally and in an email that not to worry our important to us number would NOT CHANGE. Our flat in London has had numerous internet providers over the years and the number has remained the same. A few days after the switch we wondered why we had not had heard from any business, friends or family. We discovered to our horror we had been given a new number after being promised this would not happen. We were very upset by this and contacted Nowtv help line number who told us we cannot take our Devon phone number to our London number as it was a different location, Obviously we could not do that, we just wanted to keep our old London number.
I explained this was not the situation that they had promised. "Why can we not keep our London number?" I asked. To which I was told you have moved to a new house, no I had not moved to a new house I stated, we owned both properties and had changed internet provider many times in the past with no problem keeping the same number. I contacted BT Openworld who provide the line and was told it was very easy for Nowtv to request the old number back as it had not been allocated and was held in the same telephone exchange as the new number, so swapping back would be easy if Nowtv contacted them. Nowtv would not do this stating it was nothing to do with BT Openworld.
Incidentally I was then informed by BT that Nowtv had not contacted my old SSE Internet provider and I had two service providers registered to the flat at that time. So not only had Nowtv not done what they promised me in keeping my old number they had failed to inform/cancel my old service provider.
I then opened a "Resolver Case" thinking this would help as I was getting nowhere with Nowtv. Repeatedly Nowtv asked us what we wanted to conclude the complaint. My reply, just give us our old number back please, or compensate us for having to inform all work contacts, friends and internet sites of the new number. Nowtv then wrote and also told me they do not respond to complaints made through Reslover. I was then informed that somewhere in the contract it says that they can change the phone number if they choose to. I checked the email and underneath a line in bold letters with the date of service commencement was indeed "your new number will be...." I wrote and said why would I be checking this especially as Nowtv stated verbally and in an email that I would not lose my London number. After more than 12 back and forth emails and a Resolver complaint (not recognized by Nowtv) and BTOpenworld trying to be helpful (Nowtv said BT should not comment) the simple, promised result of keeping our 10 year old number was not possible for Nowtv to do, or where they just to lazy to try?

Cornucopia

It sounds like you wanted something that either they did not understand, or their own systems could not cope with. The fact that they thought you wanted your Devon number in London seems to be evidence of that.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any way to have made the request clearer to Now TV so that it had a better chance of success, but other posters may have some suggestions. (Maybe you could have taken a brand new 1 month rolling contract in London, preserving the landline number, and then transferred in the annual contract afterwards?).

Now TV is correct that BT Openworld is not supposed to speak directly to customers (although I have spoken to them before).

hareng

All these companies the same do and say anything just to get the order. Its more a case of Sky grabbing you with no intention of supplying what they can get away with.

Have had the same, promise the world but deliver nothing.

Norman_Castle

It sounds like you were dealing with call centre kids who don't understand how little they know. However many times you explain it they will be convinced you are wrong because they're the experts.
Not lazy, just ignorant and incompetent.