BT digital 'upgrade' - no landline
Discussion
My elderly parents were pressured into taking a digital upgrade package with BT - they have been with them since the dawn of time, and would hear no recommendations of alternative service providers. Anyway, an 'engineer' came along and has done the shoddiest fibre install I've ever seen - literally nailed to the skirting board around the room, drilled a big hole through a block wall, brick dust left everywhere. But that's not the problem - 10 days on and there's still no phone line available. My father has a lifeline system and this cannot work without a phone line enabled, meaning the system phones the first responders on a daily basis - the first number it phones? The home phone number, which isn't enabled, meaning the alarm system goes into escalation mode every day.
I've been on the phone daily to BT on their behalf, and have been passed around numerous departments, none of whom seem capable of resolving this problem. I've even spoken to a clandestine engineering number where the person greeted me with "how did you get this number..."
apparently the phone option has been enabled to their installation, but has not been provisioned at the digital exchange - I've been assured this has been passed to the 'specialist' team to resolve but apparently "they are dealing with a long backlog of requests".
Anyone had experience of this, and a reasonable method of resolution?
I've been on the phone daily to BT on their behalf, and have been passed around numerous departments, none of whom seem capable of resolving this problem. I've even spoken to a clandestine engineering number where the person greeted me with "how did you get this number..."
apparently the phone option has been enabled to their installation, but has not been provisioned at the digital exchange - I've been assured this has been passed to the 'specialist' team to resolve but apparently "they are dealing with a long backlog of requests".Anyone had experience of this, and a reasonable method of resolution?
I am alright Jack said:
Unless I'm misunderstanding I thought landlines were no longer supplied and you now need a voip phone.
Correct(ish), BT are 'retiring' the PTSN network next year.https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-inter...
I'd be escalating a complaint to BT on your parent's behalf.
Article said:
You may need to change your care alarm, security alarm or fax machine
Certain devices people use at home, such as care alarms, security alarms and fax machines may also be connected you your landline. If you have a device like this, it might need to be replaced or reconfigured to continue working once you move to a VoIP service.
When you migrate to a VoIP service, your provider should tell you what you need to do if you have one of these devices. This will include informing your alarm provider so they can make the necessary changes or tell you if your alarm will work with your new VoIP service.
If you are buying a new alarm or device, you should ask the manufacturer if it is compatible with VoIP services.
Before you change to a digital landline, let your provider know if:
you have a care alarm, health pendant or security alarm that uses the telephone line;
you don’t own a mobile phone, or you don't have enough signal at home to call the emergency services in a power cut; or
you have a disability or any other needs that mean you need extra help with the installation.
Certain devices people use at home, such as care alarms, security alarms and fax machines may also be connected you your landline. If you have a device like this, it might need to be replaced or reconfigured to continue working once you move to a VoIP service.
When you migrate to a VoIP service, your provider should tell you what you need to do if you have one of these devices. This will include informing your alarm provider so they can make the necessary changes or tell you if your alarm will work with your new VoIP service.
If you are buying a new alarm or device, you should ask the manufacturer if it is compatible with VoIP services.
Before you change to a digital landline, let your provider know if:
you have a care alarm, health pendant or security alarm that uses the telephone line;
you don’t own a mobile phone, or you don't have enough signal at home to call the emergency services in a power cut; or
you have a disability or any other needs that mean you need extra help with the installation.
Edited by Mammasaid on Monday 25th March 16:24
I am alright Jack said:
Unless I'm misunderstanding I thought landlines were no longer supplied and you now need a voip phone.
That's a fair comment - to clarify it's the provisioning of the equivalent of a landline via VOIP, but for the benefit of my octogenarian parents I describe it as their replacement landline, keeps it simple. They have been told they can keep their existing handsets, but have been given VOIP to analogue converter modules that connect to the home hub via wifi, but only one of them for a house with four older style handsets. The engineer couldn't explain how this was going to work either.Anyway off the phone with a BT rep earlier, and he says "yep, there's something wrong somewhere, but I can't tell what exactly". Thanks Einstein, I'll be sure to call back tomorrow for a further daily update of "something wrong, no idea what". It's been exactly the same story for the last 10 days.
OutInTheShed said:
My interweb is sold to me by Vodafone.
I tried to convince my folks to go with Virgin Media - I have a complete package for £31 a month, but no they insisted BT because "we have been with them since nineteen hundred and oatcake" basically since Noah was a boy. They are also getting robbed blind every month for the privilege. Brand loyalty is still a strong factor with the older generation. I think this digital changeover has highlighted to them how little the big named brands care about their customers.My elderly father in law got screwed around by BT when he switched from Sky TV to BT, it took 6 months and my wife making about 100 phone calls to resolve. There were multiple visits from engineers (50% of the time they didn't turn up). That ended up with the Ombudsman and compo was received.
Currently my elderly mother in law is in the exact same situation as the OP's parents. Having to use her mobile because the landline is now knackered.
BT are terrible. It seems like the 'engineers' are sent out to do one job and that's all they do, they leave the house knowing full well that they've left an unfinished system that simply won't work. The elderly seem to be the victims as they trust BT and their engineers.
Currently my elderly mother in law is in the exact same situation as the OP's parents. Having to use her mobile because the landline is now knackered.
BT are terrible. It seems like the 'engineers' are sent out to do one job and that's all they do, they leave the house knowing full well that they've left an unfinished system that simply won't work. The elderly seem to be the victims as they trust BT and their engineers.
- My wife has just corrected me about the phone calls to BT. She logged them all: date, time and who she spoke to and what was discussed. 400 hours of calls! BT still argued the toss FFS
Edited by Andy 308GTB on Monday 25th March 17:22
Roderick Spode said:
Anyone had experience of this, and a reasonable method of resolution?
We were without landline for 2 weeks, and mobiles don't work in the house, so everybody has our landline number. We do have wifi calling but it's very iffy. Wife was recovering from serious illness at the time.It seems it's a pretty common thing to do - email BT's CEO. It gets referred to the "executive customer service team". They were all very nice, but it still took two weeks to sort out, which is exactly what I'd been told at the beginning.
It was so messed up that at our next quarterly bill they forgot to charge us - we just got a big refund. I hummed and harred about whether to tell them or not, but did in the end as didn;t want to risk losing our number.
OP, you also need to check the Lifeline kit will work with BT Digital Voice, suggest you contact the provider.
The power cut issue, you need to get BT to provide a battery backup because your parents are vulnerable.
As suggested contact/annoy the BT CEO and you will get you access to the Executive Level complaints team, I suggest you are concise in what is wrong and what is needed for resolution.
I.e. functional system.
Guarantee it works with lifeline, be shown it working and how to tell if it isn't working.
Solution for ensuring the lifeline will work during a power cut.
The power cut issue, you need to get BT to provide a battery backup because your parents are vulnerable.
As suggested contact/annoy the BT CEO and you will get you access to the Executive Level complaints team, I suggest you are concise in what is wrong and what is needed for resolution.
I.e. functional system.
Guarantee it works with lifeline, be shown it working and how to tell if it isn't working.
Solution for ensuring the lifeline will work during a power cut.
OutInTheShed said:
My interweb is sold to me by Vodafone.
They sent me a new router, which I simply plugged the phone into.
Obviously I'm paying for 'broadband' at £34 a month or something, but it works.
Some 'care alarm' providers have been asleep at the wheel for 5 years IMHO.
I'm also with Vodafone for broadband and upgraded to "Fibre 2". They sent me a SOGEA Adapter to plug the phone into the existing router on switchover day.They sent me a new router, which I simply plugged the phone into.
Obviously I'm paying for 'broadband' at £34 a month or something, but it works.
Some 'care alarm' providers have been asleep at the wheel for 5 years IMHO.
On the day the land line went dead and plugged it into the adaptor. Still dead.
Turned everything off/on. Still dead.
Phoned Vodafone. After several hours of resetting the router to factory defaults, re-entering custom configs etc. the phone finally worked.
Might be ok for some, pain in the arse for others.
Roderick Spode said:
My elderly parents were pressured into taking a digital upgrade package with BT - they have been with them since the dawn of time, and would hear no recommendations of alternative service providers. Anyway, an 'engineer' came along and has done the shoddiest fibre install I've ever seen - literally nailed to the skirting board around the room, drilled a big hole through a block wall, brick dust left everywhere. But that's not the problem - 10 days on and there's still no phone line available. My father has a lifeline system and this cannot work without a phone line enabled, meaning the system phones the first responders on a daily basis - the first number it phones? The home phone number, which isn't enabled, meaning the alarm system goes into escalation mode every day.
I've been on the phone daily to BT on their behalf, and have been passed around numerous departments, none of whom seem capable of resolving this problem. I've even spoken to a clandestine engineering number where the person greeted me with "how did you get this number..." apparently the phone option has been enabled to their installation, but has not been provisioned at the digital exchange - I've been assured this has been passed to the 'specialist' team to resolve but apparently "they are dealing with a long backlog of requests".
Anyone had experience of this, and a reasonable method of resolution?
The 'landline' service is an optional extra on fibre connections. There will be an RJ-45 plug on the back of the modem that you can plug a phone into but that must be enabled as part of your package. The service is called 'digital voice'.I've been on the phone daily to BT on their behalf, and have been passed around numerous departments, none of whom seem capable of resolving this problem. I've even spoken to a clandestine engineering number where the person greeted me with "how did you get this number..."
apparently the phone option has been enabled to their installation, but has not been provisioned at the digital exchange - I've been assured this has been passed to the 'specialist' team to resolve but apparently "they are dealing with a long backlog of requests".Anyone had experience of this, and a reasonable method of resolution?
I specified when I made the upgrade that I wanted it - the 'landline phone' became active a few hours after I switched over to the new fibre modem.
I've found that BT offer pretty decent services that are great when all works well but if there are problems, they are a nightmare to deal with. The guy from Openreach who installed my fibre connection made sure to test everything he could at time of install and left the old copper connection temporarily live so I could fall back if there were problems, as he said that BT could be crap to deal with when things go wrong on their end.
megaphone said:
OP, make sure they do not lose their phone number.
Yeah - you need to get onto that ASAP before it gets re-allocated or 'lost in the system'. If they've messed up they may have lost it.I pay for the digital voice service purely because I have elderly relatives and family members who only have the number (which has been with the house since I was a kid) as a point of contact for me. Keeping the number was paramount.
megaphone said:
OP, make sure they do not lose their phone number.
Thanks all. This is their main concern, as being of a certain age the telephone is their primary means of keeping in touch with friends and family. They have had the same basic phone number since 1970 through numerous house moves and all the system upgrades & expansions over the years - to lose that would be devastating for them.I'll be writing a concise and sharply worded email to the CEO, so sincere thanks for that information.
We changed following a great offer from BT. We were told their Digital Voice system answered all our problems and fears.
We've had nothing but problems from the phones for months. Fixes don't work. The phones periodically, in mid call, go into synchronise mode.
Difficulty getting any help from EE is infuriating as the strength of BT for us was the ease of being able to contact their engineers. Those days appear to have gone.
If I can't keep my landline number, I'll probably dump BT/EE/whatever phones. I'm happy with their broadband. Utterly reliable for me, and their TV seems fine as well. Phones? Rubbish.
We've had nothing but problems from the phones for months. Fixes don't work. The phones periodically, in mid call, go into synchronise mode.
Difficulty getting any help from EE is infuriating as the strength of BT for us was the ease of being able to contact their engineers. Those days appear to have gone.
If I can't keep my landline number, I'll probably dump BT/EE/whatever phones. I'm happy with their broadband. Utterly reliable for me, and their TV seems fine as well. Phones? Rubbish.
We went voice over IP not by choice but as part of the mandatory switchover. We have BB by copper but the phone lines go dead. BT provided two new wireless handsets and an adapter to plug one phone into the hub.
It’s worked fine since day one, but obviously if the hub loses power the phones don’t work.
Kept the number, which is obviously important for senior citizens.
It’s worked fine since day one, but obviously if the hub loses power the phones don’t work.
Kept the number, which is obviously important for senior citizens.
Rough101 said:
We went voice over IP not by choice but as part of the mandatory switchover. We have BB by copper but the phone lines go dead. BT provided two new wireless handsets and an adapter to plug one phone into the hub.
It’s worked fine since day one, but obviously if the hub loses power the phones don’t work.
Kept the number, which is obviously important for senior citizens.
Once it was sorted, ours is mostly OK, but my desk phone, which is plugged into an adapter that BT provided doesn't ring (and the can;t just be picked up) about 1 in 4 calls. Works fine for outgoing call.It’s worked fine since day one, but obviously if the hub loses power the phones don’t work.
Kept the number, which is obviously important for senior citizens.
Have a UPS for the fibre modem (ONT), router and an old DECT answerphone that is plugged into the router.
Broadband wirks fine thoughout the house with the BT SmartHub and one (of the two they gave me) wifi discs.
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