Hello,

 I have recently moved into a rented flat and I am trying to sort out a broadband connection. When I called BT about the phone line they told me that the line is currently connected with a different provider and there would be an additional charge of £28 to move the line to BT. I asked them to tell me who the line was connected and they told me that they do not have that information.

How do I find out who the line is connected with? Even if i do find out which provider the line is with, is it still likely that I will have to pay a 'connection fee' with that provider?

 I'm slightly confused as one package that i was considering was through tiscali who are advertising broadband and a phone line for a combined £19.99, but also state that I must have an active BT line. Does this mean that without entering into a 12month contract with BT that I won't be able to use that particular tiscali package? Or do i have to activate the line with BT and then immediately switch it to tiscali for the combined deal?

 What is the best course of action in my situation to get the a decent internet package? (Note: I dont need the phone line to make phone calls)

(Postcode is M20 4YE)

Thanks,

 Alan

Hi ---  Try asking the landlord or letting agents about this first, because I think you will need their knowledge and permission to find out the previous arrangements and make alterations to them, as they may still be under a contract from another provider. Also the phone line will have to enabled to both make and recieve calls in order to get broadband.

Hi Alan

OK first of all do you know the phone number you're on? Secondly are you the account holder of that phone number? If the answer is yes to both these questions you have a right to know what provider has a tag/marker on the line.

Contact BT Wholesale on 0800 169 0934 and state that you are the account holder of the line phone number X and you want to know which broadband provider has a marker on your line.

They should tell you who it is, once you know this you can ask that provider for a MAC code - you use this MAC code to switch the line over to the provider you want to, and normally takes 2 weeks to change the connection over to your new provider.

If they can't give you a MAC code then you'll have to go through a process called 'cease and reprovide' which means you have to totally switch the broadband connection off and recconnect back with a new provider again.

I hope this helps?

Cheers

Jason

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Jason Lloyd
moneysupermarket.com
0800 298 5770

" We're here to help you find the best deal and avoid the pitfalls through sharing knowledge and experiences."

Alan: I am in exactly the same situation. Did you solve your problem? Could you please tell us your experience? Thanks!

Jason: I am not sure what being the "account holder of that phone number" means... I am the official tenant but I just moved in. The line was there already.

Additional information: the previous tenant did not use the phoneline; the line is there (physically), but it has not been used in a long long time. The Landlord says he does not get involved with the phoneline dealings.

Cheers,

Antonio

My suggestion: try let the line be taken over by Madasafish and sign up for their talk only package; they dont charge you anything for taking over a working line and they do not have a 12 month contract... simply one months notice so you can always switch over to another broadband provider should you want. if you go back to bt they always apply a 12 month contract.

and best of all: you can use another broadband provider alongside your madasafish phone line! seems like they are officially treated as BT lines... im now on o2 for broadband, but my phoneline still is hosted by madasafish - seemed the cheapest deal for me, cause madasafish has quite cheap international calls, but quite expensive broadband.

Let me know if you need help ;) Anf if you like to sign up with madasafish, it would be nice to name XXXX Moderated - then both of us get some pounds in referral bonus ;)

greets,

mathias

Hi Mathias

I was in exactly same situation as you, wanted a less than 12 month contract on the telephone line. Thanks to your postings I am going to go with madasafish for their line rental only on a month by month basis. if you email me at XXXX Moderator - email address removed, in line with MS terms of service. I can ensure I get your madasafish details correct and we can get something together through their referal scheme! Hope to hear from you soon as I want to place the order tomorrow (saturday 7th june) cheers

john

Dear moderator.

Fair enough you have removed the email addresses quoted. Usually on discussion boards there is a facility to private message another member. This feature seems to be greyed out though. Am I missing something or is there no way to contact another member on this forum?

johnthegun

There is the facility to leave your email address within your profile. However not all members choose to do this, as it seems the member you tried to contact has not left their details in their profile.

For more details about adding your email to your profile, click here.

Thanking you.

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Moderating in moderation.