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

---

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.

---

Moderating in moderation.

Hi Jason

I was wondering if you had some advice for me please

recently moved to Manchester, flat had BT line which the last tenant had switched to TalkTalk,

Before moving, I had a BT landline ,so called up BT to transfer the line, they said that as the line is with another provider, I need to pay them 125 £ as connection charges ( got the BT line 4 months ago,so had paid 125 then anyway !!)

called up TalkTalk to switch the line to my name, told that the last account holder has not closed the account, so I cant use it, to add to my predicament, last tenant has gone abroad, so no chances of getting hold of her !!

called up Madasafish as someone on the forum had suggested, got told that they cant take over the line without installing a new line for £ 115.

I would appreciate your advice.

Cheers

Hi,

1) check whether the line is still active; dial 17070 and listen whether the answer says: this is the BT line 01xxx (or something like that) or whether it just says this is line 01xxx

2) depending on this, your line is unbundled (LLU) by Talktalk or still based on the BT network. As BT says they want the reconnection charge it seems like it is unbundled.

3) Call BT on 0800 800 150 and ask for free "Return to Donor" installation mentioning that you want to have your LLU line back to the BT network. This is normally free!

4) Have your line switched back to the BT network

5) Transfer your old BT account to your new number if you want.

6) Should this not work, ask BT for a 100£-Reduction on the line installation fee when agreeing on an 19month contract - they have this option, but dont advertise it. If you want, of course ;)

Mat

Good advice, didn't know about the 17070 thing.

---

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."

Thanks a million Mat

the line is unbudled LLU , so will call BT to try that Return to donor thingee which u have mentioned ..

just wanted to check this 19 month contract thing with u, is that for new lines or applies to existing lines also?

Thanks again ...

Hi,

okay, definitely try the return to donor thing. They normally don't offer this but be persistent, someone should know about it. It normally takes some days longer but you save the 125 pounds.

The 19 months are actually 18 months - just mishit it. It is in case you need a new line installation; if you sign up for 18 months, BT will reduce the new line installation from 125 to 29 pounds. However, this should be your second choice because the return to donor is completely free and you "just" have a 12 month contract.

Let me know the outcome ;)

All the best,

Mat

Hi ..

arghhhhhh !! sorry, had 2 get that of my chest !

multiple conversations with B.T cust services, nobody knows about the return to donor thing, not even the supervisors, the conclusion is that I have to pay the connection fees again ...

was told also that the 18 month contract thing is for new customers only ...

so am back to square one, ideas , any one ??

Cheers

Hi,

- sorry about the hassle, but google for return to donor or search for it inside this forum, it definitely exists ;)

- the 18 month special offer is not restricted to new customers, at least it does not say anywhere:

http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/public/current/Notice08_boo/2-FrameworkImpl268785.htm

And on the T&C of my written 18 month contract confirmation it says "This officer is available to eligible new and existing customers", so it should not be for new customers only.

Good luck!

Mat