View Full Version : Engineer connected Virgin line to BT box
Hi, I'm new to these forums but I see some VM techs post here so maybe someone can give me some advice.
I've had cable broadband from NTL and then Virgin for years and always been very happy with it.
Because it was so good I decided to go for Virgin for my home landline as well (currently with BT). Virgin would transfer my existing home number from BT to their system so I could keep the number.
So the engineer turns up and asked where I wanted the phone socket. I asked, is there any chance you can actually connect the Virgin line into the main BT input to the house (little round metal box on the outside wall of the house) so that I can use my existing phone sockets and you don't have to route a new one inside the house ?
He said yes, no problem, in fact it was much easier for him as he was running behind.
Then a thought occurred to me and I told him no, that won't work because as soon as you connect it my original BT number will have no phone connected and I'll have to wait 2 weeks or whatever until BT get round to transferring the number, during which time no-one will be able to contact me or my wife on the number they all have for us.
He said no, as soon as he finishes the job he rings back to base and the BT number will be transferred within 2 hours. I checked twice that he was really saying this, as I'd heard that number ports take weeks. He confirmed it each time. Sounded great so I left him to it.
Sure enough, 4 hours later, the BT number still isn't transferred. So I ring Virgin Media Customer Services and get through to India. They tell me the number port is scheduled for 24 June (i.e. 11 days after the install) and the technician shouldn't have promised that.
I happened to have the tech's mobile number so I rang him and he confirmed what he'd promised me, that the number should get transferred within a couple of hours.
Anyway to cut a long story slightly short, after ringing Virgin customer services many times I'm no further forward. Each time I call, the CS rep agrees to do something and get back to me. Each time they never do. I know people said NTL customer service was appalling (I never found that, the few times I rang them) but this is a different world.
So, firstly - if there are any VM techs out there, was my engineer just spinning me a yarn to get the installation done quickly ? He made it sound like he'd done it many times before and it would work fine.
Secondly, does anyone have any VM contacts I can speak to who might actually look into it properly and try and do something for me rather than promising things they will never actually do ?
Finally, does anyone else have any suggestions (apart from "wait till the number port happens on June 24") ?
I'm soooooo p****ed off with VM at the moment I feel like cancelling all my services with them - and would do, except that the cable broadband was excellent and far better than many of my friends ADSL connections.
All help gratefully received :)
chickendippers
16-06-2008, 17:40
When my g/f switched to a VM line their number was ported whilst the installation engineer was there.
WHISTLED
16-06-2008, 18:10
Even if the port was rescheduled it would take 7 days so not much can do as far as bringing that forward. He shouldnt have rewired the BT master socket as its BT property.
Call CS, complain to installs and say you need someone back out to fix the problem.
As for how long number ports take, it depends if sales do their jobs right.
Transfer of numbers CAN be done on the same day as the install if the sales agent request it. All that would mean is the install would have to take place at least 7 working days after order (to take account the lead time).
However if for any reason they don't (to get an earlier install date) or forget, then it will take 7 working days to transfer across.
At no point should a VM tech stop another companies service working whether it is phone from BT or TV from Sky
This is similar to the problem I have. The engineer came to install everything, did all the work inside the house, went to connect to the street box and found there was a fault in the line from the house to the box. He arranged for a construction crew to come and repull the line, but managed to flag the job as completed so a number port went through a day or 2 later our original BT line went dead. Finally after 2 weeks the construction crew came, repulled the line and a new engineer connected the internet and TV. He was unable to connect the phone due to not 'having the settings' with him. So until Wednesday when another engineer is due, we will have had no landline whatsoever for nearly 3 weeks!!
Even if the port was rescheduled it would take 7 days so not much can do as far as bringing that forward. He shouldnt have rewired the BT master socket as its BT property.
Call CS, complain to installs and say you need someone back out to fix the problem.
I already called them and they say there's nothing they can do. I was hoping someone on these forums might know some kind of shortcut or special contacts which would let me get them to fix it quickly.
As far as rewiring the BT box, the engineer didn't do it against my will, it was actually my preferred choice. I didn't know he wasn't allowed to do it though...
What he did might not have been illegal, as it depends who paid for the original wiring in the house. I know this because I have a newish house that was wired by the builders throughout with telephone sockets - at my expense as ultimately I paid for it in the price of the house. Cables were installed to the front of the house both by BT and NTL. When I took over the BT cable was connected (but not functional) to the telecon junction outside the house. I went with NTL (partly because BT wanted to charge 99 GBP for connection) and told the engineer to unwire the BT wire and connect his line directly to the internal wiring.
Somewhile later a BT salesman visited and grumbled that NTL should not have done that. I asked him did BT pay for the wiring in my house, which they had not, so he went away and I haven't heard from them since.
APS
That is different though, because the BT line was not connected.
If BT (or another BT based provider) has an active line in a property, Virgin cannot disconnect the Master Socket from that line. They HAVE to install their own.
We dont connect to bt's master socket. Our procedure is to install a virgin master socket next to the bt if needed. We can however take the bt extensions and plug them into our master socket to enable you to have virgin throughout your house. Bt supply a service whereby even if you are disconnected you can still dial emergency services, virgin dont provision for this on there disconnected fones. This is why we install a new master and leave the bt master in situ.
Bt number ports can be done instantly whilst we are there, unless the date of install has been brought forward then the port over will be the original install day. Engineers are not responsible for the port over and we are not told what day the port is booked for. We install and dial the bt exchange and request the number be moved, usually take about 15mins providing there are no "other" issues.
Graham M
17-06-2008, 17:26
We dont connect to bt's master socket.
Yes you do (maybe not "you" personally, but, you did it here in my house. Leaving me liable for an install charge if we ever want BT back.
heh sorry let me re-phrase.
we shouldnt disconnet the bt master but install our next to it.
bad use of the word dont on my part. Sorry :)
Graham M
17-06-2008, 17:37
No worries, it does happen however unfortunately for some :(
We dont connect to bt's master socket. Our procedure is to install a virgin master socket next to the bt if needed. We can however take the bt extensions and plug them into our master socket to enable you to have virgin throughout your house. Bt supply a service whereby even if you are disconnected you can still dial emergency services, virgin dont provision for this on there disconnected fones. This is why we install a new master and leave the bt master in situ.
Bt number ports can be done instantly whilst we are there, unless the date of install has been brought forward then the port over will be the original install day. Engineers are not responsible for the port over and we are not told what day the port is booked for. We install and dial the bt exchange and request the number be moved, usually take about 15mins providing there are no "other" issues.
Well I wish you'd come to do my install. The guy who did it definitely put it straight into the BT box on the outside wall of the house (black cylindrical thing with a "lid" that unscrews) - I saw him do it!
He never mentioned that he could install a separate Virgin master socket AND connect that to all my indoors BT sockets.
Having said all that, I don't feel I can criticise the chap who did the install too much - he was very polite and friendly and appeared to be trying to achieve what I needed, which was for the Virgin line to feed all my existing sockets yet still be able to use my previous BT number post-install. It's just that what he obviously expected to happen (and may well have happened every time he did it before) clearly didn't happen this time.
I even called him on his mobile later on to double check that he really meant what he said. He sounded baffled that the number port hadn't happened and apologised but said it was with the porting dept and beyond his control.
I kind of see both sides but it doesn't help me at all.
I'm interested to hear you confirm what he seemed to claiming about the same-day number ports. This is clearly what the engineer was referring to, although Virgin Media customer services vehemently deny that such a thing could ever happen. I wonder if you know any way that I can get this to be done for me, i.e. get them to contact BT and have the port done tomorrow, for example ?
Feeling very very frustrated over something that really should have been very simple :( My previously good opinion of Virgin Media (based, admittedly, on a long, reliable broadband service from NTL and then VM) has been severely dented.
i can only speak really for the area i do, which is cambridgeshire, but you should be able to fone CS and get them to to get in contact with bt and see if they can move your port to an earlier day. We did used to have to wait 7-10 days for the numbers to move over and it usually did itself automatically. There are lead times for number ports and generally they do try to conicide the install with the number port.
Sorry i cant provide a number for you to fone with regards to this, all i can suggest is another call to CS, but you should be able to get a date for the number port, or maybe try BT's CS.
hairy_mick
17-06-2008, 18:28
christ m8 you need to get back on the phone to VM what they have done is not legal they could be fined for what the engineer has done something to with Telecomms act you should not be without phone as you will still be paying BT rental also if you decided to go back to BT that will be 150 quid please.
jungleguy
18-06-2008, 08:44
I'd just like to say that all number port should be scheduled 7 days in advance at point of sale, to give VM a chance to do the number port.
The engineer did nothing wrong. I think you'll find the original telesales sales advisor is at fault.
You could arrange a divert on you BT phone number to your VM temporary phone number.
colin-bennett
18-06-2008, 10:01
I'd just like to say that all number port should be scheduled 7 days in advance at point of sale, to give VM a chance to do the number port.
The engineer did nothing wrong. I think you'll find the original telesales sales advisor is at fault.
You could arrange a divert on you BT phone number to your VM temporary phone number.
struggle here to get my head around this
BT ports are booked on by sales and go ahead at time of install. (7 day rule of course)
Sales do not book on active-active transfers yet you say when you called c/s they advised this had been done. ??
This being so you should have an active VM number working.
Techs do not leave without the number being ported if the number port has been booked by sales. Unless of course the port failed for some reason..
Sales book a port at least 7 days in advance, however an active active transfer can take much longer due to the newish process.
I sent an email to a load of Virgin Media directors yesterday afternoon and suddenly things seem to have started happening.
They're sending someone today to re-connect my BT line to the BT external box (they confirmed it should not have been done that way) and to install a Virgin master socket next to my BT master socket.
Then on the day of the number port someone will come and wire my internal extensions across from the BT master socket to the VM master socket.
So it looks like it will all be sorted out, just a shame that I have to send emails to people at the top of the organisation before anyone bothers to try and fix the mess.
Re: the number port and installation, I don't know if they should have been scheduled for the same day, but they weren't, and the port date was much more than 7 days after the installation was first booked. Besides, as a dumb customer, I shouldn't have to worry about that kind of thing, it should all be arranged by Virgin in conjunction with BT and if for some reason the process goes wrong then their customer services people need to be able to jump when you call and arrange for a quick fix, not give you the same tedious helpless excuse every time.
BT ports are booked on by sales and go ahead at time of install. (7 day rule of course)
Sales do not book on active-active transfers yet you say when you called c/s they advised this had been done. ??
This being so you should have an active VM number working.
Techs do not leave without the number being ported if the number port has been booked by sales. Unless of course the port failed for some reason..
Sales book a port at least 7 days in advance, however an active active transfer can take much longer due to the newish process.
From what I guess happened is this
Sales booked on install for telco without a port order. However they may have noted the w/o comments saying it was.
Tech installs telco thinking a port would go through later that day
When the OP then phoned into CMC, they realised there was no port order so booked an active to active port
In some respects the physical install is a different issue
All is sorted out - BT number working again, separate VM master socket installed, everyone has been as nice as pie and falling over themselves to get it working properly.
But I feel very bad because I've been told the engineer (who was a very friendly polite guy) has been hauled over the coals for what he did.
If the Sales people had arranged the number port for the same day the engineer visited, I reckon everything would have worked out as expected and I would have been happy. Just very bad luck I guess :(
Having read another website about how the terms & conditions Avonlink contractors work under, I feel doubly bad.
All is sorted out - BT number working again, separate VM master socket installed, everyone has been as nice as pie and falling over themselves to get it working properly.
But I feel very bad because I've been told the engineer (who was a very friendly polite guy) has been hauled over the coals for what he did.
If the Sales people had arranged the number port for the same day the engineer visited, I reckon everything would have worked out as expected and I would have been happy. Just very bad luck I guess :(
Having read another website about how the terms & conditions Avonlink contractors work under, I feel doubly bad.
but dont worry though...he did exactly as requested and then got stuffed by you whats wrong with that, im sure the social will look after his kids
but dont worry though...he did exactly as requested and then got stuffed by you whats wrong with that, im sure the social will look after his kids
Whether it was requested or not, by connecting the VM line to the BT Master Socket he broke VM company policy for installs.
The number port not going through the same day is a seperate issue, and wouldn't have been such a problem if the OP had had a working BT socket, but it should not gone wrong.
Accusing someone of raising a completely valid complaint 'stuffing' anyone is uncalled for
Whether it was requested or not, by connecting the VM line to the BT Master Socket he broke VM company policy for installs.
The number port not going through the same day is a seperate issue, and wouldn't have been such a problem if the OP had had a working BT socket, but it should not gone wrong.
Accusing someone of raising a completely valid complaint 'stuffing' anyone is uncalled for
im not accusing anybody read the thread....im stating facts!!
colin-bennett
24-06-2008, 02:52
From what I guess happened is this
Sales booked on install for telco without a port order. However they may have noted the w/o comments saying it was.
Tech installs telco thinking a port would go through later that day
When the OP then phoned into CMC, they realised there was no port order so booked an active to active port
In some respects the physical install is a different issue
I had allready thought of this Ben and of course you could be correct.
Still say if that is so a VM tel number would had been assigned so the cust would have had an active tel line (without the correct number of course).
If a problem with the port had arrisen (rejected bt BT) then I would have hoped the cust would have been contacted. Saying this I have known ports be removed from an order and booked on for a later date without the sales rep or any customer facing rep being notified.
but dont worry though...he did exactly as requested and then got stuffed by you whats wrong with that, im sure the social will look after his kids
He's the telecoms expert and I'm the layman; all I asked is whether he could use my existing BT connection to feed into all the extension sockets in my house. If he knew it was against his company's rules (and possibly against the law, I don't know) he could have just said no and we both would have avoided all this hassle.
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