View Full Version : Can NTL refuse to transfer my number to BT?
BigAndy817
13-01-2006, 16:07
Hi,
I am having problems with NTL. I am moving house next week and it has taken me from the middle of December until yesterday to convince them that the street I am going to is not cabled! They were very reluctant to cancel my account saying they would transfer it to the new address. Anyway they finally seem to have accepted that they can not transfer it.
My question relates to the phone number. They are refusing to release the number to BT. Are they allowed to do this? The house we are moving to is only a couple of miles away and is in the same area code. The reasons they have given are:
1) It is too great of a distance to move the number
2) They can only transfer the number to an NTL cabled area, even though we want it on a BT line not and NTL line!
Please help! I know I could just set up a new line with BT and have a new number but it would be nice to keep the old one.
Thanks,
Luke.
If the number was originally an Ntl one and its going to a non-cabled area then you can't transfer it.
BigAndy817
13-01-2006, 16:32
Ok, I guess if that is the rules then there is not much I can do but I still don't understand why. I want it on a BT line so what does NTL's cable network have to do with it? I get the feeling it is just NTL being awkward because I am cancelling my account.
atlantis
13-01-2006, 16:36
don't know if this link to Ofcom helps, there are email and contact 'phone numbers at the end of the pages to call for one-to-one info.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/ofw165/promoting_phone.pdf#xml=http://search.atomz.com/search/pdfhelper.tk?sp-o=2,100000,0
Good luck
If the number was originally an Ntl one and its going to a non-cabled area then you can't transfer it.
Any idea why? I thought numbers were meant to be portable now.
If the number was originally an Ntl one and its going to a non-cabled area then you can't transfer it.
I don't think that's the case at all m8. :)
BigAndy817
13-01-2006, 16:58
Seems there is as much confusion on here as there is on the NTL phone line when I call them. Any idea how I can get an answer to this question?
Any idea why? I thought numbers were meant to be portable now.
The reason/excuse we always got from the GNP department was that if a number was being ported to an area not covered by the original provider it couldn't be done.
Some obscure regulation about maintenance of the line in an emergency if the new provider couldn't supply the line or similar.
For BT lines to Ntl it didn't really apply but Ntl to BT caused a lot of problems.
BigAndy817
13-01-2006, 20:30
For BT lines to Ntl it didn't really apply but Ntl to BT caused a lot of problems.
So basically if BT can do it but NTL can't, it comes down to the fact that NTL are probably just being awkward with customers when they want to leave and go to BT. Ok, no problem NTL, you lost me as a customer simply because NTL was not available where I was going to but now I doubt I would come back even if the chance is there. Goodbye NTL, hello BT & Sky.
---------- Post added at 20:30 ---------- Previous post was at 20:30 ----------
Thanks every body for the replies
So basically if BT can do it but NTL can't, it comes down to the fact that NTL are probably just being awkward
Well if the info we got in CS was correct it didn't apply to BT as they covered the complete country but Ntl have only a certain coverage area.
King Of Fools
13-01-2006, 20:36
AFAIK, you can only port a BT number to NTL on a house move because their exchange software is more flexible than BT's. The BT software only lets you have a particular number range for each sub-exchange.
For example, BT numbers on the 01268 STD start with 77 for the Rayleigh exchange, 75 for South Benfleet and 5 for Basildon. Telewest can have any number anywhere in the range.
yoohoo32
14-01-2006, 16:37
ntl are so awkward just demand your number or take them to court it worked for me;)
As king of fools says, I have heard that you can only transfer your number if you stay on the same exchange. For example, if you had an (0117) 929 xxxx number you would only be able to move to an area where they were issuing 929 numbers. Don't know if this is still the case, but the best people to ask are probably BT first, or Ofcom.
ian@huth
15-01-2006, 11:20
If you were to stay in the same house and move your phone from NTL to BT I would imagine that there would be no problem porting your number over.
Once on BT if you decide to move house as in the opening post I would imagine that this would not be a problem for BT to do.
If both those scenarios are correct then there should be no problem doing the number port that the OP wants as it is just the first two scenarios carried out at the same time.
King Of Fools
15-01-2006, 16:48
Once on BT if you decide to move house as in the opening post I would imagine that this would not be a problem for BT to do.
That is the problem here, AFAIK.
Just a thought, why not ask BT if they will let/help you keep your NTL number in the new property if you are on the same area code.
As king of fools says, I have heard that you can only transfer your number if you stay on the same exchange. For example, if you had an (0117) 929 xxxx number you would only be able to move to an area where they were issuing 929 numbers.
my mate has just moved and he used bt and they would not let him keep the number as he moved to a new exchenge so it is still the same on bt as well as ntl .
ian@huth
15-01-2006, 22:23
That is the problem here, AFAIK.The problem is that NTL will not port the number to BT when the OP moves direct from NTL in his present house to BT in a different house.
What I am saying is that if the OP had decided to switch to BT some months ago in his present property there would have been no problem porting the number from NTL to BT. Having been a BT customer for a few months with the ported number if he was then to move to a new property and asked BT to port his number to that new property then they probably would do as he requested.
Ok....
I'm not really sure what the issue is here.... :erm:
If the number is (for example) 01234-5678910 & someone is moving (again, for example) to the house across the road, then the number should be totally portable whether switching from BT> ntl or vice versa.
As I understand it, the number (01234-5678910) can't necessarily be kept if moving to a different part of town that is served by a different exchange (even though it may still have an 01234 prefix)
If you are moving to a different part of the county altogether that has a different dialling code (01989 for example), then the number cannot be moved.
Or have I missed something? :confused:
King Of Fools
16-01-2006, 11:12
What I am saying is that if the OP had decided to switch to BT some months ago in his present property there would have been no problem porting the number from NTL to BT. I would agree.
Having been a BT customer for a few months with the ported number if he was then to move to a new property and asked BT to port his number to that new property then they probably would do as he requested. I would not agree. As others have said, there are limits to what numbers BT can move between sub-exchanges. The best bet is for the OP to contact BT to see if they could port-in their number.
BigAndy817
16-01-2006, 15:35
Hi, thanks for all the replies. I had thought about the thing of transfering the number to a BT line at my current house and then getting BT to transfer it to my new house, but as I move tomorrow it is a little late for that now.
Just to clarify some of the confusion in the replies. I am moving to the next village along, it's only about 2 miles away, same dialling code, but I suppose it might go through a different exchange. I have talked to BT though, they don't seem to have a problem accepting the number it seems to be NTL refusing to give up the number. The lady I spoke to at BT called NTL and asked them for the number but they wouldn't give it to her and couldn't really give her a good reason as to why not.
Anyway I now give up. I will call BT and set up a new BT line with a new number. I thought trying to transfer my number would be a simple request but nothing is ever simple with NTL! It's taken me about 10 calls to NTL and hours on hold to finally convince NTL that where I am going there is no cable service! They wouldn't believe me that there was no cable, and were being very difficult about letting me cancel my NTL services. I'm still not 100% convinced that they will disconect my phone, TV and broadband tomorrow as requested. But I am sure my bank will cancel the direct debit, so they won't get paid any more!
King Of Fools
17-01-2006, 11:00
It's taken me about 10 calls to NTL and hours on hold to finally convince NTL that where I am going there is no cable service! They wouldn't believe me that there was no cable, and were being very difficult about letting me cancel my NTL services. I'm still not 100% convinced that they will disconect my phone, TV and broadband tomorrow as requested. But I am sure my bank will cancel the direct debit, so they won't get paid any more!
That will not bother them they will just pass your "debt" onto a debt collection agancy!
dave_dph
05-02-2006, 18:51
Just to clarify some of the confusion in the replies. I am moving to the next village along, it's only about 2 miles away, same dialling code, but I suppose it might go through a different exchange. I have talked to BT though, they don't seem to have a problem accepting the number it seems to be NTL refusing to give up the number. The lady I spoke to at BT called NTL and asked them for the number but they wouldn't give it to her and couldn't really give her a good reason as to why not.
I believe that for a number port to be allowed it also has to be possible to port the number back to the host network.
In your case, because you want to port your number to an area where NTL doesn't provide service it makes the port impossible. If NTL provided service at your new property then the port would have been allowed as NTL could then take the number back if you wanted to leave BT and "reverse port".
I know it seems madness but that is how the porting arrangements have to work. :)
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