Moving Home VOIP not available - why

[D_ave]

Hi spent yesterday helping an elderly neighbour try to move her existing TT service (customer for 15+ years) to a new home. Currently she has copper broadband & landline. The property she is moving to (just around the corner) has had the landline disconnected. We live in TQ5 which is leading the switch from POTS > Digital. So when we were on the call to the TT Full Fibre team I explained that currently she had a landline but would be quite happy to switch to VOIP at her new home and that the Fibre 65 + VOIP package would be appropriate for her.

The TT agent said that as there is no landline at her new home he could only  offer Fibre 65 Data Only & that she would just have to use her mobile - which didn't go down well.

Having recently switched my own Data Only to Data + VOIP I really can't understand why she can't have VOIP at her new address.

Agent wasn't able to offer any explanation. In the end she has signed up for F65 Data Only, but she realy would like to move her current landline number to VOIP

So why can't she have VOIP ?

[Gliwmaeden2]

@D_ave, it sounds like it is the standard "re-order" with VOIP so it's treated as a whole new order.

"Simply" upgrading to Full Fibre with VOIP is not that straightforward, and what you are describing is pretty standard, from what I have read on here over the months. Digital services are not so clever compared with our dear old copper lines, but remember that evolved over many years from dial up, and in the early days, not being able to use the phone at the same time as the Internet?

VOIP and full fibre are still evolving and it's not all that straightforward  - not just the flick of a switch when it's not part of the initial set up.

If the VOIP is not available with the initial order, there's a bit of a hiccup getting it added later. 

Staff will respond after the weekend. 

[D_ave]

Hi Arne - well the good news is that Open Reach installed Fibre65 on 4 Apr, no issues. We immediately rang TT to add VOIP to the contract and spoke to Sean who said he had to raise a new service to deliver Fibre65 + VOIP. He said the eariest install would be 22 April and the Open Reach engineer would attend 08>13.00. I did query this as I didn't think an OR engineer needed - I had told the OR engineer that it was going to be a VOIP service and he said that all it needed was TT to activate it. Agent said to talk to Order Management after 72 hours to see if it needed OR.

Tues 8th - spoke to Order Management who said it was self install - just plug your phone into digital voice socket on router and VOIP is scheduled to go live Wed 9th but it might take to 10th

Immediately plugged DECT Phone into router. Tested on 9th, 10th and again this morning 11th - no VOIP service. Reset router. No VOIP.

(Today) rang TT spent a total of 3 hours on the phone to every possible TT dept as agents pased us around to find out why VOIP wasn't active. Ended up in loyalty who initially said there was no trace of the order. Then said he had found it and it was under a different account number (this can only have been created by Sean and he never told us that was what he was doing or what the account number was). So that went some way to explaining why nobody could see the VOIP service on the existing account.

Finally passed from loyalty to Order Management who insisted that an OR engineer was required and that go live would be 22nd April.

All in all a very depressing and stressful experience, with many contradictions and buck passing. I think in many cases the agent(s) didn't listen or understand the history - we were passed to loyalty because the prior agent had said we needed an upgrade (which we had done on the 4th

So it would be good if the VOIP service can be activated before the 22nd and without an OR engineer

Thanks

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Thanks for the update, let us know what happens after the install. 

[D_ave]

Hi Arne - thanks for the info. We spoke to TT agent again this morning and they clarified that they can't order FTTP & VOIP for a Home Move - instead we have to wait for Open Reach to install the FTTP, then call and ask for VOIP to be added, bit bizarre but we'll follow that process. The agent we spoke to on Sat didn't offer that clarification, instead saying my friend could only have FTTP Data - in fact at one point agent suggested looking at offers from other ISPs - very unproffessional.

Anyway I'm happy that we have clarified things and are hopefully are making progress. OR are installing FTTP 65 on 4 April.

I'm happy now that this thread can be closed - whilst it may have been unusual for me to raise this for a third party, she is 80+, no PC and releys on me for tech advice.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi @D_ave

Did you speak to the homemove team ?, because it looks like a transfer request to plusnet has been put on the line, this may be the new occupants

VoIP is available at that address on ALL packages

The account holder will need to call and ask for the home move team, the transfer command may need to be stopped to allow the current number to be moved to Voip.

[Gliwmaeden2]

@D_ave, all support on the forum is through the thread. You'll see replies to your post on here and will have to keep acting as an intermediary unless the customer posts in their own right.

If there is no landline at the new property, the issue is possibly that it's not possible to do a simple switch, keeping the current phone number, but would have to be data only. Then possibly another upgrade for adding VOIP but not necessarily the same phone number. So it's likely to be more complicated due to the different circumstances. 

It really would be better if you could help the customer log into the community in their own right to communicate with the support team themselves. 

[D_ave]

Hi, I've done that please get support to contact my neighbour directly. Thanks

[Gliwmaeden2]

For your information, @D_ave:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/Nominated-user/ta-p/2205256

Staff will respond during the week. 

[Gliwmaeden2]

If you add your neighbour's name, address, Talktalk phone number and account number in Private Notes, @D_ave, the support team may be able to help. That section is near the end of Personal Information in the profile. You'd need to then SAVE CHANGES. 

It's not always possible to help a third party, however, unless they sign up in their own right through the forum, due to GDPR etc. The account holder should really post in their own right, or give you Nominated User status.