home phone fault ongoing for two months,fault found but still not fixed

[Martina2B]

Two months ago our landline stopped ringing when there was an incoming call, which I first noticed on 14 Jan and which I first reported to Talktalk on 27 January. Incoming calls reach the line but no ringing signal is generated. If the handset is lifted during the call the call connects normally.

I have had a number of webchats, conducted 17 calls with Lapwing, had visits by one Talktalk engineer and two Openreach engineers, several appointments with customer assistants from Lapwing who wanted to carry out the same tests they had already done numerous times and which involved me being at home, only for them not to call me, and yesterday, an Openreach engineer finally diagnosed the problem, which was with Talktalk hardware in the exchange, a few hours later I received a message that it was all fixed, your customer service agent Brian, who says he is my dedicated agent, phoned to make an appointment for 5pm to discuss the findings and do another line test with me at home, and then, as I am becoming used to, did not phone. Nor did he get in touch today. I have spent at least three occasions where I waited in vain at home for an engineer to phone me. 

My case has dropped off the radar multiple times and I simply cannot sit through another call with a call centre assistant starting from scratch having to go through all the useless tests. The reason this keeps being dropped is because the faut is with Talktalk equipment at the exchange, which means Talktalk needs to take it up and they close it down over and over again.

Openreach have already confirmed the physical line is working and indicated the fault lies with TalkTalk exchange equipment. Please move the line to a different exchange port or escalate to the relevant exchange engineering team.

Given that this fault has been going on for two months and prevents incoming calls from ringing, the landline service is effectively unusable. If this matter is not resolved urgently I will pursue the complaint through Alternative Dispute Resolution with Ombudsman Services: Communications and will also report the matter to Ofcom as a failure to provide a functioning telephone service.

I have been told this is a common problem caused by failure of the port or line card inside TalkTalk's equipment at the exchange. Please move our line to  a different port, reset the voice card, or reprovision the service.

I will definitely pursue compensation and will appreciate assistance directing me to the right department to contact.

Looking forward to a swift solution.

[Thabile-TT]

Hi @Martina2B I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. I will need to review your account and check the progress concerning this issue.

[Martina2B]

These closures of the repair cases were caused by your system errors. I was constantly send messages that the problem had been rectified while the problem clearly persisted. I have a huge log of all the calls and all the so called solutions, which just closed down the case. Every time I had to phone you to start it up again, and we literally had to start all over from the beginning with all these standard tests. . I do not agree that there were only three cases with huge gaps in between where I was not reporting it. The problem was never sorted out. I also did webchats for which I asked logs to be sent to me after the call, which weren’t. On the log that I attached to my email to the complaints department I state many interactions during February, where you don’t seem to have a record and claim the case was closed.

Your customer service centre had a serious crash on Friday 6 February when I was supposed to receive a call from David who rang at 11 but couldn’t hear me and put the phone down. I phoned back, spoke to someone who couldn’t help me due to the technical problems at the call centre which persisted for a week. She was supposed to call on 10/02/26, and had me waiting for two hours, but I never heard from her again. To state that this case is not ongoing is completely wrong. The constant dropping of the case was due to errors in your system, and are exactly why this whole thing is driving me to distraction. Please add this post to my case file. It is absolutenot my fault that your system was continuously dropping my case by reporting it fixed.

[mandisa1-TT]

You are most welcome @Martina2B 🙂
Have a lovely evening and take care

[Martina2B]

Hi Mandisa, it was Lettie from the complaints depart who called me today as arranged. I spoke with her and am now waiting for an email with the details of my compensation.

Many thanks for all your help!

[mandisa1-TT]

Looking into the account you first completed online checks on your end on the 13/01/2026 and the checks prompted you contact us as it required agent intervention, the system closed the repair case on 15/01/2026 as you did not contact us. 

Another repair case was open on 27/01/2026 when you contacted us to report the case, that one was closed on 08/02/2026
Another repair case was open on 02/03/2026 and last updated on 25/03/2026 and I assume will be closed today as you have advised the fault has been closed today. However the Complaints manager will be able to address all concerns when they contact you. Just to confirm @Martina2B did Angela advise she will call you today? as when looking into your complaint a follow up has been booked today not a call back?

[mandisa1-TT]

If you are eligible for compensation, the credit will be applied to your TalkTalk account, and you will be sent communication advising so. Once that has been done, you can request for the refund via your online my account.

[Martina2B]

Hi Mandisa,

Would you please tell me if that credit is going to be paid into my bank account, not credited to my Talktalk account? I would prefer it to come into my bank account, as otherwise I would be forced to stay with you for however long the credit lasts, which, as you can understand after these frustrating two month plus, I might not want to be.

I am concerned, as the fault has been continuously flagged up by your system as having been solved, and consequently I had to start all over again after phone appointments were cancelled on your side, that the amount Talktalk owes me will be calculated incorrectly. Could you please confirm with me exactly when your system states I first reported it and exactly when it reports it solved? Many thanks!

[mandisa1-TT]

Hi there @Martina2B Thank you so much for updating us the fault has finally been resolved. Our systems automatically compensate you 30 days after the fault has been resolved, please refer to the following article on auto compensation: About your auto compensation credit

You are most welcome:)
 

[Martina2B]

Finally, finally the fault seems to have been fixed yesterday. It took a few minutes at the exchange. As this has been going since 13 Jsnuary, I want to claim compensation for the many hours I have spent webchatting, writing, phoning and waiting for numerous phone appointments that were not honoured and four engineer visits. Would you please tell me if I should wait for the appointment this afternoon with Angela to discuss this or if I should just enter a claim for compensation? Do I email your complaints department with the reference for this case? Many thanks for having guided me through this to all involved on this forum!

[mandisa1-TT]

As you have an open complaint, once we have exhausted all option and the fault remails unresolved, you will then be sent an email advising so. However you can ask more information on the process when the complaints manager contacts you.

[Martina2B]

Is there a set minimum time for this? If we still haven't come to a solution after this week's visit, how do I apply for a deadlock letter? 

[mandisa1-TT]

I am sorry to hear the issue still has not been resolved. The complaint is still open, please bear with the complaints manager while they work on having this resolved for you, if we are unable to reach an agreed resolution you will then be sent a deadlock letter.

[Martina2B]

Hi Phili,

I am using this chat to record all interactions, and would like you to transfer them to the case file. I spent 56 minutes on the phone to Brian, who was my "dedicated case manager" before Talktalk decided there was no problem and pulled him off the case two weeks ago. He started by saying how happy he was that my problem was sorted. When I explained that it wasn't he asked if it was correct that it had been going on for one week. This does not fill me with confidence.

We then went through all the usual tests, I explained the findings of the Openreach engineer and he discussed them with his supervisor, but they decided that I should have an Openreach engineer's visit. The appointment is for Wednesday. This will be my fourth engineer's visit (one Talktalk and three Openreach). Another morning spent hanging around the home on standby. I have lost all faith in this ever being resolved. I know someone senior is investigating between 2 and 4pm tomorrow. I hope they have the authority to DO SOMETHING. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED ALREADY AS BEING A PROBLEM WITH THE HARDWARE IN THE LLU.

Please add all this to my file. 

Would you please advise when I can escalate this to the ombudsman? I can't take much more of this. We have been going around in circles since I noticed the fault on 13 January.

Thank you!

[Philile-TT]

@Martina2B no worries, I have also sent her an email reminding her that you have a scheduled call with her. 

[Martina2B]

Your customer assistant Angela is calling me between 10 and 12 today. Hopefully that will deliver a way forward. Especially as I will share the findings below with her.

[Philile-TT]

@Martina2B since you have a complaint that is ongoing because of this fault as per the notes there is a scheduled call between 10:00am-12:00pm please await the call to discuss further and also to have the questions that you have answered. 

[Philile-TT]

Okay, I will look into your account and advise further. 

[Martina2B]

I have just tried the line again and the fault persists. Not fixed.

[Philile-TT]

@Martina2B please advise if the issue was not fixed over the weekend? 

[Martina2B]

Sorry, forgot the copy and paste it. Here it is:

Your symptoms strongly suggest failure of a component called a line card or port inside the provider’s equipment.

A line card handles:

• detecting incoming calls
• sending the ringing voltage
• switching to voice when you answer

If the ring generator or port fails, you get exactly your behaviour:

• call reaches the line ✔
• you can answer ✔
• phone never rings ❌

Why Openreach couldn’t fix it

Openreach engineers can:

• test the copper pair
• check the exchange frame
• confirm the signal path

But if the problem is inside TalkTalk’s rack, they can only report:

“Service provider equipment fault.”

After that, TalkTalk must send their own engineers or reconfigure the port remotely.

The usual fix (which is quick)

In many cases the fix is simply:

• move your line to a different port
• reset the voice card
• reprovision the service

This often takes minutes once someone does it.

That’s why your two-month delay is almost certainly administrative failure, not technical difficulty.

Why faults like this sometimes get stuck

Exchange faults can fall into a gap:

1. Openreach closes the job (line tests OK).
2. TalkTalk system thinks the line is fine.
3. The case drops out of the repair queue.

Unless someone manually escalates it, nothing happens.