Sky and the disappearing telephone number

[bramblebuster]

Dear CAGGERS

 

I've been with Sky ( TV/Broadband/phone ) for the last 2 years. Due to financial reasons, I had my services cancelled by Sky in Feb. I paid the overdue amount 2 weeks ago and had the TV service restored almost instantly - no problem. However, the broadband and phone has proved a nightmare. Sky are refusing to reinstate and will only consider a totally new order. This means a new telephone number and a 3 week wait. I don't want a new phone number. I didn't ask for it and don't need it. I just want my phone and broadband reconnected.

However Sky are insisting BT pay me a visit before they reconnect me and they are refusing to give me my old number back.

(Hearing this,I lost my rag with cust serv and started threatening them with Ofcom which probably didn't help relations...)

 

Anyway,my question is: can Sky just take my telephone number and refuse to give it back? I've had the number for years and losing it is a great inconvenience.

 

Any advice and help is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Phil

[natalie]

Ignore the numpties in customer service, go straight to the CEO explain everything that has happened and how disappointed you are with the customer service department and how unwilling they are to help you. Guaranteed to be sorted immediately with discounts for your inconvenience.

 

[email protected]

[bramblebuster]

Ignore the numpties in customer service, go straight to the CEO explain everything that has happened and how disappointed you are with the customer service department and how unwilling they are to help you. Guaranteed to be sorted immediately with discounts for your inconvenience.

 

[email protected]

 

Wow, that was quick!

Thankyou for the advice. I'll fire off an email to JD this evening. I'd better calm down first though, just in case I say something stupid...

[locutus]

I'd just like to add, yes they can just drop your telephone number. When disconnecting, your number goes back into a random pool of numbers, no new supplier can guarentee 100% that you will get it back, it may even have already been re-assigned to someone else.

[natalie]

You could always dial your number and see if its been reassigned.

[bramblebuster]

I'd just like to add, yes they can just drop your telephone number. When disconnecting, your number goes back into a random pool of numbers, no new supplier can guarentee 100% that you will get it back, it may even have already been re-assigned to someone else.

 

Ah. Thankyou. Not the news I wanted to hear, but at least I know now.

I'm the account holder and therefore responsible for running the account correctly, so I have to take it on the chin but when I spoke to Sky cust serv , at no point did they inform me that I'd potentially lost my number. I paid them £39 reconnection fee in good faith too, naievely thinking that all they had to do was 'flick the switch' and I'd have a landline once more - as it was. Had I realised that I'd got to wait until 17.05.11 and with a new number, I'd have jumped ship and gone to another more reliable/cheaper provider...

 

Jeez, what a nightmare. All this because I was 6 weeks late paying off the bill....

[Highchiefolaf]

The general rule is that if a bill remains unpaid for around 90 days, an automatic cease request will be placed onto the account which physically ceases the service down. The TV is different - that can just be unblocked as such. The phone line has to be physically reactivated. Not sure why they are saying that a BT engineer is required though as this there should now be a stopped line (your old line) showing at your address which can both be restarted in 10 working days. As long as the order is placed on Sky's network, the phone and broadband will be provisioned at the same time.

 

With regards to the number - Sky reserve the right to change a customer's number at any point, the customer does not own the number.In fact, Sky doesn't even own the number, Offcom does, and they simply assign number ranges to the communication providers. Locutus is correct - once a number is disconnected, it goes into quarantine for 90 days and is then available to to be re-assigned to a new customer.