Broadband

OFCOM have tweaked the process for handling the situation where a customer finds they cannot order broadband due to a “tag on the line”. This usually arises when a service is already present on a phone line that prevents an ISP ordering ADSL from BT Wholesale, or prevents a LLU operator gaining access to the line. We often hear complaints from people who have just moved into a new home, only to find that they cannot order broadband due to the previous tenant not cancelling their services properly.

In the past OFCOM promoted the use of an 0800 number which gave end users direct access to a helpful team at BT Wholesale, however they now say that ISPs should be capable of handling this themselves. They also claim that the number of instances is much smaller than 12 months ago.

The advice now is that the “gaining ISP”, ie the one you wish to place an order with, is responsible for resolving a “tag on the line” issue. If you find you are being told to “call BT” then refuse and ask to be escalated to a supervisor or manager as it is now the ISP’s job to resolve this, not yours. We hope that this change in process will be communicated to the various helpdesks properly, as there is the potential for new confusion to be caused during the already stressful process of moving home.

Further details can be found at the OFCOM website.

Tags: BT Wholesale, OFCOM