Vocal Voices

Posted this on one of Jan's threads, but I think it could well do with a thread of its own .....

BT are converting everyone over to "Digital Voice", which means getting your landline phone via your internet connection rather than a wire.
They (the BT engineers) are in town at the moment. I have had a flurry of letters, postcards and emails about it all, and am supposed to get a visit. No idea when.
Two of our friends have been "done" - and last I heard, both could no longer get their telephone link to work.

Flippin' palaver ....

One friend was told "it might work by 27th December, if you wait". The other lost all connectivity when they cut through the cables from the telephone pole to the junction box on the side of her house.

Has anyone else been converted over yet, and what did they actually need to do?

I have had to order a Digital Voice Adapter (to avoid having to plug the landline phone directly into a new router which they are supposed to provide for me), and that involved having to open an EE Store account and applying a special discount code to the basket in order to get the bloomin' thing reduced from £19.99 to free.
How many (thousands of) people are being conned into opening an EE Store Account they don't want just to accomodate this BT-driven change-over?

Kaz, where's Mick when you need him?
Right con, if you ask me ....

Well went over to digital a few months ago kept my landline just an engineer did a landline check still got my router on same about a month ago came to for . new care alarm fitted took 5 mins every thing seems ok o good luck

I transferred both my broadband and landline to BT in June.
I was infrmed about this change and given free a plug to insert into a 13 amp socket for the phone. This workrd for the very few phone calls I made or received
using the landline. So I have now decided to have the landline disconnected and only use the mobile phone.

Since the change to BT, have been told that my contractis now with EE. BT is only for business customers.

I have three portable alarms which I could use in an emergency to warn neighbours. Two of them have keys to the house.

Frank raised this a few months back already and sadly it seems that even months down the line, there isn't much understanding of the impact this will have on some people. My neighbour doesn't have broadband; she only a few days ago moved from an old brick type mobile to a newer smart phone because she has no choice because 2G is being discontinued.

But as said, she doesn't have internet, ie no router; so just where BT want to plug her phone into is beyond me, and she relies on her landline. But I suspect for her the only thing will be to lose the landline and rely on her mobile for everything?


As an aside, mine moved over when I changed my broadband from EE (was BT) to Sky, and don't think I've used the landline once in that time so will look to see if I can cancel it / save money

Yes, as Ria says, Vodafone did mine a few months back It was eventually fairly painless and up and running in a few hours. The only thing I needed to do was get a £9 VOIP phone from ASDA to plug in to the router to keep my landline number as the old DECT phone was analogue.

Ossie I will ask him to read your post

Mick doesn’t know much about it Ossie, as this has all come about during the two years since he retired. Sorry He did say that it doesn’t seem right that you’re having to set up an EE account just to get that discount He thinks it’s against competition law, and you could complain to Ofcom.

Thanks for that, Kaz.

BT and EE are one company these days, and BT Broadband is being rebranded as EE Broadband.
Nevertheless, I'm still a bit cheesed off over having to open an EE shop account, though.

My friend in Bridport was told he had to switch over to Digital Voice about a year ago when he opted to change his current deal with BT. He says back then, they just sent him a Digital Adaptor without any hassle. But that was "driven" by him taking up a new BT account offer, which is a different scenario to what BT is doing now, going round the houses and enforcing this Digital Voice changeover on everyone. And it seems to me, from the literature they sent me, that you now have little choice but to open an EE Shop account should you need an adaptor (so you can site your landline phone somewhere else in the house away from your router).

I think Mick could well have a valid point that it's against competition law, because what BT is rolling out now affects all landline users, whether their account is with BT or some other provider .......

Anyway, I've had no further communications from BT about an engineer's visit. The adaptor's arrived and is currently sitting on a shelf.

Bet Mick's glad he's well out of it now!

meriad wrote:Frank raised this a few months back already and sadly it seems that even months down the line, there isn't much understanding of the impact this will have on some people. My neighbour doesn't have broadband; she only a few days ago moved from an old brick type mobile to a newer smart phone because she has no choice because 2G is being discontinued.

But as said, she doesn't have internet, ie no router; so just where BT want to plug her phone into is beyond me, and she relies on her landline. But I suspect for her the only thing will be to lose the landline and rely on her mobile for everything?

I think they will come and change her "outside cabling" to take full-fibre broadband, and then set up a socket for a router inside her house, Meriad. She'll get the router for free.

I believe that's what happened two doors up from us, but I'm not sure.

The biggest problem seems to be that certain existing medical pendants, healthcare alarms and security systems don't work once the changeover has happened, and BT are making folk aware of this.

Glad to read your switch-over went OK, WM.

Extremely glad Ossie! He had quite a lot to do with EE when they came in with BT, and to say he did not have a very good opinion of their abilities is putting it mildly.......

I do hope you can get this sorted xx