Phone disconnected by mistake any NTL people able to help?

[Web-Junkie]

Short story:

I have 2 phones in the house with 2 separate numbers, asked for one number to be disconnected and NTL have disconnected BOTH numbers!! I get no dial tone on either phone!

Seeing as I have no phone atm, how do I get my phone reconnected? If I ring them up from a friends phone (BT line) they'll get charged and I'll probably be on hold god knows how long!!

What to do?

*EDIT* Sheesh, am I dumb! I can e-mail them I guess :D

[Hom3r]

Yep try and e-mail them

One of the MODs or NTL bods may be able to help?

[quadplay]

You really will have to call, I'm afraid. The good news is that it's an 0800 number, so free from any landline. It's better to be in your house if possible, but calling from a mobile might mean you get charged even though it's an 0800 number. I believe 0800 calls are free from Orange mobiles.

In any case, call 0800 052 2000 after 9am tomorrow, and report it as a fault (Option 3). If it's not a fault, and the phone line has been disconnected incorrectly, it can be reconnected - hopefully without too much hassle.

[Web-Junkie]

You really will have to call, I'm afraid.

Oh the irony :)

Yep it's an incorrect disconnection! I only wanted 1 phone line cancelling of the 2 I have and they told me Friday 14th for the disconnection, but they've pulled the plug on both my phone lines :( I sent an e-mail to Customer Services with my account number and phone numbers just to see if they can do anything.

Anyway, if it's an 0800 number then I can use my mates phone to call them later today as I don't use nor want a mobile phone EVER!

Thanks for the replies, will let you know what happens and how long I had to wait and how many calls I had to make and how many people I got passed to and how many times I was promised a call back and how many times I got cut off (lol) and how many promises I was promised..... etc etc :jk:

[Web-Junkie]

Ball is rolling!

I asked my brother to ring from his phone over the weekend, he had problems getting through he said so I left it until today and rung the 0800 052 2000 from a friends house today and luckily managed to get through in 5 minutes!

Explained the situation, was told to ring another 0800 number and ask to be reconnected. Spoke to a nice Scottish lassy named Debbie and explained again the problem, she spoke to disconnections and verified both had been disconnected so she filled out a 'reconnection form' and told me to wait 3-5 days for it to be reconnected and that a letter will be sent to confirm the reconnection.

I also asked about compensation for the inconvenience, it wasn't my fault after all, and she said I would be compensated but not the details, so can't grumble really!

So I'll find out in the coming days whether the phone gets reconnected!

Just don't call me, cos I can't call you :)

[Web-Junkie]

Well, it's Saturday afternoon and no phone connected yet and no letter has arrived!

Does it normally take this long to reconnect a phone?

[Johnty]

Huh, it took 13 days when our phone broke down

[Web-Junkie]

Fair enough, but my phone/phone line is not 'broke' physically so I don't need to wait for an Engineer to come out to the house and fix it.

Unless reconnections are considered 'faults' and deemed 'non urgent' so they get shoved to the bottom of the pile of jobs 'to do'?

[Web-Junkie]

Well it's 1 week later and still no phone connected, maybe I misheard and and was told 35 days not 3 to 5 days?

Now I have to through the whole process of going back to my mates and ringing them up to re-explain the problem again. I never got a reply to my e-mail either, so they've failed on three fronts:

A phonecall that promised a reconnection that hasn't happened.
A letter confirming the reconnection that never arrived.
An e-mail sent that never got answered!

It's very disappointing isn't it?

[spike7451]

If it's till not on at you end,i'd lay odds that it's been PHYSICALLY cisconnected at the street cabinet (removed from the D sides)
The problem now is that to reconnect you physically (and i'm not talking on the computer system here) need to re-jumper from E side to D side in the Mux (multiplexer) & connect your drop cable to the correct d side in the cabinet.Thi needs a enginner out.And i'd ask for some comp! Imagine your a OAP with a lifeline phone & your off for a few days,how worried would you be??....
Spike

[AndyCambs]

Actually an aged person with a lifeline would I trust get priorty service.

[SmileyMan]

You be amazed how offen this type of thing happens

[Web-Junkie]

Well, my mother contacted NTL this time and it's going to take another 10 days according to a lady called Kerry Anne! No explanation of why I was told 3-5 days previously as 10 days is standard. My mother said didn't want to be without a phone another 10 days but was told that she could make 'other' arrangements if she wanted, meaning if you don't like it go elsewhere!!!

I was fuming when she told me, I nearly went round to a mates to ring them back up again and telll them where they could stick their phone but thought better off it as my mother pays the bill so it could land her in bother.

So I have no choice but to wait up to another 10 days, well thanks a million NTL!

[MovedGoalPosts]

This saga appears to be dragging on, and on, and on.

Have ntl admitted to you that they made a mistake in cutting off both phone lines?

If you want to PM some details, I will ask our senior ntl contacts to look into it for you. I will need your account number, address including Postcode. Phone number (state which should have been disconnected and which should not have been), a current contact number (mobile?), and full details of everything you have said to ntl, or had said to you. We'll hold onto this for only as long as needed for a resolution.

[Web-Junkie]

Thanks Rob, I grilled my mother a bit more (I know how she forgets things when she's mad) and found out something I wasn't aware of.

The second number in our house is an extension of the original line as 'Kerry' could not find reference to another line in the house and after digging a bit more stated it must be an extension of the existing line hence it got disconnected too when the line was diconnected! My father sorted this second line out but passed away a few years ago unfortunately, so I can't find any more details of the second line.

The bit about 'going elsewhere' wasn't said nastily or sarcastically, but the meaning is the same, and I suppose is said to many customers expressing dissatisfaction.

Do you still want the details or should I wait in light of this finding?

[MovedGoalPosts]

Hmm, If you in fact only had one phone line, with an extension (your bills should confirm if you actually apid for one line or two), you've made a rod for your own back. It certainly might be unreasonable to request compensation :erm:

Having said that you seem now to be getting the run around as to when, or even if, ntl will bother to reconnect, and aren't really getting straight answers. Have ntl actually given you a reconnection date, or is it just a vague timescale. If the latter, if you do want to PM I'll be happy to forward details and see what the senior bods have to say.

[Web-Junkie]

Rob, my mother pays for two phone lines as that is what the bill says as she pays two rental charges and each number is itemised. The numbers are two separate numbers, not an extension of the first line and number to another outlet. I could pick up the phone upstairs and ring my mother on the phone downstairs, so they are separate numbers!

If NTL think we only had 1 phoneline and 1 number, then the original number that was cancelled may get reconnected?

I'll dig out all the account details later today and PM you as much info as I can, then we'll see what exactly is going on!

[Web-Junkie]

PM sent Rob!

[MovedGoalPosts]

I'm advised, having escalated this, that ntl are now definitely on the case. Please do let us know the outcome.

[Web-Junkie]

All sorted Rob!

An edited copy from the PM I sent you so everyone can see how wondeful Cable Forum members are :)

Mum had a call saying an engineer would be arriving within the hour, which he did!

He came at 12:30 today, a nice chap called John, had a Gold tooth so either NTL pay him too much (yeah, unlikely!) or an irate customer chinned him (well it wasn't me!). Made him a cup of coffee while he re-wired both phones and made the upstairs phone an extension, so now both phones work off the same number, he checked both phones and all working!

That's exactly what I wanted and am very grateful to you, you're contacts and John :)

He even apologised for the trouble, which he didn't have to do as it wasn't his fault, but he's an extension of NTL and so I accepted the apology.

Many, many thanks Rob!

So everything is back to normal now, the phone works and the cold callers can start annoying me again :rolleyes:

Again, many thanks Rob for services above and beyond the call of duty! Please express my thanks to all concerned, it's people like you and them that keep NTL in business :D

Cheers!

[MovedGoalPosts]

:woot: Glad to have been of service :)

[Web-Junkie]

And what a service you provide :tu: :)

Also, just had a call (frightened me to death the phone ringing :) ) from a very nice lady at NTL named Linda checking if all was OK. I told her everything had been sorted and was very pleased, she was surprised someone had come out so quickly but getting the problem sorted was the main thing. She gave me her direct number in case I had any more problems.

Now you can't deny that is excellent service, and Cable Forums has worked wonders :tu:

In the end, it may have been a long drag, but NTL CAN provide good customer service and support.

[Web-Junkie]

Just picked up the phone and it's dead again, both phones too? Either it's a local fault or it's been disconnected again!

Glad I got the direct line to the nice lady Linda who called and said if I had anymore problems to call her, becasue that's exactly what I'll be doing round at my mates house if it isn't working tomorrow :(

[spike7451]

Just picked up the phone and it's dead again, both phones too? Either it's a local fault or it's been disconnected again!

Glad I got the direct line to the nice lady Linda who called and said if I had anymore problems to call her, becasue that's exactly what I'll be doing round at my mates house if it isn't working tomorrow :(

It sounds to me like a faulty line card in the mux.If your E sides are on the same card then i'd say thats the cause.
Spike

[Web-Junkie]

Don't know about the 'E' side, but they won't be on my 'Best' side if it don't get sorted!! :)

[spike7451]

Don't know about the 'E' side, but they won't be on my 'Best' side if it don't get sorted!! :):LOL:
The E side is the direct connection fromthe line card in the Mux,It has to be jumpered (with wire,not wool!!:p: ) to the D side that connects to the street cab.
Spike:beer:

[Web-Junkie]

It has to be jumpered (with wire,not wool!!:p: ) to the D side that connects to the street cab.

They could use 'Wire Wool' :LOL:

[MovedGoalPosts]

That's not good. Let's hope your direct line to ntl gets it sorted promptly this time.

[Web-Junkie]

All sorted.

Apparently the line was dropped on their side, by mistake! I went round to my mates and rung Linda who got a nice lady called Jill to call me back. We established it wasn't the phone as I plugged a second phone into the main phone socket and got no dial tone.

So went back round to my mates and called Jill again and she figured the line had been dropped from their system. She got faults to reconnect the line and my mother got a phone call saying the line was OK now.

So another hiccup get's sorted, same day this time :tu: NTL have some excellent and extremely helpful staff, if you know who to call ;)

[MovedGoalPosts]

Nice to know it all got sorted promptly this time. :tu: