After reading an article in Money we decided to switch our phone and broadband service from BT to SSE, and it has turned into a nightmare.
At the time, SSE confirmed we would be able to keep our landline number that we’ve had for 25 years. On the agreed date of the switch we were cut off from BT, but nothing else happened. At this point we realised we’d not been sent a router. It later transpired there had been a bigger problem and we would have to restart the switching process, which could take three weeks.
After endless toing and froing we have now been told there is only a 50% chance we can keep our original phone number. We are completely exasperated. Our elderly parents cannot contact us and we are having to drive into town, which is a 10-mile round trip, to get a decent mobile phone signal, and rely on the kindness of neighbours to use wifi. CC, Pembroke
Journalists like me are always extolling the virtue of switching supplier, but your letter is the reason millions of people ignore this advice and prefer to overpay their existing supplier. It should be noted that thousands of households successfully do switch every year. I have made around 10 switches without incident, so others shouldn’t be put off.
In this case, a quick call to SSE got things moving, and a few days later you were reconnected, and are relieved to have kept your phone number. In this case, the problems were caused by the fact that your address had been incorrectly entered on the system. When switching, check and double check that any data, such as addresses, phone numbers etc, are correct. This will greatly aid a trouble-free switch.
SSE apologised for the delays and has promised a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience and extra costs.
The Conservatives have pledged to make telecoms firms pay for every day that a consumer’s service is lost – something that is long overdue.
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