Anyone have ideas on a telephone fault?

[Frust]

Hi
I'm needing some imaginative help on a potential telephone problem. Ideas welcome.
I have had two credible reports from known callers to say that they can't phone me. I've spoken to both using a different telephone line - and have asked them both to try again. Both have again had problems. Other people, including me calling from a separate line and a mobile, have no problems.
I've done the on-line line test thing, but there's no category for problems like this (and it reported no problems on the line). I'm very very reluctant to try to have another telephone call with BT because the phone is at least working for most people and I have had huge and time consuming issues caused by BT in the recent past simply because I've phoned (like an unwanted internet security package being ordered for me simply as a result of me asking whether a telephone line could be installed).
I'd be very grateful for ideas and comments.

[TheOtherOne]

Hello there,

If the online fault reporting tool did not come back with anything I guess the only thing left to do is to send the faults team an email via this link: Contact BT

TheOtherOne

[Frust]

Talking to BT on this has to rank as one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. Today is probably the second time ever (in my whole life - and I'm no spring chicken) that I actually put the phone down on someone in anger - and the last time it was my dad!

So this forum isn't exactly what I'd call 'lively'. Other than your answer 'TheOtherOne' (thanks by the way), there's nothing.

I tried the live chat thing - which simply didn't work. More frustratingly it forced me to write a message, then shorten it (there was no warning that the message had to be very short), before getting to the not working stage.

And I tried the email route you suggested TheOtherOne. I had a nice friendly automatic 'we'll get back to you in 48 hours but don't reply to this message' email a few weeks ago - then nothing...

So I tried a call to report the fault despite my misgivings about what might get mucked up. It turns out that both lines that can't call me are with Virgin (although BT said Telewest). So, somewhat predictably someone from BT phoned back to say 'we can't help'. That was about the limit of the conversation. No 'sorry', no interest in my issue, nothing but 'we can't help, these people have to ring their supplier themselves'.

Of course on the one hand this seems reasonable - but why would they bother... It's me that is worried about whether other Virgin customers might not get through. These two people don't particularly care, and I'm sure don't want to spend the time phoning Virgin to talk about it.

I have to say that I did at least get a Virgin technical man on the phone to treat me seriously and politely. He even thought of one potential way that the problem might have arisen, and checked this wasn't the case.

So here I am. At least two people - presumably more  - can't phone me, and there's .... all I can do about it.

(EDIT: to confirm, I now know of a third Virgin customer who gets 'number not valid' when phoning me...)

Message Edited by Frust on 16-04-2009 04:58 PM

[alastair]

these numbers that cant call you... can you call them? if so can they call another BT line in your imediate area i.e same street?

if they cant chances are there will be an exchange routing issue on BTs side

if you can call them but they cant call BT lines at all its a virgin/telewest issue

[Frust]

I can call them, they can't call me. Have confirmed a fourth Virgin customer can't call. One of these is in a completely different part of the country. Everyone gets 'this number has not been recognised'. They can call me on a separate BT line in the same place. The second number (which works) happens to have a different area code (not sure if that's relevant). The one with the problem was installed second and without adding any additional extra physical wires from outside (not sure if that's relevant).

Thanks for thinking about this. 

[alastair]

i think this will be exchange related. however it may matter that its another area code.

what we need to try and see is... if theres a fault at the exchange it would be good to see if the block of ports ( i think its called a router or something) which can hold X amount of customers, lets say 8, and the people are probably situated next door to eachother thats why i was asking if you could try a neighbouring premises.

if it fails for them the exchange is a very good place to investigate. but TBH i think it'll be at the exchange anyway

[Frust]

The problem is that I can only ask the people who can't phone me for limited favours. They are busy people and although they can't phone me it's my problem not theirs (they don't really care). They've already helped by trying to phone me when I've asked and I don't want to ask much more of them.

The only way forward just now has been for me to work with Virgin's fault people. To be honest they have been a lot more helpful than the BT people even though they reckon it's a BT problem - although we're talking in comparitive terms not absolute ones. I'm still faced with the problem that  they need one of the people who can't phone me to raise the issue. Luckily there's a good chance that I can persuade one of these people to try, and at least the Virgin people were prepared to put notes about my problem with her details on their computer system. 

This is a shambolic state of affairs - just one more issue in a long line of issues I've had with getting this line. 

[alastair]

i'd agree its a BT fault. i would think you can phone 154 faults and if they say they cant help ask for a supervisor.