Cannot understand BT Openreach

Hi,
I'm really struggling to understand some information that I was told by a provider. Apparently I am unable to switch to Sky because I have a silver grade property and not a gold grade property with BT Openreach, but what does this actually mean? If my neighbor can get it why can't I? Aren't they supposed to be making it easier for customers to switch?
I've tried looking up what the difference between Gold and Silver properties is but it gets too technical and I just need to understand in plain English.
Please do help.
Thanks.

Is the provider that told you Sky? If so, ask Sky what it means.

Unfortunately they wouldn't they just left it at that. I have been scrawling through pages and just want to understand it in layman's terms.

http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/general/t/4395305-r...

What does this say for your number (if you post the results make sure to remove any number/address info)?

In reply to a post by panda:

http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/general/t/4395305-r...

Surely Sky wouldn't outright refuse just because the address hasn't been verified? I am thinking this is probably something else.

We don't know what service currently exists that the OP is trying to transfer, but this post suggests it may be a wireless provider, which could explain why BT have no record of a service there.

That was the BT openreach guide I had come across but it just didn't make a lot of sense. I guess I will have to chase Sky to ask what they mean by it. Seem ridiculous that I cannot switch to Sky because I don't have a gold grade line.

Are you on a wireless broadband service at the moment, as has been suggested, and is there a landline at the property?

In reply to a post by GowerJ:

That was the BT openreach guide I had come across but it just didn't make a lot of sense. I guess I will have to chase Sky to ask what they mean by it. Seem ridiculous that I cannot switch to Sky because I don't have a gold grade line.

The 'metal' indicates how sure they are about the existence and suitability of your telephone line.

A gold address is one where they know there is a line because they've used it to provide a service.

A silver address is one where they know that the address exists (because the Post Office says it does) but they don't know if it has a line.

A bronze address is one where they aren't even sure about the address.

The less sure they are about the existence of a line the more steps they have to go through before providing a service. And you've just written something different to what you first did. It would seem odd that you can't change because you have a gold address. But if (as you originally wrote) you have a silver address it might be that BT want to charge Sky extra to cover the costs of additional work that is needed to evaluate your property.

Edited by Andrue (Mon 17-Aug-15 20:12:46)