It is not that they won't issue a MAC, there is no way to generate a valid MAC for full LLU. Hence why Ofcom has been taking a few years to come up with a new migration system

Sky provided the services

As the account was closed I am assuming sky have put in an order to cease the line.

So yes even on the trial I believe a cease has occurred.
As far as I'm aware there's no better method however.

So, for example, if one was 3 weeks into a full LLU 30 day trial offer and at that point gave notice to terminate then one would hope that the line could be returned to WLR before the end of the 30 days in order that one could migrate the BB to another provider.

I took an O2 free trial BB offer myself a few years ago, but that was ADSL MAX and I had the line rental with BT Retail so with a MAC it was no problem to migrate to another ISP before the end of the 30 days...

So, for example, if one was 3 weeks into a full LLU 30 day trial offer and at that point gave notice to terminate then one would hope that the line could be returned to WLR before the end of the 30 days in order that one could migrate the BB to another provider.

They just require notice before 30 days, so you can give it day 29 - although actually migrating back will take much longer.

It's a strange one because Sky are offering a 30 day trial. They are letting the op leave as long as they give notice in that 30 day period. Whether Sky should pay associated costs to move to another ISP is debatable, afterall if they go to TalkTalk it would be a free transfer, if they go to BT - chances are it's a free transfer. If they go to someone smaller that's not mass market chances are it's not free. Sky didn't choose to pass on the charges to the end user, the receiving ISP did. Sky let the customer leave in 30 days as agreed - they didn't promise to use WLR.

Most people switching between a mass market ISP will find they are not using WLR. The big players are really BT, TalkTalk, Sky & C&W providers definitely have a market. If I move from BT for calls, line rental and broadband to TalkTalk, AOL, Sky or Post Office I lose WLR. It's almost a standard part of switching now if you require the best deals. There's only a narrow few providers who keep you with BT line rental, we're talking BT and Plusnet as the major players. I cannot think of any others - perhaps EE?

I took an O2 free trial BB offer myself a few years ago, but that was ADSL MAX and I had the line rental with BT Retail so with a MAC it was no problem to migrate to another ISP before the end of the 30 days...

For most people the Sky 30 day trial works out because most people choosing Sky are looking at mass market providers. So those unhappy with Sky will simply switch to BT or TT and will get a free install. Very few use Sky and then think 'this doesn't work too well, best give UKFSN a go.' They say 'should have gone with BT' or 'TalkTalk works well for my friend.'

In experience BT definitely have a way of lying about the disadvantages of moving to LLU. When my mother moved from BT to Sky they told her that her telephone number would never work on BT again and would be stuck on Sky forever. They told her Sky cannot beat BTs speed as BT has the monopoly on the market. They also told her Sky would charge her so much more per call that she would regret moving. She almost didn't switch. Ironically she moved houses out of a Sky LLU area and has her old number back with BT.

I think there needs to be a better method of switching between ISPs than currently.

In reply to a post by morphix:

1) No static IP address (which I absolutely need as I run a business and servers from home).

2) ..... can't risk frequent disconnections being a forex-trader and hosting websites, I'm not prepared to take a gamble on an unknown.

I've always used the service 18185 which for anyone who doesn't know, is a superb FREE VOIP service which lets you make unlimited any-time of the day UK landline calls free, plus HUGE savings on international calls (US just 1/2p a min for example, and 1p a minute to India). Since I make a lot of calls, especially overseas for business, I have come to rely on 18185 and use it daily.

I decided to go back to Primus Saver (the cheapest landline provider and a straightforward company to deal with whom I wish I'd never left). I also wanted to try Xilo/Uno for broadband who offer some very good deals, with static IP address from £12.50/month.

I called Primus Saver/Newcall Telecom to switch my phone service, they informed it wasn't that simple.

Conculsion - apparently connectivity is vital to you because you host websites and trade forex, running a business from home, but you list cheap residential services and free VoIP options as your tools of choice and price seems your main driver however you expect a high quality service.

It's hard to have sympathy though I appreciate you've had a bad experience. Pay more and get a home worker package, invest in your own VoIP service rather than using a free one as it's clearly so vital to the revenue of your business, have dedicated business level support, an SLA on your phone line, and the other safety nets that come with spending the extra.

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

They just require notice before 30 days, so you can give it day 29.

OP said when he went to terminate during the 30 day trial Sky said he needed to give 30 days notice. However that is dubious as you'd expect a 30 day trial to be just that; give it a try for no more than 30 days. No doubt the CS saying this was confused with users on normal T&Cs. Like 4M2 I once took the O2 30 day Happiness offer with their LLU ADSL2+ on a BT landline and as long as you told them within the 30 days they released you immediately. Luckily it was on a 2nd line so I did not have any migration to be performed.

BTW: EE don't now sell BB only. I'm on it as a legacy cust, but can't upgrade to fibre with them w/out surrendering BT line rental (but would be WLR still).

Yep. I'm mixed on this one because even during the 30 day trial presumably you agree to Sky T&C. In these T&C the 30 days notice is probably mentioned.

It is likely that Sky cancellations are not aware of the 30 day trial as it's not standard practice to offer it. Even with the 30 days notice Sky almost always cease a line far before it.

E.g. I cancelled my Sky line in my old house on the last day of June. On the 12th of July it was disconnected (so 12 days later). Around one month later on the August bill it had a refund for 12th July onwards.
They did nonetheless charge me the full month on Sky TV.

Interesting, so the only provider keeping you on WLR is PlusNet. Boy - that's a lot of people not on WLR then! It's not until this conversation that it dawned on me really how many providers move you away from the classic wholesale line rental.

I must say that anyone who runs a business and uses a residential broadband service is just plain stupid.

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

Interesting, so the only provider keeping you on WLR is PlusNet.

Perhaps I did not make myself clear. EE do keep you on WLR, but insist now in collecting the line rental.

Most resellers allow you to stay on WLR, even when reselling TT Wholesale Partial LLU BB.

Gotcha, that makes a lot of sense. That's interesting about resellers. Most mass market providers at least move you away from WLR though.