Is this a monopolistic practice?

I am with PlusNet as is my elderly mother. Almost year ago I moved to a broadband-only contract with my provider and a separate VOIP provider for my "landline". I keep the "landline" only so that my mother can get in touch. At the time PlusNet insisted that BT Digital Voice was the only way to go and that my broadband provision would cease if I signed up with another provider. As I eventually discovered, this was untrue. All that was required was to ask for a SOGEA broadband-only provision and then purchase a service with a VOIP provider, porting the landline number to them as part of the process.

My mothers contract expires in a couple of months and I am now encountering a similar problem. Mum has a landline and a Telecare service provided by the local authority. I am being advised by PlusNet, that they cannot move the service to broadband-only, even though I have informed them that the Telecare service will be upgraded to run on a mobile network by the end of next week. They have also informed me because mum has a Telecare service, that neither they, nor any other provider would be able to sell me a BB only service. I will have to discuss the matter with their Telecare department and will be offered digital voice with EE and that is the only option available to me.

I am sceptical about this and wanted to ask whether this advice is actually correct? Having checks in place to ensure continuation of service is one thing, but trying to lock you to their product in seems rather monopolistic? I though that we still had a choice and could select what ever provider we wanted?

My plan, once the Telecare service has been dealt with, was to switch to broadband only (SOGEA) and switch the landline to a VOIP provider, but it seems, from what PlusNet have told me, that this option is not available to me?

Edited by TruthDigital (Sat 13-Sep-25 15:14:32)

In reply to a post by TruthDigital:

My plan, once the Telecare service has been dealt with, was to switch to broadband only (SOGEA) and switch the landline to a VOIP provider, but it seems, from what PlusNet have told me, that this option is not available to me?

I suggest that you get the Telecare dealt with and leave it a few days for databases to catch up, then try again with Plusnet and hopefully they will not make a fuss about Telecare. If they do make a fuss, then either take it thorough the complaints process [Plusnet won't give us SOGEA because of Telecare, but there is no Telecare on the line] or find another ISP.

After I wrote that I also spoke with Vodafone, who are one of the providers listed by CityFibre. They also told me that they can't sell me broadband fibre service while there is a Telecare service involved. This is interesting since the current provision is on copper, while theirs would be a new one on fibre, which would be put in alongside the existing provision.

I suspect you are correct. Perhaps best thing to do would be to wait until the Telecare service has been taken care of and then deal with the broadband/voice provision a week or two after.

I expect this is meant as a protection so that critical services don't get inadvertently disconnected until dealt with appropriately.

Edited by TruthDigital (Sat 13-Sep-25 17:36:11)

In reply to a post by TruthDigital:

I also spoke with Vodafone, who are one of the providers listed by CityFibre. They also told me that they can't sell me broadband fibre service while there is a Telecare service involved. This is interesting since the current provision is on copper, while theirs would be a new one on fibre, which would be put in alongside the existing provision.

That, I think is a Won't rather than a Can't. It is becoming apparent from some threads on this site that many ISPs have their systems set up on the assumption that there is a one to one relationship between connections and premises, when it is quite possible for the relationship to be many to one. Vodafone is one of those I would expect not to get this right.

Who is bringing up the telecare stuff? Are you answering "yes" when asked or are they telling you that their records show a telecare service?

In reply to a post by jpm:

Who is bringing up the telecare stuff? Are you answering "yes" when asked or are they telling you that their records show a telecare service?

I see where you are coming from, and on some of these things I would only raise the matter if asked. But this strikes me as one of those issues where if you don't say, you might find your job cancelled without notice or explanation until you start investigating why you were stood up.

PlusNet, BT and Vodafone have all asked me specifically as part of the process of checking what products are available in my area. At this point I will mention that Zen and Toob didn't mention it, but since I want to ensure continuation of service and understand how they would handle it, I took the initiative to mention it to them, at which point they just said talk to your Telecare provider. BT eventually said that as well when once I was put through and spoke with their Telecare team.

So it seems a bit of a mixed bag. The big, well known and established providers seem ask and it seems to be a big deal, but the smaller ones like Toob and Zen didn't seem to care.

Edited by TruthDigital (Sat 13-Sep-25 20:45:12)

I think both Talktalk and A&A asked me about telcare.

Surely this is your problem. These providers aren't telecare experts, their approach is to be incredibly risk-averse so they don't cut off someone's analogue phone service where there's a chance that the ability for assistance to be provided if they fall over is reliant on that phone line.

If the telecare service in question doesn't connect to the phone line then as far as the ISP is concerned you don't have a telecare service, so you need to answer no to that question.

In reply to a post by jpm:

Surely this is your problem. These providers aren't telecare experts, their approach is to be incredibly risk-averse so they don't cut off someone's analogue phone service where there's a chance that the ability for assistance to be provided if they fall over is reliant on that phone line.

If the telecare service in question doesn't connect to the phone line then as far as the ISP is concerned you don't have a telecare service, so you need to answer no to that question.

That is fair enough and once the Telecare service upgrade is sorted after the end of this week I will indeed be in a position to say 'No' to that question. My main concern was that in the view of the person I spoke with at PlusNet, I could not move to another provider regardless of whether the Telecare is still connected to the landline or not. I don't think that is the case. I agree that they have a duty of care to ensure that critical services are not discontinued, so while its connected to the landline I cannot do anything. But one it has been moved to the mobile network, I should be able to choose whatever provider has the best solution for mum's BB and "digital voice".

I think @DFscale answered the question when they said to wait a while after the upgrade for their database to get updated. It probably that while the answer is 'Yes' they cannot and will not change anything.

Edited by TruthDigital (Mon 15-Sep-25 09:38:24)