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)

So the Telecare is now sorted (and rather unexpectedly already real-life tested) and I have Toob coming in a couple of weeks to get fibre broadband put in. I have opted to manually switch, so the fibre should go in alongside the existing copper line which will be ceased once I have dealt with the VOIP switchover to A&A. The A&A account is already up and running. Just the number will need to be ported when we are ready. If I understand correctly, the act of porting the number will also cease the broadband service on the copper line?

Hope things are OK, given the real life test.

I think that transferring the phone number should cease the broadband. This ceased our phone line with no broadband. Initially, the line was live but out of service and voltage was withdrawn when I checked a few weeks later.

In reply to a post by DFScale:

Hope things are OK, given the real life test.

Thanks. Mum is in hospital for now but doing OK.

In reply to a post by DFScale:

I think that transferring the phone number should cease the broadband. This ceased our phone line with no broadband. Initially, the line was live but out of service and voltage was withdrawn when I checked a few weeks later.

Thanks. I think I read somewhere that when someone transferred the telephone number to VOIP the contract (both telephone and broadband) with the existing provider was automatically ceased once the number had been transferred. If so, then that will be fine so long as they don't cease the existing broadband when Toob put their fibre cable in. I specifically asked for a manual switchover to avoid that.

In reply to a post by TruthDigital:

In reply to a post by DFScale:

Hope things are OK, given the real life test.

Thanks. Mum is in hospital for now but doing OK.

In reply to a post by DFScale:

I think that transferring the phone number should cease the broadband. This ceased our phone line with no broadband. Initially, the line was live but out of service and voltage was withdrawn when I checked a few weeks later.

Thanks. I think I read somewhere that when someone transferred the telephone number to VOIP the contract (both telephone and broadband) with the existing provider was automatically ceased once the number had been transferred. If so, then that will be fine so long as they don't cease the existing broadband when Toob put their fibre cable in. I specifically asked for a manual switchover to avoid that.

For others looking at the same sort of situation it would be good practice if they wish to retain their existing phone connection until they are sure that everything new works not to make any connection between the existing and new situations. They should order the new FTTP connection as a totally new installation rather than a transfer. Then once they are happy that everything new works they can migrate their existing FTTC telephone to a VoIP provider which will cease the existing FTTC contract. The downside is one or two months of paying for two connections so you accept the risk of cock-up or pay the money!

In reply to a post by GonePostal:

For others looking at the same sort of situation it would be good practice if they wish to retain their existing phone connection until they are sure that everything new works not to make any connection between the existing and new situations. They should order the new FTTP connection as a totally new installation rather than a transfer. Then once they are happy that everything new works they can migrate their existing FTTC telephone to a VoIP provider which will cease the existing FTTC contract. The downside is one or two months of paying for two connections so you accept the risk of cock-up or pay the money!

Thanks @GonePostal. That is exactly the reason why I am asking. Not all ISPs that I spoke with seem to offer the option to switch over "manually" and lay the new service in alongside the existing one. Vodafone certainly wouldn't as they don't offer a broadband only solution. BT/EE I am not sure, but it never got mentioned, and I got to the point of not trusting anything that Virgin Media were telling me. However, Toob do actually ask as part of the signup and if I recall, Zen said they could install alongside as well. The point is one has to ask otherwise it will be assumed that the existing provision is to be ceased immediately as per the "one touch switching" arrangement. Since a new fibre is going in alongside the existing copper, I don't see any reason why both can't co-exist alongside each other for a short while (subject to, as you point out, overlapping contract payments) until everything is confirmed working as expected as per your advice.

Edited by TruthDigital (Wed 01-Oct-25 21:21:14)

You have exactly pinned the problem as you have been asking about upgrading within an existing infrastructure and that infrastructure will try and force you to stay within that infrastructure.

To give you as the user control over what you need you would need to order a new connection, not a transfer of an existing connection which leaves you in thrall to the existing infrastructure which will always have the incentive to keep you within the existing customer base and will try and produce reasons to make it hard for you to go elsewhere. There is no technological reason why two connections cannot exist in parallel but both supposed commercial necessities and the technology of the sign up processes within ISP web-sites mean that if you are out of the norm then you have problems.

If you are starting from scratch or wish to create a new connection before ceasing an existing connection none of those reasons will apply.

Edited by GonePostal (Wed 01-Oct-25 22:57:05)