Update, incase anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation: VM denied the porting request due to the new ISP requesting port to a different address (this is to prevent numbers being stolen)... I’m not sure if there’s a way around this - I supplied old & new addresses to talktalk during my short lived account with them..
Plusnet (second new ISP) have said porting isn’t possible because the wires have to be physically located in the same exchange.. this feels pretty archaic to me, and there seem to be reports to the contrary on the internet, but i’m too tired to waste more energy arguing a technical subject I don’t know know enough about.
So, in one last ditch attempt to save my business contacts I’m going to try and port the VM number to a VoIP service.. have been recommended sipgate. If anyone has any advice or feedback on doing this please let me know.
Thanks for the help on this forum - I wish I’d known this resource existed before having to leave VM.
PS: Never agree to any kind of contract change with VM if you’re contemplating moving within the year. I’ve been a customer for 13 years and yet I’m being charged £240 in exit fees as a punishment because they cannot supply services at my new (also central London) address. The irony is that if I’d never phoned up to complain about downtime and overcharging and remained on my rip-off rolling contract I would saved a substantial amount. Even though I contacted them 17 days after agreeing to the change when I found out they didn’t serve the house I had found.. there is apparently zero compassion or consideration within the VM billing department. Really nasty way to treat loyal customers by increasing the expense and stress of moving because they cannot deliver services. I’d understand if I was a new customer and they’d been guaranteed a set amount over a set period, but they’d had me on a rolling contract for years.. and this only changed because I asked them to remove an add-on that had been missold to me and I didn’t need or know how to access. I phoned up to ask them to rectify an error & stop overcharging me.. I was not asking for a new 12 month contract. Apparently no one at VM cares.. so hopefully another customer might benefit from my experience here.
