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Virgin Media and OpenReach

pduffy9370
Tuning in

I have a BT landline which is only used for calls, and internet via Virgin Media, which is entirely independent from the BT landline.

BT do a discount on calls-only landlines, but are refusing to let me have it, because I get internet via Virgin Media. Part of the basis of the refusal seems to be that BT are apparently claiming that the internet connection passes through part of the OpenReach network.

So - could anyone tell me categorically whether Virgin Media connections uses the OpenReach network at any stage? If it's variable from area to area, how can I find out?

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japitts
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

BT Openreach & Virgin Media operate completely separate networks. Did you tell BT that you have internet from VM?

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media. Learn more

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18 REPLIES 18

japitts
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

BT Openreach & Virgin Media operate completely separate networks. Did you tell BT that you have internet from VM?

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media. Learn more

Have I helped? Click Mark as Helpful Answer or use Kudos to say thanks

Thanks for confirming that.  Yes, I did tell BT that I have internet from Virgin Media. I've been telling them this since 2018 when they first announced the discount! Seems if I have a fixed internet connection - whether or not it's independent of the BT phone line - it means that I can't claim the discount. I still can't work out why.

For a while, BT maintained that I couldn't have the discount because "it was for customers who used their line for calls only". I told them that my line was for calls only, so I should get the discount. Now they've said that I can't have it because I have two lines, one provided by Virgin Media and used for the internet. Previously, one customer service agent said that the reason this invalidated my eligibility for the discount was because the Virgin Media line used the OpenReach infrastructure. (Which, even if it was the case, should be irrelevant, as the cost of that would be passed to me via my Virgin Media bill, not via my BT charges.) They've now closed my complaint and sent me a "deadlock" letter, so Ofcom is now my only recourse.  Before I go down that route, I need to establish whether the claim that my Virgin Media line traverses part of the OpenReach infrastructure is correct or not.

Just baffling. (Surely I can't be the only Virgin Media customer who has a BT landline used for calls only?)

 

BT's landline-only deal is about reducing the line rental so that customers are not penalised compared with those who take landline in combination with broadband or Pay TV and thus get discounted phone prices. This has nothing to do with broadband from another provider, be it VM or anyone else.

--
Hub 5, TP-Link TL-SG108S 8-port gigabit switch, 360
My Broadband Ping - Roger's VM hub 5 broadband connection


@pduffy9370 wrote:

Surely I can't be the only Virgin Media customer who has a BT landline used for calls only?


You're not the only one but it's uncommon and the clueless call centre agents have talked a lot of nonsense to a you.

 

--
Hub 5, TP-Link TL-SG108S 8-port gigabit switch, 360
My Broadband Ping - Roger's VM hub 5 broadband connection

So - it sounds as though BT shouldn't be denying me the discount?

(I should probably mention that I asked my MP to look into this - and BT have also told him that I couldn't have the discount.)

There just seems to be something blatantly anti-competitive about it - like Sainsburys offering customers a discount if they undertake not to shop at Tesco

 

 

Hint: call VM and find out how much to add lindline to your broadband, it could be quite cheap.

--
Hub 5, TP-Link TL-SG108S 8-port gigabit switch, 360
My Broadband Ping - Roger's VM hub 5 broadband connection

I actually don't use the landline at all for outgoing calls, and virtually the only incoming calls I get are "we are calling you from Microsoft" scams. I have several mobiles, and I do all my telephoning via those.  It sounds crazy, but the main reason that I keep the BT landline is because I want to get to the bottom of the discount denial and hopefully get it overturned. Once I have done (and got the backdated discount payments), I'll almost certainly ditch the line.

I know that it's daft, and I should just cut my losses. But BT's attitude just gives me the red mist - it's as though they think they're so big and important that they can say what they like, and no one's powerful enough to call them on it.

 

 

I understand how you feel but life is too short to waste your precious time taking on a behemoth like BT. I strongly advise you to leave BT now.

--
Hub 5, TP-Link TL-SG108S 8-port gigabit switch, 360
My Broadband Ping - Roger's VM hub 5 broadband connection


@pduffy9370 wrote:

So - it sounds as though BT shouldn't be denying me the discount?

(I should probably mention that I asked my MP to look into this - and BT have also told him that I couldn't have the discount.)

There just seems to be something blatantly anti-competitive about it - like Sainsburys offering customers a discount if they undertake not to shop at Tesco


Page 11 below?

https://www.bt.com/assets/pdf/BT_PhoneTariff_Residential.pdf?s_cid=con_FURL_tariffguide

although this seems to be a very recent document. Past versions may have been different?