Order/installation issue: "no working or stopped lines" to property with working telephone line

[#1]

Hi,

I'm about to move in with my partner and I've been trying to get a proper broadband connection set up there so that I can work from home - currently she just has a mobile wi-fi hotspot, which is enough for her purposes but not really for mine. I placed with the order with you but it seems that there's an issue relating to the lines you need for installation. This is the email I got back:

This is to inform you that we have tried placing the home phone order for you, however, we were unable to process it as there are no working lines or stopped lines available.  What we can do is place the order processing without line plant which means that Openreach will have to do extra work to install the line(s) which may delay the installation.  We'd request you to please call our customer care centre or you can reply us on the same thread to let us know if you want us to proceed further with the orders.  Once confirmed, we will go ahead and place the orders.

I replied to ask what "no working lines or stopped lines" actually means, because I know for certain that there is a working phone line at the property (my partner called me from it yesterday to make sure), and I'd assumed that you would just take that over. Unfortunately, the second reply that I've had back from Plusnet just repeated the part that I don't fully understand rather than explain it:

We are unable to place your order as we can see there are no working or stopped line at your premises. Kindly let us know if you are happy to go with a New Line Installation.

I've tried to call three times this week, but I can never get through - during the day, the waits are so long that I had to hang up and get back to work, and when I tried to call between 7pm and 8pm (i.e. after I'd finished work / before you close), I just got a recorded message saying that nobody would be able to get to my call before 8pm because of the wait time, and could I please try again tomorrow.

So I'm still none the wiser. In all probability, the answer is "yes, please go ahead with a new line installation", but until I know what that entails, I don't know what I'm saying yes or no to - and since I don't own the house myself, I have to make sure that I consult the owner before I agree any changes to their property (which may or may not be the case - again, I don't know what the question means).

Assuming that there hasn't been a mistake, could someone please explain to me what "no working or stopped lines" refers to in a house with a working telephone line? And would installing a new line involve any physical changes to the property?

Thank you!

[#2 · Accepted solution]

Who supplies the phone line in the property, is it Virgin Media?

If so, they use different infrastructure to PN who use Opnereach / BT lines.

[#3]

Oh you know what, that could well be it... An added complication is that the existing phone line belongs to my partner's grandmother, who's pretty compos mentis but doesn't really understand what accounts she does and doesn't have, so I haven't been able to find out exactly who's supplying the existing line yet. But yes, I just checked and the Virgin Media site does suggest that there's already a Virgin account at that address, so that would make a lot of sense.

And actually, since we'll be moving again in about six months, it would probably make sense to install a second line (with the family's permission) so that I can just transfer the Plusnet account to our new address wholesale without interfering with my partner's grandma's landline.

Thank you so much - that's a really useful lead.

[#4]

Depending on your needs, you may want to see if a 4G mobile internet solution would work for you.

If you look on the EE Broadband  site 

It will give you an estimate of Landline and mobile speeds. Other networks are available!