Moving house query

TerrorFirmer

Hi lads,

I'm moving house very soon, how do I go about transferring my bb account to it, and how long does it take? With esat BT if it makes any different.

Thanks.

whosedaddy?

From experience moving house and tranmsferring BT BB service...

BB transfer took 2 weeks, sorting billing issues took 4 month.

0) you need to fill in a paper form - you can get it mailed or pick it up in grand Canal Plaza.
1) BT needs your new Eircom customer+phone number (for the new house) before they can process the BB transfer.
2) Eircom can't dsiconnect old phone line until BT has requested BB service transfer.
- That carry on took two weeks in my case. And both sides of course try to charge you for their services - although you might not be able to use either of them... demand from Eircom to close the account billing the day the cancellation request from BT comes in... and not when the account is closed.

I was told their (Eircom) system doesn't allow to automatically close the account after the pending BB service termination as processed. I had to ring up again three times to close my account..

3) I got inundated with letters welcoming me to BT BB and my modem would be shipped soon...
4) Numerous phone calls and many reassuring that its ok in the sysem - I got fianlly billed for a new line + line rental. arrrghh
5) BT seem to set up a new billing account and don't terminate the old one - they kept billing me for both. You keep your account number, but the last digit changes to -2.

Now with their new customer support staff - you get through to BT and get stuff sorted... I'm just off the phone to BT, they picked up the phone immedeately - I was stunned.


Hope it helps
Cheers

jor el

If you're outside your 12 month contract period, it might be best to cancel the BB at the current house and sign up fresh in the new one. You may even get a better deal depending on what's on offer at the moment. I did this when moving and got a much better deal (four months free, free connection, a 2nd modem which I've never used but have more filters/splitters anyway).

2) Eircom can't dsiconnect old phone line until BT has requested BB service transfer.

That's not what they told me, or what happened. I closed the Eircom line and asked them to re-connect the line at my new address in one call. BB was still active with BT as I hadn't asked them to cancel it at that stage. The phone stopped working the following day but BB was still going. I had to wait then for the re-connected line at the new house to be tested before signing up, which was about two weeks later.

Seems there'll be a quite a bit of hassle regardless of which way you go.

whosedaddy?

Interesting. maybe they finally got their act together.. when did you move your line? I moved last Oct.

Problem with cancelling and sign up new, you are fully at Eircom's mercy to provide a new BB connection. Last year that was a lot longer than when transferring a service..

jor el

I moved in Feb '05. Even transferring you're still at eircom's mercy to have the new line tested and approved. If the line fails, then you won't be able to get BB on it. Of course, when trying to move the BB then they may test the line specifically when it's activated, when it normally wouldn't be tested until all lines are being done.

I could have gotten mine tested quicker if I'd rang Eircom broadband and said I was looking for it, but it only took two weeks anyway and I didn't mind waiting. From getting the line activated by Eircom, to having broadband working from BT took three weeks and six days. Getting BT to stop billing me for the old account took considerably longer.

TerrorFirmer

Thanks for the replies lads. God, its going to suck being unable play games online for a few weeks...:D

incisor71

From personal experience of moving house, and having fallen between the cracks of broadband availability, I think it'd be best to cancel the broadband contract at your existing address and sign up for a new one.

The reason is this: Eircom will refuse to cease the line at your old address until BT Ireland have actually disabled DSL at their gateway (even if you do get a cancellation number from BT Ireland), and from the time of me requesting them to do so BT Ireland took over two weeks to flick the proverbial switch to the OFF position. My only reason for maintaining the account at my old address was because it would "take 10 working days" to relocate the service, rather than 20 if I signed up anew. This time period was in spite of the fact that I was still on the same exchange.

Unfortunately, Eircom succeeded spectacularly in botching up the relocation, as they tested my new line for broadband before the line work to my new abode was completed, so the test failed (which, electrically, is plausible), and I eventually found out that BT Ireland had dropped me like a hot briquette - I had to phone them numerous times to find this out.

It took another two months and many cajoling phone calls before Eircom tested the new line again (under duress from Netsource) and it passed 100%. Totally avoidable hassle.

whosedaddy?

Reason I didn't cancel and reapply was twofold. I didn't want to pay another connection fee and didn't want a new 6 month contract..