26/10/2026
📞 BT: HOW TO MAKE A BUSINESS DISAPPEAR WITHOUT ACTUALLY CLOSING IT DOWN! 🤡
Right, gather round folks. I need a little rant. And if you’re a business owner, you might want to pay attention to this one.
Because apparently, in 2026, one of the biggest communications companies in the country can make your business phone line disappear into thin air… and then tell you they’ll let you know what’s happening in 48 hours.
Welcome to the wonderful world of BT. 🙄
Here’s the situation.
Our pub, The Jackdaw, had an old analogue phone line. BT informed us that we needed to move over to digital. Fair enough. Technology moves on, we get it.
So we did exactly what we were supposed to do.
We arranged the transfer, agreed a NEW contract with BT (which, to be fair, was cheaper — so far, so good) and assumed that the technical side of things would be sorted out behind the scenes.
You know, by the people who actually PROVIDE THE PHONE SERVICE.
What could possibly go wrong? 🤦♀️
📅 THURSDAY 22ND OCTOBER
Our phone line suddenly develops a fault.
Except this isn’t just a crackly line or the odd dropped call.
Anyone trying to phone The Jackdaw is told that OUR NUMBER IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE.
Read that again.
A working business phone number. Gone.
To our customers, it looks as though we’ve closed down. Permanently. Finished. Gone out of business.
Imagine being a customer trying to book a table, enquire about an event or simply get hold of us, only to be told that the number no longer exists!
We’re still here, folks! We’re open! We’re trading! We just apparently no longer exist in the eyes of BT. 👻
📞 THE CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE
Trying to get answers from BT has been an experience in itself.
I’ve struggled to understand the accents of the representatives I’ve spoken to over the phone, making an already stressful situation even more difficult. All I want is to speak to someone who can clearly explain what’s happened and, more importantly, HOW THEY’RE GOING TO PUT IT RIGHT.
On Friday, I was told I’d receive an update on Monday about when my line would be reinstated.
Lovely. Something to work with.
Monday arrives.
BT calls.
Do I get a reinstatement date? A solution? An explanation?
Do I heck!
I’m told there’s no news and they’ll update me WITHIN ANOTHER 48 HOURS.
At this point, I quite reasonably explain that this is NOT acceptable.
And finally, after more chasing, I get what appears to be the actual explanation.
Apparently, my phone line has been disconnected because there was supposedly NO ACTIVITY FOR 30 DAYS.
EXCUSE ME?!
We were using the phone line LAST WEDNESDAY!
We’ve been arranging a transfer to BT’s digital service and agreeing a new contract, yet somehow our existing business number has ended up disconnected.
And now we’re left trying to get it back.
Make that make sense, BT. 🤯
💸 LET’S TALK ABOUT THE COST OF YOUR MISTAKE.
We’re not talking about a phone line sitting unused in an empty house.
We’re talking about a busy pub and restaurant.
A business that relies on customers being able to contact us.
Bookings. Enquiries. Events. Customers trying to find out information.
Every single person who hears “this number is no longer in service” is a potential customer who might simply assume we’ve shut our doors and move on to somewhere else.
I have lost THOUSANDS OF POUNDS WORTH OF BUSINESS because of this complete mess.
And what is BT’s response?
“We’ll update you within 48 hours.”
Not a confirmed fix.
Not a firm reinstatement date.
Not a resolution.
Just another 48 hours of waiting while my business suffers the consequences of a problem I did not create.
How reassuring. 👏👏👏
BT, I didn’t ask for my phone number to be disconnected. I followed your instructions to move to digital. I agreed a new contract with you. I expected you to manage that transition properly.
I DID MY BIT. WHY HASN’T BT DONE THEIRS?
And before anyone suggests we should just use social media or email instead — yes, we are doing our best to keep customers informed. But that doesn’t excuse disconnecting a business phone line or the damage caused when customers are told the number no longer exists.
We shouldn’t have to spend our time firefighting a problem that BT needs to fix.
📢 SO, BT, HERE’S WHAT I WANT:
❌ My existing business number reinstated urgently.
❌ A clear explanation of how this happened, particularly when the line was in use last Wednesday.
❌ A proper response from someone who can actually take ownership of this problem, rather than another promise of an update in 48 hours.
❌ And a serious discussion about compensation for the business losses caused by this debacle.
I’m not asking for miracles. I’m asking a telecommunications company to provide telecommunications.
Surely that’s not too much to ask?!
So, — the ball is now firmly in your court.
You told us we needed to move to digital. We agreed. We signed a new contract.
Now our business number has been disconnected, our customers think we’ve disappeared, and we’re left chasing you for answers.
This is your mistake to put right. The question is: how long are you going to leave a paying business without its phone line before you actually do something about it?
And to everyone reading this, if you’ve ever had a business phone line suddenly disappear, you’ll understand exactly why this is such a nightmare.
Please share this post and tag BT. Let’s see if making a little noise on social media gets us further than another 48 hours of waiting. 👇
