BT Digital Voice switched off our vital phone line

An elderly woman in London has been unable to receive incoming calls for more than two months after BT switched her analogue phone line to its Digital Voice service without consent, leaving her cut off from family, carers, and social contacts. The woman, identified only as GG, lives alone and relies on a rota of relatives who check on her, arrange medical appointments, and coordinate in-home help [1]. Her family says the loss of incoming calls has caused her to miss regular social meet-ups, isolating her for weeks [1]. The problem began when a nephew asked BT to move her to a cheaper tariff after noticing she was paying £97.50 a month for the line [1]. BT insisted the switch to the internet-based Digital Voice service was required and sent engineers unannounced to carry out the installation [1]. The company then repeatedly warned that her new line was about to be cut off [1]. Relatives contacted BT more than 20 times over the following weeks but the fault persisted [1]. A technician dispatched after the Guardian questioned BT’s handling of the case discovered a botched installation, which was subsequently rectified [1]. Under telecoms compensation rules, customers are entitled to £10.34 per day if a line is not fixed within two working days of a complaint [1]. BT, when pressed, agreed to pay the statutory compensation and added an additional goodwill sum [1]. BT Group, which traces its origins to the Electric Telegraph Company founded in 1846, is the UK’s largest provider of fixed-line, broadband, and mobile services, serving around 18 million consumer customers through its BT Consumer division [6]. The company’s Digital Voice programme forms part of a wider industry shift away from the ageing public switched telephone network. The BT Tower, a Grade II listed communications hub in Fitzrovia that stood as London’s tallest structure from 1964 until 1980, was sold to MCR Hotels in 2024, underlining the group’s pivot from legacy infrastructure [7]. BT’s consumer-facing brand has undergone repeated restructuring in recent years. Its sport broadcasting arm, originally launched as BT Sport in 2013 after the company acquired English Premier League rights, was folded into a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery and rebranded as TNT Sports in July 2023 [5]. The case of GG highlights the human cost when transitions in essential voice services are handled without adequate safeguards for vulnerable customers.