Tracing a phone line provider

technoman28

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Thought i would ask this question here. I am trying to trace a phone line provider for a property I look after. The line is in a lift, (for the emrgency phone), and we do not have any records of the provider, ie any bills etc. I have been in touch with BT, who say it is not their line and do not keep details of providers, TalkTalk, and Virgin who also say it is not theirs. I am stumped on where to go next. Is there anywhere you can type in the number online and they will tell you the provider? can't seem to find anywhere on Google.

Any help greatfully appreciated.
 
Thanks Croc, when I contacted BT they put me on to OfCom, but all they said was that "BT do that all the time, but we do not have records", so no further forward.
 
No records of who installed the lift?

Perhaps the lift manufacturer had a tie-up with a line provider & would know?

Edit
This link says it should be BT but is a couple of years old.
 
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Have you had a peek behind the panel to see if there's a phone socket you can connect a handset to? Dialling 17070 may at least give you the number assigned to the line. Or dial 100 & see who answers.
 
I have the number, (or at least the last number that was assigned to that line), but it seems that it is up to me to find the provider by trial and error (mostly error!) from just asking providers if it is their line. I think the box is in the lift shaft, and I don't really fancy getting in there! I haven't had any luck trying to trace the cable back anywhere either.

I also think that the line is provided for the lift company rather than by the lift company, so they do not have records as they were not responsible for the bills, (which I have been told are non-existant!).
 
My curiosity is peeked, why do you need to know? Sorry for being nosy :)
 
Ah, thanks :) I'm surprised they don't have the responsibility for maintaining it.
 
IG, the lift phone is not getting through to the lift company, therefore anyone who gets stuck in there cannot contact anyone to tell them they are stuck. I am presuming that the line has been cut off for non payment of bills, but cannot trace any bills for it, so therefore need to find the provider to re-instate the service, which is where it has all come unstuck.
 
IG, the lift phone is not getting through to the lift company, therefore anyone who gets stuck in there cannot contact anyone to tell them they are stuck. I am presuming that the line has been cut off for non payment of bills, but cannot trace any bills for it, so therefore need to find the provider to re-instate the service, which is where it has all come unstuck.

Eek, that's not good. I can see why you are worried. :(
 
I would have thought the auto-dialler would be in the lift rather than the the shaft. Is there not a removable panel around it like these?
 
Exactly mate! luckily the building is not well occupied and there is 24 hour security, but not an ideal situation to say the least.
 
Stuey, It is not a BT line, and they say they do not have records of who the provider is.

BT and BT Openreach are two different companies.

BT Openreach own all of the copper lines across the country and handle all of the provisioning of lines to different companies etc.

They should be able to identify from what where the equipment goes into the exhange etc (although i am speaking from a residential POV - if there is a switchboard or other stuff it may change slightly but BT Openreach still own & maintain the copper lines between the exchange and properties)

The only time i can think of that this would change is with Virgin media or if the telecoms supplier is a small supplier who covers a small area and has installed their own fibre or equipment which to be honest is unlikely.
 
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There are two lifts, and they each have an alarm button and speaker in. If you hold the button down it sounds the alarm, and when working properly, connects you to the lift company. I would imagine that there may be connections on the top of the lift cars as they are "monospace" lifts, which basically means that all the motors and control gear are located on the lift itself rather than in a lift motor room. I am also presuming that these two lines are joined somewhere and go to a junction box, but I think even if I found that it wouldn't have a provider on it.

Anyway, time for me to go home. I will check this thread later, but thanks for all the suggestions so far.:thumbsup:

Stuey, thanks for that mate, will give it a try.
 
I am not familiar with the type of lift your on about but in my experience the lift motor room/maintenance room will have the circuits terminated there which are then feed to the lifts by an umbilical type cable. They should also be labelled with the telephone number or some sort of network identity. There should also be some record in the main incoming distribution point, which is normally in the basement.
 
IG, the lift phone is not getting through to the lift company, therefore anyone who gets stuck in there cannot contact anyone to tell them they are stuck. I am presuming that the line has been cut off for non payment of bills, but cannot trace any bills for it, so therefore need to find the provider to re-instate the service, which is where it has all come unstuck.

Inside the case of the phone when you take the front of there should be a label underneath giving the companys name and the name of the person who checked it . If not look at the circuit board and see if you can see the companys name somewhere:smashin:

Also can you take a photo of the phone so someone can identify the model and type of phone it is. If you can take the case of the phone and try to obtain the model name, make and serial number you can contact the company who made it and see who last had it.

Also try searching the number on these sites

http://www.yahoo.co.uk
http://www.hotbot.com
http://uk.altavista.com/
http://www.bing.com/

If you have the number that will help everyone be able to find out who owns it.
 
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Can you just ask BT to install you a new line for the lift and forget the old line ever existed.
 
Can you just ask BT to install you a new line for the lift and forget the old line ever existed.

The problem is he is left with someone elses property aka the phone which is connected to a line. I could be wrong but If he has a companys phone removed without there permission he could be sued
 
All he has to do is is get BT or whoever he prefers to install it as a new line and ask them to confirm if it is connected to a BT cabinet or an LLU cabinet in the exchange. If it is connected to a BT cabinet, then even if another company provided it, it is still a BT line and no issues. If it is on an LLU cabinet, then it will need to be switched back, but the good news is he can find out whose cabinet it is on at this point and should be able to contact them.

As far as the equipment goes, if it is kept in place and reused then no issues, if it is removed and replaced, then just keep it in storage and if anyone ever contacts him, he can give it back. The lift company should really have details of all this however, if they dont then that is their own fault and have presumably broken their side of the contract they had.

I'd say the best thing to do is request a new line install, but ask for an engineer visit to confirm who, if anyone, the line belongs to.

Oh, if this property is in Kingston, then call Kingston Media, who own their own telephony system in that area, BT OpenReach have nothing to do with it (other than a lot of the work being outsourced to them on a private contract, but unlike the rest of the UK, they dont own it).
 
Was just going to suggest a new line and not worry about old one!

Is it a special line like a red care one or is it just a normal line?
 

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