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Report a VoIP or Digital telephone line fault to us

VoIP and Digital line faults & Care Levels
We understand that when something goes wrong with your phone line you would like it resolved as quickly as possible.

Our voice service platforms have a 99% uptime. In the event you experience any problems, the first thing we recommend is to reboot the router and or the ATA, and make sure you have Internet access. Routers and ATA's can lock up from time to time (Never do a Factory reset on the router or ATA as this would wipe all settings). We can also run test calls through your account from within our data centre to check the service is fully online and routing calls correctly. It is worth mentioning that most problems that arise are caused by the internet feed itself, as the voice is only as good as the internet feed you are connected to. This can be down to congestion or packet loss on your feed.

Before asking for an engineer callout

Openreach charges all providers in the same way - If we provide the broadband side as well as the voice service and we can see the broadband element is offline we can run several checks on the broadband service. If the broadband fault is found to be with BT’s infrastructure outside the property, Openreach will cover the cost of any repairs, however, If the fault is found to be inside your property with your equipment (factory resetting), cables, damage or wear and tear, you will be expected to pay for the engineer’s time and any equipment he replaces. Charges will also apply if the engineer is unable to find any faults when tested the broadband or if the engineer finds damages due to dampness/water, lightning, electrical surges, theft, or loss/removal of Openreach equipment within the customer’s premises including the Network Termination Point (wall socket).

This assessment will be made by the engineer on site as he is the qualified professional. By booking the appointment, you agree to be bound by the Openreach decision and liable for any charges they invoice. Our engineers will not book an Openreach callout or site visit unless it is authorized by the customer or the point of contact first, accepting the potential costs involved in doing so. If it is clear that the visit will be chargeable, we may require an up front payment for the engineer call out. If it is unclear if a visit will be chargeable we will await the engineering notes and we will not make a charge unless Openreach make the charge to us, at times this can occur much later than the date of the visit, due to delays in Openreach's billing systems.

BT Openreach fault repair - care levels and response times

Care Level is the term Openreach use to define their expected response times in the event you report a fault on your broadband. A response does not always mean that the fault will be fixed. For example, if there is a storm and a pole or line is physically damaged the fault may take longer to rectify. The response is just an initial assessment of the problem by the Openreach engineer and, where possible, their estimate of when it will be sorted. Obviously, if it can be fixed at this initial assessment, it will be. A change of Broadband Care Level takes 5 working days to complete. Please CLICK HERE to download a full description of the different care levels.

Basic Care
72 hour responce time

Basic Care is included in all our Broadband and Digital phone services. Basic Care operates during Openreach normal working hours. For the reporting of faults, the Simple Telecoms helpdesk is available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (including UK Public and Bank Holidays). However, Basic Care Faults can only be logged with Openreach between 9AM and 6PM Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays and Weekends. Outside these of these periods a fault will be progressed by between the hours of 09:00 -20:00. If a fault is found this will be passed to Openreach to investigate. Openreach will clear/respond to the fault within 72 working hours of receipt of the fault report, excluding any allowable parked time

Included on all FTTC SoGEA broadband services as standerd

Standard Care
48 hour responce time

Standard Care operates during Openreach normal working hours. For the reporting of faults on Broadband and Digital phone lines. the Simple Telecoms helpdesk is available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (including UK Public and Bank Holidays). However, Standard Care Faults can only be logged with Openreach between 9AM and 6PM Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays and Weekends. Outside these of these periods a fault will be progressed by between the hours of 09:00 -20:00 7 days a week. If a fault is found this will be passed to Openreach to investigate. Openreach will clear/respond to the fault within 48 working hours of receipt of the fault report, excluding any allowable parked time.

Just £1.99 inc VAT per month

48 working hours responce

Enhanced Care
24 Clock Hours Cover

Enhanced Care operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including UK Bank and Public Holidays. For the reporting of faults, the Simple Telecoms helpdesk is available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week including UK Public and Bank Holidays. Fault will not be progressed outside of office hours of 09:00 -20:00. Outside these times we will processes the fault the next day. Openreach will respond/Fix a fault within 24 clock hours of receipt of the fault report, excluding any allowable parked time. Please note - Openreach may turn up unannounced. An "Abortive Visit Charge" will be raised if there is no access to the address at the time of the visit. You cannot upgrade to this fault level on a per fault bases.

Monthly cost £9.99 / £14.99 inc VAT per month for 24 clock hours responce - Cost will depend on the service and exchange

The most common Digital telephone problems

Conversation is jumbled

This is called Jitter - Jitter causes pieces of your VoIP phone conversation to become jumbled, out of order, or outright missing, causing essential parts of a call to disappear or become impossible to understand. It happens because of the millions of data packets that simultaneously travel over your home network, and the Internet itself, this is called "Latency" This is the amount of time it takes for one data packet to travel to its destination through the internet, and something we cannot control. This means that some data packets may arrive earlier than others. Therefore, callers will receive parts of the conversation out of order. Jitter and Latency can also be down to not having enough bandwidth to run all your connected devices, or someone is downloading or streaming. Lots of traffic running over the same network at the same time as a VoIP/Digital call doesn't just eat up space on your feed, it can also cause data voice packet collisions. Also, Wi-Fi isn’t ideal for VoIP/Digital phones. Consider making the switch to an Ethernet internet connection if you are using you phone over WiFi.

Phone calls echoing

Phone echoing causes voices to repeat at varying intervals and volume levels while on a call, making it difficult to follow the conversation. echo is normally caused by feedback from the person you’re speaking to, and the most common issue is they have their phone volume up to high or on speaker phone. The easiest way to prevent and fix echoing is to take the phone/s off the speaker phone if this is how you are making the call and lower the handset volume. Our network also has very advanced echo cancelling technology, but there is only so much we can do at network level.

Cannot make outbound calls

Our voice platforms have a 99.99% uptime. So, the most common causes for being unable to make an outbound call is that there is no access to the internet for the phone line to make the call. This can be down to a loss of internet service, or the router or ATA needs a reboot. However, If the router and the internet service is provided by a third-party provider it’s the likely culprit is that they have left the SIP ALG setting switched on. This is present in almost all new routers, and it can cause major issues for VoIP/Digital phone users. To fix this, you’ll need to turn off SIP ALG. We recommend switching this off even if you do not have any problems. You will need to talk to your service provider for help on this. If the service is provided by us, then this setting is switched off on our routers as default.

Choppy/Broken Audio

Choppy audio depends on whether you’re the one cutting in and out, or if the other person is. If you can hear the other person cutting in and out, then your download bandwidth is insufficient, and vice versa. Either way, packet loss is the main culprit here. Packet loss happens when the smaller pieces of voice data being transmitted don’t successfully transfer. This can be caused by Worldwide internet latency and instability, a lack of bandwidth, or high network congestion at your home.
Consider turning off applications with streaming capabilities, like YouTube or Netflix, these take up a large amount of data and lots of network space. You should also ensure you’ve prioritised VoIP service on your router’s Quality of Service (QOS) settings. If the router was provided by us, then the QOS would of already been set to prioritised VoIP services. If you are using a third-party provider and router you will need to contact them for further help with this setting.

Phone doesn’t ring or missed calls

This is like not being able to make an outbound call. And the main problem is the SIP ALG is normally the problem here, as it can cause major issues for inbound calls for VoIP/Digital phone users. To fix this, you’ll need to turn off SIP ALG. We recommend switching this off even if you do not have any problems. You will need to talk to your service provider for help on this. If the service is provided by us, then this setting is switched on our routers as default. The other problem could be a loss of internet service at the time the call came in, and /or the router or ATA needs a reboot. We can also set up a Number Unreachable Divert so should you have a power cut or loss of Internet we will automatically divert all inbound calls to another number of your choice. Once the service has come back online the system will automatically switch the calls back to your home phone.

In Summary

In summary, Most of us are going to experience VoIP/Digital phone issues every now and then, its the natuer of the Internet, which we can't control. Bandwidth is the single most important component of any VoIP/Digital phone lines. Both our Voice platforms and broadband network are highly optimised for voice traffic, and we can see almost everything that is going on with your feed to the house, both voice and data. Thus, we can find/see any problems that we can control. Unlike if you are using a third-party provider.
Unfortunately, all too often, bandwidth services provided by from some of the big companies that are offering amazing speeds and prices, are heavily contended allowing them to squeeze as many customers as they can on to their network which is how they make it cheap, and then the end result can be issues described above. This is also true of if you or someone in the house is running streaming apps like Netflix, iPlayer, Amazon Prime or any other form of streaming service, all of these will gobble up your home network and Internet bandwidth. It’s a simple matter of having enough room on the “motorway” to move everything at the speed these services need to work.

Telephone frenquently asked questions

How do I report a problem or fault with my service?

You can report a fault using the form found below, or by calling 0330 122 0000 - 24/7 service. Our out of hours customer service will take the details of the fault and pass this on to one of our engineers who will then run a number line and broadband checks. Our voice network has a 99% uptime, so problems with VoIP/Digital line is normally down to the broadband feed. If the broadband is with a third-party provider, you will need to report this to them. Please note: If you report a Digital line fault, and you are found not to be a Simple Telecoms customer, we will not be able to respond or report this for you. Please CLICK HERE to download the fault check list before you ask to book a callout.

If I have a loss of Internet or power, can I divert my calls to my mobile?

Yes, we offer a "Number Unreachable" divert should you have a power cut or loss of Internet we will automatically divert all inbound calls to another number of your choice. Once the service has come back online the system will automatically switch the calls back to your home phone. Any calls we divert to your backup number will be charged at you call plans call charges if not included in the call plan. This is an Opt-in service, so please call customer services on 0330 122 0000 to set this up.

I need the fault repaired urgently?

First and foremost, If you have a chronic long-term illness or disability, we would strongly recommend moving to a higher broadband fault repair level if you need a faster response time. You may qualify for the Openreach Priority fault repair scheme, which gives you priority over other customer reported faults. Please be advised though that in order to make sure that the service reaches the people who need it most, Openreach has a rigid set of criteria that needs to meet to qualify. Services into Sheltered Accommodation, Nursing Homes, or Care Homes are not eligible for this priority scheme. Please do not rely on this scheme, as you may be accepted on one fault, but not on another, as this is looked at on a case by case basis, and we have NO control over this. Please note - Regardless of the fault level on the line a priority fault application cannot be made outside Openreach working hours, weekends or Public Holidays.

How can I booking a site visit?

Our engineers will not book an Openreach callout or site visit unless it is authorised by the customer first, excepting there are possible cost involved in doing so. We will not make a charge unless Openreach make the charge to us, and this can be sometime later from the date of the visit, due to delays in Openreach billing systems. we may require an up front payment for the engineer call out. Please CLICK HERE to download the fault check list before you ask us to book a callout.

Christmas Opening hours
Friday 22nd December 2023 - Open until 1pm
Monday 25th December 2023 - Closed
Tuesday 26th December 2023 - Closed
Wednesday 27th December 2023 - Normal hours
Thursday 28th December 2023 - Normal hours
Friday 29th December 2023 - Open until 1pm
Monday 1st January 2024 - Closed
Tuesday 2nd January 2024 - Normal hours