Howard Jenings

We are moving house later this week, where we are moving to the phone is already connected. Is there a way of finding out the phone number and who the company is - it is not Telstra as they had no record of the property (new build) and want to charg $299 to connect it!! We don't know the name of the people who we are renting it from as it is through an agent. We have asked the agent to find out for us but they are working at Australia speed!! (slowly)

HelenTD

Can you get into the house and ring your mobile from it? Then you could ring the other major phone companies. The previous owners/tenants might have asked for it to be dis-connected, but it's being done at Australian speed.

Here in Perth, though, when you move, your phone number is re-allocated to someone else. If you're staying within the same exchange, you can take your number with you.

There was discussion on another thread a few weeks ago about using VOIP instead of a landline, as it's so much cheaper.

ozhappy981

Yes, you can find out. But you have to be at the premises. You need to plug in a phone. If the house has a connected phone line, you will hear a dial tone.

You will be able to dial this number (even if the previous owners/tenants had their account disconnected): 127 22 123
And you will get an automated reply giving you the number you are calling from.

By-the-way: Whoever they have/had their phone service with, the line is always with Telstra because only Telstra can put lines in. (You can get connected through another provider, but they just re-sell the Telstra connection and for a new connection it'll still be $299.)

But Telstra have crap records. We had a similar problem when we moved into our rental. Found out our number by phoning the above number.

Howard Jenings

There is a phone in there so when we go over tomorrow I will dial that number to get the phone number, how do we find out who is providing the service? Do we just phone round all the major companies until we find the right one??

ozhappy981

It's irrelevant who is providing the service.

Once you've got the phone number, you phone up whichever phone company you want to provide the service to you. You give them the address, the phone number - and whatever else they ask you - and they sort it all out for you. (There is no need for you to contac the previous service provider yourself.)

Just to give you our example: Moved in, phoned special number to find out our phone number. Phoned up iiNet (having looked up their differrent plans in advance and decided which one we wanted). Gave them all details. Got phone and internet service from them (internet took a few days because they sent us out a modem).

About two weeks later and then for about three months we'd get sales calls from Telstra once a week. Apparently they'd previously provided the service and were unhappy they'd lost us and wanted us to re-join them I kept telling them the previosu people had used them and I wouldn't use Hell-stra if they paid me. Calls stopped after about three months.

Hino

Hi ozhappy,

Thanks for the information, I wish I'd had that number a few months ago, it would have saved me a couple of bucks and lot of agrevation