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Why you should talk to your broadband provider before moving home

Date Published 07 July 2017

One of the main jobs that people forget to do when moving home is to call their broadband provider, most people make an assumption that they will just call the provider once you have moved into your new home and it will be a smooth process; but this can mean that you could be left without broadband for a number of days.

If you work from home or have children then this could be a big stress that you could really do without. I have done some research into the policies and procedures that BT and Sky have in place regarding moving home to help you get broadband as fast as possible in your new home. BT state that you must go on your BT account online or call their customer service team, you will need to tell them your account number, new address and your moving date. BT will then check what services there are currently set up in the new home.

If there is a working line with BT then they will be able to have it set up within a couple of days. However, if they need to put in a new line for the broadband then it will usually take up to 15 working days. If you are with Sky Broadband then you will need to give at least two weeks notice to get your broadband moved to a different location. You can book in your home move 90 days in advance.

When you call to book your home move you will be given a provisional activation date for your sky broadband. You will receive a letter within 10 days to confirm this date. Your installation could still be delayed by any issues that BT Openreach might have installing your line. They can arrange an engineer to come to your new address and set up a BT – compatible phone line if there isn't one there already.

You need a BT compatible line in order to get Sky broadband. Before you can set Sky Broadband up at your new home, they need to switch off the service at the address you're moving from. It takes around ten working days, so be sure you give yourself plenty of days. As part of this, you might receive an automatically generated letter saying you're leaving Sky Broadband. It's nothing to worry about- It's simply a formality. It will usually be about two weeks when you can start using Sky Broadband and Sky
Talk at your new home. They will need to make sure that the phone lines at the new address are compatible with the services you'd like set up, including Sky Line Rental/ They will need to find out whether you will need an engineer to come and install the broadband for you depending on the situation. This will be arranged when you speak to an advisor when you call to book a date. So make sure to talk to your provider before moving home, as it is much more complicated than it seems at the start.