Our customer service team are really busy at the moment, If you have any questions please email us on hello@thephone.coop or use our self-help section.

You'll also find more help with specific questions at the bottom of this page.

The Phone Co-op's update on Covid-19

Last updated: 1st July 2020

In these challenging times, connecting and communicating with others has never been more important – at home, in our communities and in business.

We want to reassure you personally that we at The Phone Co-op are committed to helping you keep in contact with the people who are important to you.

Openreach Update

Openreach: Due to the unfolding situation with Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Home Office (HO) has requested that as of 1st April all Communication Providers to make calls to non-emergency 101 service free of charge. This initiative is to enable callers to contact police for non-emergency calls, and to alleviate pressure on 999 services; as such we are now not charging our customers to use these services on any of our consumer or business tariffs.

Openreach have released a declaration of Matter Beyond Our Reasonable Control on all products as of 24/03/2020 @ 23:59

As Openreach provide much of the cabling infrastructure in the UK this will mean that there will be delays affecting the telecoms products reliant on that infrastructure.

Openreach will be prioritising essential work and minimise work that requires their engineers to enter a customers premises.

With immediate effect this will mean that:

Engineers will be asked NOT to enter the customers premises.
The earliest appointment dates available for telephone line installations will be June 2020.
Where possible engineers will proceed with orders that do not require access to the customers premises. For example an existing telephone line transferring to another provider or an upgrade from standard broadband to superfast broadband.
We will still have access to book appointments for urgent repairs to lines that are experiencing a fault. Priority will be given to vulnerable customers.

We appreciate that this will cause delays for some of our customers, we would like to reassure you that we will do all we can to obtain the earliest resolution for you.

Mobile & SIM update

Due to staff shortages at O2 there is currently delays on porting any mobile numbers to our O2 services, this may also be escalated to a complete porting freeze if the situation does not improve. There is also a delay in receiving new batches of O2 SIM’s to our office and although there is current stock levels to continue fulfilling orders should this be depleted we would not be able to request new batches of SIM’s until April 9th at the earliest.

Fairphone update

Fairphone's repair facility in France, has now returned to full operational capacity.

Please keep in mind that, while the repair facility is now fully operational, shipping services to and from there may still encounter delays, or are not available in some regions at all.

Thus, the average shipping times can be longer than usual, which impacts the overall customer turnaround times.

VoIP & Numbering services

The Openreach Number Portability helpdesk has been temporarily closed. This means we are currently seeing some delays in porting any landline telephone numbers to some of our VoIP and others are currently not accepting any new orders. Please contact us to check the current status if you are wishing to place any new VoIP, UC or inbound numbering requests.

Frequent Asked Questions

As our customer service team are currently experiencing a high number of calls, If you have any questions please do email us on hello@thephone.coop and we will get back to you as soon as we can or use our self-help section.

How long will it take to get broadband up and running once I've ordered?

If you are new to The Phone Co-op we'll aim to get you up and running within two weeks but sometimes it can take longer. Once we have processed your order we'll be able to give you an estimated switchover date.

Can I get Superfast Fibre? Can I upgrade my current Broadband to Superfast?

Click here to use our line checker. If you are a new customer and our Superfast and Superfast PLUS are available in your area, you can buy online using our website.

If you are already a customer of The Phone Co-op and you'd like to upgrade your package, call our Sales team send an email to hello@thephone.coop. To make this process easier and faster, include your personal details and your account number and our team will contact you as soon as we can.

If superfast isn't available where you live yet, find out more at the Openreach website.

Do I have to pay a setup fee?

Our Superfast Fibre - Self Install has no setup fee. Self install means you plug in the pre-configured router and you are ready to go online.

There is no setup fee for our standard unlimited broadband if you choose the 24-month contract. Otherwise, the 12-month contracts have a £20 set up fee.

For the Business Fibre setup fee please contact the sales team on 01608 434 000 or email businessservices@thephone.coop.

If I switch to The Phone Co-op and I still have a contract with another company will they charge me?

You'll have to contact your current supplier regarding any termination fees.

How can I switch to The Phone Co-op for Broadband?

First, check out what speeds you can get (by using our Broadband Checker) and choose which Unlimited Broadband deal best suits you.

Secondly, place and order and we'll arrange your switch. We recommend you contact your supplier regarding any termination fees applicable. You'll keep your connection right up to the switch and we'll keep you updated every step of the way.

Finally, start streaming. Connect your new router or call us to re-configure your existing one and enjoy a new faster connection.

What is 'broadband connection speed'?

Broadband speed is the rate that information is received (download) or sent (upload) on your broadband line. It's measured in Megabits per second (Mbps). To see what your speed is please enter your postcode and telephone number in our broadband checker.

What affects my broadband speed?

- How close do you live to your telephone exchange

- The length and the quality of your telephone home wiring

- Whether your broadband microfilters are correctly installed

- Processing speed of your computer, router or modem

- The speed of connection between your computer and router/modem (an ethernet cable is faster than WIFI)

What happens if I'm not happy with my Broadband service?

If there’s any problem with speed and you’re not getting the speeds we’ve told you your line is capable of, we’ll do our best to resolve the issue. If you’re not completely satisfied after 30 days of reporting your problem, you can walk away, no questions asked. This promise applies for the duration of your contract with The Phone Co-op.

This guarantee only applies if the issue is due to problems with the broadband service we provide. It does not apply to problems with the copper line supplying your home, or with your Wi-Fi connection from the router to your device (for example if you get good speed in one room and poor speed in another, it is likely to be down to the router signal, not the broadband speed).

The guarantee applies if you are not getting the minimum specified broadband speed in your order details. It does not apply to the advertised average or ‘up to’ speeds. You must use our speed checker at https://www.speedtest.net/ so we can view the speed you are achieving and confirm whether you are achieving the minimum specified speed or not.

Also please note the following:

If you cancel a planned engineer visit, we may extend the deadline by a reasonable period so that we have time to work together and resolve the problem.
If you can’t attempt to diagnose or resolve the problem when you report it to us, for example if you are away from home or the affected premises when you report the problem, we may extend the deadline by a reasonable period.
If you repeatedly miss planned engineer appointments or fail to take reasonable steps as requested by us – meaning that we can’t help to diagnose or solve the problem – the guarantee will no longer apply, and you will be charged for your broadband as originally agreed and a missed appointment charge will be added to your bill. You will be told when this has happened and we will clearly explain why.
There may be other exceptional circumstances beyond our control – for example, a missed or delayed Openreach appointment, the need to obtain street works permissions or severe weather which causes multiple faults across parts of the UK – which make us technically unable to resolve the speed problem. In this instance, we may ask you for more time to see if we can fix the issue.

I can't make or receive calls?

If you're having trouble making or receiving calls on your landline, use our troubleshooting guide here.

What do I do if i have no dial tone?

There can be several reasons why your phone line doesn't have a dial tone. It's not necessarily always a fault in the telephone network. Carry out some checks yourself first, using our troubleshooting guide here.

I want to upgrade my broadband, can I do this online?

Yes, login to your account on the Phone Co-op website and then go to the broadband pages and choose the service you want to upgrade to.

I want to upgrade my mobile, can I do this online?

No, you'll have to call our customer service team on 01608 434 000 to upgrade.

8 ways to improve your broadband connection

To keep up to date with how the wider Midcounties Co-op Group are dealing with the effects of the Coronavirus across the group, please see and an update from our Group CEO, Phil Ponsonby.

Vulnerable Groups

We have an older base as our core customers and many who are over 80 (SAGA customers). The Residential Team are experienced at providing prompt care for the vulnerable and our Business Team also work with many charities and organisations who care for the vulnerable, supporting telecoms systems and communications networks.

As a standard we would raise a welfare case for any of our customers that fit the criteria and are experiencing a fault on their line or require a line installation quickly