FAQs

Due to the unfolding Coronavirus pandemic, we are making some important changes to charges associated with the non-emergency 101 service. As of 1st April, calls to 101 will be free of charge – just as calls to 111 and 105 already are. This is to alleviate pressure on 999 services.

How quickly a fault is repaired depends on a number of different things. XLN’s service uses the BT Openreach network, which means that any faults with your line will be seen to by an Openreach engineer. How soon they address the fault depends on availability in your area as well as the complexity or location of the problem. If an appointment is needed we’ll always try to book the earliest possible slot for you, but please bear in mind that it may take a few days for an engineer to become available.

We run our service on the BT Openreach network, and your phone line remains part of this network when you join XLN. That means that if you have a fault with your line, an Openreach engineer will repair it.

If there is a fault on your line, please let us know by calling us, or if you prefer you can run a line test and raise a fault via MyAccount. Our lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We offer four levels of care for your telephone line, each priced accordingly and tailored to suit the needs of your business.

Our different care levels are as follows:

• Fault response within three working days; free
• Fault response within 48 hours; £1.20 per month per line
• Fault response within 24 hours; £3.95 per month per line
• fault response within 6 hours; £5.49 per month per line

If your business is heavily phone or internet-based, we highly recommend that you choose one of our enhanced care level packages so that we can repair any problems and get you back up and running as soon as possible.

Please be aware that line faults are dealt with as soon as possible, and the timescales listed above represent agreed service levels with the network (Openreach). It is not a guarantee that all faults will be rectified within the stated timescales. Some line faults require serious engineering work (e.g. Roadworks) to restore the line and can, on occasion, take significantly longer.

To add one of these maintenance packages to your XLN Business Phone Line, please call our customer service team on 0344 880 7777 or request a call back.

Please visit https://businessportal.yourwhc.co.uk/#/. If you have previously used our portal, any existing links or bookmarks you have saved will automatically redirect you to the new portal.

No, your current credentials will stay the same. If you have your username and password saved in your browser, you will need to re-enter them into the new portal.

No, the changes are being made in the background and will happen automatically for you.

No, service will not be affected by the portal upgrade. If you are experiencing an issue with your service, please contact Customer Services.

International Calls can be added easily to any Cloud Voice deal, and it’s easy to tailor a package that suits your needs.

Auto-attendant connects callers to a fully personalised automated greeting and menu of options to ensure the call gets directed to the right person. It’s a great way of making your business more professional.

The Hunt Groups feature lets multiple users take different calls at the same time. It ensures that no matter how busy you are or how much your business is growing, you never miss a call – or a sale.

The Call Recording feature allows you to record calls for training and quality purposes. It stores the calls in the cloud securely, for you to access whenever you wish to. For more information, or to receive our handy customer guide, give our friendly team a call.

Standard cancellation charges will apply for your dedicated data line if you are still in contract.

Cloud Voice user packages can be moved at no additional cost.

In contract cancellation fees

Cloud Voice Dedicated Data – Line: £299.00

Cloud Voice Dedicated Data – Broadband/Fibre: £199.00

Cloud Voice pay as you use/unlimited user: £99.00

Cloud Voice Express: £99.00

If you’re porting any existing numbers to Cloud Voice or require a new line to be installed to support the service set-up will typically take a minimum of 12 working days.

Should you wish to add brand new Cloud Voice packages (including new numbers) this can take as little as two working days.

Cloud Voice is dependent upon a working internet service to function.

To mitigate against such scenarios XLN can enable the disaster recovery feature to ensure that any incoming calls are routed to an external number of your choosing. Your dedicated landline and broadband line (provided as part of your package) will also be available.

If you choose the Cloud Voice Express package, your service can continue to function regardless of your Broadband connection.

XLN cannot guarantee call quality or connectivity on third party connections. For this reason we highly recommend Cloud Voice is used with an XLN provided landline and dedicated broadband connection.

If you choose the Cloud Voice Express package, your service can continue to function regardless of your Broadband connection.

We accept numbers from the majority of providers. If you’re not sure if your number can be ported please speak to our dedicated Cloud Voice team.

If you have Fibre available in your area then there’s no need to worry – Cloud Voice will work as expected.

If you only have ADSL available we recommend a minimum 8Mbps download speed to avoid any impact on your quality of service. Our dedicated agents will be able to test this for you.

There aren’t any minimum speed requirements for the Cloud Voice Express package.

It is not essential, but we highly recommend having a data line with XLN, be it your normal internet connection or a dedicated data line. Cloud Voice requires enough upload bandwidth to avoid any crackling/bad quality calls.

Available bandwidth is impacted by any other internet use on the line, periods of heavy internet traffic and your line type. For maximum upload bandwidth, we suggest a dedicated fibre data line.

You don’t need a dedicated broadband line for the Cloud Voice Express package.

In light of the current situation regarding Covid-19, we understand that some customers would like to temporarily move their Cloud Voice handsets to allow remote working.

Your Cloud Voice service does ideally require a minimum speed of 8 Mbps. If speeds are lower than this or there are a large number of devices using this connection, your service could be impacted.

We recommend you avoid using the Cloud Voice service for any emergency calls whilst you are relocated. That’s because any calls made from the handset to the emergency services will be directed to your registered business address should the call be cut off. If the relocation is to last longer than a few weeks, we may need to contact you to update the emergency services database, as this is a legal requirement of XLN.

Another option is to simply apply a temporary divert to your number. We can add this to any UK based landline or mobile number quickly and easily – so let us know if that would be preferable.

If you need any assistance with connecting the handsets at the temporary location please send an email to hostedvoice@xlntelecom.co.uk

XLN Wi-Fi is a service for you and your customers that can be used with any Wi-Fi enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

It allows you to offer a legally compliant Wi-Fi service to your customers, meaning you no longer need to give away your private Wi-Fi password. You can now browse safely when you are connected to your own private Wi-Fi.

Providing Wi-Fi means that you are more likely to attract new customers. Better still, those customers typically stay longer and spend more – becoming increasingly loyal, and increasingly profitable

A Business Phone Line from XLN isn’t just great value for money; you also get loads of additional features to help you do business easily and efficiently. You can view a full list of additional calling features that are available with your XLN Business Phone Line on our Network Services page.

To change bank details please call XLN on 0344 880 6121. If the entity of your business has changed or you have sold the business hence the reason to change bank details, we will walk you through the change of legal entity/ownership process.

In these extraordinary and challenging times as the world navigates and responds to the outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), we can assure you that you can continue to rely on the essential services provided by XLN to keep your business powered, connected, and up and running.

The government has announced a range of measures to help businesses weather the storm. These measures are unprecedented in scale, available to everyone, and aimed at ensuring no business goes bankrupt because of this crisis. All details of the support available can be accessed here.

We’ve also added an article that we will regularly update, which explains exactly how some of the key relief measures will work. It will also include updates to our own services as and when anything changes. You can access that article here.

Getting in touch

We have amazing teams throughout XLN that are here for you and remain committed to resolving any issues or queries you may have both quickly and efficiently. Our phone lines are live, and our service teams are all connected remotely – doing everything they can to support you.

However, we ask for your patience because they are currently dealing with extraordinarily high call volumes.

Our promise

Small businesses are the heartbeat of our high streets and the heroes of our economy. We will always do everything possible to deliver you the world-class service you deserve. We promise to always respond to you without delay. And if anything’s broken, we promise to fix it fast. Our team remains dedicated to keeping you up and running.

You make our lives better every day by baking our bread, cutting our hair, fixing our cars, pouring our pints and so much more. We think it’s only right that we do our bit too. So, whatever we can do to ensure the continued smoothness of your services, we are committed to doing.

We will continue to deliver the highest quality of service without compromise in support of Britain’s vibrant, independent businesses.

Thank you for your continued loyalty and support.

If possible the engineer will use any existing sockets and cables that are available.

The engineer can only install the socket within 3m of the point where the line enters the premises.

There may be a charge to install a socket elsewhere.

Appointments can be cancelled up to 48 working hours before the date/time of the appointment.

Unfortunately appointments cannot be cancelled after this point.

Yes a representative (over 18 years old) will need to be present for the full duration of the time slot you are given.

Openreach charge £99 for any missed appointments so it is really important to be at the premises for the full duration of the time slot.

We can request that the engineer tries to call, but unfortunately we can’t guarantee the engineer will be able to do this.

Appointments can be amended up to 48 working hours before the date/time of the appointment.

No problem, we ideally need one months’ notice to move your line(s). It depends how far you’re going as to whether you can keep the same number. A simple check can show us instantly if you’re moving outside the existing exchange area. Please give us a call. If you can’t keep your number this will unfortunately be the case with every provider, but we do have some options for you that will help you transition to a new number with ease.

Debit and credit card payments are processed on the day we receive them, while Giro payments can take up to five working days to get through.

If you’re paying by cheque, please write your account number clearly on the back of the cheque and allow five working days for it to reach us.

You can make giro payments at any high street bank, but we strongly recommend that you use a Lloyds Bank branch as this ensures that the payment is transferred without any issues.

In all circumstances, please make sure that you use Giro slips.

Please don’t use a Post Office if you’re paying by Giro as we have no formal agreement with the Post Office and the payment may not reach us.

Giro payments are not available for Energy.

We prefer payment by Direct Debit, but you can also pay by debit/credit card, cheque or Giro. If you pay by any means other than direct debit, you’ll be charged an admin fee of £7.95 per month.

Energy invoices work a bit differently and require a Direct Debit payment, otherwise your charges will be higher. Giro isn’t available for Energy.

As is the norm, XLN bills in advance for line rental. Your first invoice will include charges for part of the month during which your line was transferred to XLN as well as the next month.

We send invoices on a monthly basis rather than quarterly to make things easier for our customers to manage.

Calls that cost more than 50p are itemised by default on your invoice. If you’d prefer full itemisation then please contact us to find out how.

If you want to switch to XLN from a provider that you’re in contract with, you may have to pay a cancellation fee to that provider before you do.

Who should I contact concerning any service issues?If you have any service issues before you switch to XLN, you should contact your existing broadband or phone provider up until the transfer date. After that, you should contact our customer support team to help resolve any faults or problems you might be having with your service.

Once you’ve switched to XLN, we’ll send you an invoice shortly after the transfer has taken place. Your previous broadband or telephone supplier will also send you a final bill.

No. Unless otherwise agreed, we carry out a like-for-like transfer.

Once you’ve switched to XLN, we’ll send you an invoice shortly after the transfer has taken place. Your previous broadband or telephone supplier will also send you a final bill.

Transferring your existing phone line to XLN is seemless. It takes 10 working days and on the final day, service with your old supplier stops and XLN take over. There’s no down time. Your old supplier should then send you a final bill.