Second phone line removed after SKY install

[MisterCoops]

I changed from Virgin to Sky last week. Previously the house had 2 phone lines - mine through Virgin, and my Mother's through Shell Energy. After installing Sky, my mother's telephone number has disappeared and now we only have one phone line, mine. We need 2 phones lines in the house. How do we get what we've always had?

[Mark39]

Unfortunately you have to discount the Virgin line as no provider other than Virgin can use it. That leaves you with one line within the Openreach infrastructure.

As Sky don't install second lines, they will have taken over the existing Shell Energy line. You would need to sign up with another provider to obtain a second line.

[TimmyBGood · Accepted solution]

@MisterCoops 

As @Mark39 indicates, unfortunately that's self-inflicted: you effectively instructed Sky to take over the Shell Energy 'line' as the only visible Openreach provision at the address, because they cannot use Virgin infrastructure at all.  Note that there will be a voice service associated with the Sky Broadband: this is accessed by plugging an analogue handset into the rear of the Sky Broadband Hub, but it will have a new number and be on an expensive PAYG tariff by default.

[TimmyBGood]

@MisterCoops 

Note this also means that unless you have proactively cancelled the Virgin services yourself by calling them, those will continue because they aren't part of the Openreach / Ofcom 'switch' system (which is what caught you out in the first place)