A moving experience

No blogging for weeks - we've been tied up in a multitude of complications following our re-location to Brixham.
No problems with solicitors, removers, builders, plumbers, electricians or decorators: all of our difficulties can be summarised in just two letters - BT.
Although we stayed within the 01803 area we weren't allowed to retain our number. We did everything possible to make things go smoothly: gave them plenty of warning; obtained the new number; had BT check the line; arranged for callers to the old number to hear a recorded message giving the new number.
We moved in, sorted out the office and tested the phones - the line was dead. We waited a day to give BT a chance to switch us on - still dead. There then began a long series of what should have been free calls, but having no landline meant using mobiles and hefty charges. The engineers checked the line and reported no problem 'at their end' and we were urged to check out our connections together with dire warings of massive charges (£100 callout plus £100 per hour) if their engineer had to visit the premises.
There didn't appear to be anything wrong at our end, so we had to ask for an engineer to come. Three days later we were still waiting. All of this time anyone dialling our number heard a phone ringing out, but our line was still dead. More phone calls from us elicited the mysterious response that 'action was required before an engineer could come'. It took many more calls and several more days before we could find anyone capable of explaining what the 'action' was. We were told that the line had previously been a party line and that broadband couldn't be supplied until changes had been made. We pointed out that, at that stage, broadband was a luxury and that a simple phone line would be a good start, but it appeared that the necessary changes would have to be made before our line could be activated.
All this time callers to our old number were being told to ring the new number that still sounded as if it was ringing. It was no good asking for the message to be changed to give a mobile number as it would take BT four working days to change the message, and by that time the problem should have been resolved.
Eventually, after nine days the phone started ringing - but hardly any of the calls were for us. We had been given the phone number that, until very recently, was the number of a hotel and a google search for the hotel produced directory listings all showing our number.
The final straw was when I asked a caller (who thought she was ringing the hotel) where she had found the number and she said that it had been entered as the contact number of the hotel on a contract form completed a few days earlier - so eleven days after we were allocated the number, somebody at the hotel was still under the belief that it was their number!
There followed many more phone calls (including one to BT's 'Moving Section' where we hung on for 74 minutes waiting for a reply - and then the line went dead) before we managed to have the number changed, together with the message on our old number.
So, we apologise to anyone who has been trying to contact us by phone recently.
Everyone that we spoke to at BT was friendly, courteous and did their best to be helpful. The problem is that BT is too complex an organisation and none of the staff seem to be aware of what other departments exist and their function. The result is that callers are passed around, often with long waits for phones to be answered.
A question for the chief executive of BT:
Is it acceptable for a major telecommunications company to keep callers waiting for over an hour for a phone to be answered?
These calls are only 'free' if one places no value on the callers' time. If we valued our time at the same rate that BT values the time of its engineers, then BT owes us over £1,000 just for the time spent on the phone sorting out what should have been a simple change of address.
All we have to do now is sort out why we have received bills showing charges that should not have been applied.