This topic

Delay after delay after delay

LastChanceSaloon — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 21:03:32 GMT

Dear BT/Open Reach

Well done.

We are now on our 6th order placed for fibre 900. Only one of which was cancelled due to Covid-19.

We have had 5 external installations, 2 failed internal installations. Several hours chasing answers on the phone. I am done.

Our first order was placed a week before we moved into our property around the 15th of March. It is now coming to the end of July. Still no fibre. Our initial order was cancelled due to Covid. Understandable. I received a message saying you were doing internal installations again on the 17th of May. I ordered again on this date. It’s been 75 days.

Nothing but issues since then, that you have admitted full liability for. Promises of dates we are connected have been given repeatedly. Said promises were broken.

My partner is an essential worker, a call centre operator for a disability housing company. We were told that we weren’t deemed essential enough to do the work during lockdown. We have had to rely on our neighbours WiFi since the middle of March. She has dropped several calls due to this. Calls that range from people trapped in elevators to domestic abuse cases. Her livelihood was in danger because of your inability to provide an alternative. We asked for a 4g halo hub, we were told they were out of stock and to use a phones hotspot in the meantime.

Only recently did we receive a 4g hub after complaining several times about delays. Which was useful for all of a week before a manager miraculously found that he could remotely activate our copper connection. That went live today and the 4g hub had the plug pulled 2 days prior to this. Unfortunately, the copper wire connection is somehow less stable than the 4g hub.

I will be calling your office tomorrow at 10am. I will not be happy. I will be requesting a deadlock letter.

You have failed at every turn to correct your mistakes. It is incompetence at its highest form at this point. You have consistently blamed your partners that perform works for you, when my order is placed with you. It doesn’t matter if Kelly’s have done the installation wrong, or that open reach has again cancelled our order without leaving any notes in the system. I placed my order with you and you have failed to deliver at every turn.

Yours sincerely, DJG

Re: Delay after delay after delay

imjolly — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 21:14:28 GMT

As it says when you joined this is a customer help customer forum. Your post does not go to BT

Re: Delay after delay after delay

LastChanceSaloon — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 21:20:56 GMT

Understood, let’s just call it an open letter in view of other customers to encourage a response to my issue. If the post is not allowed lock it by all means.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

david39ni — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 22:42:02 GMT

Been the same with me my friend check out my posts

I finally have the fibre out side my doorstep but they coming now next week to finish off open reach missed their original survey date then promised me yesterday engineer would be here today to finish off never shown.

I logged into my portal to my horror without them advising me Friday 4TH August for completion. When I was sent not one not two but three texts from there sms service to say would be completed for the 30th as I work for the health trust over here and couldn't have any interruption from leaving virgin.

https://community.bt.com/t5/BT-Fibre-broadband/FTTP-Install-N-Ireland-Install-Horror-but-a-good-ending-and-2/m-p/2077138#M310800

Re: Delay after delay after delay

LastChanceSaloon — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 00:12:54 GMT

Thanks David. I guess I’m not alone in this at least.

Credit where it’s due aswell I’ve had no issue with any of the members of staff I’ve interacted with, I even sang the praises of the person that did the second internal installation due to his dedication to doing everything he could to get me connected that day. Unfortunately to no avail.

I understand these are unprecedented times, I’ve been patient and courteous to the very end, but this is causing me immense stress to deal with it all. I work nights and my partner works all day, we both understand that harassing a call centre employee will achieve nothing. However, I think we have about 7 hours worth of call time with BT at this point. We’re not being contacted when we’re told we will be. I have to wake up in the afternoon before my shift to make these calls or my partner has to do it when when finishes work or on her lunch.

The tipping point tonight was when I was told by my partner that Open Reach had cancelled our order once again, meaning another had to be placed, leading to another round of useless installation visits. Furthermore it was cancelled with no notes left on file for why.

Ive been given the direct line of the manager dealing with our case, who has now gone on annual leave, meaning once again I have to sit on the phone tomorrow for upwards of 45 minutes to be told it will ‘definitely’ be done within a fortnight for the umpteenth time.

It’s not good enough, my only option is to request a deadlock letter at this point.

Furthermore, BT literally owns the entire fibre network in my area, meaning that switching providers is out of the question as it will just cause this to start all over again as they piggy back off of BT’s connections. I’ve basically been left on hold in more ways than one with nothing I can do to help the situation.

I’m not the kind of person to just grovel for handouts at the first inconvenience, but BT have really lost any respect I had for them in my eyes. It will take a lot for them to win me over after all this.

My only option now is to request a deadlock letter, which my partner had done previously, but was urged to give them a chance by the manager we spoke to for them to rectify the issue. They failed in doing so, providing us with a replacement service that may I add is less useful than using my neighbours WiFi through 4/5 thick walls.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

david39ni — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 01:09:53 GMT

I totally agree the open reach staff where brilliant so where the people on the phones.

But by god their Backoffice management is complete rubbish in satisfying customers 100% feel your pain lad.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

david39ni — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 01:11:31 GMT

I raised a complaint with bt and got the complaints team email so at least i no they got it. I have never heard of a dead lock letter can you explain that a bit more plz

Re: Delay after delay after delay

LastChanceSaloon — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 03:02:08 GMT

From what I understand it is an agreement between you and the provider of the service that they have 28 days to resolve the issue or the complaint will be handled by OFCOM directly which is the governing body for telecoms. It’s a way of the people getting fair representation in regards to issues without having to go through the court system. If BT are found to be incompetent in regards to delivery of service it will be fully investigated and their policies will have to be amended to make sure the issue does not come about again.

Its a worst case scenario, but I’m at the end of my tether at this point and don’t want to deal with it anymore. A simple ‘no we cannot provide this service’ would suffice so that I am no longer dedicated to persuading it and can look at other options. But I’ve been repeatedly told it will be done and it never is.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

pippincp — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 06:13:36 GMT

Are you actually dealing with the FTTP team? If not I suggest you give them a ring. 0800 587 4787, you shouldn't have to wait 40 mins to get through to them.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

LastChanceSaloon — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 11:47:20 GMT

Just an update if anyone’s curious. I was informed by my partner that BT would be calling today anyway in regards to an update so I held off on calling. They haven’t had the courtesy to do so and instead sent a text to inform us that there is no update. So we will be calling shortly to request the deadlock.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

pippincp — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 12:21:07 GMT

As the order has not been completed there is no need for a deadlock letter, just cancel the order yourself.

A deadlock letter if for those already in a contract, you are not at that stage yet.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

david39ni — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 12:51:00 GMT

I have been i cannot fault the team its the background order and delivery managment system to open reach and how they communicate as you said before needs to improve. Its not the poor girls fault or men on the phone or the lads who come out

Re: Delay after delay after delay

LastChanceSaloon — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 12:55:27 GMT

A deadlock letter is in relation to their inability to provide a service. I have several emails saying ‘you’re good to go’. I have been tied to a contract with BT for months now, being told at every turn that I will be connected to just be delayed further. I would have gone to another provider immediately if I was told that they were not able to provide the service. But they promised that they could and they haven’t. The deadlock letter is to provide a timeframe for them to correct the issue they have created. It is them accepting responsibility for the issue by agreeing to a deadlock letter, which gives them a strict timeline to solve this issue before we are able to involve an ombudsman and OFCOM.

If the argument is that I was never tied to a contract, then is the promise of an order being fulfilled not being tied to a contract in itself? Also I did receive a bill at one point for the service which I had not been delivered, meaning the order had been confirmed and completed to such a degree within their system that the billing process had begun.

We just got off the phone and were informed a manager would be calling us before 8pm today.

We are now at a total of 10 and a half hours on the phone to their customer service advisors. We threatened a deadlock previously and were asked to give them a second chance. We did so. They have once again cancelled our order and replaced it with a new one putting us at the beginning of the process again. Lip service, swings and roundabouts.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

pippincp — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 14:38:13 GMT

Until the order is fulfilled you are not tied into a contract and can cancel at any time. It is as simple as that. I did advise you to contact the FTTP team who have dealt with FTTP installs from the very beginning, you never confirmed if that was who you were dealing with.

It is up to you where you go from here, THB I could not care less as I am not a BT employee, I'm not even a BT customer. Any advice I provide is entirely from a customer point of view. Where you go from here is entirely up to you but you cannot get a deadlock letter for a contract that does not exist.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

Maciek — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 19:04:24 GMT

Hi @LastChanceSaloon some time has passed, any update? Im asking since im in similar position.

They gave me 3mb copper broadband instead while im waiting for constantly delayed fttp.. And they say they cannot give me fttc which is arouns 30-40 in my area instead ehile having fttp order.

Im thinking about canceling fttp order and getting fttc instead.. But im being promised every 8 days that openreach will do their job..

Re: Delay after delay after delay

david39ni — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 17:10:03 GMT

I feel for u have had four appointments dates changed, thankfully im with virgin at the min, i am just wondering if I have made the correct choice moving to bt. The only reason I started the move was virgin call centers virgin business line has had not a single fault during covid and hats off to them, But they will need to do the 1gb soon. I am giving bt one last chance the appointment on the 28th which they have confirmed with open reach, the cable has been sitting out my front porch for the last six weeks cause open reach couldn't retain the appointment till the next morning. If they miss the 28th appointment i will be cancelling the order in full.

This has now been promised at the scenior level but I am not holding my breath as so much messing about get this the appointmnet was 7th August then when i complained that was a month after my install they shafted me and moved it to 28th august

Re: Delay after delay after delay

Maciek — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 17:28:24 GMT

Thanks for an update @david39ni. Hope they will sort it out for you.

I talked to them again yesterday (hate it after so many times explaining each agent the same thing...) and apparently to order fttc insted I have to first cancel fttp order and wait 5 working days for closure of miserable 3mb copper they gave me. So now I cancelled and have to literally wait to place another order with them, redicilus. The only alternative in my location is sky.. But then I wont be able to have fttp in a long run being bonded by 18th contract with sky..

I really dont understand why this has to be so nerve-wracking.. Maybe if there will be more alternatives to openreach there will be some customer market. It feels lile a proper broadband in this country is some kind of lexury...

Re: Delay after delay after delay

david39ni — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 21:19:43 GMT

I agree well I am givng them the 28th as the last appointment and if not I will just be staying with virgin its a joke cause the cable is actually outside my porch.

They clam it is confirmed now and when i look in my portal it says confirmed this time which is different to before but a whole month wait during this times as u say its plays on nervs.

If they miss this one I will defo be cancelling.

Re: Delay after delay after delay

LastChanceSaloon — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 10:19:51 GMT

Good morning everyone, sorry for the lack of an update until now.

We had an appointment for today. Just checked my order online and they have delayed my installation again to the 26th.

We have been informed that we need someone to reprogram the internal white box and that is it.

Deadlock was entered on the same day of me writing this post, meaning they have 28 days from the 31/06/2020 to get this fixed. Considering the new appointment is for 26/07/2020 I’ve got a feeling we will be going to OFCOM very shortly.