This topic

9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 16:13:34 GMT

Placed an order for FTTP in the middle of September. Had absolutely no proactive communication from BT or Openreach since that day.

Another Openreach appointment today, stayed in all day and by my phone, Openreach never showed, never called, never cancelled. Again.

Can someone take ownership of this to get it resolved please, or to at least give me a clear and honest answer about what's going on. I have had at least 5 different conflicting stories.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

iniltous — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 16:27:37 GMT

If you are an existing BT customer and the FTTP is an ‘upgrade’ from ADSL or FTTC to FTTP , use your phone number in this DSL checker ( and post the results ) , if not currently a BT customer use the address option ..obscure the phone number /address when posting the result.

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 18:34:34 GMT

Will do! Currently have ADSL with another provider.

Thanks!

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

stevebrass — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 19:13:00 GMT

From that info it seems you have a congested duct which OR will need to sort out. It is possible they have sorted this out without you knowing but really you would see some evidence ie some fibre cable would have appeared.
All you can do is check with BT.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

iniltous — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 19:27:38 GMT

Presumably you are ordering BT FTTP alongside your existing broadband supplied by someone else , the DSL checker shows KCI2 , and UG congested duct , this should mean once your order is taken , it’s a two stage install , the congested duct may need work , it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s blocked , just that at survey it couldn’t be verified as serviceable.

You shouldn’t be given a contractual date until a cable has been provided from the CBT ( in a joint box somewhere close by ) to your house wall, as obviously it’s unknown what may be needed to get a cable to your property ( and the costs involved ) but the first visit should be arranged to ascertain what’s needed ( if anything )

If you haven’t been given an initial date , and have never seen the 1st stage engineer , you need to ask BT why , if you have had an initial visit , ( possibly confirming the duct as blocked ) it would need work, if the work needed was on your property , then you would have to agree to excavation etc , but you should be kept updated.

Is your property relatively standard ?, there was a post on another forum , not the same issue as you, and not using BT , but in that case , the CBT was in a public area, but the customers property was some considerable distance away ,( very long driveway, hundreds of metres ) the excavation required was extensive to get the cable from the CBT to the property ( all within the customer land ) and they were expected to contribute £4K to £8k towards the costs…if your situation is similar it could be there are going to be excess costs , and that in part is responsible for the delay

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 21:56:53 GMT

Thanks both for the responses!

I've tried following up with BT many times but haven't had a clear answer where the holdup is - it has varied every single time I have phoned.

If you haven’t been given an initial date , and have never seen the 1st stage engineer , you need to ask BT why , if you have had an initial visit , ( possibly confirming the duct as blocked ) it would need work, if the work needed was on your property , then you would have to agree to excavation etc , but you should be kept updated.

Openreach attended in October and did some work in the joint box and spray painted an arrow pointing at the wall the fibre would go through. The manhole is 0.6m from the exterior wall (ground floor flat). There was a bit of confusion about access to a locked utility cupboard on site on the first visit (Openreach didn't actually need access but thought they did at the time). I had to get hold of someone to gain access, I got the key in about 90 minutes. The engineer had left the site and said he would return the next day to sort the external install. I haven't had an engineer in contact with me since, though I've seen them at the joint box and along the road multiple times.

You shouldn’t be given a contractual date until a cable has been provided from the CBT ( in a joint box somewhere close by ) to your house wall, as obviously it’s unknown what may be needed to get a cable to your property ( and the costs involved ) but the first visit should be arranged to ascertain what’s needed ( if anything )

Committed service start date is confirmed as 20/12/2021, I've checked and rechecked this multiple times with different people, including with executive customer resolution team. That was the date of a previous Openreach appointment that was also a no-show.

EDIT- forgot to mention, the congested duct message has been there since October or November.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

imjolly — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 22:07:01 GMT

So did you write and complain to BT CEO and your complaint is now being handled by ELC ?

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 22:19:47 GMT

I'm unsure what ELC is, sorry (executive level complaints?). I raised a complaint online via https://www.bt.com/help/contact-bt/complaints on 09/03 (interestingly I have no open or closed complaints at that link now, when I previously had 4).

Following that, I was contacted by email by 'Jack' (I won't give his surname) from the 'Executive Customer Resolution Team' on 20th March. He stated that "Latest update from Openreach is that the appointment to provide your service will be 13/04/2022. They have also confirmed if they are able to bring this forward, the Oprenreach team will reach out to yourself." The complaint was then closed. As far as I'm aware I have no current open complaints and the previously mentioned 4 closed ones:

Raised 23/12, closed 13/01.

Raised 04/02, closed 04/02.

Raised 07/03, closed 07/03.

Raised 09/03, closed 24/03.

The two that were closed immediately were when I asked the CS rep during a phone call if a complaint could be raised, I assume that's standard process to just record a complaint for the record then close it?

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

NeilO — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 09:05:16 GMT

@heavywater I'm sorry about the delay getting your FTTP installed, I'll send you a private message in a moment so you can send over your details to the moderation team and we'll be happy to chase this up for you.

Thanks

Neil

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 09:54:59 GMT

Brilliant, thanks Neil, I've sent over the details.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

scaramonga — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 03:08:00 GMT

Only 9 months?

You got a while to go yet before this shower move, believe me! It's disgraceful this nonsense, and they really want to get their act together.

Openreach are the main fault, but they are BT's contractor, and they seem to have the 'monopoly' over them, like they do with all else.

They move (or don't) at their own pace, and you can bleat about it till the cows come home, as it will make little difference in the end 😉

Don't think, because you are racking up 'compensation', that Openreach will give a toss, lol, they just won't. They will turn up. or not, when THEY see fit, regardless of what you wish, or have been told by BT, so chuck that appointment card out the window 🙂

8 appointments I've had, and not one have turned up, so 8 days wages lost @ (much more), waiting, for nothing, @ 8 x £10 compensation = £80, and no further forward. (Don't even cover my first bill lol)

I'll leave it there.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 16:30:11 GMT

Just a quick one - haven't had an update yet from the mod team or customer services, but I have had two emails today.

One to tell me that I'm now eligible for Game Pass Ultimate 6 months package.

One to tell me to return my Smart Hub or get charged £50.

No other comms.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 12:25:15 GMT

Returns bag came through the post this morning, I have still had no communication at all to update me on the installation progress but this isn't the most promising sign guys...

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

scaramonga — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 13:41:31 GMT

No, and it will get worse, unfortunately. Don't expect any communication or updates, as there wont be any. Coming into 3 months now for me, and I ain't had one yet. I had to contact them about sending old equipment back, as I couldn't use the new equipment, and still can't, as there is nothing installed to use it with! They still cut me off though, and left me high and dry with nothing. They are still continuing to charge me for new service also, with next bill due a week from today 😉

BT don't know what they are doing, Openreach don't know what they are doing, and neither knows what each other is doing.

Don't expect to get anywhere fast, it's a long and painful haul, believe me.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 15:15:17 GMT

I was never expecting 'soon', just hoping to get there eventually! I just find the lack of communication difficult to deal with, I wouldn't mind half as much if I was just kept up to date even a tiny bit. A phone call every 6 to 8 weeks would be really appreciated, even if there hasn't been any progress.

Anyway, current status is that I've checked my BT account to find out my order is gone and my account has been 'cancelled or closed'. I know this isn't the case as someone from BT would definitely have phoned me, so that message and the fact that I received a returns bag in the post must be a technical glitch. Hopefully someone from BT can sort that out.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

scaramonga — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 00:05:05 GMT

No one is ever going to phone you, nor keep you in the loop lol. They will also continue to take payment for services they 'think' you have, knowing that, you actually don't have, even when they cut you off completely 🙂

Yeah. I'm going to the 'press' with this soon, as something needs to be done about this. I have an 'inch' thick notepad of mishaps, promises that never happen, missed appointments, lies, fobbed off nonsense, and money being needlessly wasted, (compensation galore for all!), and all because they can't be bothered to get off their backsides and actually do anything about it. I have dates, times, recordings, the lot!, including copies of all posts on here 😉

Openreach are the main culprits here, but BT choose to use them, so they are the ones responsible in my eyes, but no one can deal with them, including BT, according to BT.

Even my little 'Exec Person' is now becoming frustrated with their lack of forthcoming.

You are correct with, 'if only they could keep me updated', and from a Company that prides itself on 'communication', they even fail at that, which is disgraceful.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

heavywater — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 12:48:07 GMT

Had a call from a chap from BT earlier today, unfortunately he let me know that Openreach have told them they're not able to provide service to the property so the order has been cancelled. That seems to be the end of it.

I'll see what happens with regards the automatic compensation - obviously this can't be applied as bill credit as I no longer have an account or service that it can be applied to. Is anyone able to let me know if there's anything I need to do to ensure BT process this as a direct payment? I think it's somewhere between £930 and £1030, depending on what is considered a missed appointment.

A disappointing outcome after 9 months, but at least it's over now I suppose.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

iniltous — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 15:52:21 GMT

We’re you given any further info ?, because you mention you live in a flat , is it a ground floor flat ?, it’s possible that the excavation required is effectively on private property and permission has not been granted, by the freeholder or building management etc.
As I already indicated , a KCI2 , shouldn’t really be appointed until it’s been confirmed that a way of providing service has been confirmed ( basically to stop the financial penalty if someone given a contractual date but unable to fulfil the order due to something predictable like a congested duct )
Is your flat part of a complex , with a common entry, as these are usually classed as a MDU ( multi dwelling unit ) , your address , possibly incorrectly indicated as a SDU ( single dwelling unit ) at survey ( although they apparently spotted the congested duct )

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

scaramonga — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 22:44:22 GMT

Dreadful, sorry to hear that buddy.

So, Openreach can't be bothered do do the work, and/or, its gonna cost them too much? Awful!

9 months of hell, 9 months of wasted money, and 9 months waiting for BT to tell you that fact. Disgraceful.

A product advertised to you as available, has suddenly become 'not available', but it has taken 9 months of pain to yourself, and racked up hundreds in compensation, all because these 2 couldn't get their act together.

Good luck getting that compensation, which, by the way, is only credited to your BT account. Now, if it were me, I'd be leaving BT (for good), and wanting that compensation credited to my bank account, where it will be of use to me, as if I leave BT, then it isn't 😉 I'd take that one up with the Ombudsman, the details of which you should have already, as it's automatically sent out 2 months after order not completed. Just got my letter from them last week.

I wish you the best, but what an awful end to this situation, and both BT and Openreach should bow their heads in shame, for treating any customer like this.

I guess I should expect the same somewhere down the line?, which is what I will do from now on.

A customer of 30 years I am, and if they are prepared to lose the likes of that?, then there is nothing anyone can do.

On a positive note.

Got all my bills wiped for this month, so nothing to pay on system, which gives me a breather for another month, until I have to call and do the same procedure next month, but still.

Re: 9 months waiting for FTTP

DavidM — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 12:45:08 GMT

Hi @heavywater and thanks for posting.

I'm sorry the order was cancelled. @RobbieMac is dealing with this and will be in touch later today.

Cheers

David