This topic

Cancelled order

NC24 — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:35:17 GMT

We are immensely frustrated with our recent EE and Openreach experience, trying to get broadband for our new home.

After having been made to wait 5 weeks, we received a text today to say that our order has been cancelled due to a capacity issue. This is after weeks of poor communication, a missed appointment ti install the internet and calls that we were expecting to receive, which never transpired.

Initially we were told that there was a bug on the system which led to an engineer not being assigned to the job but after weeks of being messed around and kept in the dark, It feels like we were lied to, ignored and repeatedly delayed when we could have gone with another provider by now.

This morning we received a text to say that our order has been cancelled due to a capacity issue and to please call them to find out our options... didn't even have the decency to call us themselves, no instead we're expected to wait on hold again to speak to someone for an issue that they are responsible for... repeatedly taking time out of our day to solve this issue and being treated like it's not urgent for them.

Now we have to find another provider when we could have done so weeks ago.

We both work from home and have lost weeks worth of income over this issue, due to the utter incompetence and mismanagement of the staff involved and considering we pay monthly for our phone bills with EE, we don't exactly feel comfortable giving them money each month.

We will not be recommending EE or BT to anyone and we will certainly use one of their competitors for all such services in future. Absolute shambles.

Has anyone else had this issue and how was it resolved?

Thanks in advance

Re: Cancelled order

Keith_Beddoe — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:39:51 GMT

@NC24

Welcome to this user forum for BT Residential phone and broadband customers.

If its a capacity issue then it will be an Openreach problem, so unless you can find another provider that does not use Openreach, then the capacity issue will still be there.

Use the address checker on the page below, and post the results, but edit out your address details first, but leave the exchange name and cabinet number showing.

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

Please include all notes at the bottom.

Re: Cancelled order

NC24 — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:43:12 GMT

Hi, thanks for your response but we don't have a landline here and I don't know what the access line ID or UPRN is. I don't even know what that means, to be honest.

Re: Cancelled order

Keith_Beddoe — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:51:44 GMT

@NC24

Use the address checker which uses your postcode and address to look up the information.

Re: Cancelled order

iniltous — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:06:39 GMT

When you say new home , is that a new home to you , but a previously occupied one , or a brand new ( new build ) property where you have taken possession directly from the builder/developer ?

If it’s a brand new home , it’s possible that the developer hasn’t employed Openreach to provide the ‘network’ , in which case your choice of ISP will be limited to whoever the developer did a sweetheart deal with , if it’s an established property that has had service from Openreach based providers, there will be a master socket ( if it’s copper based ) or an ONT ( if it is FTTP ) , is there any evidence of Openreach services existing ? .

As stated , use the postcode entry on the DSL checker to see what Openreach services are available and post the results

FYI , UPRN , unique property reference number , a search will find websites that have UPRN’s

Re: Cancelled order

NC24 — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:20:11 GMT

Previously occupied. Some evidence, I believe, yes. I'm under the impression there was a Virgin line here before.

Thanks.

Re: Cancelled order

NC24 — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:28:33 GMT

Won't let me attach the screenshots but here you go.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fp0V5dMMYhaA6g_Pgeu8ORA1VdxfzXcv

Re: Cancelled order

iniltous — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:39:09 GMT

SoGEA is available, ( that’s fibre to the cabinet without a PSTN phone service ) , so why your order is being cancelled is a mystery, ‘capacity issues’ is too vague a reason , perhaps the DSL checker stating SoGEA is available is wrong , and there is no availability ( unlikely ) or EE have their own capacity issues connecting to the Openreach network, but not that likely either .

Obviously, if it’s an Openreach issue the choice of ISP makes no difference, if Openreach have no capacity, it makes no difference which ISP is used , any ISP’s wouldn’t be able to progress an order on Openreach if that’s the case .

All you can do is either contact EE ( strictly speaking this BT forum has nothing to do with EE ) and get to the bottom of why your orders are being cancelled, or cancel and order with someone else .

Re: Cancelled order

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:41:48 GMT

Your screenshot shows both VDSL (FTTC) & Gfast available, so no obvious capacity issue there. Although I believe Gfast is no longer sold.

Unfortunately your tale is quite typical of posts we see here. It seems that whenever BT encounters any problem with anything, it's like it's the first time it's happened. No one knows what to do, how to progress it or who to escalate to. There is no ownership of a problem or consistency, so you have to repeat your tale ad infinitum in the hope that eventually you find a properly trained, conscientious rep.

I think looking elsewhere is indeed your best bet & if working from home, consider a business package with a more reputable ISP. It will cost a bit more but will have a more robust CS & SLA.

Re: Cancelled order

chrisjp — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 11:07:24 GMT

I wish I could look elsewhere than BT. But, where I live, BT/EE are the only game in town. I suspect that there are many areas of the country where this applies. BT/EE know they have a monopoly so don't really care about properly serving their customers

Re: Cancelled order

iniltous — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 11:21:15 GMT

There are dozens of ISP that use Openreach infrastructure, there are many more providers than BT and EE on Openreach , @chrisjp is plain wrong to suggest that there is any place at all , that is limited to BT or EE , it’s just not true

https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/fttp-providers

Although this is a list for FTTP , the same open network principles apply to FTTC , any and every ISP that wants to utilise Openreach ( in exactly the same way as BT and EE on identical terms ) can and do .

Re: Cancelled order

NC24 — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 16:43:15 GMT

Okay, thanks for your time.

Re: Cancelled order

NC24 — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 16:44:00 GMT

Noted. Thank you.