This topic

Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Tue, 20 May 2025 18:24:24 GMT

Until last week I had BT landline broadband and digital voice phone.
Then (Friday) they stopped working.
On Saturday I received a letter from BT "We're sorry to see you go" saying that my services would automatically move on the Friday (the day before I got the letter).
Contacting BT on Saturday they said I was moving to PlusNet. I said I wasn't moving anywhere.

So they told me the only way to get my service re-instated was to place a new order with them, which I did.
After further investigation I found that a neighbour (with a similar address) was getting PlusNet (on a previously disconnected line).
Somewhere in this our addresses/phone lines seem to have got confused. So they received a PlusNet router and have been trying to get it to work on their line. And my line had gone dead.
An Openreach engineer arrived to sort out their problem today (Tuesday) and found the lines in the green cabinet had been connected wrongly, my neighbour was connected to my line. He identified their line and mine and connected them correctly.
So my neighbour is now working fine but my service is dead.

About the same time the Openreach engineer was here I got a text and email from BT saying they had cancelled the order I placed on Saturday.
After chasing this up with BT Faults I was told I would have to place an order with BT Sales. I did this again (same as the order I placed on Saturday.).
Apparently this will take 14 days (from today, not even from last Saturday when I first placed the order). Apparently it will need an engineer to check the line.

Is this the best way to get my faulty line fixed (It's a fault as far as I'm concerned I hadn't asked for it to be moved or cancelled)?
Is there anyway I can speed up this installation?
I work from home, so I can't manage without broadband.

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

imjolly — Tue, 20 May 2025 18:54:21 GMT

Unfortunately you are another victim of the new one touch switching. Your neighbor has placed and order with plusnet for broadband and excuse of mixup with phone they have notified BT that they are taking over your line. BT should then notify you that they are sorry you are leaving. Now that it has happened there is no way back and you now need to start a new contract. You will be given the first available date for your 'new' broadband to be installed/ activated

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Tue, 20 May 2025 19:10:30 GMT

That seems to be what happened.
But the letter from BT arrived after I was cutoff, so no chance to stop it.

It seems stupid they can't just reconnect me. Instead I have to have a new router (even though I have one already) and wait until June for the engineer.

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

licquorice — Tue, 20 May 2025 19:15:50 GMT

This is what happens with automation rather than real people doing stuff. I think its called progress!!!

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

iniltous — Tue, 20 May 2025 20:37:44 GMT

Those that made the case for OTS and laud it as an improvement on what went before , claim that the time to switch between providers is greatly reduced , potentially offering same day switching, the problem with that of course is that it gives no time , if errors occur like your neighbour giving your address instead of their own , or Plusnet selecting your address instead of the address your neighbour gave them (either way you are collateral damage) , for the mistake to be realised and then cancelled by you getting in touch with your provider to say I’m not asking to leave .

Its possible the reason you got the ‘sorry you are leaving’ letter the day after the switch took place ( which used to be 2 weeks before the switch was scheduled , giving you plenty of time to say to your provider ‘this is a mistake’ ) is that it can now be much less , so if your neighbour asked Plusnet to get service ‘as soon as possible’ which OTS allows, presumably the notification can turn too late to be of any use ….

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Tue, 20 May 2025 21:32:40 GMT

It seems these issues happen often. It's surprising there isn't a better method of fixing this when it occurs.

You would think there would be a way of "uncancelling" and restoring the connection using the existing router. It's not that I particularly object to having a new router and contract but it is being without phone and broadband for around 2 weeks that is a problem.

And why get me to place a new order on Saturday and then they cancel it on Tuesday? And then get me to place a new (identical) order on Tuesday?

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Wed, 21 May 2025 17:55:13 GMT

OK, the story so far...

I had my broadband and phone cutoff because a neighbour placed a broadband order with PlusNet and they took my line.
Trying to get BT Faults to fix this was a waste of time - they insisted I had to speak to Sales.
Sales got me to place an order for broadband and phone - apparently the only way to get my issue fixed.

An Openreach engineer (sent by PlusNet) arrived and switched the lines around so my neighbour now has broadband.
BT Faults again said there was nothing they could do (even though the Openreach engineer was with me at the time).

Around the same time BT cancelled the order they had me place 3 days earlier (WHY??).
BT Sales said I had to place another new order, which I did (same as the previous one).
This time they insisted it would have to be installed by an Openreach engineer (even though I told them the engineer had just sorted out the lines). Why do I need an engineer rather than just 'Self-install' ?
The date for the engineer is early June.
BT Sales told me if I phoned today after 4pm they would be able to bring the date forward - I phoned and they can't.
I've already been without broadband and phone for 6 days. Now it looks like an additional fortnight.

I got a text today from Openreach asking whether I wanted a new line or to use my existing line.

Now I've had a plastic bag posted to me by BT so I can return my (perfectly good) BT SmartHub 2 to them even before I receive my new BT SmartHub 2. At least one part of BT is efficient.

All this is caused by a fault which is not of my making. All I wanted was the problem fixing.

I'd complain about BT's Customer Service but I don't think BT know the meaning of the words "Customer" or "Service".

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

iniltous — Wed, 21 May 2025 18:30:07 GMT

It may help to see why things have turned out like this to put in order the relevant events (as far as we know them )

Your neighbour raises an order for your address instead of their own address , as if they were moving into your address and you were moving out ( that’s the neighbours mistake or Plusnet’s mistake ) this should have converted the line in your house from a BT to a PN ‘line’ , no engineer visit is arranged or needed , it’s just a takeover with a change of ISP , presumably your service stopped because the line was disconnected from BT and re-connected to PN , you notice the issue ( you can’t use your broadband) and receive ,too late to do anything about it , a notification saying ‘sorry you are leaving’ from BT .

Your neighbour in their address wonder why the service they ordered doesn’t work on the day PN said it will , they complain to PN that there line isn’t working and hasn’t from the start , both them and Plusnet presumably not realising the address on the order was wrong , that it was your address not their address , PN raise a fault with Openreach , the OR tech physically interferes ( but shouldn’t have ) and physically moves the now working Plusnet service into your neighbours house so they now have service , (they should not have done that if the address is incorrect ) , and because of that presumably your house no longer has a physical connection in the FTTC ‘cabinet’ , so you need a brand new installation type order , not to fix your line but to replace it with a new connection , it’s possible the order that was raised and cancelled didn’t have an engineer visit , the new one being a full install will have an installer visit to your address .

The new router for the new order and returning a perfectly usable router is because the system has effectively been used as if you are a new customer is moving into your address , it’s irrelevant that this is to try and fix the initial error by your neighbour or Plusnet , and as stated at the outset , if OTS is designed to allow takeover or migration by a new ISP effectively the next day , there simply isn’t any time to realise the errors and do anything about it .

Out of curiosity, just how similar are the addresses in this case , is it understandable how your neighbour (or Plusnet ) could mix up your address with theirs ?

You may think that a ‘fault’ is the correct process it fix your line , but you need to understand you don’t have a line to fix anymore , your account was effectively closed when PN took over at your address , your neighbours and Plusnet actions mean that you need a new line , the fact you have a socket connected to the outside is irrelevant , it’s not connected to any equipment in the FTTC cabinet.

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Wed, 21 May 2025 23:55:53 GMT

The events you have summarised are correct.

The addresses are easy to confuse, especially if people don't read them carefully (or are selecting an address online from a dropdown list).

The visit from the Openreach engineer found that the connections for our two houses were next to each other in the green cabinet, but the PlusNet service had been connected to my line. He corrected this and my neighbour's service started working.
He also tested my line and could see there was a device connected to it (my router presumably). He tagged my line with my address. Obviously I no longer had a BT service.

The point about this issue being a 'fault' is that I (BT's customer) had a BT service that stopped working. It could have been for any reason. As such BT would have fixed it. Only in this specific circumstance do they decide it can't be fixed and that a new service has to be bought from their Sales department. That's poor customer service. BT should fix it (how they do that behind the scenes is irrelevant) so that the previously working service is restored.
IT ISN'T THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CUSTOMER TO FIX ISSUES CAUSED BY BT'S PROCEDURES.

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

iniltous — Thu, 22 May 2025 07:39:54 GMT

I absolutely agree that BT as your provider have to ‘fix’ (restore) your service it , but the point being made is that , through no fault of your own , but in BT’s defence no fault of theirs either , the OTS system has reduced the ‘safety barrier’ as far as the amount of time between you getting the ‘sorry to see you go’ letter and the actual takeover of your service, giving you less time to stop the error , now it’s a done deal , the only way to restore your service is by treating you as a new customer….BT could obviously not actually tell you what they are doing as far as orders etc but then you would think they are simply not restoring your service quickly and may wonder why you get new equipment , new account number etc, ….the point is that the reality of getting you back in service is a lot more complicated that you may think , it’s not just a case of switching you back ‘on’ , there is far more to it , and that’s not really your providers fault .

It possible you don’t realise BT are restricting by the regulator Ofcom and OTS into doing things the way those organisations dictate not the way BT may like , Ofcom and OTS are fixated on getting people to switch providers thinking that is good for consumers, so they continue to remove what they see as ‘barriers’ to switching , and they obviously 14 days to switch is too long , of course this allows the incompetence and in some cases sharp practise of some ISP to to go unhindered, switching people effectively against their will, but this is their bad policy , unfortunately the customer often pays the price when things go wrong .

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

garybs29 — Thu, 22 May 2025 09:40:02 GMT

If it was as simple as you think it should be it'd be done! Fact is there are regulations & guidelines to follow with everything & yes it's annoying & not the best for you but not much can be done

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

WSH — Thu, 22 May 2025 09:51:33 GMT

When the rules serve to reinforce the mistake then the rules are wrong and need to be re-written.

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Thu, 22 May 2025 12:34:07 GMT

I appreciate the original problem wasn't caused by BT.

My issue is with BT's handling of it since.

With me reporting the fault, BT should have handled everything from that point.
(Maybe that would mean BT Faults placing an 'internal' order to get my service re-instated/replaced).

What happened, though, was that I had to spend time on Saturday placing an order for a new contract.
This order was then cancelled by BT on Tuesday, so I had to spend more time on Tuesday placing a new (identical) order. This, of course, pushed me 3 days further down the list for installation.

On both Saturday and Tuesday I was told delivery would be 14 days but they would speed this up because of the circumstances. After more time on the phone with BT I found that apparently this can't be done.

And why does it need an engineer to visit, since the engineer on Tuesday (hopefully) fixed it?

Surely, given that the line is (hopefully) working and I have a working BT Smarthub 2 the (flexible) approach would be to provide the service ASAP and see if it works . Only if I still had a problem would it need an engineer.

I've already been out of action for 6.5 days (I work from home) and it looks as though it could be a total of 3 weeks (assuming no further issues).

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Thu, 22 May 2025 12:44:17 GMT

"When the rules serve to reinforce the mistake then the rules are wrong and need to be re-written."

Exactly this 👏👏👏 🙂

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

iniltous — Thu, 22 May 2025 14:28:53 GMT

And at a risk of repeating myself, the rules that need to be re-written are Ofcom and OTS ‘rules’ , not BT ‘s , BT can’t arbitrarily change them .

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Fri, 23 May 2025 10:11:31 GMT

I doubt that Ofcom's OTS rules would:-

prevent BT Faults handling this issue.
prevent BT Faults placing an internal order to reinstate/replace my lost service
make BT cancel the order they had me place on Saturday
make BT insist on another Openreach engineer's visit, even though one had just been
prevent BT Faults giving priority to this issue as a 'fault' rather than a new installation.
insist on replacing working equipment (my router) with new identical equipment.

The issue appears to be more to do with BT's rules and inflexibility than Ofcom.

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

iniltous — Fri, 23 May 2025 12:22:28 GMT

Obviously you can believe what you want ,

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

Steve-1 — Fri, 23 May 2025 14:01:21 GMT

Are you saying the list of points I made would be affected by Ofcom's rules?

What Ofcom rule would, for example, make BT cancel the order BT had me place on Saturday?

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

iniltous — Fri, 23 May 2025 14:53:28 GMT

As you have obviously made up your mind where the ‘fault’ lies, this is somewhat futile but here goes,
prevent BT Faults handling this issue.
Your service was ceased by Plusnet , this is allowed by Ofcom indeed it’s a their policy that a customer wanting to leave has no need to contact their existing provider to tell them they are leaving , so you would never be contacted except for the ‘sorry you are leaving’ letter , made somewhat redundant by the OTS system reducing the time the new company has to wait to takeover the line , giving no time for you to intervene .
prevent BT Faults placing an internal order to reinstate/replace my lost service
Yes this is prevented , how can BT faults make an internal order on your behalf, on what authority can they act on for you , plus at this point you are not even a customer as the only official status you have is as an ex customer until a provision order is raised to restore your status , irrespective of the cessation of your service being unwanted , a direct action of Plusnet or your neighbours lack of care ….Ofcom are prepared to suffer theses issues in the name of ‘competition’ or ease of switching, otherwise any migration would be two stage , get a code off the company you are leaving , give it to the new company, they check the veracity of the code ….thats how it used to be , Ofcom changed that system to the one we have now .
make BT cancel the order they had me place on Saturday
Probably a mistake based on the assumption that your service could be restored without a visit .
make BT insist on another Openreach engineer's visit, even though one had just been
As far as I’m aware the engineer visiting you was at the behest of PN for your neighbours early life failure , there service was never going to simply start given Plusnet raised the order against your address not your neighbours address , BT have no ‘visibility’ of that PN request for an Openreach visit to rectify what they saw as a failure for their customers service to simply start working , why would BT know what PN are doing
prevent BT Faults giving priority to this issue as a 'fault' rather than a new installation.
Wrong , BT have no more or less ‘priority’ than anyone else , and as explained you couldn’t have a fault raised as you were no longer a customer
insist on replacing working equipment (my router) with new identical equipment.
A procedural quirk , new customer, new equipment.

As stated , you believe what you want to believe, perhaps you think if you were a customer of a different provider , your neighbours incorrectly ordering against your address causing your service to be ceased, would have had a better outcome , we’ll never know.

Re: Best way to get broadband re-instated?

orozz — Fri, 23 May 2025 19:55:32 GMT

How are early termination fees handled in these situations? Could a customer who has done no wrong be exposed to a big bill?