BT Infinity repeatedly dropping connection, and is extremely slow.

[tombradley86]

I've had BT Infinity since before Christmas and not really experienced any problems.  However, at weekends I seem to have a constant drop out multiple times.  The Hub light goes from solid blue to flashing orange with the broadband light flashing red.  It will do this for 5 minutes and then go back to a full blue light.  It always happens at weekends, and considering the most time I use broadband is at weekend, this is extremely frustrating.  On a further note the download speeds seems to be getting slower and slower.

I seem to be fine during the week, but as soon as the weekend comes round BANG flashing orange with a red flashing broadband light.

I've tried to phone through to customer services, and had absolutely no luck.  Can anyone help me at all, is anyone experiencing the same problems?  I'm not pretending to be a computer expert but this is getting ridiculous now.

Any help would be appreciated.

Tom Bradley

[tombradley86]

Is there a mod or anyone that can help? I'm now only getting around 2mb download what is going on?

[tombradley86]

Anybody?

[StuartH]

Hi TomBradley86

I can have it investigated for you.

Send us an email using the contact the mods link in my profile you will find it in the section 'About Me'.

If you can include any speedtest information from http://speedtest.btwholesale.com in your email that will help. 

Thanks

Stuart

[snowglobe]

I see I'm not the only one with this problem. BT will send you a generic email (see below) , in which they will offer to send out an engineer to diagnose the problem but then threaten you with a £130 charge if they deem the issue to be of your own making. I am currently trying to escalate my own issue but don't hold out much hope. I wish you well with yours.



Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support centre. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 14 days.

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Subject
Twitter Form

Discussion Thread
Response (xxxxxxxxx) 26/01/2014 10:44 AM
Hello Mr Xxxx,

Thanks for your email about your BT Infinity. I’m sorry your connection keeps dropping out. I called you on XXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXX, sorry I missed you.

We’ve run some tests
I ran some tests today, but I couldn’t see any problems on our network - so we need to make sure this isn’t a problem with your wireless. I’ll need you to do a few checks and tell me a few things, so I can find out what the problem is.

• Do you turn your Home Hub off and on a lot? Your broadband performs much better when you leave the hub on all the time. If you’re worried about how much electricity it uses, you can run the hub in power save mode. You can find out more about it http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/11354/kw/power%20save/c/346,1887,1890
• Check your micro filters to see if they’re faulty - you can see how to do that http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10285/kw/microfilters/c/346,407,752

• Have a look at your Openreach modem - are the lights staying a stable green?

• When the connection goes, do the lights on your hub stay the same, or do they flash/change colour?

• If the lights flash or change colour, plug your hub in to your main BT socket for at least 48 hours, then keep an eye on the connection to see if you have any more drops. If you do, just reply to this email.

If they stay the same, the problem’s with your wireless, not with our network.

If the problem’s with your wireless
You could try a different wireless channel. Channels 1, 6 and 11 tend to work best but try them all to find out which one works best in your home. You can see how to do that http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14094/kw/change%20wireless%20channel/c/346,407,410
Sometimes other electrical gadgets get in the way of your wireless signal - it’s called wireless interference. To find out more about it and how to stop it happening, click http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14976/kw/wireless%20interference/c/346,502,505
Once you’ve run all those checks
If you’re still having trouble, reply to my email and let me know what you found in those checks. That will help me figure out if you need an engineer to do more work.

Engineer visits
If we send an engineer out to you, they’ll check our network and your home setup. If they find the problem’s with our network, the visit’s free. If the problem’s at your end (like your wiring, the way you’ve connected your equipment, or wireless interference), we’ll have to charge you £129.99.

Need some more help?
Could you email us with a date that would work for you, in case we need to send an engineer out? We’ll do our best to get you an appointment on that day. Our appointments are Monday to Friday, in the morning (8am to 1pm) or the afternoon (1pm to 6pm).
Thank you for contacting BT.

Best Wishes

XXXXXXXXXX XXXXX
BT My Help And Support Advisor

This email contains BT information, which may be privileged or confidential. It's meant only for the individual(s) or entity named above. If you're not the intended recipient, note that disclosing, copying, distributing or using this information is prohibited. If you've received this email in error, please let me know immediately on the email address above. Thank you. We monitor our email system, and may record your emails.
British Telecommunications plc

Registered office: 81 Newgate Street London EC1A 7AJ Registered in England no: 1800000
Auto-Response 25/01/2014 04:04 PM
Thanks for getting in touch. We just want you to know that we've got your e-mail. Your reference number is 140125-008544

We are experiencing high volume at the moment and will be in contact as soon as possible (from an 0800 number). If you need to get in touch with us again, just reply to this email.

[gg30340]

Hi snowglobe,

BT are not threatening you with a £130 charge if the fault is within your property they are advising you that there will be a charge if they find the fault has nothing to do with their equipment. This is to ensure that you are aware of that. Would you rather they never told you and just sent you a bill. If you called out any utility such as electric, gas and water you would be in the same position. If the fault is outwith your property it is their problem, within your property it is your problem.

As regards your problem if you post exactly what the problem is, what type of homehub you have, if any of the lights on the homehub and/or modem change colour and what if anything you have tried to fix the problem, somebody on the forum may be able to help you.

[snowglobe]

FAO The Moderators

Please find below my response to the email in the above post. I believe my points are relevant and pertinent. Being assured by your representative that she is "99% sure" I will not be charged means nothing. I simply cannot afford to take the chance that I might face the charge. I respectfully request this now be treated as a complaint and that it be escalated to the necessary level. If this can be done sooner rather than later it would be greatly appreciated.

Sir / Madam

So far today the connection has remained stable. I would just like to make the following points.

1) We have Infinity so micro filters aren't an issue.

2) We have Home Hub 4 so the need to change channels shouldn't be an issue.

3) The light on the Home Hub changes from blue to orange when broadband drops out. I haven't noticed what happens with the modem.

4) We never switch the Hub or modem off. In any case, the equipment is still set up exactly how your engineer installed it when we first moved into this address in June of last year. By the way, I know the engineer. He used to live four doors from us at our previous address!

5) You don't have to charge £129.99 for an engineer to visit. This is undoubtedly a punitive figure, designed to dissuade people with genuine problems from seeking assistance "just in case" it's something they've done wrong. I am currently unemployed and £129.99 is near enough what I get in JSA - IN A FORTNIGHT!

Points 1 and 2, by the way, could've been covered by a quick look at our account history, instead of the usual lazy Customer Service that large organisations seem to delight in and just sending out a generic email. Your company acts as if it were a monopoly (and in many ways it is) and as always happens in such scenarios, it is the consumer who suffers.

Regards

[snowglobe]

£130 is a punitive charge which bears no relation to the actual costs associated. In that respect it is a threat.

[gg30340]

Snowglobe

This is a BT residential customer to customer forum. Your post does not go to BT. The only BT staff are the forum moderators who do not necessarily read all the posts.

Have you come on here just to have a go at BT customers services or would you like some help with fixing your problem. If you would like some help it will mean you doing some things such as changing settings and disconnecting things to establish if the fault is with the homehub/Openreach modem or with the line.

If you don't want to do this there is little that the forum can do other than advise you to contact BT and ask them for an engineer to call.

[snowglobe]

Which is why I have specifically replied to a moderator's post. Presumably, they receive some kind of alert when this happens.