BT Mini Connectors - what do BT actually send for the £10 self install charge?

[Puma937]

As a long time BT customer I recently took out a new Halo 3+ contract and requested mini connectors to self install, connecting the hub and tv box without a cable. The website clearly states - ‘They also have a power socket on the front, so you don't lose a plug socket on your wall’. The video also shows mini connectors with sockets.

I was therefore surprised to receive the BT Broadband Extender 600 kit (no sockets). Contacted BT on chat and was advised it was an error. Replacements ordered and order number provided. Was unable to track order so contacted BT the following day. The order had apparently failed - no notification from BT. The fun begins.....

Whilst on chat the advisor placed another order which failed as we were online, then placed another order for the same incorrect 600 kit. I noticed this and requested it was cancelled. I was passed to a supervisor who again ordered the 600 kit without sockets, when I alerted him to this fact he told me that the order would be cancelled. He then said that I should order the 600 flex kit myself for £50 at the BT shop..... or contact the Loyalty Team who I had placed the original order with.

Spoke to Loyalty that evening and was informed that they couldn’t help. Told to call back the following day as my Halo 3+ order was still showing as open - no amendments could be made. The next day (guess what) a 600 kit (no sockets) was delivered. Called Loyalty and asked them to check - I had been charged £24.99.

Loyalty understood my frustrations and spoke to connections about the issue. They assured me 100% that the correct mini connectors with sockets were going to be sent. The next day..... you guessed it, another 600 kit (no sockets) was received. I now have 3 sets of mini connectors and three charges on my account - 2 x £10 and a £24.99 - what a joke.

Called Loyalty again and threatened to cancel my new contract - was immediately told that they would be sending the correct mini connectors. Passed to Connections and after a 20min wait, the advisor told me that he had ordered the 600 flex kit. Passed back to a different Loyalty advisor and was told that I had been charged £49.99 + £4.00 postage - you couldn’t make this up. He informed me that the kit being sent to me was actually the top of the range 1000 broadband extenders in black, which would have sockets and do the same job as the mini connectors. Even though I questioned whether they would work with complete Wi-fi. After a lengthy conversation he agreed to waive the £49.99 charge. 

Today I have received the mini connectors shown on this page - a discontinued model, not the 1000 kit:-

https://www.bt.com/help/tv/getting-set-up/setting-up-bt-tv/bt-mini-connectors-for-bt-tv

Can anyone advise what mini connectors they have received, or which ones BT should be sending out? Is the info on stage 4 of the online order process incorrect - clearly stating that the connectors have ‘front sockets’?

So far I have received 4 sets and been charged a total (with no visibility of exactly how much) - £84.99. 
I have spent 3 hours on chat and another 3 hours on calls with BT. No one has any knowledge of the BT products they provide. Shambolic !

[DarrenDev]

The mini connectors shown on that page are the 1000 model - they're the best, but they're in very short supply which is why they're no-longer sold in the BT shop. It's currently just luck which model you receive - I've placed 2 orders myself and received one set of the "mini" connectors (i.e. the good ones, which are ironically larger than the other models) and one set of the Extender 600 (which has no pass through plug, and runs a little slower).
Ultimately though - they're all good enough to run the TV box at its maximum speed. They also all interoperate OK. The only issue is the lack of pass through socket if you're short.

[Puma937]

Thanks for the response - poor customer service though from BT to receive 3 sets of the 600 ‘extender’ kits and finally the correct mini connectors with pass through sockets, that should have been sent in the first place. Charged over £80 for a £10 option.

The 11 staff I spoke to had no knowledge of the product that should be sent or what I was actually being charged for. My account only states ‘mini connector pair’ on each order, no model number - very poor.

The disappointing thing is to be charged full price by the connections team for 2 of the sets and be told that the last set was a black version of below:-

https://shop.bt.com/products/bt-broadband-extender-flex-1000-kit-080219-BB4X.html

I can find no tech details for the 1000 model that you state I have received. If they are the same as the above (just different cases), why are the costs so different. For all the inconvenience, it was made out to me that BT were sending me something way and above the normal mini connectors that should be sent. When in fact I have been sent the normal mini connectors, that anyone selecting the £10 self install option should receive. 

[DarrenDev]

I'm not in the best position to comment on what the process should have been, but I don't believe the agents should have promised you a specific model. The £10 offer for mini connectors is for BT TV customers and is a special price to get the service up and running - both models will satisfy that requirement.
I'm afraid I can't really offer any assistance as this isn't my area, but my suggestion would be to keep the larger mini connectors you've been sent and then give us a call to return/refund all the others.