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Message 1 of 10

How to get BT attention

Hi folks,

Looking for advice on how to get BT to properly address a major structural issue affecting our local area.

  • Had issues for >5 years.
  • Whenever it rains, there's so much static on landline cannot have a call for days afterward.
  • Knock-on effect to broadband which loses connection entirely for days on end.
  • BT send engineers who patch it up temporarily; when issue recurrs I open a new fault report and cycle repeats
  • Engineers told us verbally that the line between exchanges to the nearest town is in a bad state and would need entirely replacing. Told it's likely poor insulation, small amount of water can disable it.

As a consumer I don't have an interface with BT to get this kind of job done. I can just keep logging faults with low tier support and repeat with engineers starting with the basics like which socket is my phone plugged into. They patch it up, mark it as complete and it fails again soon after.

Any advice?

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Message 2 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention

the phone line has nothing to do with BT Retail but is responsibility of openreach (NOT BT openreach now).  you need to report your line problem to whichever company you pay to supply your phone line and broadband if you have it.  others in your area also need to report the problem to their ISP

there is no connection from this forum to openreach



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Message 3 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention

Hi @imjolly thanks for the reply.

My phone provider and ISP is BT. I'm not getting anything like the service i'm paying BT for as a result of this issue with the lines in the area. I've raised a complaint to BT about this. Do you think they will be able to root cause it or shall I also raise it with Openreach directly as a consumer?

Thanks very much for this super helpful info

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Message 4 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention

you are not an openreach customer so they will not discuss your problem  as you are a BT customer then you need to report your line problem to CS 150 or 0800800150 from mobile



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Message 5 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention

As the intention (although not likely to happen) is to remove all copper lines in the network by 2025 I can't see Openreach spending the thousands of pounds necessary to renew the copper cables. You just need to hope that the fibre infrastructure comes along before too long.

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Message 6 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention

Thanks @licquorice , i'll probably raise it with the ombudsman as I'm not getting the service being paid for and access to phone/internet is ever more critical during the pandemic especially for the vulnerable who live alone. 

 
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Message 7 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention


@adamgrahamwrote:

Thanks @licquorice , i'll probably raise it with the ombudsman as I'm not getting the service being paid for and access to phone/internet is ever more critical during the pandemic especially for the vulnerable who live alone. 

 

The Ombudsman will ask you to give BT 8 weeks to resolve your complaint or issue you with a deadlock, ADR is for when you reach a final decision with a provider and can't agree resolution, you said you raised a complaint but was that within 8 weeks ?

BT have a process for supporting vulnerable customers, they can register it with BT, there's also process for chronically sick or disabled person (CSDP) which includes priorty repairs, more info at www.bt.com/includingyou

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Message 8 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention

I had a similar problem. Noisy line after bad weather causing broadband issues. It gradually got worse over a couple of years. BT would test the line, decide the problem had gone away and close the fault. Next batch of bad weather the problem was back.

The moment BT closed the fault I reported it again. After several complaints an Openreach engineer was eventually despatched. On arrival he told me he knew immediately what the problem was as HE’d reported a broken inspection cover and flooded cable box several times over previous YEARS and it was still broken. He took me up the road to show me. I then contacted the ombudsmen. Two Openreach engineers arrived (one seemed to be a Manager and the other an Engineer). They tested my installation, detected a fault outside, I pointed out the damaged cover and a few weeks later it was fixed. I guess all-in-all it took 4 or 5 months to resolve from my initial fault report. I did get an apology and £30 compensation.

My advice, get the ombudsmen involved as soon as possible as these intermittent faults can take forever to resolve unless Openreach is pushed into investigating them properly.

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Message 9 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention

Hi @adamgraham welcome back to the community and thanks for posting, I'm really sorry the fault with your line keeps returning. I've sent you a private message so you can contact the community moderation team if you'd like our assistance. We'd be happy to raise this with Openreach on your behalf. 

Thanks

Neil

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Message 10 of 10

Re: How to get BT attention

For the benefit of the original poster:

I'm not sure how to post a link to another thread,  so I'll basically reiterate what I've said elsewhere.    At the age of 64,  I've had more than my share of issues with telephone-related problems,  many of those issues having been with BT.    As a general rule,  the cycle of reporting a fault via conventional means,  having it looked at,  BT declaring it fixed,  and the cycle repeating,  will continue as long as you allow it to.    Everyone must decide where their own cutoff point lies,  but personally,  after this had happened a maximum of twice,  I would address the issue directly to the CEO  ( nowadays it isn't that hard to find CEO e-mail addresses online ).    At one time,  that e-mail would actually get read by the CEO  ( one of the experiences to which I refer occurred some fifteen years ago;   I can tell you with my hand on my heart that aside from getting the problem rectified,  the compensation we received  -  a combination of gestures and actual cash  -  added up to not far short of a thousand pounds,  because the CEO  -  unlike any of his staff  -  had the power,  and luckily the conscience,  to make it so ).    Nowadays,  of course,  there is a filtering system,  and the e-mail will be read and dealt with,  most likely,  by someone in the  'executive office'  -  which in reality could still be five or six echelons down from the CEO,  but will still usually yield more results than speaking to someone on 150 who will tell you to try plugging your phone into the internal master socket.

Even then,  there is no guarantee that your problem will be resolved  -  there never is.    Beyond a certain point,  the provider will tell you that you simply have no choice but to live with it  -  or live without it,  if that's your choice.    Weirdly  -  as I've been told by three separate providers  -  the consumer cannot directly be considered an Openreach customer,  hence the fact that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to contact Openreach directly,  and even if you do,  there's a good chance they'll simply refer you back to your provider.    At the same time,  the provider  -  who,  technically,  is an Openreach customer inasmuch as they pay Openreach to do the work  -  will tell you that they cannot compel Openreach to take any particular course of action,  no matter how staggeringly obvious that course of action may be.

All of this will take time,  of course,  and therefore will be extremely inconvenient.    This fact will not faze any provider significantly.    The Ombudsman is always the final alternative,  but again,  this will take considerable amounts of time,  and statistically,  the likelihood of the Ombudsman finding in favour of the complainant is not great.    Even then,  the chances of them instructing either BT or Openreach as applicable to perform major repairs that will cost in the order of thousands of pounds,  for the sake of a single customer,  are negligible to non-existent.    The earlier suggestion that you enlist the support of other consumers affected by the same problem is a good one,  although even then the journey will be a long and bumpy one,  and even then there is no absolute guarantee of success.    All the while,  you're left to suffer a massively-below-par service whilst still being expected to pay for it at the going rate.

I know it sounds bleak:  this has been my experience.    I wish it were a prettier picture,  but my aim in posting this is to keep expectations,  both of the original poster and of anyone else reading this post,  realistic.

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