Hi all. I've read through some related posts back in 2017 but didn't really find it much use as everyone on there already had speeds I can only dream of.
Long story short...
In 2017 I was guaranteed a speed of 2mb. Thing's were reasonable and I was actually receiving nearer 6mb which was just about enough for what I needed it for. This never really fluctuated much and the connection was pretty stable.
Since then they have dropped the guaranteed speed to 1mb which is just ridiculous. I'm told my minimum guaranteed upload speed is.... wait for it.... 0mb. The line is dropping anywhere up to 28 times a day when I'm told 4 is the real maximum that is acceptable. My current speeds peak at just below 2mb but during peak hours this can be as low as around 0.5mb. Pictures don't load as the upload is so slow and I can barely stream video in 480p, let alone do a zoom meeting.
So after wasting more time than I can actually fathom trying to resolve this I'm told this is acceptable. Engineers have been out to my house and open reach have dug up half the road fixing a fault they supposedly found but it made no difference at all, in fact I think they may have even made it worse as before hand I was actually getting closer to 3mb!
I've been to the ombudsmen but other than 1 email dating 2017 stating my minimum guaranteed speed of 2mb I simply have no evidence. The decision is soon to be made but ultimately I think it's just been more of my time wasted and I think the resolution will be a goodwill gesture of £60 which just doesn't help me at all.
So I'm left thinking about small claims court. I have recorded (with their acknowledgement) a near 2hr phone call from BT and in the recording is all the evidence I feel I need. We talked about my line dropping non stop, and the fact that my minimum speed guarantee has been purposefully dropped, most likely to stop me pursuing a complaint as it still meets their criteria.
I'm not trying to gain money for poor service, I simply want to get back to the speeds I know the line is capable of. I'm a mile from the exchange and I believe the copper cable is degrading faster than they can repair it. There is a lot of noise on my line and I believe that BT are simply ignoring the situation as it's not in their interest to fix.
There are no other options for me in terms of 4g mobile broadband etc so I'm left paying £30 a month for a 1mb connection. We won't be getting fiber for years yet and with technology moving the speed it is I'm already feeling left behind.
Has anyone had any similar experiences or had any luck going to small claims?
Any help or advice is welcome as I'm at the end of my tether.
