Broadband package changed without being informed

[Boo_or_boo-urns]

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Found out recently that my package has changed without being informed. Has this happened for anyone else. 

I signed up for 40-50mbps but the website is now saying 29-32mbps with the guaranteed speeds being lowered.

Email when I signed up:

What the website now says I have:

I know it's not a huge difference but ultimately that's not the package I've signed up for.

Is anyone able to help or advise here? Agents on the live chat and phone don't seem to listen to the fact the package has changed and keep saying there's a fault in the line

[imjolly · Accepted solution]

your package has not changed as still appears to be Fibre 1 but your estimated speed range has dropped.  this is not unusual as more people are added to cabinet and speeds drop due to crosstalk.  have you checked your connection stats in your hub/router and seen if there is any change to your current connection speed

remember the speeds BT quote are just estimates and you may well have a better speed

[iniltous]

You have a misunderstanding of how the FTTC system works and how the information about how your line should perform is reported, if you signed up expecting around 50Mb , ( you are on Fibre 1 )  some on this package will get the ‘full’ 55Mb speed product limit some will get less , FTTC ( fibre to the cabinet ) is rate adaptive, the longer the line from the cabinet the slower the speed , plus line defects and poorly installed or faulty internal wiring ( the first thing Openreach responsibility, the second thing the customer’s responsibility) can affect line speed …when you sign up , it’s an estimate of what your line should achieve based on a mathematical model, after you have been a customer , there is actual line performance data to base the speed range on, but no one has altered anything , your line is exactly the same as it was and will perform pretty much as it did regardless of the speed estimate, 

Your  product ( Fibre 1 ) hasn’t changed , your line hasn’t changed , no reason to think the speed you get will change.

There is the possibility that as more customers join your cabinet there is more ‘crosstalk’ which could affect speed but  again this is simply a consequence of how the system works not a manual intervention aimed at you and isn’t a change to your product.

Its possible that the real data the ‘new’ estimate is based on is lower than the first estimate , because there is an issue that needs addressing, like a line fault , ( causing a reduction in speed rather that killing it ) the estimates are really there so should the performance fall to below that level it’s an indication that something may be wrong, your router stats will give a better indication of your lines potential and actual performance 

[Boo_or_boo-urns]

Thanks for the response @imjolly  and that makes sense.

Yeah the speed is generally fine, albeit not in the original 40-50 (it was when the service started), but as you say, I assume that more people are on the cabinet since then.

I've marked yours as the solution, once again thanks for help

[Boo_or_boo-urns]

Thanks for the detailed response as well @iniltous !

Just for clarity, I wasn't expecting it to always be 50mbps all the time. It was generally more about being told I had different speeds to what I signed up (so what the website says my current plan is)

But everything I've been sent all makes sense, disappointing that the guaranteed speed has been lowered but I can make do for now.

Just need to wait for FTTP to be available in my area 🤞

[iniltous]

As already stated , you possibly could get your speed back to where it was , it isn’t necessarily simply because  there are more FTTC customers on your cab, without examining your router stats , or doing some basic tests yourself it’s impossible to tell ….if you are not already connected to the master socket , move your router here ( even temporarily ) plugged into the master socket test port , if speed improves it could be something on your own wiring , or try a corded phone in the test port , dial 17070 quiet line test, if any noise present, report the line faulty, ( TBH if customer service have said the line is faulty they may be right ) it could be a fault on the line that’s reduced your speed…but the router stats can be very helpful