Ongoing broadband fault which BT / OR can't resolve - how can I escalate my complaints

[johnnythedep]

Do these dropouts coincide with poor weather ( raining ) - nail / head

It has been noted by us a that wet weather seems to make it worse but also we have this issue less frequently on weekends and this was conveyed to BT and to the OR engineers (one who said our local street box was notorious for ingress of water).   They are aware of this and on several occasions have said that they have gone back to the box and remedied an issue there... but we still have the problem.  

I also asked why we seem to have greater issues during school holidays (increased consumer use?) but they insist this can't be the case and it is coincidence.  

[johnnythedep]

OR attended this morning.

Engineer queried the issue since the last visit on the 17th as they had no record of drop out or problems... till I reeled off the dates and times (since the 17th) which I have been recording in a book.  At which point they (2 of them) proceeded to test the line and could see a fault.

Apparently they have rectified a potentially degraded joint/connection and as a matter of course moved our fibre at the box connection over to a free adjacent port.  Both engineers found it odd that we were given a 'new' router 3 months ago and they have given us the old model router, which in their opinion is likely reconditioned.

I'll wait and see if BT contact me to discuss the matter and make an offer of compensation, especially as our contract is up in 4 weeks or so.

[Perceptive]

Do not tell BT if a family member sometimes uses the line to communicate with their employer as it muddies the waters. - If she is home based: Your wife should tell her employer of the line issues because her employer my pay for a new completely separate dedicated line that she can use for work.

Sorry to hear about the problems with your line and that BT, via Openreach, have not fixed the issues.

From the sound of it you still have a copper line in an area which is known to suffer from deteriorating external cabling and connections.

If you still have a landline telephone operating on the same line and you hear any crackling on the line then concentrate on that for complaints as that should be a priority.

There was a Quiet Line Test to test for noise on the phone line, ie; "Run a quiet line test by dialing 17070 on your telephone. After hearing the your telephone number read out, press option 2 to run the test. You'll hear "Quiet line test" spoken on repeat. Listen out for noise between the prompts and hang up when you feel you understand if noise is or isn't there."

If there is a noise on the telephone and it is cured it is also likely to cure your internet issues.

These days, with DECT Phoned, extension wiring should not be needed but  to eliminate any internal wiring, (if you have any), you could take the bettom section off the front cover off the BT master socket and use the test socket located behind it as when using the test socket any internal wiring/extensions will be out of the loop. - Plug a  filter into the test socket and connect your router to the RJ11 socket on the filter and the phone line to the other and see how that goes. 

A check for line quality/line deterioration that you may be able to make via your router is the Signal To Noise Margin and line attenuation. As I recall it should be around 6 db, (a good clear line can work at a low SNR of3), and a line with issues the SNR is over 9 or higher. - The SNR level should be sey by the DESLAM in the Openreach Network but once it gets high it stays high for a long time but a stage 2 engineer can reset it after the faults are cured. - As your SNR increases your line speed usually decreases.

As for a Second Level Engineer to Visit, (after you have eliminated any internal wiring via using the test socket as an internal wiring defect could result in a charge for you).

After your line is repaired keep check the SNR perioducally, especial if Openreach have been working on the system as your you do not want your clear line to be accidentally moved.

Changing ISP before it is repaired would not help as the duff line issues will start from scratch. 

If you are in a cable area, Virgin Media may be better or if you can persuade BT/Openreach to use FTTP to eliminate the know hassles in your area.

The BT Complaints Process should have three stages. - Try to ensure that it is in writing as you can keep a contemporaneous record. 

[johnnythedep]

So the complaint /fault 'appeared' to be resolved (with compensation accepted by us) and... 2 weeks down the line we have 4-5mbps download speeds and ANOTHER engineer booked to come out on Monday!  

To top it all off I spoke to a guide on the phone who offered us a better 'smart hub' if we entered into a new 24 mth contract but if we didn't sign up, no upgraded hub!   

BT/Openreach are fascicle in resolving issues.