Mobile Coverage Disaster

[Shaz1]

Hi
*sorry in advance it’s a long one but worth the time reading*
18 months ago I joined Bt Mobile after leaving o2 possibly the worst mistake I’ve made ever!!
I live 6miles from the border in Ireland Before you ask yes I did all the signal checks for inside and outside my home and where I worked at the time (30 miles away) and everything pointed to good signal in the home - which I don’t have Bt sent out a booster box works fabulous in the house I can finally make and receive calls in the house.
The coverage checker for outside my home and at my old and new place of work was stated as good to excellent - which it’s not I ok can make calls most of the time but they drop out mid call same goes for calls I receive some don’t even get through all I get is a txt saying I’ve a missed call. So frustrating.
Numerous calls to Bt numerous times calls cut off while been transferred. Losing patience, made to feel like I was imagining a fault where there wasn’t one as none showed on their systems, leaving it hoping it would mysteriously improve. Yeah right!!
One of my recent interactions with them the advisor quite briskly replied to my complaint with but you have the home booster it works doesn’t it to which I replied yeah but I can’t take that out of the home with me where I’m having problems also at my workplace he replied don’t they have Wi-fi can’t you use it he then cut my call of when transferring me.
I called again got a lovely lady who put my complaint on the system again and said someone would be in touch higher up the complaint ladder they did and I was assured I’d receive another call from someone else in few days they did eventually he actually said he’d been trying to get in touch with me an couldn’t if that’s true obviously then there’s a signal issue when I’ve received no such calls.
It was on this call that I’d had enough as his attitude at me obviously not answering their calls that I never received or they never made really was the final straw.
So I let him know exactly what I thought about their denial about coverage issues. As the day before our daughter collapsed and repeatedly stopped breathing thankfully she’s on the mend but when I really needed my phone to work to get in contact with my husband to let him know where we were it wouldn’t work. Understandably I was emotional shortly after 10-15 mins I got another call as they couldn’t resolve the issue they’d send out a dead lock letter.
Until today I planned to pay off rest of contract and be finished with them once an for all as I thought and Bt let me think I was the only person having these problems. I’m contacting Ofcom today thanks for reading my post sorry it was so long 👍🏻

[Dean007]

Hi @Shaz1

First of all glad to hear your daughter is on the mend, and sorry to hear of the issues you have had.

Unfortunately, the coverage maps are just a guide and not that acurrate but BT like all mobile networks have to supply one for guidance. However that does not excuse the type of services you have explained.

BT Mobile runs on the back of EE, so if EE change or upgrade a local mast most of the time it is out of BT's control. The agents you speak to often work off scripts which doesnt help. If you are unable to get reception indoors then you were lucky and got offered a signal box. But to be honest there is very little they can do regarding outdoor coverage. 

You could check to see if there is any network issues in your area that could be affecting your outdoor signal, I will put the link below. Although you have a deadlock letter if you want me to ask one of the moderators to look into for you.. they are a one stop shop and a very friendly bunch. They cant always resolve things the way we like but they do take ownership of things. 

BT/EE Network Checker

[Shaz1]

I check regularly if there are any service issues or problems when I’m having problems with it. There were never was any reports of anything when I checked I have family and friends who are on EE and they aren’t having any of the difficulties I have been.
Also at the time I needed to contact my husband about my daughter my phone showed 1-2 bars of signal but wouldn’t ring out and then would jump to show No Service. I had to use the hospital’s Wi-fi to make my call to him and our other family members.
When my sister inlaw came in to visit her on the 30th I put our phones together she has EE and had full signal I had none I even tried switching off the automatic network selection and the available networks were Bt/ o2 and Vodafone and even though I selected Bt it came up no service.
I think it may have been one of the moderators who contacted me that night as I was leaving for the Hospital
I even offered one of the advisors to meet Bt half way with the remainder of the cost on the contract I am happy to pay what’s left on the phone but not the remaining cost of the service each month which I’m not getting the value off to leave the contract early.
If you feel there’s anything you can do to come to a resolution by all means look into it.

[Dean007]

Hi @Shaz1

let’s ask a moderator to come have a chat. They may not be able to do anymore that’s been done but let’s see. 

They are a friendly bunch and they will try and help. 

[Shaz1]

Ok I’m happy to give it another try with a moderator especially as I now know that’s is not an isolated issue and is effecting Bt customers UK wide.

[Dean007]

Hi @Shaz1

I appreciate you haven’t had the best experience but coverage affects all networks and not just BT. 

Whilst based on your comments here, agents haven’t handled the situation as you would have liked there is very little that can be done with door coverage as many factors impact this other than offer a signal box or Wi-fi calling if you have a handset that supports this. 

Recently BT launched Wi-fi and 4G calling, Wi-fi calling tries to battle poor indoor coverage. Building regulations mean as we try and make homes more efficient they block out     Signal penetration. 

In regards to outdoor coverage, the launch of 4G calling ( also known as VoLTE) introduces a new frequency band on transmitters providing your handset supports it. As well as introducing better quality calls it allows customer more access to the network. Non of this doesn’t help if you don’t have coverage,  and I’m not sure how they could combat that. 

Have they tried a sim swap? 

A moderator should pop by shortly. 

[Shaz1]

Yeah I appreciate buildings can effect quality of signal coverage but other networks can manage it o2 Vodafone 3 etc but for some reason not Bt I’ve stood beside someone using each of the above networks and they have no problems but my problem isn’t just in doors it’s outside of buildings also ie I was a passenger in a car today I had bars but a call I was on dropped out.
I have numerous texts to inform me of call I’ve missed that didn’t come through especially the ones that I apparently missed while holding my phone and having signal. And repeatedly being told by family members and work colleagues that they had been trying to contact me. In regards to a sim swap it was never offered.

[JohnC2]

Hi @Shaz1 sorry we haven’t been able to resolve your complaint. 

As you have been issued with your deadlock letter your complaint cannot be reviewed again by us as we have provided our final position. You’ve got the option to take your complaint outside of BT, to the Ombudsman. They offer free, independent help, for disputes like this. Their contact details will have been included in your letter.

Thanks
John