BT Need to Update Their Systems for FTTP Products for my Post Code

[naylor2006]

Hi all.

I have been trying to order FTTP from BT since the 28th of September when Openreach finished the work. My Postcode is BS21 7XT and no one in my street can order Full Fibre. We have even had flyers through the door telling us to order but we scan the QR code and cannot.

Calling Sales does not seem to get me anywhere who keep asking me to wait till the systems update and they have sent some form off to Openreach to update BT.

All during this time the majority of other ISP's on Openreach fibre have all updated, Sky and TalkTalk being two of them. After weeks of calling up trying to get somewhere it feels like I am being trolled by BT when just yesterday they sent me two Full Fibre leaflets to my address, scan the QR code and FTTC is all I see.

During this time I have managed to speak to someone at Openreach who have told me that BT have not done what they need to to make Full Fibre available for us, I even have specifics:

The details are as follows: On the following system - SiteScreen - Address Validation and Product Availability (WBC ADSL/Superfast & 21C Superfast, EFM or Fibre) Tool, the following information is indicated - No cable link available on the Specified L2S ID. Please raise a cable link request via sales tool.

So basically BT need to raise this cable link for our postcode. Im so bored of calling up trying to order just incase the sales agent can help further than the last one but they never can, I am just told there is nothing we can do until the system updates....but I now know that the system will never update because BT havent raised this cable link where as other ISP's have.

Okay sure I can join another ISP such as Sky who will do TV and FullFibre replacing my Virgin setup but BT offer the fairest pricing in my opinion. I am here, wanting to sign up for 900mbps and Big Sport for 24 months and I literally cant give my money and commitment to BT, nor can my neighbours and people in the surround post codes. Its crazy, there is 100's of houses who have been limited to Virgin for years and years and now we have a new option, but one we cant take, surely BT would rather we all join them rather than go to Sky for example.

Finally after about 15 phone calls and a collective 5 hours on the phone I got through to someone in the connections team who have raised a TOTL ticket and they said this should hopefully get someone to investigate, I lack faith a little however given how its gone so far. Currently I am on a rollling contract with Virgin so I can leave any time, however to get into this rolling contract was one of the hardest things I have ever done and its costing me an unreasonable amount, however I accept this is not BT's problem but it adds a certain fuel to my fire.

Dear BT, I just want to order your services please and give you my money, can you help?

[imjolly]

Just because openreach have finished installing in your area there is still more work to be done before your service will be active.  This is driven by openreach not BT, TT or SKY.  openreach will update their database to show FTTP is available at your address and then you will be able to order

Try entering your address and post results including notes

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

[licquorice]

Talk Talk and Sky will use a different backhaul cable link from the headend. It's not just a database update required, it is a physical connection to BTs backhaul network.

[naylor2006]

Whilst what you say makes sense and I would understand stand if there is still backend work to do….then why have BT put though 3 ‘Order Full Fibre Now’ through my door?

I literally says it’s ready on my doorstep, these leaflets have been put through every door around here.

[naylor2006]

Then why leaflet us in our post code telling us it’s ready?

[licquorice]

As in all big organisations, the left hand is totally unaware of the right hand.

[naylor2006]

Everyone on Sales has told me it should be there also, if once BT told me there is a physical link missing I’d have not wasted so much time. But they haven’t and they have leafleted me on two separate occasions…it’s poor from BT really.

Considering how closely BT and Openreach have been affiliated over the years you’d imagine  BT would be one of the first, or at least before some of the ISP’s I’ve never heard of before. I’ve checked the entire ISP list, BT are more or less the only ones.

[imjolly]

@naylor2006 

If there was any question of BT RETAIL getting preferential treatment from openreach then the other ISPs would take great delight in informing OFCOM getting BT fined

[naylor2006]

But that’s not my point.

Besides Openreach don’t need to do anything here, BT need to initiate something and they haven’t…and whilst they haven’t that have been posting leaflets through our doors telling us to order.

I would have expected BT not to be 3 weeks behind other companies in doing this.

Something is clearly wrong on their side, even Openreach have said it’s BT’s fault.

[naylor2006]

Thought I would update this post to explain where I am at, its been quite the painful journey.

Checking my Post Code BS21 7XT and any number in my street on the BTWholesale Checker will result in the following message:

FTTP is not available.

The exchange is not in a current fibre priority programme

In fact the neighbouring road and their neighbour road's post also are all not showing FTTP, yet the same folks can all order talktalk, vodafone, Sky....and other providers I forget now.

So its clear, BTWholesale either havent updated their database and/or havent done the work required in their infra at the exchange or otherwise to provide FTTP. Sky and the other lot have, perhaps they share a wholesaler....

28th of September Openreach completed the fibre work and since then BT have given me so many mixed messages, problem is the front line and second line sales guys dont have the information available to them, it is a computer says no type of thing. Openreach have been clear even to me, their work is done.

After one agent said the best thing to do was to place an order for Fibre 1 (2) and this should kick start things I believed them, then a week later I called back to check on the process and another agent said that they can cancel this order, wait 24 hours then he will call me back and put me through to a sales specialist who will be able to manually place a Fibre 900 order. Sure enough he cancelled my original order, called me back the next day then cold transferred me through to someone who had no idea what I was on about or what they were supposed to do, then I was transferred through to sales support who again had no idea what this dude was on about, so I was pretty annoyed, ive been messed about so much trying to order a product, sure why not go elsewhere but BT's pricing for Sport is too good. That whole thing took 2 hours and before that I had been calling each time they had sent me a leaflet to order, ive had 3 on different days.

Long story short, ive spend hours on the phone to different people convincing me of different things so I wrote to the complaints department and detailed the entire situation, not necessarily to complain but to get someone with clout.....I contained things like Openreach's notes that they sent to me, the wholesale availability checker information and that clearly there is work to do on the BT side. It is also in the interests of BT to grab these customers, we are in a Virgin media area, everyone hates it and cant wait to leave, after sending 1000's of homes leaflets in my town none of us can actually order from BT Retail, even though there is a QR code there for us to use. Its a legacy Virgin town, they have had the monopoly on anything faster than 35mbps for yonks.

My complaint was picked up late October and the agent has worked hard on it however been looking in the wrong place all the time. They have been escalating things to Openreach over and over and almost refuse to acknowledge BT Wholesale is a thing and check with them. Every time I have to wait another 3-5 working days for the same update.

Finally I was told I should order copper broadband, have Openreach install a new line into my property (copper) and then take delivery of all the equipment and once the line is in I can then upgrade to fibre. This is such a stupid suggestion and where I was weeks ago with the front line guys. After nearly a month of efforts from the executive team this is the response. But its nonsense, because even if I do manage to get a copper line installed the FTTP wholesale packages arent there for me to upgrade to once its in, and ill be paying for Virgin Media and BT. Even if I ordered TalkTalk and had Openreach install an ONT and connect fibre to it....even then BT still wouldnt be able to provide FullFibre even though its there....because they cant order it.

Today I gave up, ill just get Sky....I called up complaints, just to say its been fun but goodbye, luckily for me the agent who had been dealing with me wasnt in and another chap just heard me out as to why I had given up, he interjected and said, "hmm that sounds like a BT Wholesale thing"....this is the first time since the 28th of September when the Openreach infra went live that someone at BT has said this. Ive known this for 4 weeks due to the posts in this thread. Anyway so after apologising for the hours I had spent on the phone, the notes on the account was extensively showing this, he said that we can escalate this to BT Wholesale and find out at least an answer, have they got plans to do the work or not, or is it done and there's another issue.

I have no idea why the other agent spent 3 weeks escalating with Openreach to try and get a resolution only to have them say the same thing over and over, I accept front line teams are just there to accept orders but for someone from the Executive Team not to even entertain contacting Wholesale for me after ive asked over and over, even to almost deny they exist are a service provider is crazy.

If Wholesale say we wont be fixing this till 2025 or whatever then fine, I just want an answer and to spend less time on the blooming phone repeating myself only hearing the same thing back. I havent mentioned names for a reason, im not an a$$.

Ive seen a few posts around that Wholesale can take a while to get things going, its coming up to two months I guess, what I dont understand is why the majority of the other providers got around to it so quick, Sky for example was within a day or two. If the process is that Openreach finish, then the Wholesalers need to do further work, they certainly got that done quickly.

Thats probably it for now....I will keep updating here, someone else going as nuts as me might come across this one day and fine that I did get this resolved....