Best way to get broadband re-instated?

[Steve-1]

Until last week I had BT landline broadband and digital voice phone.
Then (Friday) they stopped working.
On Saturday I received a letter from BT "We're sorry to see you go" saying that my services would automatically move on the Friday (the day before I got the letter).
Contacting BT on Saturday they said I was moving to PlusNet.  I said I wasn't moving anywhere. 

So they told me the only way to get my service re-instated was to place a new order with them, which I did.
After further investigation I found that a neighbour (with a similar address) was getting PlusNet (on a previously disconnected line).
Somewhere in this our addresses/phone lines seem to have got confused. So they received a PlusNet router and have been trying to get it to work on their line.  And my line had gone dead. 
An Openreach engineer arrived to sort out their problem today (Tuesday) and found the lines in the green cabinet had been connected wrongly, my neighbour was connected to my line. He identified their line and mine and connected them correctly. 
So my neighbour is now working fine but my service is dead.

About the same time the Openreach engineer was here I got a text and email from BT saying they had cancelled the order I placed on Saturday.
After chasing this up with BT Faults I was told I would have to place an order with BT Sales.  I did this again (same as the order I placed on Saturday.).
Apparently this will take 14 days (from today, not even from last Saturday when I first placed the order). Apparently it will need an engineer to check the line.

Is this the best way to get my faulty line fixed (It's a fault as far as I'm concerned I hadn't asked for it to be moved or cancelled)?
Is there anyway I can speed up this installation?
I work from home, so I can't manage without broadband.

[imjolly]

Unfortunately you are another victim of the new one touch switching.  Your neighbor has placed and order with plusnet for broadband and excuse of mixup with phone they have notified BT that they are taking over your line. BT should then notify you that they are sorry you are leaving.  Now that it has happened there is no way back and you now need to start a new contract.  You will be given the first available date for your 'new' broadband to be installed/ activated

[Steve-1]

That seems to be what happened.
But the letter from BT arrived after I was cutoff, so no chance to stop it.

It seems stupid they can't just reconnect me. Instead I have to have a new router (even though I have one already) and wait until June for the engineer.

[licquorice]

This is what happens with automation rather than real people doing stuff. I think its called progress!!!

[iniltous]

Those that made the case for OTS and laud it as an improvement on what went before , claim that the time to switch between providers is greatly reduced , potentially offering same day switching, the problem with that of course is that it gives no time , if errors occur like  your neighbour giving your address instead of their own , or Plusnet selecting your address instead of the address your neighbour gave them (either way you are collateral damage) , for the mistake to be realised and then cancelled by you getting in touch with your provider to say I’m not asking to leave .

Its possible the reason you got the ‘sorry you are leaving’ letter the day after the switch took place ( which  used to be 2 weeks before the switch was scheduled , giving you plenty of time to say to your provider ‘this  is a mistake’ ) is that it can now be much less  , so  if your neighbour asked Plusnet to get service  ‘as soon as possible’ which OTS allows, presumably the notification can turn too late to be of any use ….

[Steve-1]

It seems these issues happen often.  It's surprising there isn't a better method of fixing this when it occurs.

You would think there would be a way of "uncancelling" and restoring the connection using the existing router. It's not that I particularly object to having a new router and contract but it is being without phone and broadband for around 2 weeks that is a problem.

And why get me to place a new order on Saturday and then they cancel it on Tuesday?   And then get me to place a new (identical) order on Tuesday?

[Steve-1]

OK, the story so far...

I had my broadband and phone cutoff because a neighbour placed a broadband order with PlusNet and they took my line.
Trying to get BT Faults to fix this was a waste of time - they insisted I had to speak to Sales.
Sales got me to place an  order for broadband and phone - apparently the only way to get my issue fixed.

An Openreach engineer (sent by PlusNet) arrived and switched the lines around so my neighbour now has broadband.
BT Faults again said there was nothing they could do (even though the Openreach engineer was with me at the time).

Around the same time BT cancelled the order they had me place 3 days earlier (WHY??).
BT Sales said I had to place another new order, which I did (same as the previous one).
This time they insisted it would have to be installed by an Openreach engineer (even though I told them the engineer had just sorted out the lines). Why do I need an engineer rather than just 'Self-install' ?
The date for the engineer is early June.
BT Sales told me if I phoned today after 4pm they would be able to bring the date forward - I phoned and they can't.
I've already been without broadband and phone for 6 days. Now it looks like an additional fortnight.

I got a text today from Openreach asking whether I wanted a new line or to use my existing line.

Now I've had a plastic bag posted to me by BT so I can return my (perfectly good) BT SmartHub 2 to them even before I receive my new BT SmartHub 2.  At least one part of BT is efficient.

All this is caused by a fault which is not of my making. All I wanted was the problem fixing.

I'd complain about BT's Customer Service but I don't think BT know the meaning of the words "Customer" or "Service".

[iniltous]

It may help to see why things have turned out like this to put in order the relevant events (as far as we know them ) 

Your neighbour raises an order for your address instead of their own address , as if they were moving into your address and you were moving out ( that’s the neighbours mistake or Plusnet’s mistake ) this should have converted the line in your house from a BT to a PN ‘line’ , no engineer visit is arranged or needed , it’s just a takeover with a change of ISP ,  presumably your service stopped because the line was disconnected from BT and re-connected to PN , you notice the issue ( you can’t use your broadband) and receive ,too late to do anything about it , a notification saying ‘sorry you are leaving’  from BT .

Your neighbour in their address  wonder why the service they ordered doesn’t work on the day PN said it will , they complain  to PN that there line isn’t working and hasn’t from the start , both them and Plusnet  presumably not realising the address on the order was wrong , that it was your address not their address , PN raise a fault with Openreach ,  the OR tech physically interferes ( but shouldn’t have ) and physically moves the now working Plusnet service into your  neighbours house so they now have service , (they should not have done that if the address is incorrect ) , and because of that presumably your house no longer has a physical connection in the FTTC ‘cabinet’  , so you need a brand new installation type order , not to fix your line but to replace it with a new connection , it’s possible the order that was raised and cancelled didn’t have an engineer visit , the new one being a full install will have an installer visit to your address .

The new router for the new order and returning a perfectly usable router is because the system has effectively been used as if you are a new customer is moving into your address , it’s irrelevant that this is to try and fix the initial error by your neighbour or Plusnet , and as stated at the outset , if OTS is designed to allow takeover or migration by a new ISP effectively the next day , there simply isn’t any time to realise the errors and do anything about it .

Out of curiosity, just how similar are the addresses in this case  , is it understandable how your neighbour (or Plusnet ) could  mix up your address with  theirs   ? 

You may think that a ‘fault’ is the correct process it fix your line , but you need to understand you don’t have a line to fix anymore , your account was effectively closed when PN took over at your address , your neighbours and Plusnet actions mean that you need a new line , the fact you have a socket connected to the outside is irrelevant , it’s not connected to any equipment in the FTTC cabinet.

[Steve-1]

The events you have summarised are correct.

The addresses are easy to confuse, especially if people don't read them carefully (or are selecting an address online from a dropdown list).

The visit from the Openreach engineer found that the connections for our two houses were next to each other in the green cabinet, but the PlusNet service had been connected to my line. He corrected this and my neighbour's service started working.
He also tested my line and could see there was a device connected to it (my router presumably). He tagged my line with my address. Obviously I no longer had a BT service.

The point about this issue being a 'fault' is that I (BT's customer) had a BT service that stopped working.  It could have been for any reason. As such BT would have fixed it. Only  in this specific circumstance do they decide it can't be fixed and that a new service has to be bought from their Sales department. That's poor customer service. BT should fix it (how they do that behind the scenes is irrelevant) so that the previously working service is restored.
IT ISN'T THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CUSTOMER TO FIX ISSUES CAUSED BY BT'S PROCEDURES.

[iniltous]

I absolutely agree that BT as your provider have to ‘fix’ (restore) your service it , but the point being made is that , through no fault of your own , but in BT’s defence no  fault of theirs either , the  OTS system has reduced the ‘safety barrier’ as far as the amount of time between you getting the ‘sorry to see you go’ letter and the actual takeover of your service, giving you less time to stop the error , now it’s a done deal , the only way to restore your service is by treating you as a new customer….BT could obviously not actually tell you what they are doing as far as orders etc but then you would think they are simply not restoring your service quickly and may wonder why you get new equipment , new account number  etc, ….the point is that the reality of getting you back in service is a lot more complicated that you may think , it’s not just a case of switching you back ‘on’ , there is far more to it , and that’s not really your providers fault .

It possible you  don’t realise BT are restricting by the regulator Ofcom and OTS into doing things the way those organisations dictate not the way BT may like , Ofcom and OTS  are fixated on getting people to switch providers thinking that is good for consumers, so they continue to remove what they see as  ‘barriers’ to switching , and they obviously 14 days to switch is too long , of course this allows the incompetence and in some cases sharp practise of some ISP to to go unhindered, switching people effectively against their will, but this is their bad policy , unfortunately the customer often pays the price when things go wrong .