Broadband Disconnected End of August Still Not Reconnected

[SaturnVBoy]

Hi one and all, here we go,

we were disconnected from BT broadband (using original 1964 wire into house) on the 28th of August 2024, no warning, no phone call and no email (spam folders were checked). We are still waiting to be reconnected.

we have been on the phone numerous times speaking to staff from various call centres around the country offering there apologies at every moment (this does not help now and we don’t want to hear it anymore) and telling us they know what the problem is and it will be fixed by the end of the week, we’ll guess what………

recently we have been escalated to the highest level of help which is “executive complaints “ this is a singular person of contact with a dedicated phone number in that department, and currently we get a phone call or voicemail every 3 days telling us the same thing as last time, with no further progress (see below)

History of the issue:-

earlier in the year May when sorting out our current package by removing the BT sport we were offered BT full fibre connection , with a guaranteed promise of a 14 day cooling of period, so we accepted.

we had a open reach cable installation in our street the next day at a neighbours property , so I check with the install team about our solid concrete drive and council owned tarmacadam hard standing outside our property and it was a definite No. We don’t even have telegraph polls either in the street, I was informed that I would have to put the cable conduit under my drive myself.

so armed with the info and less than 24 hours into the 14 day cooling of period we asked for the order to be stopped, and were told it was not problem everything will be ok don’t worry.

we had 3 week’s following this of emails saying we would get a site visit and bags in the post to send equipment back, after numerous phone calls explaining it had been had stopped , finally the emails and text stopped and we were told everything was ok…………

I believe during the process in May someone or something started a chain of events that led to us loosing our broadband on the 28th of August. That’s my guess.

We have been told numerous times there is a “incorrect cease” in place and Wholesale and open reach need to sort this out individually in the correct order so we can be reconnected 

We have been told that “executive complaints” can send emails or ring wholesale and open reach but we can’t, and that “executive complaints “ have to wait on hold when dealing with wholesale and open reach.

we have been told that according to “executive complaints “ we are still being billed 

we received an EE mini hub after 3 weeks, please do not tell me this is a good temporary solution

we want to know how this is going to be resolved, what’s the process,what does a human within this system need to do to resolve this, somebody please explain……….

and why has it taken this long……..

what sort of queue are we in ……….

and why can I not contact wholesale or openreach and our “executive complaints “ person has as much clout in this as we do …………..

ps the phone doesn’t work either, and I thank you if you made it this far and if you are able to shed some light on the correct fix or procedure to get us back to the 27th of August 2024

SaturnVBoy

[imjolly]

As you are now being handles by ELC there nothing anyone else can do to help with your complaint  as at highest level. You cannot contact openreach or wholesale as you are not one of their customers.  You are a BT RETAIL customer

Have you been given a reason why you were cut off?

[SaturnVBoy]

Hi thank you for your reply,

no reason given for being cut off

i know I can’t contact the 2 groups of people who currently are trying to fix it, and that is my biggest issue , they are to all sense and purpose untouchable , yet they have probably caused the issue and now have to fix it, and my conduit to them ELC also seems to have as much clout as me.

what I would like someone to do is explain the work involved in fixing this, If anything is broken there is usually a fix and someone knows how to fix it, currently I am not being told the plan to fix it and what it involves, as an example is there 1 person in an office somewhere in the uk working through a list from all the broadband suppliers and they fix the fault mechanically or with software each complaint at a time , can somebody explain to me the process to fix this please as I am only a bill paying customer and I can’t get any answers…………..

many thanks 

SaturnVBoy

[iniltous]

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

As you haven’t been told what the problem is , then ( certainly on this forum ) no other BT customer can tell you what the fix is , or what work is required etc , however we can speculate how you got to where you are .
I suspect you were misinformed by the people working on a neighbour property ( especially the part about you having to do the work to provide a duct to your property ) , and although a cancellation during the cooling off period shouldn’t affect you previous service, if it does , it’s extremely difficult to get that old ‘copper pair’ service restored as the address has FTTP available and the back end systems effectively won’t allow a copper pair service to be ordered , hence this situation .

Enter your address in the link provided, and post the details of the survey , it will look like this , but not necessarily identical, it’s very unlikely to be identical.

Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential UG Feed with no anticipated issues.

I suspect your address will be ‘partial DIG ‘ , so no duct exists, this is  where ( imho ) the people you spoke to were wrong is , if you have the authority to grant OR permission to dig ( excavate ) in the your garden so you are the owner , Openreach  already have authority to dig in the public footpath, so getting a duct , irrespective of the surface , to your address is Openreach’s job not yours, there are no problems with concrete or tarmac or any surface provided permission is given .

Obviously some times this can’t proceed, the occupant may only renting so can’t give permission, or the owner occupiers did not realise that excavation is needed and don’t want their garden/driveway or whatever disturbed, if the order is cancelled at this point , normally that’s fine , no issues , unfortunately if the cancellation is not done correctly, both the FTTP isn’t installed but the copper service is still withdrawn as if the FTTP was provided, and it’s extremely difficult to get the copper based service back on.

[SaturnVBoy]

So, everyday is a school day

i was not aware that this forum is BT customers only I was hoping there were some “staff” on here, I am however very grateful for everyone one’s help so far.

the digging up and who should do what and not do , I’m not getting into at this stage as I was categorically told they were not digging up my drive, and all I have seen so far is cables put in very shallow trenches through gardens (plants,soil or grass).which we can’t do as it’s all solid out the front. 

I have attached a screen shot from the checker that was kindly suggested to use, I bow to your greater knowledge if you can convert this to lay man’s speak for me in my quest to get to the bottom of this problem 

many thanks

SaturnVBoy

[iniltous]

OK , so good and bad , good in that your survey note states ‘built to the curtilage hard’ , this is where Openreach ( much like the cable industry did 30 years ago ) build a ducted network to the edge of the property, so in the footpath on the boundary of ( usually ) the front garden , is a ‘Toby box’ , from here when service is ordered an excavation from the toby box to the house wall , the toby box is placed to give the easiest dig ( so opposite a lawned area is best ) but obviously in some cases the entire front on a property may be concrete, paving , or other ‘hard’ surfaces, and other buried services may also mean the optimal location for the toby box isn’t available….in some respects that’s immaterial, from the toby box a duct is provided to the house wall ….have you seen the toby box in front of your property ?  ( it will have recently been provided )

Obviously , some will order FTTP , and then refuse the excavation when they realise their expensive ‘driveway’ will be interfered with , but assuming permission is granted by the homeowner hard surfaces are not an issue , certainly not a reason not to proceed from Openreach point of view , obviously the householder decides if they are happy for an excavation to take place , what won’t happen ( for example ) is if a householder says ‘I want the entire driveway replaced, I don’t want a visible scar in the surface’ , that is reason for Openreach to walk away , they won’t replace a full drive , some surfaces will show a scar after the work is done .

Did you actually order FTTP  ? , if you did who ‘decided’ that it wouldn’t proceed , you said it was a when a neighbour was getting FTTP that you were told FTTP would be an issue for you , your neighbours order cannot affect you , as stated unfortunately if  FTTP is ordered and then the  order is ‘cancelled’ by the consumer, occasionally the wrong buttons are pressed and the copper pair service is ceased anyway , this seems the most likely situation you are in .

You could ( unless you are not going to allow excavation in your ‘land’ ) reorder FTTP , but if the excavation is absolutely not going to be considered, then as stated , unfortunately getting the ‘old connection’ back up and running hits snags , if the ELC ( executive level complaints ) are involved that as high as you can get , the actual nuts and bolts of the process ( overriding systems that say FTTP must be used ) won’t be known by forum members and it isn’t necessary for you to know what they do , as long as they do it .

[SaturnVBoy]

Hi

thanks for your reply again, everyday is a school day,

1.I know where the old and new cables in the pavement are, my old brown cable and the new fibre cable are both in the under the original GPO cover of a rectangular recess. When the new cable was being pulled through into the recess I spoke to that team to understand what was happening. No modern Toby box I’m afraid and brown cable still going into our house

2. I understand about the hard standing and I’m not having a scar, trust me my OCD will not deal with it, if it ever happens I will prep the cable runs, but no work physically was started.

3. What is FTTP ?

4. all I saw regarding the neighbour (4 houses away with garden in front) was the installation team at work with a 6 inch trench through through the garden up to external wall, I asked them when finished to knock at my door and give me there thoughts on my hard surfaces and in there opinion it was a flat no we won’t be digging anything up.

5. We will not be ordering new service. We want are old one reconnected 

6. I know the ELC is as high as it gets for a normal human who pays his bills, but I’m afraid I wish to know what’s involved in restoring our connection, it will be good for my knowledge base, and when we speak to our ELC we can get a feel for there understanding, we can’t be asking for the keys to the castle surely , plus it may appease us slightly.

7. Did the chart throw up any issues ?

I am truly grateful for your time and help, and please understand my utter frustration with this is firmly laid at the door of BT, and we are being treated appallingly, in 6 weeks nothing has happened and I can’t believe it’s actually this difficult to “throw a couple of switches”

SaturnVBoy

[iniltous]

Various points don’t quite make sense , FTTP ( fibre to the premises ) is ‘full fibre’ , something you apparently ordered in May , you then changed your mind for whatever reason ( possibly including being mislead about who excavates the hard standing ) , TBH , if you cancelled in May , it’s not likely to be the reason you lost service in August, however some points are pertinent.
Once FTTP is available, it becomes the default network, so ( for arguments sake ) if you moved out and a new occupant moved in , they would have no choice but to take FTTP , copper is no longer available, your situation is slightly different in that you are not a new customer, but because, for whatever reason your copper service is now ceased , any new order for you , much like if you were a new occupant is ‘forced’ down the FTTP route that you presumably won’t accept.

Obviously somewhere, at a senior level , the capability to override the system that says this address has access to FTTP ( full fibre ) and that network has to be used , needs to be overridden, you may this your copper service is still available, but if it were ceased , then as stated every ordinary avenue will say this customer has to be full fibre.
ELC , executive level complaints, if anyone has the authority to override the normal system, it will e them , what you maybe don’t appreciate, is that you are in effect a new customer, your old account and service isn’t faulty, it was ceased , so it’s not a repair you need but a new service, and I presume this is where the problem is , the automated processes are forcing FTTP to be used , how your copper service was ceased is a mystery as if it were linked to your cancelled full fibre order , then I doubt it would be 3 months after you cancelled your FTTP order .
As stated , it depends on what it is you actually want to know , how the error was made and by who , or your focus is on restoring your copper service

Your assertion that all that is needed is to throw a few switches is way off the mark , it doesn’t work like that.

As far as the ‘chart’ , I’ve explained that it shows ‘built to the curtilage’ and what that means , you state you live in a flat , presumably it’s not an apartment complex as ‘built to the curtilage’ isn’t an appropriate survey return of apartments complexes , it’s possible it’s used if a house was converted to ‘flats’ , depending on how they are situated.

If your flat has a unconventional name , ‘top floor flat’ , ‘second floor’ , ‘ground floor’ , flat 1A , that sort of thing ,  then the reason your copper service was ceased in error may be that someone misidentified your flat as theirs and that’s why the copper service was removed 

[SaturnVBoy]

Hi, some very good information there much appreciated,

the word cease is a one used by our ELC in every conversation and trying to get it sorted, so with your information I am getting a better understanding of our issue, thank you

not sure where I’ve implied we live in a flat, as we don’t. We live in a bungalow of singular detached layout with hard standing out the front, the only “garden” is behind the property.

the “throw a few switches” was my bluffers term, as mentioned before I am interested in how this is actually going to be resolved, how, by whome and what is the time frame, as we are being told by our ELC that they have seen “these can take months”………….

i currently have nothing to loose in learning about the systems as I have plenty of time on my hand, and I may even go to the “old exchange” building in town were the Openreach vans park and see if they can shed some light or knowledge my way, 

once again I genuinely thank you for your time in my quest to resolve this issue

SaturnVBoy

[iniltous]

Shows the error of me simply scanning text instead of reading previous posts carefully , you said that Openreach said  ( when discussing excavation through concrete ) it’s ‘ a flat no ‘ when asking about excavation ( and that  is wrong , but it is where the word flat came in ) .

In simple terms , you don’t have any current service, it was ceased , so it’s not a fault , a fault is when  a valid service is  not working , a fault can be repaired,  a ceased service no longer exists , you can’t repair something that doesn’t exist anymore,  and that’s why it proving troublesome ,  you need copper pair service re-provided ( rather than repaired ) , how and why it was ceased isn’t known , but  not likely to be associated with your full fibre order as  that was  cancelled by you  3 months before .

As I indicated, once your service was ceased it no longer exists in BT systems ( to all intent and purpose you are an ex customer ) so to get you connected again , needs you to be re provided ( in the same way  as if you were a new customer ) and that’s were the ‘system’ insists you must use FTTP as copper isn’t available in your area for new s  , but because you don’t want FTTP , hence the problem .

As stated several times now , if it’s possible to re provide a copper service when the ‘system’ says you have to take full fibre , it’s the ELC people, if they can’t circumvent the system forcing FTTP , then no one can .