Broadband upgrade turned into disaster

[Keith_Beddoe]

Then only fibre 1 or 2 would be available (VDSL), which would need to be ordered instead.

I think some clarification is needed from BT, as this may be the common issue with all customers on this service. I am sure a moderator will read this thread, and may be able to comment on this, and give an update for all.

[WillC9999]

The idiocy is that the offer to upgrade included an offer to destroy the service. It’s the very definition of idiocy and clearly a mistake on BT’s side. 

[WillC9999]

And, I’m not particularly interested in or knowledgeable of, the various back-office technicalities. I just want decent broadband. I feel like I’ve signed up for an upgrade in my drinking water service and been offered a ‘no pipe’ option, and am now being royally messed about for being so stupid to assume this option wasn’t mutually exclusive with water delivery. The total disconnect between BT’s various teams is bafflingly terrible. No one has taken ownership of the problem. I can understand that **bleep**-ups happen, and maybe my line is an oddity, but what isn’t acceptable is the response. When everything is finally resolved I will be writing a formal complaint and seeking compensation. I’m under no illusion any other provider would be any better though. Welcome to the 21st century ‘service’ industry.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@WillC9999 

Have you heard from any of the moderators yet, apart from the original request to send your details via private messaging?

I do know they have been quite busy recently, so you may still be in their queue.

[WillC9999]

No. No news. Wasn’t expecting royal treatment, and in any case, unless something miraculous happens in the next 36 hours it won’t impact a really important but of work I’m hoping to do on Monday (online training event with 20+ people). Am just hoping the 4G backup will suffice. I seem to get anything from 1 - 15Mb from it but it’s quite variable. 
The formal reconnection date is 2nd Feb. 

[WillC9999]

Just had a call back - for the first time. From a guy in the ‘executive team’ who will now apparently handle my issue. He confirmed that my previous ‘fibre to the cabinet’ service relied on copper to the house, and the ‘upgrade’ should not have allowed me to kill that. He thinks this might be a system to system error (OpenReach to BT). Interestingly the service I’ve now been signed up to is *less* good that my previous one (3x slower)! This beggars belief and he couldn’t explain this either. He cannot do anything tangible to expedite my delayed activation date. The new service is now VDSL (no idea if/why this might be better that FTTC). Helps also sending me a temporary 4G dongle in case the current 4G backup stops working - which it might if/when the system realises my service has been cancelled. The system cannot be stopped. 
So, while it’s good to speak to someone who knows and apparently cares, the upshot remains the same. He did mention compensation but this seems to be about £9/day for each day without service. They do not compensate for anything else, eg the (currently) 10 hours of stressful phone calls to BT staff, impact on my partner and myself’s home working etc. suspect I might get railroaded into accepting whatever is offered but perhaps worth me escalating to the ombudsman? 

[Keith_Beddoe]

@WillC9999 

VDSL is FTTC, VDSL is just the technology used to deliver the service over copper wires. It can deliver up to 80mbs, which is most likely what you will get.

Your original service was a G.fast copper connection which is no longer available as an option, as Openreach are not selling it anymore, as Openreach are concentrating their resources on full fibre (FTTP) services.

You would not get any extra compensation on a residential service.

[WillC9999]

Thanks for the info. So my previous service - about 270Mb at the router - will now be 80Mb? A considerably slower bandwidth. And no way to increase this until I can get fibre to the house? Something I don’t think is scheduled any time soon. And I’m paying much the same as before for the 3x slower service? And compensation for my time lost chasing up BT’s mistake is dismissed out of hand.

How is any of this remotely acceptable? 

This is a rhetorical question obviously because consumers get this sort of nonsense across the board. I think it’s why we’re all so apathetic about everything these days. As long at the marketing **bleep** and glossy websites look smart though, who cares about actually delivering a service that serves people 

[Keith_Beddoe]

@WillC9999 

There is very little profit made on a residential connection once BT have paid Openreach for the rental of the service. I think you will find that its the Value Added Services like TNT Sport and BT EE TV that is where the money is made.

BT Business, who charge a little bit more, are much more business orientated, although they do have some extra services which they offer to business users to make things easier.

They can also offer different SLAs (Service Level Agreements) including a guaranteed five hour service restoration in the event of a fault, and will process claims for lost business.

For those that can afford it, a fibre leased line can be provided on demand, but it is an expensive option.

[Edinburgh-wg]

A truly appalling service indeed. 

If they don't restore your services to what they were before, you should consider writing to CEO of BT, especially pointing out the idiotic nature of the opt-out option terminating one's broadband. The Ombudsman route is long and you need to go through the hurdles first of dealing with BT first, until you get a deadlock letter. Especially see my comment in the next para about your renewal email.

It looks like you've been downgraded from g.fast to VDSL, which indeed is up to 80Mbps only. G.fast was retired some time ago. What does your renewal email say? What speed does it mention? What product does it quote? (G.fast?) It'll also mention a minimum speed. 

With all respect to users on BT forum that offer their valuable advice and time to help others, you may want to try the Kitz forum, which is independent, where you may get more in-depth info about what is likely to be the outcome of your predicament and how to resolve it. Plus, you can mention other companies there without being specifically told off for that, as seems to be the case here.