This is unfortunately a long story without as yet a happy ending.
I've recently moved properties but my ex and family are staying behind. This has been a hugely stressful time and I was hoping to get everything set up in my new flat smoothly.
This is a brand new property with a brand new FTTP install, an Openreach box with two beautiful solid green lights. This connection has never been allocated to a customer before. I thought should be a good start. Boy was I wrong!
I initially contacted BT and was told that I had to migrate my existing account to the new property which I thought was fine. To minimise the stress on my ex and kids I delayed the activation date until they could get a connection up and running. Luckily there is Virgin Media to the property so we were able to get this activated before I had BT switch my service.
When I initially contacted BT I was that as I was in contract it would just be a case of maintaining my account and moving address. If I did not do this I would face a fine for ending the contract early.
Seems reasonable
When the day came I was to take the old router, plug in and Bob's your uncle.
But we can't activate the line for three weeks activation date 7th May, but don't worry we'll send you a Hybrid Connect, pay us £7 for the month on a rolling contract,bthen send it back and we'll stop charging. OK I says that will tide me over.
By the way do you want to pay £7/ month for extra hubs, no thank you, I'm moving from a large family home to a shoebox with structural cabling I won't need them.", are you sure, Yes, very blah blah blah, no sale.
The customer service guy Michael, was lovely really helpful and the Hybrid Connect arrived the next day after I called well before to switch over date, great. And btw if you call us within two weeks of activation we can switch you to EE for a better deal and better hardware, we can't do it now because you are in contract.
3 weeks seems an insane wait for a new connection on a fully activated brand new line but I'll weather it.
Switch over date was yesterday, I install the VM box for the ex, uplift the BT Hub 2 box and take it to my new place. Plug in connect to the Hybrid Connect. Yay it works, the reception is one bar but it's enough to watch Netflix in HD. Lovely.
Sit down have a lovely evening watch a film with my eldest then drop her home.
Get back to the flat, Hybrid Connect is flashing red, odd.
So I fiddle and fiddle and fiddle, can't get it working, 3am I give up, maybe the 4g mast is down, It can't be the Hybrid Connect it was just working.
Go to bed and check my emails
Dear Sir, we've cancelled your order for no apparent reason, give us a call tomorrow, Grrrrrrrrrrr 😡
Oh and by the way if you don't send the Hybrid Connect back we'll take ~£80 off you.
So I call today
Apologies for the issue, can't really explain why, seems to be an issue at our end. The only way to fix this is to create you a new account, kill your contract and set up again.
"OK, last chap said I couldn't go to EE before; so now I'm not in a contract can I have the EE package instead", Ooooo no we can't do that.
[Long scripted conversation]
That will be £49.99, "but I was paying £44.99 before, is that because of the Hybrid Connect?"
Nope that's the new price. "But I'm out of contact because you killed my order?" So I can downgrade, yes sir that will be fine.
I take the lowest full fibre service and save myself £15/£20.
"Can you reactivate the Hybrid Connect to tide me over?" [Stoney silence]
I can send you a new one for free, without the monthly charge. "But I don't want to wait for a new one, I have one, please reactivate it". We'll see what we can do 🫤
Get to the end of the call "your activation date will be 14th May"
What the..... That's another week after the last date I was given. "Why the delay?" That's the earliest date on the system sir. I can't say why, that just the way it is.
"I'd like to speak to a manager, it not you, you've been really helpful, it's just I'm not happy". I can't put you through sir, I can raise a complaint and someone will probably get back to you. Right, great, I give up.
What the heck is going on? I'm now without any internet, when yesterday I at last had something, I don't know if the Hybrid Connect will work or if I have send it back to avoid the threated charge, or will I be sent a new one, which I will have to send back at some point 🤷
It's like a really good Netflix series (which I wouldn't be able to watch, I don't have any internet) every episode their is a new twist, timeline changes, there's cliffhangers (will his Hybrid Connect start working, will he be sent a new Hybrid Connect at all, will it be free or will he be charged, will he ever have internet access again.
If it wasn't me waiting, constantly frustrated it might even be funny.
Does anyone have any idea why everything they change a variable it adds a week on to the timeline?
Thanks for listening, if you have any idea how to get this escalated please let me know. I'm off to buy a book, maybe something calming became I can get online and I've had enough of thrillers with unpredictable endings.
