Can't send / receive email abroad

[Dreaming3]

No option means forced. 

[licquorice]

But you did have an option.

[gg30340]

It was NOT BT's policy to "force" customers onto EE. Therefore you were not forced. You may have been coerced by a CS rep but not by BT.

[Edinburgh-wg]

Never mind the semantics at this stage. The person has problems with their email and is asking for help to solve the issue, rather than some old farts discussing the semantics behind forced and not having a choice. Where are the mods on here to steer the conversation back on track by deleting irrelevant messages?

[gg30340]

@Edinburgh-wg 

The OP was informed/advised by the moderators what to do in messages 2 and 5 which you must have missed.

After that there was a discussion, which the OP was taking part in, about a point which was raised by one of the forum members.

As the OP had been given advice regarding his initial problem and was taking part in the discussion regarding the question that was raised it appears the only post that is irrelevant and off topic is yours.

[Leanne_T]

Hi @Dreaming3 

I've heard back from the team now for your email query and they have asked if you could try again and let us know how you get on? 

Thanks 🙂

Leanne.

[Kimberlin]

@Edinburgh-wg  To be fair, the OP ultimately raised the allegation of being 'forced' to migrate to EE and whilst the email side of things is clearly separate, the OP's allegation was/is worthy of debate.

At the end of the day, this comes down to the customer basically not being assertive enough. I won't take carp off anyone, and trust me, if some BT/EE guide tried to steer me down the route of migrating if that wasn't the original purpose of my complaint, I'd absolutely without hesitation, tell the urk on the other end of the line just to do as they are asked. My line is, as long as I don't swear at them or say anything that borders on being personal, then the person on the other end of my conversation will be dealt with robustly. I've been cut off more than once for standing up to some jumped up Customer Services rep. I had 30 years of dealing with people robustly and I don't take fools gladly.

Bottom line is, BT/EE guides shouldn't be (allegedly) forcing/bullying/coercing customers into doing something they don't want.

[Dreaming3]

Thank you all for your comments. This is my first time seeking help with this via the forum, so I appreciate everyone’s input.

I’ve submitted another complaint to BT, so hopefully it will be resolved this time, unlike the numerous other times I’ve contacted them and it hasn’t been fixed. I will report back once it’s sorted.

I am not an expert in telecoms policy. I had read that BT had acquired EE, so when the advisor told me that all BT customers are being moved to EE , I had no reason to doubt it. If I say I felt forced, it’s because that was my genuine experience. If BT’s policy was different, then I should have been allowed to stay with BT, but that option wasn’t offered. I understand the point about being assertive, but customers can only challenge something when they actually know the policy and that they have the option to stay with BT.  If advisors give incorrect information about policy, customers have no way of knowing.

I travel abroad frequently, so the email issue isn’t occasional. It happens every time now. EE’s response has always been “We don’t guarantee BT emails abroad and you can use webmail.” Once I’m home, my emails go back to normal so I won’t know if it is fixed until I travel again.

Coincidentally, a batch of emails suddenly appeared in one of my BT inboxes this morning. For a moment I thought one of you had worked your magic.😄

[licquorice]

The issue of emails abroad has been ongoing for many years without proper explanation but with a number of theories.

Its clearly not ubiquitous or the forum would have far more complaints about the problem than it does.

I can only say that I have had a BT email address since day 1 and have NEVER had  problem with it abroad and that includes China.

As for not knowing about incorrect information I'm afraid these days research before doing anything is key.

[gg30340]

@Dreaming3 

I have also had no issues when using both an email app and webmail with BTMail while abroad so it would not appear to be a general problem.

A few things to try when abroad which may help:

Try and not use Public WiFi hotspots. Their IP addresses can often be blacklisted.

Were possible if you have enough of a data package use your mobile network when checking your emails. These networks are considered more secure than Public Networks.

Turn off private WiFi addresses on your Apple devices. This may make it appear that multiple devices are being used to try and access your email account . See link how to turn it off.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102509

In case you are not aware, your BTMail accounts are still managed by BT and not EE. You should be able to manage your BTMail accounts using your MyBT and BTID that you used when you were a BT customer.  Your MyBT will now only have your email accounts listed in your "My Products" and it is a free account with no billing.