BT - Just sick of them!

[tattietoo]

BT is a subject that makes me cross! Since we moved to our present home 18 months ago, our phone line has not worked a total of 5 times. Having spoken to a BT bod, he told me the cabling is substandard, aluminium was used as copper was in short supply, or something like that. Our neighbours also have problems espeicially with Broadband, constantly cuts off. Aluminium is not such a good conductor as copper, or soemthing like that, was my answer. So, I am challenging BT for not providing a satisfactory service. Was very interested reading the thread about £10 late payment charges etc.. just below this one I think. Complaint letter went to BT on Friday and no doubt they will take weeks to get back to me! Will keep you posted.

[julie1961]

I have BT broadband & its a load of rubbish. It disconnects more times through the day than I use it & I sometimes have to re start the computer to try & get it working.

When i changed from cable to BT last year I had terrible problems with the phone line, the phone would ring on its own, calls would get cut off, bad crackling on the line & we couldn't get the internet at all. I rang BT & they sent an engineer out twice, the second time I was charged. I got them out again & on the 3rd occasion the engineer knew straight away what was causing the problem & within minutes my line was working perfectly. The wire from the post out in the street to the house was loose & as the wind blow it it caused a disconnection.

I did get a refund on the engineer charge but they did make me feel I was going mad. I still have problems with the broadband & as soon as my contract is up & am switching providers.

[buzby]

It is true that copper is dearer (and a better conductor) than aluminiun, but htat's not a valid reason to dispute making payment. Irrespective of the technology (I'm now using fibre!) they have to provide you with acceptable VOICE service - there is no legal obligation on BB or Fax & data. You cannot 'challenge' BT to provide a service - they either give it or they don't. They have a legal requirement to provide an 'acceptable' voice service, so remind them of this.

[tattietoo]

I have just noticed that I started this thread on Oct 30th last year and I had just sent a letter to BT. Well, lots has happened and below is the letter I am now sending them that explains the situation - It hasbmade me chuckle though!!

 

14th March 2007

 

H Khan

Customer Service Advisor

81 Newgate Street

London

EC1A 7AJ

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

YOUR REF: xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Thank you for your letter of 21st February 2007. I must confess to chuckling to myself on receipt of this letter as it was BT who failed to reply to my letter months ago, then cut the phone off, proceeded to send my account to a debt collector and have now written to me asking how they can contact me via telephone or would I indeed call them. It could be said that if my original letter had been dealt with correctly, this matter would have been sorted out well before Christmas!

 

I am unable to supply a telephone number as the mobile phone I have is supplied by my employer and I will not disclose this number to be pestered with calls from “India”. Secondly – I contacted BT before Christmas to advise that I was moving and would no longer require a BT line. I was told that the contract was until March and I could not cancel it. I then suggested that the line was transferred to our new property but that was not possible because I wouldn’t pay the bill. Yet I was still waiting for a response to my original letter.

 

The crux of the problem here is BT has not supplied a service to which they expected paying for. You have a legal requirement to provide an “acceptable voice service” and this was not done. The line connection to xxxx xxxxx was atrocious with callers not able to hear us and vice versa and the Broadband connection was connecting and disconnecting constantly. The phone line was also “out of order” at least five times in less then 18 months. To add insult to injury the phone line was cut off because one department within BT did not know what the other was doing – although it appears that the department dealing with customer complaints and queries wasn’t doing anything anyway!

 

Our post is being forwarded to our new address so I suggest continuing to use the old address so as not to cause any further confusion within your various departments. I look forward to an full explanation.

 

Will wait and see what happens now!

All the best to everybody.....

[Mark_Blackpool]

I had thought that ADSL broadband doesn't work at all with aliminium lines, which some people do have.

 

However BT's only obligation, as rightly pointed out, is to provide an acceptable voice service. If the line isn't up to broadband, it's "nobody's problem" (in effect it's your "fault" for choosing to live where you do rather than BT's for substandard wiring, they are not obliged to do anything about it) and people reporting issues with their broadband on marginal lines occasionally find the broadband switched off on the premise that it never really was possible to provide it reliably in the first place and that line marked as being unable to support ADSL.

 

I had thought that they had some kind of compensation scheme if the line is down which will have maximum limitations for a domestic service - might be worth a hunt around the BT website. Perhaps you can "claim" for the five instances. This is worth a read, especially the section towards the end:

 

http://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/Regulatoryinformation/Codeofpractice/Consumercodeofpractice/code_of_practiceFINALPHME.pdf

 

Can't you and your neighbours get cable?

[buzby]

It works with aluminium pairs, but there is greater signal attenutation, which affects speed. It will not work on any line that is provided as a 1+1 carrier, if the line provided is not on the wired side of the connection.

[demon_x_slash]

Sorry, Buzz, that all arrived in my brain as "Merh merh fliddle kerscpooch attenuation daflibble..."

[tattietoo]

Thank you all for your comments. I'm not so fussed about the BB but what was annoying was not being able to hear a caller and vice versa. If so much as the kettle was put on then you might as well have given up on the conversation, it was crazy plus you had to quietly shout down the phone. This is my gripe about it all and then not replying to a letter posted on 28th October I think. BT and customer service are a thing of the past. It was one of their own technicians who told me the wiring to all the houses in the area needed renewing!

[buzby]

Might sound obvious - but have you tried a different handset that is known to work?

[tattietoo]

I did. Bought a new one specially.... no difference. And it was a BT one so not cheap. But you know what is nice, not having a phone at home... no unwanted phone calls (Crap One), not being able to sit doing BB (can do it at work), it actually takes pressure away. Cant check bank accounts so do on Friday to make sure all is ok so realx about that. Dare I say there is a lot to be said for not having a telephone. Crazy as it might sound.

[tattietoo]

Dear Buzby,

 

Am I correct in thinking that BUZBY was a Advertising Campaign for BT years ago? Don't tell me you work for BT... OH ^&&^%$%$% !!!!!!

[tattietoo]

Well, carrying on with the above, I received another letter asking me to advise of a contact telephone number to BT could contact me. I can't actually remember quite what I did as toe nclosures but I sent it off to the London offices of BT addressed to The Chairman! Well, I've had a reply from teh Chairmans secretary who advises they will be looking into it. As the account has been sent to a Debt Collector, I've forwarded it back the Chairman's Office and asked him to sort it out!!!! But I still have not had a reply to my letter of October 2006!

 

Watch this space!!!!!

[buzby]

Dear Buzby,

 

Am I correct in thinking that BUZBY was a Advertising Campaign for BT years ago? Don't tell me you work for BT... OH ^&&^%$%$% !!!!!!

 

 

No. Buzby had nothing to do with BT. He was the invention of Post Office Telecommunications Ltd!

[tattietoo]

Oh, ok! Thank you. He was cute though but I'm showing my age now!!!!

[remus]

I've still got a buzby (little yellow bird) pendant, can't remember where from, long time ago:D

[buzby]

I've still got a buzby (little yellow bird) pendant, can't remember where from, long time ago:D

 

You can still get treatment for this, but not on this site!