BT - Are they unanswerable?

AlexTLF

The following is a letter sent to BT on 25th Sept, 2008. Since then despite calling them every week I have had no replies or answers to the questions raised, in writing or by phone . Have had further problems since but have given up after over 3 months of crap and getting nowhere:-

On 25 September I asked for a phone line to be connected to the above address and said I’d like to keep the number which was already in place (i.e. 01626 33****) and was subsequently connected on 1 October. This phone number was used, by people, to phone me during the morning of the 1 October. That evening I made a phone call to my daughter who said she had been trying to phone me all afternoon but the number didn’t work.

As a result I phoned BT to report a fault. I was told the line number I was phoning from was not 33**** and I insisted it was. After several minutes of discussing this matter I realised that my phone number had been changed but the person I was speaking to refused to tell me the new number. Subsequently I phoned BT again and was told they were not allowed to tell me the number. On a third call to BT I was advised to phone 17070 which would give me the number. I did and it was 01626 32****.

I then phoned BT and complained about what had happened and asked for the number to be changed back to 33**** and was told this would be done within 3 days.

On the 4 October the number had not been changed so I phoned BT again when the person I was speaking to got in touch with a company called Open Reach and I was assured the number would be changed by 17:00 hrs. that day. It wasn’t, so I made another phone call to BT to be told it would be 6 October before it would be changed.

Sometime before 07:30 hrs. on the 6 October the number was changed.

Questions:
1. Why did it take 5 days to connect the phone?
§ given the line and phone number were already in existence

2. Why was the number (01626 33****) changed?
§ after the number was already up, running and working. (Your small print “This is a provisional number – confirmation will be given on installation”)

3. Why was I not informed?
§ Your small print “This is a provisional number – confirmation will be given on installation”

4. Why, even when asked, did your company refuse to give me the new number?
§ Your small print “This is a provisional number – confirmation will be given on installation”

5. Why did it take 5 days to change the number back?
§ when it only took a few hours to change it on the day of installation

6. Why is there no option, when anyone phones 150, to contact customer services?
§ I spent well in excess of 6 hours being put on hold and having to repeatedly explain the problem to individuals in Glasgow, Dundee, Milton Keynes, Cardiff and India and this was only after I started asking where I was talking to
§ No one, and I mean no one, could tell me which phone number and/or options to call to get in touch with customer services

Yours faithfully,


PS The above is a very short precise of the ‘events’ which took place and do not include the numerous bits of misinformation I was given.
With regard to the knock on effect of your company’s actions I’m not even going to start on the severe problems and anxiety that have been caused.

dundeemania

AlexTLF wrote: »

The following is a letter sent to BT on 25th Sept, 2008. Since then despite calling them every week I have had no replies or answers to the questions raised, in writing or by phone . Have had further problems since but have given up after over 3 months of crap and getting nowhere:-

On 25 September I asked for a phone line to be connected to the above address and said I’d like to keep the number which was already in place (i.e. 01626 33****) and was subsequently connected on 1 October. This phone number was used, by people, to phone me during the morning of the 1 October. That evening I made a phone call to my daughter who said she had been trying to phone me all afternoon but the number didn’t work.

As a result I phoned BT to report a fault. I was told the line number I was phoning from was not 33**** and I insisted it was. After several minutes of discussing this matter I realised that my phone number had been changed but the person I was speaking to refused to tell me the new number. Subsequently I phoned BT again and was told they were not allowed to tell me the number. On a third call to BT I was advised to phone 17070 which would give me the number. I did and it was 01626 32****.

I then phoned BT and complained about what had happened and asked for the number to be changed back to 33**** and was told this would be done within 3 days.

On the 4 October the number had not been changed so I phoned BT again when the person I was speaking to got in touch with a company called Open Reach and I was assured the number would be changed by 17:00 hrs. that day. It wasn’t, so I made another phone call to BT to be told it would be 6 October before it would be changed.

Sometime before 07:30 hrs. on the 6 October the number was changed.

Questions:
1. Why did it take 5 days to connect the phone?
§ given the line and phone number were already in existence

2. Why was the number (01626 33****) changed?
§ after the number was already up, running and working. (Your small print “This is a provisional number – confirmation will be given on installation”)

3. Why was I not informed?
§ Your small print “This is a provisional number – confirmation will be given on installation”

4. Why, even when asked, did your company refuse to give me the new number?
§ Your small print “This is a provisional number – confirmation will be given on installation”

5. Why did it take 5 days to change the number back?
§ when it only took a few hours to change it on the day of installation

6. Why is there no option, when anyone phones 150, to contact customer services?
§ I spent well in excess of 6 hours being put on hold and having to repeatedly explain the problem to individuals in Glasgow, Dundee, Milton Keynes, Cardiff and India and this was only after I started asking where I was talking to
§ No one, and I mean no one, could tell me which phone number and/or options to call to get in touch with customer services

Yours faithfully,


PS The above is a very short precise of the ‘events’ which took place and do not include the numerous bits of misinformation I was given.
With regard to the knock on effect of your company’s actions I’m not even going to start on the severe problems and anxiety that have been caused.

Ok lets start with your first question

* BT's timescale for a new customer on a line that has already been in the property is 2 working days & 3 working days after 1530 hours and does not include bank hols. This is probably why it took so long.

*You should have been infomred that the number has only been reserved and it is not guarenteed until the line is activated & working as i was told when i took up BT service & if you wanted to choose your own number then it would be another 4 working days after the service has been completed and activated & that new number would act as a ghost number until such time you could get your old number back There is also no direct number into BT customer services as They have many depts that deal with all different aspects of customer service such as phone lines, broadband,vision, etc

*The automated system is changing and the change is to come into effect on 27/01/2009 as their website states due to feedback they have recieved from their customers

* when i was ordering my service, they advised me that the number is only reserved and can change, to check the number i would have to ring my mobile from the landline as they cannot give a telephone number out over the phone once the line has been connected for data protection


Hope this helps!! :rotfl:

topherxp

BT Retail can't guarentee telephone numbers because the numbers aren't theres, and in terms of line provision they can't reserve a specific number, although changes are currently being inplimented so fix this problems when requesting a number that is already on the line.