Free BT installation deal discussion

midsummer100

Hi all

Just wanted to say that I have now spoken to the extremely helpful BT Rep Robbie who has either solved my issues, answered my questions or escalated the problem to the right person, so thought I would post as I believe credit should be given where credit is due.

Three weeks ago I also spoke to the helpful BT Rep Patrick, who also solved that particular issue for me.

Just waiting for BT OpenReach to come back to me now.

Thank you to BT Reps Robbie and Patrick.

Adam_Standen

Hi there,

Just seen this thread and have a question (Sorry if off topic).

My current BT line wiring appears to be in a poor state. Old cable with 3 small junction boxes (about 2 x 1 inch with no socket or faceplate) before the official BT master socket. I think these extra boxes are causing a bad line especially for broadband.

Can I get this free line in addition to my existing one and will it enable me to have a brand new line/cable and master socket as well as my existing one or will they just reuse old cable and box? If yes can I then cancel my existing line and transfer old number to new line?

Thanks for any help.

Adam

sunnyd47

YOU HAVE TO LAUGH 3........Its gets even more incompetent by BT.

First off, I was was quoted £500.00 for a "free" line installation under this offer. 1 week ago, after further contact with BT reps on here, finally I got a phone call saying that they wanted to sort my problem out once and for all and would install the line "Free" on the 19th of August. Hoorah!

Would you believe today I have had a phone call from BT, once again, telling me that the line installation is now £12,400!!!!!!!! I know, from £500 to Free to £12,400 (no I havent put too many noughts in and misplaced the , - twelve thousand, four hundred pounds is correct).

I have 3 in ground BT boxes on my land, one 4 feet from my lounge and two 14 feet away but still in my garden. I was told today by one BT member of staff that they are more likely "tail ends" of lines and I needed 400 meters of new cable which costs £12,400. I have also been told by a different BT memeber of staff today, that the £12,400 charge is to dig a trench 14 feet, nothing about any extra cable that is required. Who is right, what is the correct cost? Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing? (No for sure on this last one).

When I originally applied for the "free" line installation, BT simply told me that a survey would be required, they told me nothing about this survey costing £350,00 and that it would be added to any final installation cost, I wouldnt have had the damn survey done if I had been informed of such. Even at the survey, the Openreach guy said it would cost in the l" ow hundreds, possibly £200 and that BT may stand that for you as a new customer". Am I now to believe that the surveyor was incompetent, was he not equipped to know exactly what was needed? Was this not his job, a job he was supposed to know all about?

There is something fishy going on at BT in my opinion and I WILL getto the bottom of why I appear to be being missinformed at every turn and why I was tod by BT that I had to have an openrech survey but never informed of any charge.

BT_company_representative

Hi Sunnyd47,

Thanks for taking my call this evening. To confirm, the £350.00 was for the survey fee which was then cleared.

The overall charge you have been quoted is due to the additional work needed, this can include things such as extra equipment and cabling. As I advised, our investigations team will be in touch to confirm the exact situation with you.

Thanks,

Stephanie
BT Support

sunnyd47

BT_company_representative wrote: »

Hi Sunnyd47,

Thanks for taking my call this evening. To confirm, the £350.00 was for the survey fee which was then cleared.

The overall charge you have been quoted is due to the additional work needed, this can include things such as extra equipment and cabling. As I advised, our investigations team will be in touch to confirm the exact situation with you.

Thanks,

Stephanie
BT Support

Well, today brings yet antoher round of misinformation from BT's investigations team. They informed me that, where I live (which is a residential park home that has been here since c1960) it is NOT residential, I know, talk about bufoonery. They claimed that "Openreach had contacted my local council and that the council had informed them that the park was not residential at all and that all people living here had to leave for 1 month a year", therefore a BT could not be installed as it was not residential. I told them that, all of my residentail neighbours (12 months of the year the same as I) had BT lines, this seemed to go completely over their heads (conveniently I think) and they still said that none of the park was residential. The fact that I was expalining that all of my neighbours already HAD BT lines was irrelevent to them. BT were trying to tell me that the site was not residential, which means no one would be able to have BT lines. In one ear and out of the other once again though.

I gave up anyway and said I will ring the council for clarification which I did immediately. As soon as the council office answered the phone and I asked the question and they said "Yes, it is residential". I rang BT back immediately, spoke ot the same person to tell them, they did not really seem willing to listed but I gave them the council contact details for them to ring, eventually, after a sharp intake of breath, they wrote the info down. They then had the bare faced cheek to say, "you may have to go into your local council to collect written evidence to send to BT about my being a resident".

I am losing my patience now, not a good sign and it does not help my already high blood pressure. Every time I speak with BT, it appears that the goal posts are moved for saome reason or another.

BT are treating me as if I live on some kind of illegal gypsy encampment and I am totally affronted by their attitude, discrimination and misinformation.

ca-uk

i feel your pain sunnyd47

it seems that bt, as with many other organisations have slipped into the pit of "the customer doesn't matter" - expecting a member of staff to care, empathise, listen or do anything seems beyond the skills of most frontline staff these days. not to tar all of them - sometimes you find a gem who will help you out and, basically, do there job and a smidge more, but rarely.

i'm not that old, but even i yearn for the service of 10 years ago, let alone how interested people seemed in doing there jobs and doing them well before that!

sunnyd47

ca-uk wrote: »

i feel your pain sunnyd47

it seems that bt, as with many other organisations have slipped into the pit of "the customer doesn't matter" - expecting a member of staff to care, empathise, listen or do anything seems beyond the skills of most frontline staff these days. not to tar all of them - sometimes you find a gem who will help you out and, basically, do there job and a smidge more, but rarely.

i'm not that old, but even i yearn for the service of 10 years ago, let alone how interested people seemed in doing there jobs and doing them well before that!

Thanks for the empathy vote. I really do not want to moan about the service thus far but after running my own business for 20 years, successfully, I cannot abide it when people or companies simply seem to simply offer lip service.
If I had been told the facts from the start, no problem and it would have saved me a lot of unnecessary stress and saved me a lot of money on mobile phone calls trying to get to the bottom of it.
I am sure that all BT staff that I have spoken have done what they were instructed to do it is just that at every turn, I am told something different, I have have been given three different quotes (ranging from £500 to £12,400). Many different reasons for the charges.

Today took the biscuit as far as where I live and the obvious internations about it, I have also been told that the type of property I live in is viewed as high risk. No residential property should be seen as a higher risk than any other, another reason to feel that this is an outdated view on people that actually live on residential parks.

I am not an idiot by any means but am now left feeling like I have been treated like one.

zulubabe

I'm a little confused. Apparently I have the 'free' offer but a letter received says that they're going to charge me £122.50 on my first bill but credit it back on the second. As I'm set up on direct debit does this mean that they will deduct this £122.50 and I'll have a credit left sitting on my account. I signed up to BT only because I wouldn't be paying this connection charge and I cannot afford £122.50 anyway!

OldGreyFox

zulubabe wrote: »

I'm a little confused. Apparently I have the 'free' offer but a letter received says that they're going to charge me £122.50 on my first bill but credit it back on the second. As I'm set up on direct debit does this mean that they will deduct this £122.50 and I'll have a credit left sitting on my account. I signed up to BT only because I wouldn't be paying this connection charge and I cannot afford £122.50 anyway!

"Discounts will be by bill credit and will be shown on your bill"

http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/public/current/Notice09_boo/2-FrameworkImpl337855.htm

Northern_Rock

OldGreyFox wrote: »

"Discounts will be by bill credit and will be shown on your bill"

http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/public/current/Notice09_boo/2-FrameworkImpl337855.htm

That is shocking, but sadly not surprising from BT, either connection is free or its not.They should reword this offer if you have to pay for connection after all.One of the reasons why im happy to pay the post office £107 for a new line on a 1 month contract,there was way too many conditions and tieins for my liking on this not so "free line connection" offer.For me personally their free connection offer (which it seems now i have to pay upfront lol) would cost me £122 over 18 month contract as i only have landline for broadband connection hence have to pay them back £6.80 a month in penalty payments