Problem with o2 broadband and BT

fw1980

Hi guys,

New to the forum and needing some advice. I was looking for a new brodband provider and decided to take a look at having a phone line with BT and broadband with o2.

As I have been with virgin media I didn't have a BT phone line at the time. I went on the o2 site and checked my postcode and it came up saying my postcode area was fine and they could supply me with o2 broadband at my postcode.

Happy with this I went ahead and ordered my BT line and had it installed. When I had my new BT phone number I went on to the o2 site again to order my new broadband. I put in my new phone number and it came up with 'Sorry but we can't supply you with broadband in your area'. I thought it must have just been a mistake so I tried my post code again and again it said all was fine. I then gave o2 a call to find out what was going on. The guy asked for my phone number and said that I was too far from the exchange for broadband, 600 metres. I asked him to confirm my post code and he did from my phone number. I then asked why the website was saying that I could have the service from my post code but not from my phone number. His answer to that was your postcode covers a big area, I said my post code covers one street and he then said he didn't know.

I then called BT to cancel my phone cantract as it has just been connected last week. Their answer was I could not cancel it without paying charges of over £100.

Does anyone have any idea of anything I can do or am I stuck with a phone line for 18 month I don't need.

Thanks in advance

deklan99

You have to give BTw's database time to update with your new details. Can take a few days. O2 probably refer to it for new orders.

fw1980

Hi Deklan,

Thanks for your reply, I thought that myself. I did mention that to the guy from o2 and all he could say is that I was too far away from the exchange and I would be lucky to get dialup speeds.

WolfSong2000

Keep chasing up O2 - I had exactly the same problem, and took me 3 months of constantly ringing O2 and BT to get it sorted (each kept blaming the other). More often than not it *can* be done.

Donnie

fw1980 wrote: »

Hi Deklan,

Thanks for your reply, I thought that myself. I did mention that to the guy from o2 and all he could say is that I was too far away from the exchange and I would be lucky to get dialup speeds.

600 metres is not too far....

fw1980

Thanks for the replys, yeah I will keep on at the 2 companies I have emailed o2 telling what this has cost me and waiting on reply. I will write to them if I dont get an answer. As for BT I am not to sure how to deal with them as they did supply the line I ask for but now wont let me cancel it.

Do you think I should write to BT letting them know what happend and see if I get anywhere with that?

macman

What speed does the BT line checker say you should be getting?
http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/adslchecker.welcome.
Then check your availability on this link.
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/mapping/mapping.php

There's no point in getting onto BT. You asked them to provide you with a landline, which they have done, not a broadband service. Your dispute is with O2.
But if you are only 600m from the exchange, there should not be any issue (unless he said '600m too far from the exchange'?).
Worth checking with a neighbour what sort of speeds they are getting, so you can tell O2 that info. Sounds like a postcode mismatch, which is not unknown.

fw1980

Sorry guys its not 600m its 6000m away from the exchange as o2 says.

I have found a few phone numbers from the school just behind me and a few houses in the next street and they are all coming up broadband up to 5mb on the o2 site.

Macman the line checker came up with this.


Your exchange is ADSL enabled, and our initial test on your line indicates that your line should be able to have an ADSL broadband service that provides a fixed line rate up to 1Mbps. However due to the length of your line the 1Mbps service may require an engineer visit who will, where possible, supply the broadband service.


Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a potential ADSL Max broadband line rate of 2Mbps or greater.
Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a potential ADSL2+ broadband line rate of 2Mbps or greater.

And same know came up with this

[URL="javascript:toggle_display('adsl_ext_2')"]ADSL available at ~2Mbps[/URL]
BT Total broadband
TalkTalk LLU (8M is free)
Sky LLU (2M is free, 8M is £5pm)
AOL LLU (£10pm discount)
Pipex broadband
Plusnet broadband
Tiscali broadband
And many more...
[URL="javascript:toggle_display('adsl2p_ext_2')"]ADSL2+ available at ~2Mbps[/URL]
Be Unlimited
O2 broadband
UK Online (incl 20M packages)
Sky Max (LLU) (16M for £10pcm)
[URL="javascript:toggle_display('cable_ext_2')"]Cable services available[/URL]

Samknows also says that I am 2045m away from the exchange.

What do you think?
Thanks

deklan99

If your new number has been recycled from a property that was significantly further away from the exchange it's concievable that BTw database is still reporting the old details.
Don't know how that would be updated unless you have adsl on your line, catch22 as far as O2 are concerned maybe.
In any case Be certainly refuse to accept customers on longer lines a) it enhances the average speeds attained by their customers and b) longer lines require greater support, maybe O2 have gone the same way.
One solution, depending on how long you are prepared to bang head against 2 brick walls, is maybe try signing up with a provider who offers 1 month contracts ie. entanet resellers.
See how that goes, get your line stats including attenuation which will provide evidence of reported line length and then get a MAC and try to migrate to O2/Be.
Drawbacks might be you incur a new connection fee and if your line does proove to be too long for Be/O2 and you decide adsl is not for you a termination fee.

Just a quick thought with no real technical knowledge behind it, if you were to hook up an adsl router to your line would the attenuation figures be available without an adsl signal? Sure the more techinically minded will assist but might save you some hassle as well as some cash (assuming you have a router of course).

macman

Don't read too much into the checker's line lengths. They are calculated by postcode from the exchange in a straight line, whereas the actual cable route may follow winding roads and be far longer.

purplecatlover

i know every time i have moved bt set up my new phone number account and then made me wait at least 7 full days before installing broadband as soemthing had to happen first after the phone was connected.