Horrible time getting a BT line activated in an old flat - advice saught

maznaz_2

Hi there,

sorry if this is a bit long-winded but I want to get all the detail across in the hope that someone can suggest a way to A) complain successfully and Get a line activated.

I rented a new flat on the 14th of August and applied for a BT line the same day. A day or two later I checked the status of the order and saw that the projected activation date was the 1st of september. Thinking this was a little far in the future I called BT and asked why.

I was told that due to the previous tenant not cancelling their BT line that BT had to serve notice of 14 days. I was then told that if I could contact the previous tenant and ask them to cancel their line, the installation date would be moved forward to a sooner date.

I contacted the previous tenant via the landlord and after two or three cycle sof calling BT, being told nothing had changed and contacting the landlord again, I was evnetually informed by the landlord that the line was definitely cancelled.

I checked the status of my online order and saw that rather than being sooner, the installation date had been pushed back to the 7th of september.

I called BT (now thursday the 27th) and asked why this was. I was given no satisfactory answer but I was advised that BT would cancel the line provision and issue a new one for me. The cancellation would take effect on the Friday and then I would receive confirmation of the new activation date.

I was unable to call them on Friday so called on Saturday morning and was told the line order had not been cancelled. No new order had been placed either, and since it was a bank holiday weekend I would have to wait until Tuesday to try the process again. The CS rep assured me that he would cancel the line order though, so I wouldn't have to wait for the 24 hour cancellation notice on Tuesday to make a new order.

I called BT on Tuesday morning, and was not shocked to hear the line order had still not been cancelled. I immediately asked to speak to a supervisor who listened to my complaint and then told me that he would place a new line order right then and there without making me wait the 24 hours that the previous people had insisted on. He did so, then told me he'd call me back to inform me of the new activation date.

At 5pm having received no call, I called through, to find that the line order had finally been cancelled, but no new order had been placed. I asked again to speak to a supervisor. The new supervisor began to check things for me and then asked me (as I was calling from a mobile) if he could call me directly back as it was costing me to call. I thanked him and waited patiently for the call, then went to bed when I didn't get it.

This morning at 9am, I rang BT again, and after discovering there was still no new order placed for a line I asked to speak to a supervisor. The new supervisor informed me that there was clearly a fault on the line and I would be charged the full installation fee of £125 or whatever it is AND I would still need to wait 48 hours from today at least, for the line to be activated.

I have no direct contact to the previous tenant, but I've been assured by the landlord that he was on a BT business line (confirmed by the first few CS reps I spoke to) which was working and active when we moved in to the flat on the 14th.

I currently have a phone plugged in to the socket which gives a dial tone, but I get the BT woman telling me the number is not recognised if I try to make a call (like 1471).

On top of the above, I have had my call dropped three times when I'm speaking to the Indian call centre, as well as occasional blackouts in speech despite having full signal on the mobile I'm calling from. I have been called back once by a CS rep so I know the number they have or me is correct.

Can anyone (who managed to read all that) suggest what I do next?

I am extremely loath to give BT any of my money after the debacle above, and as I am going to get Sky here should I just ask them to install a line for me? I was initially put off from doing that by being warned about a long lead time. Well for it to be as long as BT's lead time would take some doing. Would they charge me the connection fee plus the £125 that BT are trying to charge?

Also, I would like to know a little about the complaints procedure for such things. Do I complain directly to BT or is there a third party I should inform.

Thanks a lot for reading.
Maz

Heinz

Are you staying 18 months? If so, the current free installation offer (available until 30/9/09) would save you £122 (provided you made at least 10 calls per month).

maznaz_2

Thanks for the reply. I may be staying 18 months but can't be sure at this moment. If all else fails I'll fall back on that offer though, thanks.

Can anyone shed any light on the other questions re: sky / complaints?

Many thanks,
Maz

BT_company_representative

Hi there Maznaz, sorry to hear of the problems you've had with BT, we'd really like to help you sort things out.. Can you drop me a PM with your full address and any order numbers you have and I'll look into this for you! Thanks, Natasha BT Support