BT complaints

bladeguard

I am writing to you regarding the problems I have been having with my BT line of late. The line has been run at this address for some 5 years or more and originally had Mada fish broadband on it. Recently we decided get broadband back into the house and chose 02 as a supplier. O2 said that the Madafish tags where still on the line despite asking Bt 5 years ago to remove them twice. BT had not removed them. I telephoned the disconnection team from my mobile and complained that the tags should have been removed stating that I would move to a different supplier. I was told that I could not have had broadband on my BT In-Contact line as broadband needed to dial out. The lady was very upset when she found I had had broadband on the account stating that the line product would not support it. After this call when I now test the line for broadband it comes back BBREJECT-IncompatibleProduct obviously the lady put this tag onto my line. I was told that if i needed it removed I would have to enter into an 18-month contract with BT again. I spoke to the complaints review manager two days ago as she had told me originally that if o2 broadband contacted BT wholesale that they could remove it. O2 Broadband said this was not in their remit and I phoned the complaints review back up and said that O2 Broadband could not do this. I was then told that this would be removed in two days and I would be able to get broadband back. two days have passed and the tag has not been removed. I talked to Faults again today this evening and they where unable to put me through to Complaints review. Following on from this I telephoned Talktalk and asked if they could resolve this. I was told that BT had put this tag on the line to stop any other supplier taking the line over. TalkTalk said the only way this could be resolved was for me to have a new line if BT would not remove it. Obviously BT is using tactics to stop us moving to other suppliers, which I believe to be unfair trading. Additionally they have changed my contract and line options without written consent. I believe they are in breach of their contract remit.

DOES ANYONE HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR THE BT HIGH LEVEL COMPLAINTS TEAM THAT DOESNT GET BOUNCED BACK

BT_company_representative

Hi Bladeguard,

If you are trying to order Broadband on line a BT In-Contact line, it will be the fact that you line is In-contact line that will stop you from being able to order Broadband. Anybody that has the BT In Contact service is excluded for having Broadband, this includes BT and all other Broadband providers. The In Contact service provides a low cost line with most outgoing calls restricted. It is because this line has restriction in place that is stopping you from ordering broadband. When you contact a Broadband provider to order broadband, they will see that there is an incompatible product or service on your line and if your line is In Contact, it is this that is stopping you from ordering Broadband. If you want a Broadband service this would mean you would need to come off In Contact and move over to normal line rental package that does not have any restrictions.

Thanks

Patrick

BT Support,

Heinz

The other side of the coin:

My line suddenly went dead yesterday about 8.40am.

Openreach engineer arrived this morning about 11.15am and immediately identified the fault (a dead short) as being external and 156 metres away from my property.

He's been attempting to track the fault ever since (can't get access to one manhole due to vehicles being parked over it all day and can't go down another because he's on is own).

He's just left saying he would have to pass the job back for tomorrow.

He's working 7am to 7pm on flat money!

Clarrie

Oh my, BT are terrible!!!!!

I received a bill double to what I would normally expect and, assuming that there was a simple mistake, phoned up to find out what was going on.

The lady (albeit a lovely customer services rep) advised me that BT had changed their billing system and subsequently the bill was higher. Apparently I should have received a letter about this (which I didn't, and neither did hundreds of other customers by the sound of it). I asked if I could spread the cost -- computer said no. Unhappy, I asked if I was still in contract and how much notice I had to give. I was told I wasn't under contract and only had to give 14 days' notice.

So off I toodled to an alternative supplier, paid a set up fee, and was told I needed a MAC code from BT.

Phone BT back, and got a (quite rude, robotic computer-says-no type) chap who told me I was still under contract and would have to pay up for BBand until January, plus a cancellation fee!!!

Totally frustrated with them. Customers just don't matter to them whilst they can screw you for a few more quid.

BT_company_representative

Hi Clarrie, sorry about the confusion over the MAC, the MAC code will be supplied but if you are in contract with broadband you will have to pay a cancellation fee to exit the contract. You dont have to pay the rental and the cancellation fee. There is a set cancellation fee per month depending on what option you have. If you PM your number I will look into as estimate the cancellation charge. Cheers, Conan BT Support

Clarrie

Hi Conan,

Cheers for the response, but to be honest it wasn't the MAC Code issue that upset me. My biggest issues at the moment are:

1. Change of billing system without being notified of it beforehand. I know other BT customers are in the same position. I'm facing a bill double that of expected, it's a financially hard time and there is no option to 'spread the cost'. Basically, it's costing me a weeks' worth of groceries.

2. BT's records are flawed. Why would one employee tell me I'm no longer in contract, and another tell me a completely different tale less than 2 hours later? If my alternative supplier (that I was going to sign up for) hadn't have been so understanding and refunded me, I could have potentially had another administrative nightmare on my hands trying to get the £30 I paid them on the back of BT's dud records.

3. BT menu systems when you want to speak to someone do nothing for your blood pressure. They never give you the option you want, so you go for a 'best fit' approach, only to face another menu and go through the whole thing again.

4. When you eventually speak to someone, they have no authority or flexibility to treat you as a paying customer and address your problem with a mutually satisfactory outcome. I do not object to paying the bill, but everything is on BT's terms and I didn't even warrant notification to prepare for it coming.

marywooyeah

don't even get me started on BT. I wanted Sky so had to have a BT phoneline.

End of march 2008 - got through straightaway to set up a new account and paid £25, told the line would be in 5 days. Didn't get set up for over 2 weeks, at least 2 calls before it was sorted.

The previous tenant contacted me and asked for the phone number to be released to him, I said fine, phoned BT to sort it out and was given a new number there and then, told 5 days to swap over. After 5 days was told at least another seven. After seven was told another eleven. Eventually a BT guy rang and asked if I was happy for the number to be released. I said "are you joking I have been trying to get it released for about three weeks!"

Next day I got a phone call from indian call centre asking if I wanted the number changing still, I said I dont need it changing anymore as it was changed yesterday. Guy took it as I dont need the line anymore and cut it off, then BT charged me £125 for disconnecting it.
Then took another 2 weeks to reconnect it, they gave me 3 months free line rental (£35) as "compensation" for my troubles, then took this £35 off the £125 that I "owed" them.

Waited in all day for callbacks that never came, once after an hour after phoning on my mobile I burst into tears and had to call my midwife to come see me as I started suffering heart palpitations, I was eight months pregnant. Took them ages to deliver my router too.

I counted down the days until I could switch over to Sky, phoned on the earliest date that I could leave and when I said I can't wait to switch over I will never deal with BT again the girl just said ok fine not bothered.

They are absolutely useless and caused me no end of stress at a time when I should have been relaxing and preparing for the birth of my first child, not spending nearly an hour almost everyday phoning them. I will never use them ever again, it's unfair that they have a monopoly on the phonelines that you have to use them to get Sky

andybos

Hello I have sky but not with a bt line

FannyHill

For every good story about BT I hear a 100 bad ones.


I don't think you need to "have" a BT phone line to get Sky.


Do BT charge for ceasing a line ?????

marywooyeah

when I signed up last year I was told you had to have a BT phoneline to get Sky. I stuck out the contract when it was eventually sorted and switched over my phone line to sky as soon as I could. The ironic thing is I don't even use the housephone as I have a good mobile contract.