Wish I never went back to BT

RALPHIE

Can someone please help I am now at the end of my tether.

I had broadband installed on the 23rd June and should be getting 17mb. the average I was told i would get is 10-17.

The most I have ever had is 10 and this is late at night very early in morning.

I have spent hours on the phone to india as I cant speak to an English call centre. Do BT still have one.

I have even asked to be through to Ian Livingstone but told he wont speak to customers.

Can someone please give me his email address I cant seem to find it failing that I am now tempted to go and sit in bt's head office and notify the press of my intentions perhaps supergluing myself to the counter.

Thanks

Ralph

mandi

[EMAIL="Ianlivingstone@bt.com"]Ianlivingstone@bt.com[/EMAIL] Here you go Ralph .

georgiebest7

Good luck with that one mate but chances are regardless of who you speak to, they'll pass off some hokey to you saying how the initial speed is just an estimate, and they back it up in their terms and conditions, so no one has a legal case against them.

One thing that I have found helpful though, is to plug the modem into the master socket in the house (where the line comes into the house). If you haven't already got it plugged into that try it.

Mexas

I think BT have a forum you can raise issue's with, you may get a bit more help there.

http://community.bt.com/t5/Broadband/ct-p/BB

Niowrtt

RALPHIE wrote: »

The most I have ever had is 10

That's your real speed, as determined by your distance from the exchange and the quality of the wiring in your home. To improve this speed, ensure your cabling and equipment is perfect, else move closer to an exchange.

RALPHIE wrote: »

and this is late at night very early in morning.

This indicates that it is due to congestion at your local exchange. All ISPs using BT's network will be affected. In my experience if your exchange has a history of being oversubscribed, it will never be fixed. If it's a new problem, then BT will put in place a long term fix.

Take a look at this:
http://users.plus.net/exchanges/
If your Exchange shows up red, then BT are aware and might add more capacity.

The alternative is to check if you have the possibility of going onto a LLU service, which doesn't use BT's network.

macman

10MBps is plenty fast enough for most general usage, most people would be delighted with that speed on an ADSL line.

essexman77

Yes 10 is not bad for BT its only Virgin becasue they use fibre optic get closer to what they state

Mark_In_Hampshire

Giving the customer a range of speeds, as opposed to a more precise estimate is against OFCOM's terms.

That said, to get 17Mbps on ADSL2+ the telephone line needs to be good quality and no more than about 1400 metres long.

Only a very, very small number of people can achieve that speed. The chart on this page demonstrates it:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2011/06/30/who-are-the-real-broadband-conmen-the-isps-or-the-asa/

There is a new code of conduct which would mean you could potentially escape the contract if the speed is not as promised.

Except that came in after you signed up, and you are actually getting a speed within the range indicated to you.

To get something faster you need Virgin media cable or a fibre-to-the-cabinet service.

That said, you say "went back to BT" - who were you using before; if it was ADSL2+ based and was faster then perhaps an LLU service from an operator other than BT will do better.

bod1467

There are 2 considerations here - sync speed (i.e. what speed your modem/router negotiates with the exchange equipment); and throughput speed (i.e. how fast files download etc).

To tackle the sync question, can you post your router stats? (Uptime, Bandwidth, Attenuation, SNR margin, for both Down and Up).

Next thing to do - plug the router into the filter into the TEST socket. (The one behind the master socket faceplate). This should disconnect all your internal wiring. Do the stats improve? If yes then you may have an internal wiring issue; if no then you may have a line fault.

To check for a line fault, unplug all equipment then plug a corded, analogue phone (<£5 from Argos if you don't have one) into the TEST socket then dial 17070 and select option 2 (quiet line test). Listen - is the line absolutely silent (except for the lady's voice)? No pops, crackles, buzzing, hissing or anything? If not silent you may consider raising a voice fault with BT - audible noise WILL affect your broadband signal - but don't mention broadband else they'll try to fob you off.

If all the above does not apply and it is throughput which is the problem, well there's not a lot we can do to help (other than suggest migrating to a decent ISP).

BT_company_representative

Hi RALPHIE

I have just seen your post and would like to look into this for you to see what speeds you should be getting with your current service. If you check out my profile section you will find my contact details. Send over your details and I will look into this.

Regards David

mardatha

Totally agree with you. I've just had a nightmare with BT and no internet for two weeks. If I want to ask whether the fault in my local exchange - which I can see out of my kitchen window - is sorted, then I have to phone India. Absolute nonsense!! and these people are hopeless. Might as well be talking to a parrot on Mars.