Bt Broadband fault

dumpy

I seem to be spendling my life on the phone to the BT call centre at the moment.

Broad band stopped working. I did the usual, changed microfilters, plugged into test socket, connection between modem and computer good etc. Error message reads your BT hub is not connected to broadband.

Each time I ring we have to go through the same checklist, yes, I am plugged into the test socket, yes I have changed the microfilters..... Each time they say they will escalte to special operations and each time I say you said that last time.

At which point they apologise say the fault hasn't been handled properly and will be sorted now and they will ring me back.

Which they don't, so I ring them and round we go again. I'm living groundhog day!

Last night I asked for a number or person to speak to to make a complaint. I was told that it was not possible to make a complaint about the faults section!

I guess that keeps your complaints levels down!!!

Any ideas as to what to do next? I don't think I can stand another phone call......

Mark_In_Hampshire

Several options spring to mind:

1. Try an alternative router to see if it's the Homehub at fault (is the SYNC light going off?)
2. Write to them at the London head office address CC'ing the Durham customer service one, setting out the dates and times of your calls so far and asking for a deadlock letter so you can escalate the matter to the regulator (which might prompt the necessary action)
3. Change ISP (it may be a line based fault, so thay may not solve it, but the next ISP might succeed where BT have failed) - if you're in a contract, then in (2) above state that you are considering this as an alternative, and won't be paying any "early exit fees". Note that if you have BT Vision you have to have BT Broadband for that to work.

dumpy

Thanks Mark, very helpful.

I'll try and get hold of another router, to see if that's the problem.

At the moment the wireless light is on and the broadband light is flashing, no other lights are coming on at all.

It went wrong like this a few years ago with similar light sequences on the hub and it was down to a fault somewhere at their end and I remember that it took a similar amount of time/hassle to get fixed.

I'll start drafting my letter now, I've been keeping detailed notes of calls made, promises made and calls not returned so I have a nice detailed log to put in.

BT_company_representative

Hi dumpy

I have just seen your post and would like to look into this for you, if checkout my profile section you will find my contact details.

Regards David

dumpy

Thank you

I have contacted you.

The latest is that an engineer did come out on Friday to the local exchange, the fault seems to be that the signal is not reaching me as it is too weak (i'm not very techno savvy so this is my understanding). However as the engineer was unable to speak to someone who he needed to and apparently was not allowed to spend more that 30 minutes trying to contact them so he had to refer the call on. So I'm now waiting 3 working days (which means another 5 days without braodband as he came out on Friday) to see if anything happens and if it's not working then I have to ring the call centre again......

And we'll run throught the script again........check my microfilters, are you plugged into the test socket.................... Oh look, a ground hog.....

mskemp85

Hi Dumpy,

Don't have any advice to add, but just wanted to reassure you that you're not alone. Having been trying to help my mother get her BT Broadband sorted and it has been a nightmare. So far in the two weeks the internet has been down we have had an engineer simply fail to turn up, since he didn't think he had the right tools for the job, despite us waiting in all day. On top of this we have had several phone calls to BT customer support, each offering various options:

1. Its a problem with the exchange, we can see the problem, it will be fixed within 48 hours (Didn't happen)
2. Oh it's a problem your end, but two engineer visits later this doesnt appear to be the case.
3. Now we need to fix an issue on the line, this will take 1-3 working days - You guessed it, nothing happened.

All the while she is stuck without broadband, paying (what I consider) far too much for broadband, (have been trying to convince her to switch to sky, but she wants to keep her bt email address

Heading back down south for the weekend to stay with her so will be phoning BT myself. I work with computers so hopefully may be able to hold my own on the phone to them a bit better than my mum. Will be pushing for a refund on this months bill, and a resolution this weekend, or at least an honest explanation of what the problem is. Seems all too easy to keep fobbing her off with technical terms that she (by her own admission), doesn't understand.

Hope you get it sorted.

macman

First thing to do is to borrow another router and see if that works-if so you can get a new HomeHub (version 2) on eBay for less than a tenner, hundreds available.
Which model do you have-if it's the old white 1.0 model then it's obsolete anyway. Time to upgrade, as it's almost certainly running only WEP wireless security.
Or use any other cheap wireless router such as the Netgear DG834G
Worth that small spend not to have to mess around waiting for BT.

mickdoherty77

This is an ongoing problem with our BT connection, but has been draging on for a while. Well sit back and enjoy ( laugh at this )
At the begining of June 2011 our broadband started to perform realy poorly, although our broadband light was on the pages would not open no matter what website (even the BT one ). this would last from anywhere form 1 min to 2or3 hours. after a few days we were getting a full drop out , no broadband light .
We then noticed that when we had a telephone call once the reciever was picked up and we started to talk the broadband would go off and the call was diconected. That was the start of what i think is more than 20+ call to BT so far (more to make).
Firstly comes the BT call center in India (lovely people) unfotunatly some operatives find it hard to understand what your exact proplem is, they do their best to help and even try and make you belive they have fixed your fault (all the way from India) 3 out of the first 4 assured me our fault was fixed.
Anyway fast forward 2 weeks we finaly get an enginner out to our house to check things this end. He arrived and checked things and found no problems, but just before he walked out of the door the phone rang , and before his eyes it all went off broadband and phone call (it was the doctor calling my wife urgent stuff).
looking bamboozeled out came all his equipment again and another 30mins of tests. "OHH dear this looks like an exchange equipment fault" he said " i will send a report in and someone will go to the exchage and sort it " he said then left.
Wrong 1 week later nothing had been done or heard so on the phone to BT again, this was after sending in a couple of emails of complaint. Anoher engineer was booked to come out.
In the meantime a man from BT called me to appologise and asked if anyone had changed the home hub "i told him no" so he said a new hub would be sent free of charge within 3 working days.
Along came the postman with a package from BT on the correct day but when we opened it the box was empty ? apart from a wire and disc. so another call to BT,another apology and another date for a hub was given. second time we recieved a hub phone(no hub). 3rd time lucky i thought. WRONG nothing arrived. Finaly 4th time we got the new hub, But it made no difference.
The second engineer was great very thorough and checked the cable from our house to the cabinet 500yards away, he found 4 faults. loose and brittle cables that broke when he touched them etc.
The broadband speed almost doubled after, the crackling on the line had gone and he tested it all before he left. great we thought it's working.
WRONG again 2 hours later off it all went again and did so the next day.
another call to BT. the second engineer had tolds us if the problem reacured , i was to tell them that the problem must be between the cabinet and the exchange and any further enginner should work from the exchange back to the cabinet to find the fault. Our freindly Indian call center boked an engineer to go to the exchage, Hoorraahh.
The dates of all this are missing but you get the jist if i say this all happened over a 5 week period.
The date of the enginners visit to the exchance i got a call on my mobile from India asking if my broadband was ok now as they had fixed it. I was not at home but i told them to call me back in 30 mins so i could get home and check. when i got home the broadband was off, although as he called back the broadband light was flahing on abmer. when i told him this he told me he was in touch with the enginner at the exchange and put me on hold for 10 mins. when he came back he asked me if it was working now, by this time it was completely off again no broadband light at all. he then said he woulds speak to the engineer at the exchange again and call me back in 5 mins, but he never did.
I then sent another complaint email to BT 3rd or 4th i think, and next day a lady from Bt called me regarding the email and asked to to explain our problem in detail. at this i got a bit annoyed and told her if she had me email then to read it, that would explain our problem. She took a min then came back to me asking if i would like to escalate the complaint , "yes please " i said.
A few days later a lovely irishman called Michael called us cant remeber what department he was from, but told us to contact him with anymore problems and he would sort them out.
He checked with open search to make sure the next engineer was going to the exchange to check the equipment and assure me they were. he then went on holiday so more contact with him has been made possible.
3rd enginneer turned up at our house !!!!!! " i have no instructions to go to the exchage " he said . so i tell him what the first 2 enginners have said. But he spends and hour doing his tests at our house anyway, and as usual cant find a problem. although one of his tests did show something abnormal, he had a good think , then decided to go and check the exchange cable at the cabinet , and came back and told us he was going to the exchange to change the E side (enginneers talk) so now the line from the exchane to the cabinet and the cabinet to our home have both been changed.
Now there is 1 big problem which i will come to in a moment.
Still a broadband drop out. another engineer booked . This time the last engineer says you have to ask for a LIFT AND SHIFT he said, which i did and the Indian call center said they know what that is and they would book this work to be done a week later.
WRONG!! engineer turns up at our house again. No Lift and Shift booked he was told to come and find out what the problem was.
GGGRRR.
The 3 last engineer have all stated that this sort of problem may never be fixed. because this particular problem can be caused by external influences i:e electrical equipment between us and the exchange (low and behold a new hotel being built directlty in the path along the road between us and the exchange) might explain it , ours starts playing up at exactly the same time as building commenced.
All 4 have told us to switch to BT Infinity, (we cant get it ) yes you can they say , your cabinet is enabled and running fibre optic now !
2 have told us "there are 4 conections to infinity in you cabinet now all running. if they are on so should you. "if they are telling you you are not on someone is taking the P*** coz there are people using it from the same cabinet that you are in. PUZZEL that one aint it ?
Anyway working 50% better maybe a bit more but still dropping , main problem now is it's dropping but the broadband light aint going off ? well not staight away, normaly see an online game getting a CI (connection interupt) and after a few min off goes the broadband light.
2 months 2 bills payed for something we aint getting, still not fixed , yawn tired ....WAKE UP BT . CATALOUGE OF ERRORS , one department not knowing what the other is doing or deliberatly ignoring it, lost equipment or wrong equipment , return call never being returned, people telling lies to us down the phone , engineers contradicting each other or trying to out do each other(but at least they tried and did mostly their best) and i didn't get into the wrong billing or the texts sent to us to send back the faulty homehub 3 (which we dont have ?)or the BT vision on demand that wont work properly SIGHHH
Maybe the 5th engineer may find the problem. OR MAYBE NOT !

kwikbreaks

I eventually gave up on ADSL after 5 engineer visits failed to fix a line fault. I was lucky as I could get cable but of course many can't and get stuck in this loop with incompetents with muddy boots fiddling around for half an hour with no success and then taking their leave.

BT OpenReach is no longer fit for purpose IMO.