BT Complaints & Escalation

FrustratedwithBT

After complaining about BT here at the forums (post #95), I was asked to fill in a form by their representative, David. I did that, received a call from them sometime in mid-September to say that I won't be charged for anything as I was not in breach of breaking any contracts, received an apology for all the trouble I had to go through with them. Fine. I thought that was the end of it. But of course not! I received another reminder from BT today saying that I still owe them money because I was in breach of my contract.

Either all the different departments are incompetent in communicating with one another - such irony considering BT is a communications company! - or they're just proving that they don't mean what they say! I clearly think it's the latter.

This is like a nightmare that will never end!

lovinituk

FrustratedwithBT wrote: »

Either all the different departments are incompetent in communicating with one another - such irony considering BT is a communications company! - or they're just proving that they don't mean what they say! I clearly think it's the latter.

From my experience, its a large helping of both!

wob_3

Hi,

I haven't really been on here, despite being a member for many a moon.

However, having danced around so many houses with BT of late I thought it was about time to redress the balance.

The short story

Contacted Bt mid July for house move at end of July. Our phone was transferred fine, so no complaints there. We had to start with a new 12 month contract, but that wasn't an issue.
The BT Infinity was scheduled to be installed on the 8th August and BT vision was to work from this date too (although we simultaneously put in a request to cancel BT Vision as the contract was up at end of August so we gave more than 30 days notice).
All straight forward? Good.

Come 8th August, we wait in and BT don't turn up. We have no broadband and no BT Vision. Phone is fine.
2 additional appointments pass with still no engineer. Still no broadband.
4th appointment and someone finally turns up (hooray!), so we now have Broadband and BT Vision works.
This was all in August.... But BT Vision was due to end at the end of August.... It wasn't cancelled, despite being told repeatedly that it had been.

After lots and lots and lots of phone calls BT offered £40 compensation and 6 months free broadband. Hooray! Partial result (doesn't cover the cost of the days I couldn't work due to waiting in, but better than nothing).

That's where all the good stuff ends.

Further to this offer BT have not provided the compensations promised at all. We received £10 credit to our account!

Added to this BT continued to charge us for BT Vision, even after it was disabled. We did not pay the bill for August as the bill itself was incorrect.

Lots more phone calls and still no progress.

BT then added charges onto the account for the unpaid bill AND added charges for the following months broadband, even though we had been told we were getting 6 months free!

Countless phone calls later and the broadband gets disconnected. Lots more phone calls and it gets reconnected as they admit they have messed up.

Next the phone line is disabled and they will not reinstate it until the bills are paid, but the account is STILL in dispute, so how can we pay it?

Took to twitter to see if we get any further there (and we are no longer able to make phone calls, so no other choice as calls on mobile cost a fortune). Same as phoning customer services, lots of people telling us they will help and come back to us with a resolution tomorrow and then tomorrow and then tomorrow... Its a shame tomorrow never comes!

At our wits end now as we have receved a notice of termination today, even though BT STILL haven't sorted their issues??!!??

We have done nothing wrong, but are being made out to be the bad ones. We have repeatedly asked for a deadlock letter so that we can go to the ombudsman for communications with the dispute, but guess what? BT can't manage to put pen to paper... What a surprise, they can't even return a phone call when they promise they will, why is this any different?

Now in the process of putting a letter together for Ian Livingston, Michael Rake, Warren Buckley, Trading Standards, BBC Watchdog, OfCom, and of course the ombudsman for communications as it has now been 8 weeks since we first complained, so no need for the deadlock letter now.

We are still trying to get a resolution through BTCare, but not holding our breath.

Obviously, this doesn't include every detail, but gives a good impression of what's gone on.

Any thoughts?

Regards,

Rob S.

Emanef

Another one here seriously hacked off with BT (as well as Virgin!)

I was due to move out of my old flat just over a week ago. I had virgin with cable broadband at the old address, but when I contacted them to arrange the move they said it could not be installed at my new address, so I had to end the contract there, which I'm now in dispute about (because when they gave me a new contract back in May they put me on a lower package than I had agreed, which I didn't find out until I phoned them!)

As I needed a fast internet connection, I phoned up BT two weeks ago about getting BT Infinity in the place I was due to move in to, and was assured by the BT guy on the phone that my area had been upgraded to fibre, but that the boxes on the street had not yet been enabled, but would be within the next six weeks. I made it clear that the reason for going with BT was for getting fibre, and made sure he clarified that I would be getting up to 80 meg within six weeks. he said yes, between 5 and 11 meg, and then up to 80 meg within six weeks.

I signed up and it was connected last Thursday. I'd only moved in and had loads to do, but on Sunday connected it up to find it painfully slow. As it was only 2meg I thought it best to call BT to make sure I would be getting the fibre soon and if I needed to do anything else. To my shock I was told I was only signed up to normal ADSL and there was nothing on the system to show that fibre would be available in my area in the near future.

I am livid. I have made a complaint and have a complaint number, but I can't get through to anyone other than a random Phillipines based call centre who have told me someone will call me back within 10 days, but that they've listened to my call and said the charges will stand.

Had I know this I would never have gone with BT. I work in IT and need a fast connection to remote in to work. I am also very tech savvy, so was very clear that it was fibre I wanted. Unfortunately I'm not dodgy salesman savvy, and didn't expect to be mis-sold.

Now I'm stuck in a new contract with BT with a terrible broadband when I expected a fast fibre connection, and also one with Virgin that I have to take through a dispute.

On top of that, a Virgin engineer randomly phoned me last night (three weeks after he should have called me!) and said "yeah, I've been to your property, and I think it might be possible, you just need to get permission from a neighbour to lay the cable"! I don't ####### believe it! So now I stuck in the middle. I don't know who to contact in BT to find out if fibre will be available or not, and if not, why they believe I should have to keep to the contract, and I can't do anything with Virgin until I know what BT can do!

All I want is a good bloody broadband connection! I've had a horrendous home move as it is, but it feels like I've spent more time on the phone to Virgin and then BT than I have packing!

Does anyone have any contacts for who I can contact to get this sorted? Is it worth going straight to OFCOM, especially seeing as I have issues with both Virgin and BT?

These companies are horrible to deal with. You just get fobbed off and passed around. No one gives a monkeys and no one takes ownership.

:mad:

wob_3

WOO! Result.

After posting on here yesterday. I sent a similar email to everyone I could find an address for at BT. Along with the ombudsmand and BBC Watchdog....

Sure enough I got a reply within 6 minutes from Ian Livingston (CEO of BT).

He says he has passed the details on to their high level service team and it will be dealt with.

In the meantime we managed to get through to someone on the phone who said that our problems were easily sorted and should have been ages ago. He did everything there and then on the phone and job is done. It was an odd co-incidence as we were only asking to speak to the manager of the person on BTCare twitter who wasn't ringing us back when they said they would. Turns out her manager was the only helpful person working for BT!

After that we have had everyone and his brother ring us that we have spoken to over the last couple of months asking if we are all sorted. Clearly due to the fact that a message has appeared on their system that an account they looked at now has Ian Livingston involved.

That said, we are now nearly 24 hours later and still haven't received a call from any so called 'high level service team' as promised.

Some things just never change.

But, I can highly recommend emailing the CEO and any other director's email address you can find if you are not having any luck with BT....

lovinituk

Maybe someone should email a link to this thread to Mr Livingstone!!

wob_3

Looks like I may have spoke too soon....

Not yet seeing the credits to our account and they are unwilling to negotiate at all even though the original credit was due in our account 6 weeks ago and we still have no deadlock letter to claim for loss of earnings.

Now we have the customer service director, Warren Buckley, emailing us saying that they aren't willing to do anything else... it's a shame he couldn't maage to reply to any of our messages we sent to him before we emailed the CEO....

Will keep updating as the story unfolds...

System

For the BT Company Rep : I called 100 from my phone last night, it appears the call ended up at an offshore call centre and I spend over half an hour on the phone to "Ruppell". She totally didn't understand my questions and was providing answers to questions I hadn't asked her. She refused to let me speak to anyone else and in the end she put me on hold and the call was ended. I wish to write in a full complaint, who can I address this to please? As my issue is still outstanding.

sabelu

warren.buckley@bt.com

Customer services director

alex.green@bt.com

Bt vision director

Gavin.patterson@bt.com

Retail director

Give them all a broadside shot Bt are seriously under performing on service and customer service.

BT_company_representative

Hi guys,

If you're still having problems with your BT services, you can send your details to us. Our "Contact us" link is on my profile page.

Thanks,

Stephanie