BT Infinity

fcorry2008

Good Evening,

I've recently moved into a new build, the exchange is lofthouse gate which I know has been updated for BT Infinity and people just over the road have infinity already.

My BT line has been working for the past week but according to BT the final line order closed down today allowing me to put my order in for broadband.

When my line was installed last week I double checked with the BT technician guys who did the physical installation of the line and they checked a green box over the road and confirmed I'm all wired up and infinity ready. I've done other checks to ensure I can get the service but on phoning BT today I've been told that I can't get it, as my lines not showing that I can get it on their order system. I explained that my house is a new build and I've had past assurance from BT and Openreach that I am wired up, but after trying to explain things I was getting no where with the usual customer service sales agents who stick to their script, they were just not willing to go the extra mile and said the only thing I can do is wait 24 hours as the line was finalized today and may update tomorrow showing I can get infinity. I doubt this very much, there person just didn't have any technical knowledge.

I honestly think that its probably a case that there will be an internal section of BT who can look into the issue for me and resolve things easily so I can place the infinity order and I'm hoping someone might be able to advise me who would be the best department to contact.

Why am I bothering to go to all this trouble when I could just get normal broadband I hear you ask? Well if I didn't get Infinity the standard broadband speed is coming up 0.5 to 1.5 mb on the usual calculators as opposed to 25mb on infinity. I have been with Sky up to press and if I wanted standard broadband could have stayed with them.

Could anyone advise on what department within BT could potentially address the issue I'm having, rather then the incompetent sales team who have only been to keen to assure all will be fine, only then to take my money. Even better if you have a direct dial would be very helpful??

Thanks,

Fcorry

Mark_In_Hampshire

I don't know how to get BT to address it. However, several things:

1. Just because the cabinet is "over the road" doesn't mean your building is connected to it. It's perfectly possible for the grren cabinet to be 300m away and not be able to have the service because it doesn't service you. So the engineers could be wrong;

2. Most ISPs simply go by what the BT Wholesale checker says. So that's your "enemy" here, and in respect of the FTTC rollout, its accuracy isn't that great. It'll probably get "fixed" eventually; it could very well be that the line number you have, is an old one which originally resided elsewhere in the area and the database hasn't yet been updated to reflect the new location;

3. You do realise that you don't have to have the service from BT? Just checking. You could take your pick of IDNET, Zen, AAISP, Aquiss and so on who all offer different packages (and shorter contracts, though probably higher prices). Infinity is the "BT brand name" for the same. So if you don't get anywhere with BT, you have a whole stack of other providers open to you. They will have the same issue as in (2) above but all are considered to provide infinitely (see what I did there?!) better customer service and might go the extra mile to get you connected;

4. The speed checker is up the spout and estimates for FTTC have been innacurate in both directions. You can only have "BT Infinity" if the line will support 15Mbps or better whether you're connected to the right cabinet or not. However other ISPs can provision a lesser service. This has prevented people ordering Infinity in the past. If the checker says 25Mbps then that shouldn't be an issue, but do have a quick look and see what it says now for your installed phone number (not postcode).

InsideInsurance

What does http://www.samknows.com/broadband/broadband_checker say you can get? I've found it more reliable in the past.

I had a very similar issue recently with a new build and getting FTTC installed (not BT) because all the installations are done by BT Openreach and all have a "computer says no" response. I was fortunate that 20 minutes after my phone was connected it then across the board said I could get FTTC and my order was placed.

If you are 1000% certain you can get it then it is going to be the case of finding a provider that is willing to do the leg work of speaking to BT Wholesale/ Openreach to get the "computer says no" issue resolved.

fcorry2008

Thanks for your replies, basically it is as the above post I was and am 1000% sure I can get infinity, I did my home work well in advance of placing my order including checking, samknows, speaking to openreach, checking previous post code, other neighboring addresses, as well as getting the technicians who actually installed the lines to check it out and confirm it.

Anyway its good news, BT have confirmed today that I couldn't place the infinity order due to me having a brand new postcode /line that hasn't been registered correctly yet. The network pathways team (this is the specialist department which deals with issues such as mine) will upgrade my address status to a Gold from bronze which will enable me to place the order for infinity. I only managed to sort this due to getting a ringback from the original guy I placed the order with who has gone the extra miles to speak with a supervisor and then the pathways team.

Will update once infinity service is live.

The whole situation can be put down to a lack of product knowledge from a member of the broadband sales team, who thought they knew best and wouldn't accept that the customer could be right or go any further then their basic training. Fortunately there are still some good reps who will do a bit more and listen to the customer such as the chap who called me back today.

Buzby

To be fair though... most of them are wrong, so you being the exception would be a surprise to them!