Do I have a leg to stand on re BT

Solola

Hello I have BT line rental, phone calls, BT vision and broadband. I pay about £70 a month for these.

I signed up for a 2 year contract with BT Vision about 18 months ago and did this online (stupid I know). For at least the last 6 months we have had problems with intermittent broadband, which is also affecting our BT Vision as it come via the broadband. Broadband cuts out at least once a day and sometimes it is slow and we get internet but not TV.

Have been in contact with BT about this since June. They have sent out an engineer, and I have been given lots of technical reasons, things to try etc over phone and sometimes it seems solved but after a week or so the problems return.

Finally getting some decent customer service (in terms of easier communication, not getting call centres or being put on hold anymore) after emailing the head of customer service and he has forwarded to his Executive Level Customer Complaints team.

However, they continue to faff around wanting to send out more engineers etc. They have refunded me £50 in total for the days I have had no internet but what I really want is to be released from contract rather than wait until Aug when it ends while they continue to try and fix problem and I continue to have rubbish internet.

I have told them that if it not fixed within a week of next engineers visit I will cease my direct debit payments and they will have to take me to court. Would this be a mistake on my part? Is it also likely to cause problems for me even if I find another provider as BT i think owns the cables etc?

Advice appreciated.

JJ_Egan

I have told them that if it not fixed within a week of next engineers visit I will cease my direct debit payments and they will have to take me to court. Would this be a mistake on my part?


Yes as you break a contract = bad credit rating + debt collectors .


Is it also likely to cause problems for me even if I find another provider as BT i think owns the cables etc?

It really depends upon where the problem lies and about 80% are the users equipment wiring etc . Did BT give an indication of the problem and what it was .

jje

Solola

Thanks for your advice, I thought that would probably be the case.

They have not been able to work out what is the problem. BT have tried various things - have had an engineer out and he could not find any problems with my equipment so it appears to be an external problem with the lines. They have spoken of all kinds of technical things like a 'mismatch in the profile of our broadband line' and a 'problem in the general area that was sorted by our engineers'.

Having another engineer out next week so will see what he says. I would really like to find a good cheap deal that just involves broadband. Don't need calls or BT Vision TV really, but i imagine whatever supplier I use, if there is an external problem, we may continue to experience problems until it is resolved.

Buzby

You are coming at it the wrong way. If you cease the DD you are refusing to pay so there will be issues - not with any credit reference agency (BT don't do this, yet) but you'll be hounded by various DCA's wanting the money and their costs. You will not be taken to court unless the debt is for £300+, so cannot use this route as an arbiter.

You are clearly being disadvantaged, but you need a paper trail to provide evidence of your problems. BT Vision requires a BT Broadband connection, so with no service, you only get Freeview. Any minimum term agreement will still be valid and require payment even with not active BT BB, so take things a stage at a time.

WRITE to BT CS briefly outlining your issues, noting the previous service credits, and state that your next repair visit will be their last chance to rectify the issue. If if does not fix all the problems, you require them to terminate all BT services within 30 days of your complaint, without penalty.

Do remember, that any other supplier will be using exactly the same cables as you do at present, so there is little point about being eager to switch to another supplier. With a bit of luck, they'll send an experienced bod to fault-find your installation.

lesserspotted

Have you tried using a different modem / router? I was having similar problems with my broadband but changing (to a newer Home Hub) seems to have fixed it. Also, has anyone looked at how your actual connection has been wired? A friend's telephone line (in a new build) didn't have the wires in the right places so he had the same problem.

Congratulations on actually getting through to someone able to send an engineer out - I never managed that...

chanz4

If you have the old white home hub they were naff when I was installing them, borrow someones unlocked router and see how it goes