Can I claim for BT failing to turn up?

Maccees93

I'm a student at University so having internet access is basically vital. Me and my housemates decided over summer to go with BT as an ISP as we assumed although we would be paying more, we would get a better and more reliable service.

They said they were only able to install a line into the house though on the 25th of October (6 weeeks after calling BT) due to us not realizing the house did not have a line already and a long waiting list. The arrangement was a package with the routers, filters etc was to be sent in the morning, and then the engineer was supposed to come between 1pm and 6pm.

It got to 4pm and the package had not arrived, so we called BT to question it. They person told me they did not have any more of the 'packages' in stock, so they would send another to be delivered the next day and that the engineer should still be coming to put the line in.

At 7:30pm and no sight of an engineer we called them again. Apparently the engineer was held up somewhere else during the day and so never had the chance to come to us. He then went on to tell me that the next available date was the 5th of November and my only option was to rearrange it for then.

Friday came and went without the package being sent again, although I haven't called them about that yet.


For obvious reasons this has rather annoyed us. We have now waited in for two full days missing part time jobs/lectures, and are going to have to do it at least once more. Along with that we are going even longer without internet access.

Is there anything we can do about this? Leaving them now isn't really an option as we would have to wait another month and a half for another company to get BT to fit a line. I've heard you can get a compensation type claim for the time we spent in?

aileth

I'm not sure about compensation for that, but I can say we were without internet and phone for 3 or so months due to engineers failing to turn up, engineers saying they didn't need access then posting 'we missed you' cards and blaming us, and engineers pulling sickies and no one to cover them. I feel your pain! We didn't even bother thinking about compensation, we told them to stuff it where the sun doesn't shine and went to Sky, who seemed much better at motivating Openreach.

Hope it gets resolved and sorry can't add more.

patman99

If you have to have a phone line connected, it will be BT who install it regardless of who the provider will be.

I would say 'go for it'. Send them a bill for their failure to turn-up and install the kit you have contracted them too. Nothing to lose in my opinion.