Primus new customer problem

photome

Posting on behalf of a colleague so may be a bit sketchy

He rcvd a router from primus 10 days ago after agreeing a contract over the phone, hooked it up with the power cable and dsl cable. the broadband light should go solid but stays blinking. they sent another router but this does the same thing.

He has now been without any broadband for 10days as his previous supplier (BT) have ended his contract as agreed.

Primus say they have checked the line and cant find a fault but if he wants an engineer to come out and they dont find a fault it will cost him £120 (he doesnt have it).

He is worried that it is something he has done, he only has a tablet which will find the router but tells him there is a DSL fault.

Could it be that BT have disconnect him and they havent reconnected for Primus.

This is the only info I have

Does anyone have any ideas please

JohnDinton

Did the new router work with the BT broadband before it was disconnected? Does the new connection work with the old router? Did a new microfilter come with the new router? Has he replaced it? Is the microfilter connected correctly? Does it work with the old microfilter?

photome

have asked him all of the above

photome

his reply

[FONT=&quot],I plugged old router in new connection,still didn't work,filter is fitted correctly,I have tried different filters.I think it's a no to all the questions.[/FONT]

macman

Does the landline work for voice (in and out)? Is there a dialtone? If so, retest from the BT test socket behind the master socket split faceplate. If it still doesn't work, then the fault is upstream of the NTE5 master socket, and the OR callout will not be chargeable.

JohnDinton

I have just spoken to OFCOM. I only intended to ask about regulation of the threatened charges where a fault turns out not to be the supplier's responsibility. I was told there was none as it was a commercial matter on which suppliers could compete. My response to that was in that case the charges ought to have to be advertised.

I then referred to some of the details of this case as an example. We then got confused. She told me it was not possible to raise a fault before the service had been activated. I referred to termination of the service from BT. She said that if the BT service had been terminated there was nothing to transfer. She told me a transfer was merely a billing matter. If the service had been terminated there would have to be a new installation for which there would be a charge. I was not able to comment on what had been said to BT about termination. She asked me if BT considered him no longer a customer.

I think it is probably best if your friend firstly asks BT what it thinks has happened, and then asks OFCOM directly for advice as to what ought to happen. OFCOM's number is 020 7981 3040 option 1.

photome

thanks to you both I have passed on both lots of info

JohnDinton

In case you haven't seen the Hidden TalkTalk charge thread, another question I ought to have asked is did your friend get a MAC code from BT to give to Primus?

Judging from this forum there seem to be a lot of problems with a broadband transfer being treated as a cease and reinstall. It would be interesting to know what gets said if someone rings a new supplier without a MAC code. Is he or she told to get a MAC code from the old supplier, or does the new supplier rub its hands with glee at the prospect of being able to charge a new installation fee?

iniltous

If Openreach have disconnected the old service provider and not connected the new provider in the exchange then the new service provider should be able to see this when the test the connection, and should deal appropriately by sending OR back out to check, if the telephony service is still working, you friend should dial 17070 to confirm the number is correct, if it's not then perhaps OR messed up in the exchange and a fault should be raised without fear of charge.. Primus should get OR to look at it in the exchange, if the correct number is connected then Primus still need to deal , even if it's OR who have made an error , because it's them who get OR to look at the line and/or broadband
If OR are sent out on a wild goose chase, like there is nothing wrong apart from dodgy kit they didn't supply, like routers or filters, or incorrectly installed kit by the end user, they , quite rightly should be able to charge for their time and expense
It's probably why cheapest isn't always best when you need good customer service who can diagnose problems correctly and involve the correct people if that's what's needed, rather than blanket threats of charging
If of course the fault isn't with the router , filter , or any internal wiring or equipment or end user mis-operation, then they should not be charged for getting the fault fixed