BT Infinity - getting messed around!!!

JustAnotherSaver

Ordered late November with an installation date for today. The hub arrived last Thursday.

We don't currently live at the address so i use the last of my holidays up (i know i know - that old chestnut) to wait at the house from 8am. By 5pm it's dark & i know nobody is going to be coming to start installing a line & so i head back home to get on the phone to BT.

I call up 0800 800 150 to tell them what happened.

Key thing here - we don't have a master socket. There's a line in to the house but the line doesn't connect to a master socket. It's just exposed wiring.

That number says i need to be in touch with another department to report "no physical master socket at the property". I have the choice of waiting on a call from them tomorrow or calling them myself.

Getting the strong feeling that they're a bunch of jokers i decide to not wait on a call that will likely never come & call them myself now (since it's apparently a 24/7 number).

So - on to 0800 111 4567 i go.

I don't know whether this number is UK based because i got someone with broken English on the second number which made it a bit more difficult.
I tell them the situation. They come back saying that they can't send out an engineer because there is a phone line installed, but (& here comes the classic...) "you need to call another department.

So i ask whether this new department is likely to tell me to call ANOTHER department as i get the strong feeling i'm just being passed about because nobody knows what to do.

No no sir, i can assure you this department will solve the problem.

Ok go for it. What's the number? She tells me ..... 08800 111 4567!!!!

Sorry but i was given that number which put me through to you!!

Then comes plenty of stuttering from the lady as she now doesn't seem to know what to do.

She comes back & tells me "when the order is complete" i'm to call that number.

Oh really i wonder. So when will this order likely be 'complete' since there is no line to complete the service?

She tells me i am to try again tomorrow.


Have any of you been in such a situation? I feel like i'm getting messed about & they don't have a clue what they're doing. In the meantime i'm going to be paying for something i don't have.

bod1467

Put in a strong complaint via the website/email. With luck you'll get assigned to one of the UK team.

1st line are a waste of time - they can only follow the script and can't go "off piste", very much "Computer says No"; UK team get things done as they are allowed to think for themselves.

Laz123

I tried BT but they are a shadow of their former selves. Absolutely useless. I was lucky enough to be able to change to PlusNet and the service is brilliant. Although they are somehow connected to BT the customer service is extremely good. I'd never touch BT with a barge pole. Ever.

mgdavid

JAS, to install Infinity you need a complete and working voice exchange line first. You don't have that due to 'no master socket'.
So you are going to need one engineer to sort the socket and test the exchange line, then an Infinity engineer to install the service. These two engineers actaully work for completely different businesses within the BT Group, as Ofcom insisted on Infinity being ringfenced off and treated just like PLusNet or TalkTalk or any other broadband provider. It's one of the downsides of competition. If you could turn the clock back 30 years then under the monopoly the same BT engineer could potentially have done the whole job, but that's history.

Colin2511

I hope you get this sorted more quickly than I did - I was moving to a new business premises - (next door to my old one), openreach installed their bit in July - I try to book infnity (as my current unit had it) - computer said building did not exist - (I was stood in it & open reach had put their connections in ) - then several booked and cancelled dates, as they could not get passed the bit where it did not say the correct unit number - they said there was no provision to the unit - even when I took a photo of the box open reach had installed


Told me to get a normal line and upgrade as this does not need the full address? - so I did...but then it got worse - cannot upgrade as works not done - three different engineers later it turns out engineer 1 was not authorised to connect two pipes in the manhole - so had to wait for another engineer on another date - he did that but did not have a ladder to connect some other bit, so had to wait again...

it was a complete and utter joke - and took over 2 months to get sorted..


I ended up complaining quite a bit and did manage to get someone assigned to the complaint to help manage it through - which was a great help - rather than ring back unnamed people -every time they missed their own deadlines / targets he escalated, - I think without the guy from the complaints team I would have gone mad..

hollie.weimeraner

Good morning Justanothersaver. I had an issue earlier this year when South Yorkshire Digital Region failed and I chose to transfer to infinity (Not really BT's fault). Anyway to cut a long story short I (and many others) emailed the CEO with my issues gavin.e.patterson@bt.com who allocated the task and a contact (UK) rather sharpish.

Hope this helps

zaax

BT retail - problems all the way.

mgdavid

zaax wrote: »

BT retail - problems all the way.

<bewildered>
what an inane and fatuous remark, also of course absolutely no help to the OP whatsoever.

Xeorix

They were a complete pain for me when trying to get it installed. They kept changing the dates the day before.

Originally they had said there weren't even any BT engineers in the area at that time they could piggy back me onto. Funny how looking out my front window showed an BT van servicing next door..

hollydays

mgdavid wrote: »

<bewildered>
what an inane and fatuous remark, also of course absolutely no help to the OP whatsoever.

Though it's one many people will agree with, and this is the warnings board.

Widelats

Well, yes i have had problems with BT, firstly i tried to get broadband, hub was delivered on time and engineer date sorted.

Engineer turned up and said there was a line and master socket, but he could not find the distribution point, said that he would report this and it would be fixed ASAP, he then left.

Next i phoned BT as i had no idea what was happening, i explained what was going on and what the engineer said, i was assured the line was now fixed and that another engineer had been booked, so i waited for the next engineer.

He arrived on time, and i was shocked that he said exactly the same thing as the first engineer, there was no distribution point and the line was showing a break, he said guys with laptops had to come round and trace the line to see where it went, he said he would report it and another engineer would be necessary, and told me it would be done quite quick.

3rd engineer came, said the line had not been fixed at all, and that there was a break in the line, but he did find the distribution point without laptops and specialists by looking next door.

I have another engineer due on xmas eve, apparently BT have told my broadband company they have fixed the line and everything should be fine, we shall see. Not holding my breath.

Total incompetence, lies, unable to sort anything any sending the wrong engineers out 3 times to the same job is beyond me, i do not believe anyone can get even more careless than BT are.