BT Broadband - advice on taking the case to the ombudsman

pac985

Hi,

Can anyone provide advice on submitting a case through the Ombudsman? I've researched the guidance provide on the website but I would be interested to hear feedback on first-hand experience, both positive and negative.

I cancelled a BT broadband account last year after six months of consistently poor service. There was a series of line faults ion the connection which took a while to resolve. Once the connection eventually stabilised the download speed failed to meet the minimum guaranteed download rate that had been advertised, and during high consumption periods this would frequently fall to an unusable level - web pages wouldn't load and nothing would stream.

I raised a series of faults with BT, initial via webchat and the helpline, but ended up reverting to written correspondence because dealing via the helpline became too torturous and time consuming. BT deployed engineers several times and the download speed improved during the day when off load; however, as soon as we hit the evening rush it all ground to a halt again.

I eventual good fed up with paying for the premium service while receiving a subpar return and eventual cancelled the account. BT predictably levied cancellation fees which I challenged. I now have a deadlock letter and intend to address through the Ombudsman.

My argument is that the broadband service failed to consistently meet the minimum guaranteed download speed which was advertised by BT prior to agreeing to the contract, and despite numerous correspondence with BT over a 6 month period they have failed to resolve. My request is to be released from the contract and have all early termination fees wavered.

I have kept a full chronological log of all correspondence, including detailed evidence of download speeds. Can anyone provide any guidance and advice on similar cases address through the ombudsman?

Many thanks.

iniltous

What was the guaranteed 'minimum' download speed ?, many think it's 17Mb, as that's what is in the advert, but that isn't a guaranteed speed, the further you are from the exchange, the slower the speed, if you used a checker site what speed does that predict for your phone number/postcode ?, that's the speed your individual line should achieve, and that's the speed used to decide if your performance is acceptable or not.
It's always risky to arbitrarily cancel within a minimum term , citing bad performance, as its a bit subjective, and all providers expect to be given the chance to fix any problems before allowing you to leave penalty free

SaLoGo

Stand your ground. I had pretty much the same issue and after just 2 strongly worded complaint emails, BT agreed to back down and waived the cancellation fee.

Mister_G

This will tell you your 'handback' speed

https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/adsl.htm?s_cid=ws_furls_adslchecker

Al_Ross

Hi,

I had a similar issue with Virgin many years ago, before there was fibre.
We were on a 6 Meg line. From day 1 failed to get even .5 Meg download speed, usually about .25Meg.


After many friutless calls to Virgin,I happened to read on a forum to contact Ofgem,I was aked what I was looking to get.I stated to leave my Contract penalty free without any penalties.

Within 30 minutes I had a telephone call from Virgin saying I could go penality free.I asked for it in writing ,they emailed it to me and I never heard from them again.

Went to Sky from there and got the full speed and never any probems.Been with BT Fibre now for nearly 2 years and always get the full speed as well,usually more.

VisionMan

You don't need to know about other similar cases addressed through and to the ombudsman. I'd submit your case to the Ombudsman anyway as its a very simple and free service, which is all done on line via email.

My own personal opinion is you don't stand a chance, as you have made an assumption of a fact that doesn't exist and isn't advertised anywhere. But whadda I know?

I'd submit it anyway.

pac985

BT market broadband by providing estimated download speeds according to your address and telephone number, all very scientific and precise. In my case they estimated:
- 10 to 19.5 Mb estimated download speed range (should expect 17 Mb)
- 4 Mb minimum speed guarantee

This would suggest that I should routinely achieve and enjoy a double-digit download speed for the majority of the time, but on occasions, during times of high consumption, this could drop as low as 4 Mb. The reality was that the highest rate I experienced was 7 Mb and for the majority of time I was using, it was down around 1 Mb.

A few years ago this would have been perfectly acceptable, but not now with bandwidth thirst apps such as Skype and Facetime. Moreover, I went with BT because the marketing indicated favourable download rate, if I had know the line wouldn't support I would have elected a more cost effective supplier.

I agree that the provider should be given the opportunity to fix the issue but how long do you give them? The BT customer service system is pretty miserable and horribly time consuming. I spent an age stuck in call queuing systems trying to report a fault, I even had a debate with them via webchat, they wanted me to test the line speed via their own broadband speed tester; however, the page wouldn't even load, they still refused to acknowledge a fault. In the end I had to resort to written correspondence as they only way of making headway - the irony not lost on me that I was dealing with a telecommunications company!!!

Anyway, it would still be good to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience before I submit, knowledge is always useful.

JJ_Egan

>>If I had know the line wouldn't support I would have elected a more cost effective supplier. >>

Problem is unless you have a VM supply then other ISPs are using the same line .

Handback speed post .
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5605112

System

Just proceed with 3 possible results...

BT will back down ,You'll win or You'll not win and pay what you already were paying anyway

quaybab

Just search Ombudsman in title and weep.

Al_Ross wrote: »

Hi,

I had a similar issue with Virgin many years ago, before there was fibre.

Do you mean before there was BT openreach Fibre to the cabinet?
C&W / NTL / Telewest / Virgin broadband over CATV cable has always been fibre from day 1 (somewhere down the line).