Openreach won’t fix our fault

gin123

We have had no broadband for over4 weeks now. Openreach have identified that we need a new line put in (very possibly because another engineer took ours for another property) yet they have done nothing to fix the fault, save send 6 engineers to tell us the same thing repeatedly. We have rung Vodafone repeatedly, who keep telling us that openreach will fix, but how long can we wait? I am a teacher needing to work from home, and I’m relying on patchy 3G data to teach lessons. We have put in a formal complaint to Vodafone, but I think that will take weeks. We are beyond being desperate - we just feel like no one is ever going to lay the new line. Anyone with any advice? Could we switch to a new provider, and would they take this on more quickly? 

mohammed1111

I don't think moving provider will make things go any faster, but I'd try and get a mobile broadband on a MIFI device off Vodafone until they fix it. Also you should be getting £8 a day from Vodafone under the ofcom automatic compensation scheme.  https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/automatic-compensation-need-know#:~:text=Firms that signed up to,only receive one compensation payment.

Zellah

Maybe try Andrews and Arnold?
https://www.aa.net.uk/broadband/we-will-fix-your-line/

JJ_Egan

Switch to a new provider and you may well be required to pay the remaining months of contract .

OR are slower than normal due to COVID restrictions .

brewerdave

JJ_Egan said:

OR are slower than normal due to COVID restrictions .

Also FTTP installs seem to be absorbing huge amounts of Openreach labour. Our "village" is in the midst of the rollout and the other day ,I counted 11 branded Openreach vans in a small area !!

gin123

Unfortunately, Vodafone aren’t signed up to that scheme, and they’ve been quite cagey about what compensation they’ll pay. We have requested it in our formal complaint though. 

mohammed1111

gin123 said:

Unfortunately, Vodafone aren’t signed up to that scheme, and they’ve been quite cagey about what compensation they’ll pay. We have requested it in our formal complaint though. 

Ohh sorry to hear that, would have probably got them moving faster knowing they'd owe you a tidy sum. Alternative avenue could be to email the CEO for Vodafone and Openreach and see if they get things pushed along. But I would definitely insist on them providing a mobile WiFi device until they fix it

iniltous

There is probably a reason for the delay , something that OR may well have no control over.
If ( for example ) a new cable is required to restore your service, as the existing one is at capacity, that could be , as you suspect , your working pair was ‘nicked’ to give someone else service , so in this game of musical chairs, when the music stopped it was you without a chair, and the local council needs to be ‘noticed’ of the work, some situations require a lengthy notice period, for example , a very busy road may need to be closed to allow access to replace or fix the existing cable , if that’s the case then the notice period required could be months....IMHO, it’s a sign of how good or bad any particular ISP is, do they keep their customer aware of what the issues are and the timescales to fix the issue....whatever the reason , it’s the company you pay that should keep you advised, and if it is possible to expedite the repair they should be pushing their supplier,  not you.

gin123

iniltous said:

There is probably a reason for the delay , something that OR may well have no control over.
If ( for example ) a new cable is required to restore your service, as the existing one is at capacity, that could be , as you suspect , your working pair was ‘nicked’ to give someone else service , so in this game of musical chairs, when the music stopped it was you without a chair, and the local council needs to be ‘noticed’ of the work, some situations require a lengthy notice period, for example , a very busy road may need to be closed to allow access to replace or fix the existing cable , if that’s the case then the notice period required could be months....IMHO, it’s a sign of how good or bad any particular ISP is, do they keep their customer aware of what the issues are and the timescales to fix the issue....whatever the reason , it’s the company you pay that should keep you advised, and if it is possible to expedite the repair they should be pushing their supplier,  not you.

Thanks. Our main issue with Vodafone is that we’ve had to do all the chasing - maybe 20 phone calls?? - to get updates. When we ring, I’ve basically had to explain the issue to them again, and they have lied to us repeatedly saying it would be fixed by x date, or just sending another engineer to tell us we have the same problem. I wouldn’t mind so much if they seemed like they were taking some kind of control of the issue! 

macman

gin123 said:

Unfortunately, Vodafone aren’t signed up to that scheme, and they’ve been quite cagey about what compensation they’ll pay. We have requested it in our formal complaint though. 

You are not entitled to any compo, as there is no SLR on a residential telcoms contract. You will get a pro-rata credit for each day of downtime, if you ask for it.
Playing the 'internet needed for work' card won't wash, as that is technically a breach of the t and c's, although obviously millions of people are working from home at present.

sevenhills

You could get a dongle that uses mobile data while you are waiting.

When I was left without Broadband I got a few hundred pounds in compensation.

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/communications.