Cancelling broadband early due to provider's fault

PawelK

Hello.

I hope this is correct board for this type of post.

I've never been in this situation before but after being constantly in touch with my provider since December, having three engineers from open reach followed by two no shows this week, I am really keen on changing the provider due to then being unable to fix the issue. I believe I have enough evidence to show their failings with the engineer visits, few lies over the phone and not a single contact from their complaints team despite me asking three times for it. 

My question is, can I just write to them (which I will have to do anyway with my complaint since no one bothers to contact me first)? inform them I am leaving them or is there any regulation saying that I need to go and finish the complaints process with them before doing so? My issue is they fail to keep to their promises and if the latter is required, the whole process of complaining may go forever.

If I can just inform them of me cancelling the contract and switching providers, can I just wait until the switch is complete and then cancel my DD? I am currently paying full price for the contract they're in breach of.

Many thanks.

born_again

I would ring them and ask the question.

As the problem I can see here is that Openreach have been out, so if you simply swap to another provider that uses BT's (for want of a better name) that you are going to end up in exactly the same situation if the problem is due to something in the network.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/new/complain/official_isp_complaints_handlers.php

JJ_Egan

As above , unless you move to Virgin .

Be aware that if you just cancel then they will chase you for the balance of the contract and or pass it to debt collectors .

What exactly is the problem as 3 OR engineers suggests a major fault as opposed to a provider fault .

paulttt

ISPs don't like it when you mention CICAS

PawelK

It's not OR that seems to be failing but my provider customer service is shocking. I just got off the phone with them as they sent me earlier a text message saying my issue has been fixed and my ticket closed! When I asked why, they said, it's because the previous ticket has closed for unknown reasons and they had to open new one. They also said that the engineer was working outside of the property yesterday and they now need new appointment to access the property. I refused as I am too busy at work at the moment. And the previous engineer already established the problem and that the access to the property is required so I have no idea why yesterday they would do something different than what they've already established.

I am going to call provider shortly and ask how to go about cancelling their shocking contract. 
I am aware any new provider will have to also book OR guys to come and fix the issue but I'm just fed up dealing with my current provider anymore after being lied to and not informed about things I asked multiple times.

Sandtree

Having had 5 months of no broadband before I'd be much more inclined to believe the issues sit with OR. 

Once the basic tests are done problems get shifted to OR, your ISP and OR systems interact with each other and so if OR flag job done it closes their ticket that closes your ISPs ticket. The info accessable by the normal guys in the ISP on OR is finite, my issues were with Plus.Net who were/are part of the BT group and my complaint got escalated to someone who could see and understand much more of what was in the OR system which helped with the updates but didnt progress the work quickly. Given the chinese walls put in when privatising the utilities industries I;d assume all ISPs have the same sort of access and there is no preferential access/treatment for fellow BT Group companies.

Your contract should cover service levels and when, if at all, this gives a right to cancel. Unfortunately I think if you do argue a cancellation and switch to another OR reseller then you'll have the same problems. Whilst Virgin is the obvious other option remember they do also resell OR in some areas and there are other options out there.

molerat

The problem is that OR often feed the ISP total rubbish.  My SIL is with BT and she kept getting the "fault closed" message as OR told them it was fixed.  No engineers had been to the property and obviously were remote diagnosing and could find no fault from the exchange.  BT insisted on an engineer site visit an they found a fault and fixed it. So your ISP are likely banging their heads against a brick wall and it will start all over again if you move.

PawelK

My issue right now is that I don't believe Vodafone (my ISP) or OR will fix the problem anytime soon. I already had three visits from OR, two no shows (or one, if believing Vodafone they turned up yesterday and did some other work than what was scheduled). Their communication with me was very poor to say the least. My contract does specify I can cancel if they're unable to fix my problem. The question is how long should I allow them for that as the issue seems to be endless. They want me to give them another date when they can book another visit but they already caused me so much interruption at work (WFH full time and in finance so had a very busy period with calls with auditors and all year end matters) that I am very reluctant to book yet another visit that will probably not solve the issue but will require yet another visit. I feel angry, frustrated, trapped and just want to change providers for the sake of not dealing with Vodafone anymore, they're so helpless.

Sandtree

Do you have a non-OR option in your area? If not and you have no faith in OR then where are you going to go?

Not only did I find that OR were useless and frequent no shows but they also lied. They claimed they submitted permission to dig up our newly relaid road to connect us to the cabinet across the road (rather than the one 200m down the road on our block). Speaking to the council they confirmed no application had been received and that such an application would be instantly declined as within 2 years of resurfacing and non-emergency.

TELLIT01

As others are saying, if the problem is with the physical cable/fibre, changing provider isn't going to fix your problem.

PawelK

I just been lied to (again) by Vodafone so even if part of the blame is with OR, as you all say rightly I cannot change them, I can at least change ISP which should save me half of the worries. Right now I am shaking inside from anger everytime I have to call them as I'm trying really hard not to start swearing! I told them if they won't allow me to leave the contract without paying the remainder, I'll not only co tact the regulator but even take them to court if I have to as I have enough evidence to prove how rubbish service I've been receiving from deceitful and lying company representatives.