Disconnected by OpenReach Before Joining New Provider

Welshy_78

I am absolutely fuming with the situation I have been left in, I work from home as a graphic designer and have unfairly had my broadband phone line disconnected just by trying to switch provider.

In October I decided to leave TalkTalk because my broadband contract was coming to an end and they had already sent me a letter to say the prices will be going up if I stay. So I went online and had a search for a cheaper alternative, and ended up deciding to go with Vodafone because they were doing a great deal which included a new SIM only mobile phone contract as well, plus free Android tablet. Any way, whilst placing my order over the phone (28th October) I was informed that an OpenReach engineer would visit my house on the 18th November to connect me. On the 19th November I called Vodafone wondering what happened to the engineer because nobody knocked on my door on the 18th, I was told that there is some work that is required by OpenReach to run a full fibre line to my address and it will take a couple of weeks. I explained my concern that I work from home and cannot afford to be without the internet, I was reassured by Vodafone that I would not be disconnected from TalkTalk until they were able to take over the service. I was also told that for each day that I am not connected to the internet I will be receiving £5.26 per day compensation. I waited 2 weeks and had heard nothing from Vodafone so I called them up again, they looked on the system and there was an update from OpenReach which said there is a delay in getting the work done and they would provide another update in 3 weeks time. Anyway, this went on and on (update after update) without any progress on the full fibre line being provided at my address. I was still receiving the internet from TalkTalk so although it was an annoying situation, I could still get my work done. Then on the 3rd of January 2023 out of the blue my internet stopped working, I contacted TalkTalk who told me that I haven't been a customer of theirs since November 18th 2022 and they confirmed that OpenReach had disconnected my phone line. For some reason TalkTalk had been providing me internet for a month and a half even though (unaware to me) my account had been closed because Vodafone had sent them a message the day I placed my order telling TalkTalk that they would be taking over my broadband service on the 18th November. I then contacted Vodafone and let them have my panic, anger and frustration. After 2 days of speaking to many Vodafone advisors and repeating myself many times, I got my case escalated to director level (customer relations). In the meantime to get my work done and make sure I didn't lose my job I was (still am) having to drive over to my parents house to use their internet. After speaking to the director I was told that this situation is neither TalkTalk or Vodafone's fault, OpenReach shouldn't have disconnected my phone line until they had the full fibre line up and running. He told me that once the phone line is disconnected they cannot reconnect it, so now I am without the internet and nobody knows when OpenReach will get around to sorting out the full fibre line at my address. On the 26th January OpenReach said they would give Vodafone another one of their updates, but this will probably be just another message saying the delay is still ongoing and there will another update in 3 weeks time. As a temporary workaround the director sent me a mobile 4G hotspot device, but this isn't a good solution for me because the device doesn't provide a fast enough speed for me to work on big files when trying to do my job. The director also told me that there is a cap on the compensation scheme and it only covers 60 days, so he said I can either stick with Vodafone or when it gets to 60 days cancel my order and place a new order with a different company (who will still be needing OpenReach to install the full fibre line) where I can start the process again of getting the 60 days compensation. However, by placing an order with a new company there will be a 2 week wait for the connection date when they will discover that OpenReach need to install the full fibre line, then I start to get the compensation. In the end the director gave me the 60 days compensation even though it isn't 60 days yet, probably because he feels sorry for me and can say that he has dealt with the complaint. I'm now waiting for the OpenReach update on the 26th January and having to drive over to my parents to use their internet so that I can get my work done and not get the sack.

Can anyone give me some advice on what can be done about the situation I find myself in. I've tried contacting OpenReach to ask why they disconnected my line, but they told me to contact my internet provider as the complaint has to come from them and not their customer. I just can't believe that I have been put in this situation just by trying to switch broadband provider to save money.

J_B

TLDR - sorry

If you rely on it for your work, is it a business account or domestic ?

littleboo

You will have to get Vodafone to resolve the issue, you have left TT and they have no interest in the situation. You may be in a stop sell area where copper services are no longer being sold in which case the only way forward if for FTTP

sevenhills

Sign up with a broadband provider untill you get the new cables for the full fibre installed?
It is confusing know where all these different cables go.

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

Welshy_78

It's a domestic account, I started working from home when everyone went into lockdown, the company I work for let us continue to work from home.

I don't understand the situation with the cables, but the Vodafone director told me that an OpenReach engineer would have disconnected and removed my copper cable in a green box on the street somewhere, which is why it cannot be reconnected. He said the OpenReach engineers know not to disconnect a phone line until the replacement one is available, but this is what they have done. How can they get away with doing this? Is there anyone an organisation who would hear my case and discipline OpenReach for what they have done?

Neil_Jones

You don't speak to Openreach.  Your agreement/problem is with the ISP.  All Openreach will do if you speak to them is tell you to go away.

Raise a complaint with Vodafone.  They'll have to take it up with Openreach.

Unfortunately domestic accounts are back of the queue for fault resolutions/issues, whereas business accounts get dibs.  Because they pay more.  Technically you're not supposed to be using domestic packages for business use, however Spring/Summer 2020 was very much an exception to the rule because it was government mandated to stay home and work from home, so all the providers had no choice but to pretty much look the other way in that regard.  Best part of three years later that leniency has pretty much evaporated.

Welshy_78

I've raised a complaint with Vodafone and all they offer is the £5.27 a day compensation for a maximum of 60 days. I have no idea what communications they are having with OpenReach or even if they are bothering to try and get an answer as to why they cut me off before installing the full fibre line. I have been left without the internet and do not know when I will have it back again, the Vodafone director told me nobody is installing the old copper wire broadband anymore, so I'm just in a situation of having to wait for OpenReach to get around to putting in the full fibre line. I live in London, not in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn't have agreed to join Vodafone if I had known what would happen when switching to them.

Neil_Jones

To be fair the situation would have probably occurred whoever you switched to if you're in a purely fibre only area so I don't think Vodafone are entirely to blame here.

The timescales are documented here:

https://help.business.bt.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/48195/~/how-quickly-can-i-get-fibre-to-the-premises-(fttp)-installed?

Anyway this isn't a new thing so you're not alone:

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2022/12/a-case-of-confusing-delays-and-fttp-availability-on-openreachs-network.html

southsidergs

Welshy_78 said:

I've raised a complaint with Vodafone and all they offer is the £5.27 a day compensation for a maximum of 60 days

This always make me laugh, "all they offer" yes it's a terrible situation but the service isn't costing anywhere near that so it's acrually very generous

Welshy_78

southsidergs said:

Welshy_78 said:

I've raised a complaint with Vodafone and all they offer is the £5.27 a day compensation for a maximum of 60 days

This always make me laugh, "all they offer" yes it's a terrible situation but the service isn't costing anywhere near that so it's acrually very generous

But I need the internet service to be able to do my job so that I get paid and can pay my mortgage. £5.27 a day will not cover my mortgage and other bills if I lose my job.

Welshy_78

Neil_Jones said:

To be fair the situation would have probably occurred whoever you switched to if you're in a purely fibre only area so I don't think Vodafone are entirely to blame here.

OpenReach are the ones to blame, the situation wouldn't occur if they wait until the new line is in place and ready to take over from the old one. The Vodafone director said that OpenReach know they shouldn't remove an existing line until they have put in the replacement, but that is what they have done.