No service for over a month - what compensation should I push for?

leodis23

Switched provider last month to Yayzi on the City Fibre network, the install was booked for the 15th December but failed due to some access issue with Cityfibre needing to access a port owned by Openreach.
They rectified the issue 5 days later, but I’ve never been able to get an internet connection on the line. Tried the router Yayzi supplied (which was defective), tried my old Eero mesh network, and purchased a new router from Amazon - none worked. Tried all the usual troubleshooting with Yayzi’s support team and nothing worked, so they said they’d get an engineer sent out by Christmas. Needless to say an engineer didn’t show up on the day they were booked to. Nor the other 2 occasions they were booked. 

So I’ve had 3 missed engineer visits and 32 days of no service, and I’ve reached the end of my tether so asking for the contract to be cancelled and the line released so I can sign up to Vodafone instead. 

As Yayzi aren’t on the Ofcom auto compensation scheme, what sort of compensation should I be expecting from them? This would be on top of the £80 in public WiFi charges and additional £45 in mobile data I’ve been charged to try get online during this period (and given I work 100% remotely it’s been a significant impact)

QrizB

I think you'll be lucky to cover your costs. £125 for a month's public WiFi and mobile data seems a bit extreme when you can get an unlimited mobile SIM for under £30.

Is this a business contract or a residential one?

leodis23

Residential. Every time I email them they'd promise they were calling City Fibre and that it would be fixed, so I was having to pay for EE Wifi in 5 day chunks (£19.99 a pop). If I'd have known in advance how long this would have gone on for I could have paid £39 for a month

JSmithy45AD

"This would be on top of the £80 in public WiFi charges and additional £45 in mobile data I’ve been charged to try get online during this period " Not a snowballs chance of getting any of that back as that was your decision. You'd be lucky to £20-£40 compensation and that only if you continue with your contract. Be aware that asking them to release the line will take even longer so if there's a resolution shortly you'll be without even longer.

iniltous

City Fibre don’t use Openreach ‘ports’ , so that’s nonsense, City Fibre can and  do use PIA ( physical infrastructure access ) to use Openreach poles , ducts , and jointboxes but it’s always their own equipment, not Openreach’s , so if CF have an issue it’s got nothing at all to do with Openreach .

As far as compensation from a company that isn’t part of the Ofcom automatic compensation scheme , good luck with that , they may offer a credit on the bill or something like that , but are unlikely to offer much if anything, otherwise they would have joined the compensation scheme .

QrizB

If City Fibre are an alt-net, does this mean the OP's Openreach line is still present? He could sign back up with an Openreach provider today?

(And, at least in principle, he could've kept his old broadband in parallel with City Fibre, at least until he was happy with CF's service?)