Signing up for call1899/18866/18185

chalkysoil

It's all very frustrating. By cruising various other forums I find people up North and West also affected. I think this tunnel was an extra special nest of wires. Don't you just love the Olympics?

I found this via google - written by BT to whom I give credit

1. Q. What has happened?
2. A. A third part contactor has caused serious damage to major telecommunications cables in one of BT’s deep level tunnels, which has resulted in a loss of service to customers in parts of East London.
3. Q. Do BT’s engineers currently have access to the tunnel to start fixing the damage?
4. A. Not at the moment. Our engineers cannot access the tunnel until the site has been declared safe for them to enter. Health and safety and structural engineers have assessed the damage and recommend structural support in the tower before work is undertaken. This structural work is expected to take a number of days
5. BT engineers are currently using alternative methods to restore service and have already successfully restored service to thousands of impacted customers.
6. Q. How many customers are affected?
7. A. This is still being assessed, but initial estimates are that tens of thousands customers are affected. Thousands have had their service restored and work is continuing around the clock to restore service to all customers. We will provide further detail as the situation develops.
8. Q. What services have been impacted?
9. A. A range of services are affected, including telephony, broadband, ISDN and private circuits. A number of mobile ‘cell sites’ are also affected.
10. Q. When do you expect all repairs will be complete?
11. A. This is still being assessed. Our engineers are working around the clock to restore services to customers as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the damage, which happened 32 meters below street level, it is not possible at this stage to provide an exact timeframe as to when services will to be restored but customers should be assured that everything that can be done is being done. We will provide further details as the situation develops.
12. Q. What should customers do if they have no telephone services and they are infirm or vulnerable?
13. A. Affected customers needing to make calls to the emergency services are advised to do so by using their mobile phone, or alternatively by using a friend or neighbour’s working phone.
14. Q. Can you provide a guarantee to any affected major business in the area that their services will be restored by Monday morning?
15. A. We recognise the critical importance of communications services to major businesses and are therefore working around the clock to restore service as quickly as possible. If necessary, we will prioritise the restoration of services to businesses and public sector organizations first.
16. Q. Has anyone been hurt?
17. A. There are currently no reports of any injuries at the site. The safety of the site is currently being assessed by a team of safety consultants and structural engineers. The London Fire Brigade is also on standby if required.
18. Q. Does the any structural damage to the tunnel pose any significant risk to people living in the surrounding area?
19. A. This is currently being assessed
20. Q. How many other communications providers are affected?
21. A. A number of other communications providers are affected. They are being kept informed of progress by BT

And

1. Latest update based on information available at 23.30, 6 April.
   • The recovery work is taking place in 2 stages. We have installed ducting and surface level cables (3 x 276 fibre cables installed, 4 more are being installed) to divert cables away from the damaged area of the tunnel.
2. • The second stage is to retrieve cables from the tunnel to connect to the newly installed surface cables
3. • The first 96 x fibre cable has been successfully retrieved and jointed, restoring service to multiple transmission systems. Services to Poplar exchange have started to restore with full restoration expected imminently. This will mean that 999 service has been restored to all PSTN customers with contended access to normal voice service,
4. • The second 96 x fibre cable retrieval from manhole 144 is progressing slowly due to asbestos and poor air quality. Engineers in breathing apparatus have entered the manhole and are extracting the cable for jointing over ground. This cable will be completed around 05.00. on 7 April.
5. • Other restoration work using make-good capacity is continuing.
6. • In total there are 1836 fibres are to be repaired. The first 96 fibres represents 5% of the total.

chalkysoil

Heinz wrote: »

Although I don't recommend it because they only accept payment by debit or credit card, it might be worthwhile you opening a similar http://www.zerop.co.uk/ (1301) account.

Ok, I've done that - it's 9p a minute to mobiles + 4pand it works. Thanks for the idea :T
It has a very strange, foreign ring tone so persevere if anyone else tries it.

Neil_on_Sea

I live in Canterbury and am also affected by this mysterious problem with Call 11866. A constant engaged tone. Still waiting to hear back from their customer services. I'll let you know as and when I hear anything.

chalkysoil

Customers can get automated updates on progress by dialling 0800 169 0199.

chalkysoil

:T 18185 is back up :j

Heinz

chalkysoil wrote: »

:T 18185 is back up :j

But their accounts website has now gone walkabout though.

https://myaccount.finarea.ch/114/login.aspx?custlink=

chalkysoil

just tried - ok for me.

chalkysoil

But alas 18185 is back to the engaged tone again

imho

Is anyone else having trouble logging into your account on 18185 ? 2nd day i still cant log in,its now saying "server too busy" i emailed customer services yesterday and they replied and said they could log onto my account ok and to try again but for me its still not working .

Heinz

Working fine for me.