Another pointless whinge?

Question

Right, new here so not really sure what I'm trying to achieve; I suspect that, like many here, I've just become so desparate that I'm hoping writing it down may be cathartic.
My issue began in March 2012 when I asked BT to install a phone line to my house. In brief:
-An appointment was made for a week later, I took the day off but the engineer didnt turn up
-Second appt set 2 weeks after that, engineer took 30 secs to look at the line then disappeared without explanation
-Third appt, 3 week after that, engineer didnt turn up (I've been offered £10 compensation for each missed appt which I'm thrilled about having used up 10% of my annual leave so far....)
So here we are almost in December and nothing has happened in between. Yes, lots and lots of phonecalls to India but absolutely no action. On one occasion the 'customer service' operator did explain that it was a problem with a company called 'Weighleads' who BT subcontract the line installation to; I asked whether I could have their telephone number to see if I could chase them but became suspicious when the operator told me that although they are a UK based company they do not have an address, telephone number or email address. I subsequently found out that the root of the issue may be in granting 'wayleave' to cross a nearby farmer's land and that the operator was confused as to the nature of the relationship between BT and Openreach and thought that 'Weighleads' was the installer! God help me. Incidentally, the farmer is a close friend who maintains that he has never in 9 months being asked for permission to cross his fields. BT cannot tell me whether or not he has ever been contacted.
So it rumbles on, a family of 2 young children, a baby and mum and dad (who used to work from home) having had their lives turned upside down by the sheer incompetence combined with arrogance that could only be borne from an organisation operating safely from within their virtual monopoly. We are three miles from the nearest village and have no landline or mobile reception which naturally worries me, especially when I am overseas. BT have suggested we can use the 'hotspot' in the nearest McDonalds (26 miles away) to work from; I'm not sure my waistline would stand 40 hrs a week based from McDonalds!
My parents tell me this level of service was endemic in the '70's but that it was tempered with a human element which did result in common sense prevailing. I fear BT has captured the worst of both worlds and for the first time in my life, I feel like the helpless victim.
I suppose the icing on the cake was the Ombudsman finding that BT were not liable for failing in their universal service obligation to provide a landline as they had sub-contracted the installation to Openreach whose regulation are not within their remit. Toothless springs to mind!
I was obviously aware of BT's reputation for customer service and have purposefully placed my company's business with an alternative provider as we depend on the provision; however, I could only guess at how bad it could get for a domestic consumer who has no alternative. As consumers we should not allow this to happen and should put pressure on government to act; either to empower the Ombdusman to enable them to hold BT fully to account or to enable other providers to economically enter the market so that consumers can make an informed choice as to what sort of provider they wish to engage with. I'm doing this through my MP and would encourage others who find themselves in the same situation to do the same.

Answer 1

Yep, thought I would join this thread in the hope that like your self writing something down would prove helpful (even if its just to myself).
Try to keep this short.
Firstly the buyer of our house gave BT a moving date of begining of of Nov. I phoned to say this was not going to happen and got that cut off cancelled.
Then got a letter saying he would be taking over the line middle of November. I phoned and got that one cancelled.
Then got a letter saying he woould take over line from 21st November. I phoned and cancelled that too.
I get home from work on the 21st to find infinty not working. I phone BT and have a long complicated conversation with a gentlemen that tells me I have never had infinty!!! After about ten minutes of arguing I realise he thinks I am the new home owner and when I ask him to confirm the number I am calling from, he does not read out my home number, instead he reads out the number of the new home owner.  So we realise what has happened and he says it will be restored over night.
I stupidly believed him.
The next evening, I phone BT again and have to explain the whole situation again. Despite it being really obvious to me what has happened (they have already transferred the line and stopped infinty) the rude person on the other end of the phone tells me, I have been cut off for not paying my bill, as as such will have to pay to get reconnected. Not happy at this point and ask to speak to a supervisior. Eventually he comes on the phone and I expalin again. He says he is sorry but as I have already be disconnected he will have to pass me over to "sales/new customers" to get the phone line restored. Ah ha I think I get through to someone in England and very helpfully told how sorry BT are. My phone will be sorted in a couple of days, but even though I already have the hardware for infinty installed that will need an enginner to visit. This should be less than 7 days but beacuse they are busy the afternoon of 4th December is the earliest they can do (nearly two weeks away).
So we get to last weekend Saturday afternoon and the home phone rings, its BT asking to speak to the proposed new owner, I say he has not moved in and I am the old unhappy owner who still has the new owners phone number. She listens to the whole story and says yes she can see it on her computer that my order it there for infinty and changing back the phone. I ask her to send through confirmation, and she does indeed send an email a few minutes later.
However the email says my phone will be connected on the 7th December, and with a new number not my old number and the engineer will not visit for infinty till 17th!!
Guess who had to phone BT again this morning to try and find out what was going on. Yep me. Half hour and all I found out is an engineer visited the house today and done something, someone may or may not turn up tomorrow afternoon and do something, my phone line should be restored by the 7th but he couldn't tell me to which number. Finally my infinty will definately not be activated till the 17th, so he doesn't know what the engineer who is coming (or probably not) tomorrow is going to do. At the end of the call he then has the cheek to ask if he can help me with anything else.
So tomorrow I'm going to have an expensive afternoon at work waiting for no one to turn up.
Rant over, don't really feel any better for it.