I am unable to get a phone line

What a fiasco! I am moving house and have tried x 4 to get a line installed. On every occasion I have spoken to a BT representative I have been assured that I will get a phone line installed, I've paid the amount £124.99 then I either get called back or sent an e-mail to say that my order has been cancelled!!!
The house is on a new development, 5 new houses built, all other 28 houses have phone lines. I even cancelled my sky TV and and thought about having BT vision.
Moving is stressful enough without having this hassle. BT advertise 'Come back' to what??????
Any suggestions re: having a phone line would be much appreciated.
ceriann

ceriann wrote:
What a fiasco! I am moving house and have tried x 4 to get a line installed. On every occasion I have spoken to a BT representative I have been assured that I will get a phone line installed, I've paid the amount £124.99 then I either get called back or sent an e-mail to say that my order has been cancelled!!!
The house is on a new development, 5 new houses built, all other 28 houses have phone lines. I even cancelled my sky TV and and thought about having BT vision.
Moving is stressful enough without having this hassle. BT advertise 'Come back' to what??????
Any suggestions re: having a phone line would be much appreciated.
ceriann
Hi Ceriann.
Hopefully a Mod can pick this up in the next couple of days and get this sorted.
I find the whole story a complete mystery, since I believed that all new developments had a phone line provided by one company or other, probably by BT who may then pass on the connection to another company in the area with all the costs etc.
It sounds like the people you are contacting are doing a thing that seems to be an ongoing problem - and that is "not listening to the caller". To any Mod, can this feedback be passed up the management chain to someone that will actually take on board and take note.
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Similar Messages

How difficult can it be to get a phone line instal...

First of all, for a communications company, BT are shockingly bad at communicating with their customers!
We ordered a home move for our phone line and Infinity services back at the start of Dec, and had an activation date of 19th Dec. The engineer duly turned up on that date and set about the install. The single socket in our house was not where we wanted it (no power socket close by for the broadband router), but he would see about moving that and all was good so far.
However, the engineer was struggling to get a tone on the line and after much to-ing and fro-ing and calling another engineer who was nearby, decided that the actual wires to the house were damaged somewhere between 30m and 250m from the house and as he was not qualified to do any underground works, he was going to pass the job onto another engineer. The next engineer duly came next day (on a Saturday no less!) to get us up and running. No dice. The engineer could not find the break, and we would have to get a new cable put in.
Now, apparently when our house was built the telephone cable was not put in with any ducting and ended up being concreted into the wall! So we would have to get new ducting and the works installed. He then went to paint up the pavement where it needed to be dug up to put the ducting in etc. Except the pavement was covered in leaves, so he sprayed the leaves. Hey ho - I knew where he had painted and I would be able to direct the guys if necessary. As the was the Saturday before Xmas, he was doubtful if the contractors would be before the New Year. The engineer did however get the broadband connection available.
Roll on the New Year and it's a stoney silence from BT, until the morning of the 13th Jan, when a contractor appearred at the door to say he was here to put in the ducting. I pointed out where it was going and left them to it. I glanced out of the window after a while to see they had made a 2ft gap in the hedge at the wrong side of the garden! I also watch in disbelief as one of the guys loaded his wheel barrow with spoil and wheeled it into the woods across the road and dumped it. These guys were the "dig things up" gang, another team were the "filling in" team and they would be along shortly to fill in the hole and re-lay the tarmac on the pavement. However, we at least now have the ducting from the street the house with a rope in the duct to allow a cable to be pulled through. Progress of a fashion.
A few days later, the hole was filled in and the pavement tarred. It then took a full week before another engineer turned up to actually pull the wire through the ducting and connect us up. Except he couldn't because the rope was jammed. So he passed the job back to somebody else. Then 2 days later engineers 5 and 6 turned up with a rodding wire to free off the rope. They couldn't free it off. They did work out that the ducting was probably dislodged by the "filling in the hole" team, thus trapping the rope. This would need the pavement dug up again to reset the ducting. Oh joy.
So, imagine my surprise when another engineer turns up one morning to install our line to discover he couldn't pull the rope through, then another engineer turns up in the afternoon to do the same , followed by yet another engineer the next day!
Meantime, the only communication from BT on the whole matter is when we call them to be told it is all in hand and it will be completed "in 2 days time", or we receive a text message saying they tried to call (no missed calls), and would try to call again in 3 days, do not call them back.
So far in this saga we have had 13 people at the house, not getting us a phone line, in nearly 8 weeks and absolutely terrible communication from BT.
A call to BT at the end of last week resulted in a promise that we would be fully installed by yesterday at 8pm.
I called BT this morning to be told that the external works will be completed by this Friday and they would then call me back to arrange an appointment for the engineer to come and do the install next week!
The only saving grace is we do have an internet connection (pretty vital for me as I work from home!) although I do have an extension cable running across my hallway and we have not been getting charged for line rental for the past 2 months.
I was told today that we should be getting compensation, but to be honest I am not bothered about that - I JUST WANT A PHONE LINE INSTALLED!
Rant over (for now!)

Hi smert,
I am sorry about the delay in getting your phone line on. It definitely sounds like you have been going through the mill lately with all the work being done and still no phone line.
Please send me in your details using the "Contact The Mods" link found in my profile and we will take it from here.
Cheers,
OlgaC
BTCare Community Mod
If we have asked you to email us with your details, please make sure you are logged in to the forum, otherwise you will not be able to see our ‘Contact Us’ link within our profiles.
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14 weeks to get a phone line installed - £10 compe...

I moved house on 28/07 and after a huge amount of problems with Orange and after managing to cancel my account with them I ordered BT Broadband and Evening & Weekend Calls on 07/08/12.
I get 3 emails confirming my order, thanking me for choosing paperless billing etc.
My initial engineer appointment was on 14/09/12 which is 5 weeks and a long time. To quote BT: “It usually takes 15 working days from when you order. It can take longer but this is very rare.” (http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8317/~/how-long-will-it-take-to-install-a-new-line%3F)
I get a text and an email on 12/07 to remind me of my appointment between 1pm and 6pm. So far so good.
The router gets delivered at 12.30am. This is promising.
The engineer comes at 13.30pm, installs the BT Open Reach box in my flat and then asks me if I can open the electronic gate next door as he needs access to my neighbour’s pathway to activate the distribution point. I tell him I cannot as it’s not my building. We try the trades button on the door system. It doesn’t work. We try pressing random house numbers on the door system (there’s no flat numbers on the building) to see if someone’s home. Nothing works. I phone my landlord who tells me this is a council building. No one is coming in and out of the building/gate. After about 30 minutes of trying and waiting I tell him just to use his ladder and climb over the gate (it’s about 6 foot) and activate the distribution point. I’ll take the blame if someone complains. It shouldn’t be a problem as I live next door, I’ve got a BT Open Reach engineer with me and we have a perfectly valid reason to do it. He tells me he can’t do that because of health and safety riles and trespassing laws. Fair enough.
The engineer leaves but before he does he tells me that when I’ve got access to the pathway BT would be able to send an engineer within 24 hours to activate the distribution point. He also tells me there is no need for me to be there the next time as all the work inside is completed and the only thing that needs to happen is for someone to activate the distribution point which is located on a wall on my neighbours building accessible from the pathway. He points it out to me and there is indeed a black box on the wall which can be reached using a ladder in the pathway.
I phone BT to see if anyone can find out how to get access to the pathway as I assume that if BT has installed a distribution point there they must have a way for them to get access to it. Especially as the engineer told me there are 3 lines in my building so this must have happened before. I was wrong. I have to argue with the customer service person with a very poor command of the English language for 30 minutes. He doesn’t know what “the council” is and doesn’t understand whatsoever why I –and I quote- “Can’t just ask the neighbour to let the engineer in when the next appointment has been made”. I try to explain to him there is an electronic metal gate with a call system and I am unable to call anyone as there are no flat numbers on the outside of the building and asked if he was suggesting that I wait all evening after work until someone comes out and that even then, surely I can’t ask my neighbour to stay home to let a BT engineer onto his pathway because I am trying to get a phone line installed. He then presented me with another option: “We can install a new line from the road but this is chargeable by £350”. After 30 minutes of this and asking to speak to a manager several times –which was refused- I had enough and hung up.
Determined to get the problem resolved I rang again and got someone else on the phone. She was quite sympathetic and advised me to phone the council and see if they can help. She confirmed that I didn’t need to be there for the next appointment if someone could give the engineer access to the distribution point as all the work apart from the distribution point activation was complete. By this time it was 4pm on a Friday and she promised to call back at 4pm on Monday.
I called the council right away but they said the caretakers had gone home as it was late on a Friday and advised me to ring back on Monday.
I get a text from BT: sorry we missed you appointment etc.
BT calls me on Monday morning 10.30am asking if I’ve sorted it. I tell the person I was expecting a call from them at 4pm and therefore I hadn’t rang the council yet. He promises to ring me back on Wednesday at 10.30am.
I call the council later that day; they’re not very helpful and advise me to call them again on Tuesday.
On Tuesday they log the call and lo and behold. Wednesday at 8.30am, the caretaker calls me, gives me his mobile number, tells me the trades button on the call system will work before 9.30am and they can give them access remotely. If they’re coming after 9.30am, the engineer needs to ring him an hour in advance and he’ll come to open the gate. We’re getting somewhere.
I don’t get a call on Wednesday 10.30am.
I call them myself that afternoon and explain the above. The guy says he’s written it all down, everything will get sorted and I’ll get a text with the new time and date.
Someone with a very poor command of the English language phones me on Thursday. I asked why she is ringing me. She says it’s to makes an engineer appointment. I tell her she doesn’t need to ring me as I don’t need to be in the property and they should all the information needed as I called them the day before. She doesn’t have a clue what I’m on about. I tell her to read out what she has on her screen under the notes as I now don’t trust that the person the day before has written it down properly. She once again doesn’t have a clue what I’m on about. I ask to speak to her manager. She says he’ll call me back. 5 minutes later he does. His English is excellent and he seems to have found the notes and knows exactly what’s going on. This is encouraging. He says the first appointment they have is 03/10 (it is now 20/09) but he’ll make sure they get it earlier and he’ll ring me back. The first person that hardly speaks English calls back. She says the appointment will be on 03/10 between 8am and 1pm. I tell her that her manager told me he was going to make sure it was going to be earlier and ask her why he lied to me. She doesn’t understand what I’m saying. I try to explain to her that trades button on the call system will work before 9.30am and they can give them access remotely but if they’re coming after 9.30am, the engineer needs to ring him an hour in advance and he’ll come to open the gate. She doesn’t understand what I’m saying. I ask her to get her manager to ring me back as he speaks English. She says he’ll call within 15 minutes. I get a text 5 minutes later confirming my appointment for 03/10 between 8am and 1pm.
On 02/10 I phone the caretaker in the morning to let him know they’re coming on 03/10 between 8am and 1pm. I also called BT once again to check everything was clear, confirming they have the correct mobile number of the caretaker etc. They say they have all the information needed and promise that the work will be done.
I phone on the afternoon of the 3rd to check the work had been done and I am told that it hasn’t as the engineer needs access to a flat roof and the caretaker can’t provide him with that. I explain that the original engineer had been on the flat roof already and told me they only needed to get through the gate to activate the distribution point so I don’t understand why they now need to get back on the roof. The roof can be accessed with a ladder (which they all standard have with them) from the pavement anyway so why do I need to be there? They tell me that the engineer has tried to call me but my phone was switched off. I am 100% sure that my phone has been on all day and I haven’t received any missed calls. Also, after all of the above, I wouldn’t switch my phone off on the crucial day. The engineer is lying. After being on the line for 15 minutes (as it takes at least 5 minutes to go through the automated menu every single time you call them and it literally takes a minute for the information to come up on their screen every time they need to access a file) that I don’t have time to discuss this right now as I have an important teleconference with an overseas client and ask for someone to call me back that evening to discuss this as I am busy at work all day.
I receive a text 10 minutes later saying the next engineer appointment is 12/11 between 1pm and 6pm.
This is 14 (!!!) weeks after ordering the service. I phone back when I have a short break at work to discuss this and request a call back. Someone calls me back 5 minutes later and asked for my account information which I don’t have handy so I ask to hold on while I’m looking it up. She hangs up on me.
I stay late at work to write an email on the email form on the website with a watered down version of all of the above and I get a confirmation email that it’s arrived.
I get another text that evening at 8.40pm as well as an email saying -once again- that the next engineer appointment is 12/11 between 1pm and 6pm.
Someone calls me at 8.50pm saying that the next engineer appointment is 12/11. I tell him I know this as they’ve sent me 2 texts and an email already and that this date is unacceptable and ask to speak to his manager. He tells me I need to call the Order Management Department. I ask him what the number is. You’ve guessed it: 0800 0800 150.
Someone called Chris XXXXX calls me the morning after to discuss the email I’ve written the day before. He gives me the usual “Open Reach controls the engineers” story and tells me the appointment will not be earlier than 12/11. I tell him this is unacceptable and if the appointment can’t be moved forward I want some compensation for all the expense and inconvenience caused. He tells me that since I haven’t been billed yet I’m not eligible for any compensation but as a gesture of good will he will give me £10 which I’m normally not eligible for as this is only given to people whose engineer didn’t come on time. I try to explain that if the engineer would have called me as he said he’s done (and not lied like he’s done) I could have explained where the distribution point was and I probably even would have rushed home from work to finally get it sorted. We argue a bit about compensation in which he tells me he’s already doing me a favour by giving me £10. I stop the argument to discuss more practical issues and ask him if I now need to be home on 12/11. He says I do. I now need to take another day off work it seems. I ask him if the caretaker needs to be there as well. He says he does. I ask him if I should invite anyone else and provide tea and biscuits for everyone. I don’t think he gets the joke. We argue a bit more about compensation, we get nowhere. I’m now getting upset. He says he’ll call me back at 1.30pm.
He does and immediately I ask him for his direct phone number. He says he doesn’t have one. I ask him for his email address. He says he doesn’t have one. I ask how to get in touch with him. He says through the 0800 call centre or the form on the website. Now the line gets really bad and gets disconnected. There is nothing wrong with my mobile or signal, I have 5 bars and 3G showing but I can’t hear him and the line gets disconnected. This happens 2 more times. I get him back on the phone and I ask him to call me back on my work landline. He does and a number shows up on the phone (not the 0800 one that showed up when he called my mobile). I immediately write it down and tell him he just lied to me about not having a direct line. He says it’s a desk used by many people. I tell him that if I ring that number and he’s around there’s chance I could get to speak to him surely. He says it’s only used for outgoing calls. I haven’t tried to ring it and can’t be bothered to be honest. I stop this argument and bring the conversation back to compensation. I ask if he can at least give me a few extra months free or upgrade my account for free for a few months maybe by throwing in some telly or something. He says he can’t do that and they can review compensation once the line has been installed. I tell him that’s not good enough and that this whole story is going online and hang up.
Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced and it seems that I’m stuck with it because I’ve already got an appointment and cancelling and going with another provider will result in an even longer wait.
I’ve been offered £10 compensation for taking 2 days of work, hours on the phone, massive mobile phone bills, a lot of stress and 14 weeks without a landline or internet. Truly unbelievable.

Hi
I am sorry to see you are having problems with your BT Service
I suggest you contact the forum mods they should be able to get this problem sorted for you this is a link to them http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact_email/c/4951
They normally reply by email or phone directly to you within 3 working days they will take personal ownership of your problem until resolved and will keep you informed of progress
They are a UK based BT specialist team who have a good record at getting problems solved
This is a customer to customer self help forum the only BT presence here are the forum moderators
If you want to say thanks for a helpful answer,please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side If the reply answers your question then please mark as ’Mark as Accepted Solution’

Having lots of problems with getting a phone line ...

this may be a bit of a long story sorry, but this has now stretched to nearly 2 months without phone and internet and i desperately need help as i rely on both for my business.
we moved in to our new house in october and ordered BT phone and internet on the 18th of October, we've now had 3 engineers out to connect a phone line but yesterday after the 3rd one turned up, and then left without informing me, i phoned BT to ask where he was to be told i now had to rebook my appointment for the 6th of December, nearly 2 months after moving into my house.
first engineer came on the 8th of november, a very nice man who explained to me the phone line in my house was 20 year old outdated underground line which was no longer in use by BT, he phoned his boss and was told he'd need to put up a whole new line. he went away to get a harness and ladder etc, came back and climbed the pole and got the line up and put it to my house. he then took the whole thing down again... came in to inform me that the line didnt meet regulations as it was not high enough, and he couldnt use the other pole as it was too close to electrical wires. he was gutted to have lost a whole day but informed me it is the law that bt have to provide me with a phone line and that if they dont do anything within 3 days i should complain. i was disappointed as i'd taken the day off work for this, being self employed this cost me a lot of money.
next day i was back to work as normal, a new bt engineer phoned saying he was at my house. i said i'd come back to meet him but he told me not to bother, as he'd already inspected the area and decided the first engineer was wrong and he should have infact put the line up at the pole which was beside the electrical wires, so he told me he'd book a new appointment and bt would phone me to let me know.
i waited a week with no phone call or email so i phoned BT myself on Saturday 16th November. i got a lovely lady on the phone who actually seemed horrified at what had happened, she couldnt be more helpful and managed to get me a cancellation appointment the following thursday, 21st november, from the BT engineers and assured me the order would be completed this time. great, but annoying as again i had to be in the house which meant a 2nd day off work costing me a lot more money again.
21st november - yesterday - bang on 9am a knock at the door, great. new BT engineer is there, an older unfit looking gentleman wrapped up in hats and scarfs and huge jackets. straight away he came across to me that he couldnt be bothered with this, he was asking me what line i had, what the previous guy did, what the 2nd guy said needed doing, he didnt know himself. i explained to him and he went away back into his van. he sat there for 30-40 minutes, came back to the door to say he needed a cherrypicker to get him up the pole to connect the new phone line but as it was in another place it wouldnt be here till the afternoon. he then went on to ask me if i would be staying in all day as it would get done today, he said i needed to stay in the house all day 'you wont be going anywhere will you?' i was told to stay and wait for him over and over again. i said this was fine as i'd had to take another day off work, i couldnt afford a 3rd day so i wouldnt be going anywhere.
come 11.30am, he returned, he just said he wanted to update me on that he was heading into the village to fix a phone line then would return, again he asked for assurances i wouldnt leave the house etc and i said thats fine.
12:15pm - a man phoned from BT to rebook my engineer appointment, i kindly explained he was here at half 11 and was returning to complete the job later. the man on the phone said thats fine but please phone us back if he doesnt reappear. at this point i was very worried, phoned the missus for her opinion and we agreed i should phone back so i phoned back straight away. this time i got a nice scottish man on the phone and i explained everything, he went and checked things for me and said the system still said my order was in progress so if the engineer had told me he'd be coming back, he saw no reason why he wouldnt. i was happy with that and agreed.
3:30pm - still no sign so i phoned BT back to say i was worried he had left, it was a nice man on the phone again but talked in broken english and didnt understand me completely a lot of the time... (i have a scottish accent ) the whole call took about an hour but eventually it turned out the BT engineer had indeed just decided to go home, im presuming he decided it was too much work in the wind and rain, and to add insult to injury he'd even told BT my order was completed. i asked the man on the phone if i could talk to someone higher up as i wish to complain as i needed my order completed today, he point blank refused saying he would file the complaint on my behalf which i wasnt happy with but he wasnt having it any other way. he decided to rebook my appointment for the 6th of december despite this meaning i'd need to take a 3rd day off work costing me yet more money. he then had me wait on the phone whilst he typed out my complaint and gave me a complaint reference number, he didnt really check anything with me as to what i wanted in the complaint so i am a bit worried not everything is in there. i could add more on this, im not happy at having to wait for another 2 weeks aswell considering the last lady found me an appointment within just 4 days of me phoning, i believe i should have priority for an urgent appointment?
anyway, i am very annoyed by this whole thing. i have remained patient up until today and now i just dont know what to do, im not the type to complain but this is ridiculous, i can see the same thing happening with the next engineer. i do expect some form of compensation over this whole affair as it is not fair at all that i will now have to take 3 days off my self employed job which is very very costly for me and is money i can not get back. not to mention the loss in business from not having the internet as we take appointments and orders online, we have been unable to use this for 2 months now. the amount of money i have lost over all of this is unbelieveable. fair enough i did not mind at all having to wait for my first appointment, or for taking the first day off work for the work to be done. that was fair enough, i realise these guys are busy and that was the earliest appointment i could have so that was fine. but now that i have to take another 2 days off work is the problem, not to mention all this extra time with no internet.
please could one of you help me out here as i dont know what else to do. ideally im hoping someone could sort out an earlier appointment for me like the original woman on the phone did, getting me a cancellation, as i am in desperate need of it now as december is our busiest month. i also wish to file my own complaint about all of this if possible. thank you in advance for any help and i am sorry for the length of this post. cheers.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

You will not get any compensation from the failure to provide a residential line, apart from what BT say on this page.
Customer service guarantee
BT do not provide or maintain the external network. This is done by Openreach who work for all service providers. BT do not get any special treatment.
If you are waiting for Openreach to deal, then that appointment is going to be the earliest available.
You could take a laptop into town, and use it on the available hotspots. It would also be worth considering adding broadband to the business line, to make things easier at the shop.
As this is only a customer to customer forum, all I can do is to ask a BT Moderator to see if they can help, but I doubt that they can influence Openreach, as Openreach deal with other service providers as well.
I have asked a moderator to provide assistance, they will post an invite on this thread.
They are the only BT employees on this forum, and are a UK based team of people, who take personal ownership of your problem.
Once you get a reply, if you click on their name, you will see a screen like this. Click on the link as shown below.
Please do not send them a personal message, as they may not be on duty for a long time, and your message will not be tracked properly.
For your own security, do not post any personal details, on this forum. That includes any tracking number you are give.
They will respond either by phone or e-mail within 5-6 working days.
Please use the tracked e-mail, to reply, not via the forum. Thanks
This is the form you should see when you click on the link. If you do not see this form, then you have selected the wrong link.
When you submit the form, you will receive an enquiry number, so please keep a note of it
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

Trouble getting my phone line connected

My saga to date....
I contacted BT on 20th April to advise them that I was moving home on 29th April (to a newly built house). An engineer was arranged to come to my home on 10th May to carry out the connection. Prior to the 10th May, I had a visit from an engineer to assess the job. My house has been built in an older part of a village which still relies on telephone poles and lines going from the poles in to houses. During one of these visits, it was noted that I would need a pole placed in my garden to connect the line to, then the line would be connected from there. The reason behind this was due to the fact that my house is built low down, and to take a wire straight from the main pole would make it slope too low. I was quite happy with the solution put forward, and was happy that things seemed to be in hand. At no point was I told that the work would not go ahead on the 10th May.
This is when the problems start.......
I feel that I am living in the dark ages again. I have no phone line, hence no Internet access and do not get a mobile signal in the area I now live in! I rely on travelling to my daughters' house to use their phone and Internet access, which is not convenient.
The 10th of May came and went, and nobody appeared at the house, and I received no communication that work would not be carried out on this date. I phoned BT, and yes, I was talking to a call centre in India. When the operator finally grasped the issue that the engineer had not appeared she checked with her suppliers to inform me that there was a problem and that this would be assessed by the 14th May. BT would then advise me on the 15th what the next stage would be. Unhappy with this, I was eventually put through to the supervisor (waited 40 minutes on hold!). Got no joy from him, but the promise he would personally contact me on 15th. I had to accept this and hung up.
On Monday 13th May, I went online to check the progress of my order, only to note that my latest BT bill was ready. When I checked the bill, I noted that BT had started to bill me for my phone and broadband package from 10th May!. Blood pressure steadily rising, I contacted BTs billing department, yes once again an Indian call centre, to complain. Got the standard script from the operator - very sorry etc. During this conversation, it was realised that BT had the wrong postcode in for my house (it was the correct street, but the post code for odd numbered houses). The operator, against my pleas not to do so, cancelled my order, and set up a new order for the correct postcode. She assured me that she knew what she was doing and not to worry, everything would be fine (I had explained the saga to date to her). She set up a brand new account, allocating a different phone number, and requiring me to set up new direct debits - I'm not sure how she couldn't just change the postcode for my original account. A new connection appointment was for 21st May, and I was assured that there would be no problems I would be connected on this date.
The 15th of May came and went, and no phone call from the Indian call centre manager. I did not call back at this time, as a new appointment had been scheduled.
The 21st came, and an engineer did appear - hooray! He looked at the house and told me - I cannot do your connection. A pole is needed to run a the line to. He was able to tell me that my number had been set up in the exchange. I was more than a little angry and frustrated at this point. BT knew that a pole was required back on 6th May - why had this information not been dealt with!
Again I phoned BT, back to the Indian call centre. Explained the whole saga. He checked with his 'suppliers' to find out what was going on. Came back to tell me that further information would be available the next day. I was getting a little annoyed at the point. I explained that the work required was to erect a pole in my garden to run the line to. All I wanted was a date for when this work would be carried out. He could not give me this info saying his suppliers would not give this until the next day. I asked who the suppliers were - BT Open Reach, but he would not let me speak to them directly. He promised to phone me back the following day with the update - probably to get me off the phone. I again explained that I had no means to which he could contact me in my own home, and would require to go to my daughters house to receive the call. He agreed to phone me back at 10am on 22nd May - a time when I would go to my daughters. Yes, once again they failed to phone back!!
I again phoned back - yes back to India I went. Asked to speak with the manager - but the operator would not connect me saying he could help. Went through the saga once more - again got the text book apologies (which are getting rather annoying now). He contacted the 'suppliers' and promised that contact would be made with me within 24hours by the engineer with regards to the work being carried out. I told him that I had been lied to on so many occasions that I didn't believe that this was the case and asked to speak to BT Openreach to confirm this. He stated that this could not be done. Trust him, why would he lie to me - which I told him would be to get me off the phone. I left my daughters phone number as a contact.
24hours has now passed, and yes - once again no contact. I cannot face talking to another operator in an Indian call centre who will tell me anything to get off the phone. BT's complaints procedure is pathetic. I feel totally helpless in this. There doesn't seem to be any communication between anyone in the company. The call centre staff are telling you anything just to get rid of you. I suspect that I am now being billed on 2 accounts for a service I don't have, and no doubt will be another saga when I eventually get a working phone line.
I am no further forward to when this work will be getting carried out, and getting more and more frustrated. Is there any suggestions on where / who I can go to.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi
I am sorry to see you are having problems
I suggest you contact the forum mods they should be able to get this problem sorted for you this is a link to them http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact_email/c/4951
They normally reply by email or phone directly to you within 3 working days they will take personal ownership of your problem until resolved and will keep you informed of progress
They are a UK based BT specialist team who have a good record at getting problems solved
This is a customer to customer self help forum the only BT presence here are the forum moderators
If you want to say thanks for a helpful answer,please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side If the reply answers your question then please mark as ’Mark as Accepted Solution’

How do I get a phone line repaired in 48 hours?

My parents (in their 80's and one of whome is ill) have been without a phone for 6 days now. I couldn't even speak to them on Christmas day!! It says on the website repairs in 48 hours. No one has informed them of why the phone is still not working despite the BT Vans being in the road yesterday. This is not acceptable. Has anyone else had this problem?

If its an external fault, then BT pass it to Openreach who will normally attendto it, but if the fault is difficult to repair, then the actual repair may take longer.
If the fault is within the BT exchange equipment, then repairs may be quicker.
The link below may help in future.
Free Priority Repair Scheme information
You can track the progress of the current fault on this link.
Track Phone Faults
There is sometimes an option to divert incoming calls to a mobile, or other number, free of charge.
Some guidance is on this link.
Customer service guarantee
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

Advice on possible grants for phone line

Hi
I am after some advice
After 9 months of dealing with BT, with rediculous amount of problems, having various engineers come out and even more excuses for why a phone line was taking so long to be connected, we were told that there is about 200m where there is no available line to connect us.
As it is not a standard connection fee we have been told we need to pay £4500 to be connected which we are unable to afford.
We live in the country and have no mobile signal (we have tried various networks) and without having a phone line/internet we have no access to phone/inbternet and therefore no contact to the emergency services if needed. It is also necessary for me to be contacted 24hours a day due to my work.
I have been told there is some sort of grant for rural houses to be connected to the phone/internet. Is anyone able to advise me on if there is one and how to apply.
Thank you
Charlotte Sarfas

I know when Openreach need to install new line plant to provide service they will pay the first £1,500, or was it £2,500 then you need to cough up the rest.
Actually don't quote me on that, but I'm sure that's how it was when I worked there a while back.
Not sure if you can get a grant to get a phone line installed though, I know there are Local Government Subsidies to get Communities online for broadband but its usually a small amount like £300 per household or something and would only apply to say a Village or Town, each individual property wouldn't actually get the money, if you see what I mean?

BT Phone Line Order – 9 months of total failure – ...

I've been trying to get a phone line and internet connection from BT installed into a London flat since the 07th of January 2012.
This email/letter does not contain every contact with BT in the last 9 months – as I have not kept records of all the dozens and dozens and dozens of calls, texts, and emails but it is a good enough list to show the general theme of total failure from BT in all aspects of both technical and customer service.
(I have re-written this and removed my 5 or so BT account numbers, the various fault numbers, the dozens of VOL numbers and removed any surnames of people in it in the hope that this will get posted.)
07 Jan 2012
Place first order for phone and internet. BT.com reference: <removed for forum post>.
You can only do Mon to Fri installs. My next day available day off work is 19 Mar 2012 so the line engineer’s appointment is made. 8am to 1pm. I am self-employed and it is not easy to take time off work. In fact it costs me money every time I have to take time off work.
19 Mar 2012
The phone line engineer is late. Arrives after 1pm. He looks at job and says he can't do anything. It needs a new line installed even though there is already a line installed? New line involves a cherry picker and another visit by the line engineer. More time off work. New phone is line installed into flat.
27th Mar 2012
I am informed that the new phone line does not work. Order is cancelled? I get no details on what the problem is and why I can't get a line or what to do next. I have no phone at home so I’ve not tried to use the line; yet BT has already cancelled my Order.
I called ‘BT help; somebody tells me the line is connected to the wrong exchange. I spend lots of time and many calls talking to people in India and I think other parts of the UK. People tell me they are going to call me back and don't. I tried to speak to supervisors in India but nobody returns calls. I’m getting nowhere for weeks and weeks. I give up; it all seems too hard…
7th June, 2012:
Over the internet I place a new order with BT for phone line and internet:
Your order number is: <removed for forum post>. Phone number: <removed for forum post>
6th July:
BT infinity engineer appointment. 8am to 1pm. He is late. After 1pm. He arrives, looks at job and says he can't do anything. He says the phone line does not work.
I inform him the order I placed with BT is for a phone line and internet. He says there is nothing he can do as he does not ‘do’ phone lines. Another day off work. Lost wages, lost time.
No phone & no internet.
Fault is raised:
Date closed: 6 July 2012
Fault/VOL number: VOL012-<removed for forum post>
Open Product affected: Phone fault
Telephone number: <removed for forum post>
Lots of calls to BT. But getting nowhere at all. They tell me there is no fault on the line but will send an engineer that I might have to pay for.
8th July:
Phone line engineer arrives 8am to 1pm. He is on time. He informs me all the existing work is incorrect. They have connected all the equipment to the wrong exchange. It should be the Putney exchange but they have attempted to hook me into the Wandsworth exchange - which won't ever work. Still no phone & no internet. He raises a fault number: LS6 W80 <removed for forum post>
10th July:
9am call from Open Reach engineer. This is not a scheduled appointment. I've had no contact from BT. I am at work. He does not know the problem or the fault number. I give him the fault number and call him back 90 min later. He confirms that I have been connected to the incorrect exchange and cabinet? He can't do anything to fix the problem.
I want somebody to call me with a solution.
I don't want to talk with more people in India who can't help me or even understand the problem. How can this be such a failure?
I use website to email in a letter with the entire listing of existing fault details/number, order numbers etc.
Thank you for your enquiry. We will respond to your enquiry as soon as possible. Please make a note of your enquiry reference number and use it in further correspondence.
Your enquiry reference number: 120710-<removed for forum post>"
One of the issues I am finding is that BT does not link previous faults with new ones, or previous Orders with new ones, or previous Customer Numbers with new ones. Every time I speak to somebody they cannot find any details of the history of these problems so far. BT keep on cancelling my Orders and placing new ones; raising new faults etc. But nothing is linked and when I speak to people for help they can’t see any of the history of the line, faults, address, etc.
19th July, 2012:
I get an email from BT. They have cancelled their own Order again.
Order cancelled. Your order number is: BTCAA6<removed for forum post>
Dear Mr HUNTER, We confirm your broadband order's now cancelled.
23rd July, 2012:
Email from BT as they re-raise a new Order:
Your order number is: VOL012-<removed for forum post>
Check out your account and more about your service
Phone line starts(SL-N)
Phone number: <removed for forum post>
24 Jul 2012 before midnight
Track your order - you'll need order number VOL012-<removed for forum post>.
24 July, 2012:
Email from BT as they re-raise a new Order:
Good news Your order number is: VOL012-<removed for forum post>
Dear Mr. HUNTER, Your phone service is ready for you.
BUT IT IS STILL NOT WORKING..
Sometime around this date BT Priority Help gets involved and lots more phone calls ensue.
27th July, 2012:
After I talk to priority help line and say please don’t waste our time anymore with line engineers that come around and say ‘we can’t do anything’.
BT Priority Help book another engineer visit & we need more time off work again.
The next line engineers visits and he says it is the same problem. He says he can’t do anything. He says it is connected to the wrong exchange. And leaves.
He says his manager will call me. Fault Number: LS6 WPE <removed for forum post>
28th July, 2012:
Call from somebody from BT asking about my street address.
They say the address might not be correct.
29th July, 2012:
Next day call from Franz’s, fault line engineer manager.
He says:
A new order is going in.
Equipment might not be installed in correct place. Correct place should be CAB7 PCB 7 Putney.
Some part of the equipment might still be pointing to Wandsworth.
A new order to the exchange is being place to do it all again.
The address BT has for this flat will not be the problem as it is a new line installed by BT.
I need to wait till Tuesday and see if it works.
A New Order is booked; again.
Monday 30th July, 2012:
I call the priority help line and COMPLAIN again that BT are getting nowhere.
I explain that whatever you have been doing since MARCH 2012 to get this line working HAS NOT WORKED. I repeated what one line engineer told me that it might need to be connected to another exchange. Not WANDSWORTH & NOT PUTNEY but one called PUTNEY/CHISWICK???
I explain to somebody from BT Priority Help Care the days and days and days I have lost trying to get a phone line and internet installed into this flat…
I get a call back 30 min later.
Lady on the phone tells me that all the previous 5 orders have been placed with Wandsworth phone numbers. She has created a new Order, Order number 6, and it is an Order with a PUTNEY EXCHANGE phone number because all the other orders have been for a mix of the wrong exchange and all have used WANDSWORTH EXCHANGE phone numbers – which would stop this working even if the line and equipment was connected to the correct PUTNEY exchange…
1st Aug, 2012:
Text message from BT saying they are having "systems issues trying to correct and update data in the background, and exchange problems".
Monday 6th Aug, 2012:
Voice mail from BT priority care team: Informed "Problems with Engineering and Exchange. They will call back on the 08th of Aug."
14th Aug 201:
Emails arriving saying that your new line is now working.
But it is not.
6pm - ish I am called from BT Sunderland priority help care. Lady does not know the details of the case. She tells me the line should now be working.
I explain there isn’t a dial tone.
She tells me there is an address problem. Probably.
I explain the 8 months of issues I have been having.
She tells me to not get upset. She doesn’t know anything about this case.
She tells me “It can actually take up to 12 months to get a phone connected in London”.
She tells me “that it can be very complex to get a phone connected”.
She tells me there is a long winded email attached to my case. I tell her that the ‘long winded’ email she is reading was written by me in an attempt to show all the problems in the last 8 months IN ONE PLACE – something BT seem incapable of doing.
She tells me I have to wait 10 days until the address team finish their address checking.
I explain to her that the line engineers have told me it is not an address problem.
She tells me there is nothing she can do.
28th Aug
BT priority Care called me. Told me that they are still waiting for results from the Address Team.
29th Aug
BT priority Care called me.
Told me that it is connected to the incorrect exchange now. Wandsworth… The same thing I was told last March.
I got ‘annoyed’ and tried, again, to explain the entire story to the lady on the phone.
She told me she cannot see any records of my orders back to January.
She told me that she didn’t understand what the problem is, and that the records they have shown the line was working in Aug...
I asked her to get her manager to call me.
No manager called me; instead I get a call back from the same lady later in the day. She is trying to help but we are still getting nowhere. BT Priority Care are just trying to do the same things again, that have failed multiple times in the past. They have no solution because they do not know what the problem is?
30th Aug 2012
BT priority Care called me; lady might have been called Sharon? Another lady anyway.
She tells me a new order is going to be placed to get the line connected back to Putney.
I ask to speak to her manager. She says she will call me back.
She calls me back and tells me that her manager Kelly W<removed for forum post> a BT Priority Care Manager Sunderland(maybe?) is going to call me before 6pm. This is the 3rd time I’ve asked to speak to a manager at BT Priority Care. Nobody calls me back.
All I get from BT since March are people trying the same failed thing, again and again.
Now they want to check with the address team. Again.
Now 6 months later after getting it connected to the Putney exchange, they want to put it back to the Wandsworth exchange, where it was originally – and never worked? I question this decision? I ask why this is going to fix the problem if it is the opposite advice to what every line engineer (5 of them) has ever said. I get told that nobody can answer that question.
Friday 31/08/2012
Another set of emails and text tell me I have a new line that is working.
But of course it does not. The phone line is dead. No dial tone.
Phone number is: <removed for forum post>
VOL012-<removed for forum post>
Monday 03/09/2012
All the BT priority care line numbers with the PIN numbers I was given have stopped working.
I can’t make a call to get through to the BT Priority Care Team anymore.
So I phone the normal BT help number…
An automated system tells my phone number is on exchange that is having a high level of faults for the last 2 hours and then it automatically disconnects my help call.
I phone back again and I have to NOT give my phone number for about 4 levels of automated systems to get to speak to a person. This time get through to a person. In India.
I ask for help trying to get put through to the Priority Help Care Centre in the UK. I am informed by somebody in India that all BT Priority Help Centres in the UK have been closed for good – since last Friday. I have to explain, again, the now nine months of trying to get a line connected – to the Indian help desk. I told to wait while she speaks to her supervisor.
I get put through to a different BT Priority Help Centre in the UK. Not Sunderland.
I speak to a man. He says he will email the Sunderland Help Centre and Kelly W<removed for forum post> and get somebody to phone me.
I ask him for advice on what I should do to try to get a phone line connected – after 9 months of trying. He says he will try and escalate it but he does not want to step on other peoples toes?
I ask him to CC in the CEO of BT to the email he is going to send to Kelly W<removed for forum post>. He thinks I am joking….
It is Wednesday night of the 04th of September 2012
Still no call back from Kelly or anybody from the Help care team. This is the 4th time I’ve requested a call back.
And now my PIN numbers for the priority call number have been disabled so I can’t call them.
Of course; why would you expect anything less?
LETTERS OF LATE PAYMENT:
In the last 6 months I’ve got multiple letters from BT telling me I am late in paying for my line service. I get ‘account overdue’ letters even though I prepaid the 12 months line service in advance for a line that has never worked.
SADLY:
There are phone lines in the flats below me, either side of me, and all down this entire street.
There are phone lines all over London. There are phone lines all over the UK.
But sadly not one that works in my flat. I’ve been without a phone or an internet connection since I moved in. 9 months ago.
MARS:
The Americans have flown a Mars Rover, which weighs a ton, from the Earth to Mars, landed it, and driven it around a bit – all on another planet - in the same time BT has failed to install a working phone line into a flat in central London? I wish it was this funny..
GIVEN UP:
So now I give up. My endless frustration at BT’s total lack of anything even close to coordinated fault tracking or anything like co-ordinated customer care service isn’t worth the time or stress any longer. 9 months of stress, lost wages while I’ve waited at home for engineers, and countless hours and hours of my time wasted on hold or speaking to people that can’t help.
YOU SUCK:
BT you are the total pits.
I don’t think you could suck more.
Some of my account numbers have been GB 1084 <removed for forum post>, GB 1099 <removed for forum post>, GB 1038 <removed for forum post>, GB 1105 <removed for forum post>
Dozens of other reference numbers: <removed for forum post>

Further onwards (actually downwards or backwards):
I did respond (last week) to the request to contact the forum moderators directly and was told that that they could not help because this is now being referred to Ombudsman.
Thanks for the offer of help anyway.
Two days ago I did receive another letter from BT. Dated after I was told that I would never get another letter from BT asking for payment for something that was never done. "You will never get another bill". I get another bill.
So more, painful, calls to BT in India. Have to explain the entire 9 month situation again. More wasted timed.
Asked to wait while supervisor is contacted.
Told she can't help but I should call this number: 0800 169 4109.
Which I did. But of course that number requires a number and a pin. And they don't give you a pin number. So they have effectively just cut me off.
So I have to start the entire 'call for help about this bill' processes again.
(Don't forget I've been talking to BT now since January 2012. 9 months, coming up to 10 months and I still can't get a working phone line and I still can't stop getting bills for something that has never worked).
Additioanlly on top of getting sent another late payment letter I’ve see no letter regarding the ‘Deadlock’ process between BT and I – as ‘promised’ by BT. I was told, verbally, the letter would go out last Monday. It is still not here. I want to know if the process has began. So I try to get help with that on BT Help Chat.
My goal in the chat below was to:
1. Get help with the Ombudsman process. I wanted to know why I had not received a letter from BT as I was told I was going to on the date I was expecting.
2. Get a phone number to speak to somebody about the Ombudsman process that BT had started.
3. Find out why I am still getting late payment changes for a line that has never worked - in the 9 months since the initial line order was created.
I was not given a number to call for help. Claire, the Help Chat lady, would not give me the number.
I was told I was going to be 'called back,' which I was not happy with as I know from 9 months of past experiences with BT that I will not be called back.
Sadly I was getting very frustrated by the end of the ‘Help Chat’. 9.5 months of tryign to get a phone line working in Central London has left me a little stressed...
Please note that today is the day after the chat transcript below. While Claire was trying to be helpful:
I was not called back. I received no help regarding getting details on what stage the Ombudsman process is at and what I have to do next.
9.5 months now. No phone line. No solution. Lots and lost of endless frustration.
Days and days and days of stress and my own time and hence money wasted.

Great....upgraded my bundle and was forced into digital voice. Now I've lost my 2nd phone line

I'm beyond frustrated yet again with Verizon and trying to do an upgrade. I upgraded my bundle and was forced into digital voice. Really didn't care to change my phone but went ahead. So today I wake up to no 2nd phone line or distinctive ring line. I've spent 2+ hours on the phone trying to get someone to get my phone line back and I'm so sick of being transferrred, calls dropped, wrong department, etc. I don't have time for this **bleep**! Plus...the online chat isn't working either. I give up!
If there is a tech person out there that can help me get my line back....please tell me who the heck to call without getting a one hour + run around with no help!
Deanne
Frustrated in Keller

I'm sorry to hear about your phone upgrade issue. The Verizon Forums is a peer-to-peer support channel in which users help other users. Because your issue appears to need account specific assistance from Verizon, I've moved your message to an employee monitored board, where a Verizon representative can assist you. You will be contacted by email, private message in the Forums and/or the billing telephone number on your Verizon account as soon as possible.
If a forum member gives an answer you like, give them the Kudos they deserve. If a member gives you the answer to your question, mark the answer that solved your issue as the accepted solution.

8 month wait for new phone line!!!!!

I posted on here a while ago '5 month wait for phone line' and I cannot actually believe that I am almost at 8 months of waiting for a phone line to be installed!!
Reason: Openreach are having traffic management issues for a four way traffic light system needed for my phone line, this has been the reason since JULY 2013!!!!
My local council have told me this is just an excuse as Openreach/BT have not made any requests to them in my area or the entire of Anglesey where I live!!!
I get updates from a BT team in Sunderland which are very repetitive 'traffic light problems' cannot get permission for them blah blAH BLAH!!! And they accept these excuses from Openreach!!! They can give me no indication as to when I will get a phone line and when I say what happens when we get to year point they say oh no that will never happen!! This BT team now only text me updates saying they could not get through to my mobile, they say they will update me on the 19th December but it will be the same old **bleep**.
So now I am am drafting a letter which will include all the correspondence between BT and myself including all the false information they have texted me and stupid emails (one said there are major problems in Cornwall so thats is why there is a delay I asked whats Cornwall got to do with anything I live in North Wales, the BT guy then said Cornwall is the term used to refer to a large area??? He later apologised for his error, but what an idiot)
My letter will also be sent to BT head office, complaints and the my local MP, BBC Watchdog and various other local consumer affairs programmes.
But any extra advice would be greatly appreciated.....
HAnnah Hughes

He was the one who made the Cornwall comments!! All he did was relay extra information in more detail than the BT operators were giving me, but he had no authority to do anything. It has been escalated but this wonderful escalation team are doing nothing at all, other than accepting Openreach excuses.
Some of my text messages say " we are waiting for council permission", then the next one says "Openreach have had council permission" but the latest ones are back to "Openreach are waiting for council permission"!!!! You would think that someone in BT would pick up on this!!!
BT will not give me the location of the work needed either they say Opnereach do not have this one thier system, because the council keep telling me that no permission has been requested.
Hannah

Waiting since August 2010 for a phone line! HELP!...

I ordered a phone line and broadband for a NSP Non Served Premises) back in August 2010. I am so fed up with the so many attempts to get us a phone line. Open reach say it's an easy job yet no-one treats us as human beings. I have an operation in January and so worried about being left on my own on our farm without a land line. Do BT care? ! No!
There have been so many booked times for engineers to come but they have never come out. Today I spoke to the manager who said "I have done nothing" in reference to helping us out. He is waiting for open reach to "progress" the order. Why can't someone pick up a phone and stop messing us about.
I have sent a letter giving 10 days to get the phone line up and then going through OFCOM and OTELLO. Anyone else having similar problems?
Can anyone point us in the right direction? I have been given no further information but told to wait for the order to progress. It won't as there is something wrong with the system ie the last 7 or 8 attempted orders have messed up yet they still seem to be trying to go down the faulty route! Banging my head against a brick wall.............

Hi angdown,
Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear you've had so many problems with your order.
I can take a look at your order and confirm what's going on, you can get in touch by emailing in your BT forum username and your order number/address to the email address registered against my profile, and we'll get back to you.
Thanks,
Stephanie
Stephanie
BTCare Community Manager
If you like a post, or want to say thanks for a helpful answer, please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side of the post. If someone answers your question correctly please let other members know by clicking on ’Mark as Accepted Solution’.

New Build Phone Line Problems

I've been converting an old farm building over the last nine months.
In September last year I contacted OpenReach to start the ball rolling on getting a phone line and broadband set up.
I sent in all the forms, site maps and co ordinates of the nearest telegraph pole, they in turn sent in all the ducting for us to prepare the site for their arrival nearer the time.
I gave BT notice that we were moving out of our old home at the beginning of May and told them to make arrangements to process the line for the property we had converted. All this was confirmed as to be done on 1st June.
I received a phone call the week before from the bt engineers to say that they had the job down for 1st June and wanted to know which telegraph pole the line would be taken from, I confirmed all this with them and waited for 1st
June.
We dug the trenches , placed all the ducting and generally prepared the site.
The day arrived - the automated system said that they were booked in for the 8am to 1pm slot - as the morning progressed I waited and periodically checked the line - still due to come for 1pm.
At 1.15pm I tried and eventually succeeded to speak with someone who could tell me straightaway that nothing was going to happen.
I'm ashamed to say ,I went ballistic. We were counting on the line to be installed so that we could complete all the yard work the following week to fill in the trenches and complete the build.
The chap on the end of the line then told me that I'd not have an update until Weds 6th June, due to the Bank holiday weekend.
Weds came , nothing. Thursday came, nothing. In fact I heard nothing until Monday 11th June - already 10 days over when our phone line should have been installed - and that was because I phoned to find out what the hell was happening.
Holding on the phone for 20 mins whilst the lady went to great pains to sort things out - turns out that the order just hadn't been processed and was never going to get done for the 1st June.
So , with this in mind , when do you think BT would hurry around to install a job that they should have done at the start of June - the 29th June.
Totally disgusted - I've been let down badly by a company that I've put all my phone and internet requirements through since I've been a homeowner. And whatsmore they couldn't give a toss.
My response was that this was their problem and that they needed to resolve it immediately - "it's the soonest we can do" At the risk of sounding like a self important oaf - I went on to suggest seeing as I'd been let down so badly that surely getting a phone line installed in our home was a priority over others.
It is not.
British Telecom , I am just sick of your lack of customer focus/ services.

Hi I suggest you contact the forum mods they should be able to get your problem sorted for you this is a link to them
http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact_email/c/4951
they normally reply by email or phone directly to you within 3 working days
They are a UK based BT specialist team who have a good record at getting problems solved
If you want to say thanks for a helpful answer,please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side If the reply answers your question then please mark as ’Mark as Accepted Solution’

New build property, horrible BT phone line install...

Hi all.
I am writing here because I have been thrown around by BT and the phone line installation team over the past one month, and I have just run out of patience.
The entire experience started in late May, when I phoned BT and told them that I was moving house in 2 weeks and that I would need a new phone line installed at the new property, which is a new build. The BT sales team was more than happy to take my order, and since there was a charge of £130 for installation of phone line by itself, I decided to bundle both broadband and telephone line from BT directly to avoid that cost. I was a given an appointment on the 10th of June for my phone and broadband installation.
The 10th of June came and I took the day off work thinking all would be sorted by the end of the day. By the late afternoon no one ahd contacted me and there was no one who had come to the door. I called BT and had them check on my order and they said that "for some reason, the order says its still 'pending' and has not gone through..." After chatting with different people from different teams like sales, orders and them confrerring with engineers and seniors, I was finally told that the order could not be processed because I was in a new build and hence the system could not process a broadband order before there was an active phone line in the property, hence the failure of the order to go through. Next, I was given a date for the phone line order by itself to be done, and although I was frustrated here, I conceded and moved on hoping to get the issue sorted as quickly as possible. The new date was June 22nd for the phone line and then the broadband order to be placed thereafter. At this point I was not sent any emails or letter regarding my order with ym order number or any references, so I should have been sceptical, but I let it slide thinking it would be settled soon.
June 22nd came and I took leave off work again for the 8am - 1pm BT engineer visit. Once again, no one showed up or contacted me. I called BT again desperately hoping that this could not be happening again. When i asked the lady about my order scheduled for that day, she said that the order did not go through once again. It was still 'pending'! I was just shocked. I wanted to explode because twice BT had given me apppointment timings that could not be fulfilled and twice they left me in the lurch when they knew beforehand that the engineers would not show up, leaving me to take time from work which I cannot get back, much less the fact that I still do not even have a phone line. After much chatting with different people on the line I finally got them to book another order this time for July 9th for the phone line.
This time i called back on July 2nd and July 6th to make sure that my order was on track and I was assured that after checking with the 'openreach engineers on their side' that my order was on track and the engineer would show up definitely on 9th of July.
Then the 9th came and I took the morning off from work to wait for the engineer.Yet again, BT managed to show me how poorly they treat customers. No engineer showed up again, and as was becoming a habit now, I had to phone BT to enquire about my order and discover that the engineer was not going to show up today as well. When pressed much more the person on the other end finally relented that the cables from the exchange to my new build property need to be set up and are in the process of being done. I would then get a call when BT/Openreach finally finish this. I felt let down, especially when I asked how long that would be since I have already been waiting for a more than month for BT to carry this out and also agreed to pay the £130 set up charge for the phone line since they wanted to process the phone line order alone first. Her response was nothing more than a "I cannot tell for sure.." and at this point I could tell that meant it could be a really long while more before getting a phone line / broadband, if ever BT is interested in setting it up.
Is there any way to actually check and see if BT are setting up a connection from the exchange to the property for the phone line and how long it would take before I can finally get a simple phone line here?
Sorry if this was a bit of rant but it is rather draining and also costly for me having to deal with BT and wait for them when they could simply communicate with me better to inform me of their engineers' decisions.
Abi
*EDIT* I have also spoken to the developer of the property and they have informed me that the flat is ready for a phone line to be installed, and that BT is only currently fitting phone lines to the building across the road and not my block, so that means someone at BT/Openreach is telling me the worng thing and the engineer is just refusing to come out now. I have additionally spoken to some of the other residents who moved in before me in the same block and they have had phone lines connected to their property by BT so I think this problem needs sorting out asap by BT please.
Thank you.

Hi
It seems that I am caught in the same endless maelstrom of bt/open reach inability to meet installation obligations.
We have a new build home on a small private development. No cable available regrettably so all 6 of our neighbours use bt phone and std broadband.
Ordered both services end April to be told that install appointment was 30 May - seemed a long time but accepted. Had whole series of emails and texts from bt reminding of appointment and arrival of modem, but late evening 29 May text arrived saying order delayed and put back to 13 June. Called following morning and got the run around took 40 mins to get any answer of sense that said ,Line work was required and open reach we're dealing withi it.
13 June came and went no one called or advised that appointment would not be met. Again many phone calls but same answer line issues. My developer tells me that the lines are installed per spec, in fact we have a black network cable present through a conduit next our front door but no terminal box to join up to white phone line wires to inside phone points. Offered bt a photo of this but they will not accept it. Just keep saying line issues holding up install. Either way unless this work is done the it will be impossible to connect even if other work had rally to be done - not interested!
This week promised that all would be done, 16th the 17th and then 18th -nothing again and hence more phone calls.
Issue handed to resolution team who calked today to say work schedule for 12 July! More than two months since order - just don't believe them and asked them to escalate - no hopes up!
In the meantime our phone no rings out and people wonder why we are not answering! Complete shambles.
In 2014 this should be easy meat to BT who seem tied up in a complaint type process that resolves nothing.
I have no real choice but BT and their performance is just hopeless. Advised ofcom but don't deal with individual complaints - this is consumer hell and very very frustrating.

Unable to get phone line working - next appointmen...

Hi
I moved home a few day before Christmas and the phone and broadband were due to be activated on the 7th January which was fully understandable.
Nothing happened on that day so after calling the helpdesk I was told it should be done on the 9th.
On the 9th , for a while we had a dial tone but not able to make any calls as if it wasnt fully activated.
After waiting a further 24 hours I spent ages trying to get a straight answer from India without success. they kept saying there was an issue at the exchange but could not clarify the full issue. They were on hold themselves trying to get to BT openreach.
We have now lost the dial tone and all it says is 'check phone line'
I have chased them again since without any real outcome.
The helpdesk called me yesterday to say I need to re-book an exchange engineer and the first available date is over a month away!
After a lot of pushing they finally admitted that the delay has been caused by the need to get traffic lights installed to allow the engineer to get to the roadside junction box. I'm not entirely sure where this box is but I have found one within 500 yards of my home and there is certainly no need for lights as te van can be parked on the grass verge. I have a screen gra from Google earth to back this up.
I would really appeciate some help in getting to the bottom of this matter as I feel I am being fobbed off.
Regards
Mark

I have asked a moderator to provide assistance, they will post an invite on this thread.
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There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

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Hello soccergril2013,
If you unable to get your iPhone to show up on your computer, then pick on of the articles below that goes with the type of computer that you are using. Each article will have you look at using different cables and checking drivers.
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch not recognized in iTunes for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1538
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1591
Regards,
-Norm G.

I am unable to get a phone line

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