Intermittent broadband connection - UNUSABLE

Hi Sky/Rupert Over recent weeks my broadband has been getting steadily worse, and now the connection drops so frequently (every 5 mins or so) that the service is unusable. When a drop occurs the @ light on the box goes out, and after a short time comes on as red. It then seems to take a random length of time before connection is restored. I've tried all the steps that you suggest in similar posts to this and on your help pages. Can you suggest anything to fix this quickly? Alternatively, I'm moving house in the next month, and it seems like it could be the ideal time to resolve this by switching provider.... sneak a Beatles song title into your reply if you agree with this. Cheers!

Neither Sky nor Rupert will reply to you I'm afraid, as this is a customer to customer forum. Give them a call to report a fault.

Similar Messages

Intermittent broadband connection

Hi everyone, hoping to get some user/BT help here.
We currently have BT Broadband Option 1 installed in our home - this has been the case since January 2008 and has generally functioned well. We are connected through a white BT HomeHub, which serves a Mac, Windows PC, iPhone, Android and Wii wirelessly and a Blu-Ray player and BT Vision via ethernet connection.
Since Saturday, we have been experiencing only temporary BT Broadband connection. Connection only lasts for a couple of hours or so before becoming - according to the Homehub page (192.168.1.254) - 'disconnected'. Generally once the connection has been lost, choosing the 're-connect' fails to restore it. Power-cycling the HomeHub - either through holding the wireless association button on the back for 15 seconds until all of the diagnostic lights go out, or through unplugging it for a few minutes has mixed results; sometimes this will restore the connection, other times it will fail to.
I'm posting on here because I'm reticent to call BT again. Both times I have called so far, I have been told to reset my Internet Explorer settings (no support for using Mac, and I don't use IE on Windows anyway - Chrome or Firefox). The problem is clearly not software related and this is the main 'fix' suggested; I was once told to power-cycle the hub. There has been no change to any of the hardware setup recently at all; all ADSL filters remain in place.
Hoping that either someone from BT or a knowledgeable user may be able to help. It's frustrating to say the least having no broadband connection!
Thanks,
Nik

welcome to the forum
the wireless association button the back is not for resetting the hub it is for connecting your hub phones to the hub wireless.
in oreder for someone to help please can you post the adsl stats from your router may need to 'show detail' to get all stats (if hub enter 192.168.1.254 in your browser and navigate to adsl or use a-z, if netgear enter 192.168.0.1) and run btspeedtester (MAC users may have problems) http://speedtester.bt.com and post the results .
are you connected directly to the NTE5 master or test socket or to somewhere else? Do you have any phone extension sockets in your home?
Have you tried the quiet line test? - dial 17070 option 2 - should hear nothing - best done with a corded phone
Someone may then be able to offer help/assistance/suggestions to your problem
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’.

Intermittant Broadband Connection

After many years of having a good broadbabd service with BT, I decided two things. 1. to get my telephone account and my broadband account joined into one account and 2. to arrange unlimitedBroadband. Neither of these was realy necessary, but it did seem a tidy solution and I had been singing the praises of BT Broadband for years in my job as IT Consultant. I won't bore you with the trauma of it taking 4 months to get BT to charge me for 1 lot of Broadband per month in stead of 2 lots of broadband per month but I do take issue on the reduced quality of the Broadband service I now receive. When I moved to unlimited Broadband I was surprised that my download speed increased but that was a bonus, what I do find difficult to accept is that every time I receive an incoming call the broadband disconnects and then reconnects itself after the router sorts itself out. I also get intermittant disconnections throughout the day for no apparent reason. I have changed the filters, used two different routers finally purchasing a BT Home Hub 4, all 3 giving the same result. Remember when I had a separate broadband and telephone account I had NO connection problems. I have talked to BT, but their guy has made some adjustments, but as I could not really understand what he was telling me I cannot be sure what he has done. Does anyone have a similar problem, or can they give advice. I have now lost all confidence in BT and I feel I have to consider looking for an alternative supplier.
Many thanks.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

I moved your connection to this board which appears more appropriate for your current problem
in order for the forum members to help please can you post the adsl stats from your router you may need to 'show detail' to get all stats (if hub enter 192.168.1.254 in your browser and navigate to adsl or if HH4/5 then go to troubleshooting then logs and you are looking for 2 line together when hub last connected to internet and they will show your connection speed and noise margin or if netgear enter 192.168.0.1). Then run btspeedtester (MAC users may have problems). when first test completes then run diagnostic test and post the results ( do not reset the router).
are you connected directly via a filter to the NTE5 master or test socket or to somewhere else? Is the master the only phone socket in your home?
Have you tried the quiet line test? - dial 17070 option 2 - should hear nothing - best done with a corded phone. if cordless phone you may hear a 'dull hum' which is normal
does your broadband drop connection everytime you receive a phone call? when you make a call as well? if it does drop then you appear to have a high resistence fault which you need to report to 151
Someone may then be able to offer help/assistance/suggestions to your problem
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’.

Intermittent Broadband Connection/Dropouts

Hello all,
I seem to be having a constant broadband issue where my DSL connection keeps dropping. Sometimes it will drop and reconnect within a couple of minutes, and sometimes it will take 5-10 minutes to reconnect again.
I have replaced DSL cables, filters and phone extensions, but the line keeps dropping.
When the router (BT HH 2) is connected the connection seems stable but the dropout connection issue is starting to get rather annoying.
The line noise is good on the router and the actual line seems to be ok so I don't think that is an issue.
I have spoken to a number of people in my local area too who are experiencing the same issue.
What is going on?

Hello,
Sorry I'd forgotten to post the stats!
Line state
Connected
Connection time
0 days, 1:26:29
Downstream
6,272 Kbps
Upstream
448 Kbps
ADSL settings
VPI/VCI
0/38
Type
PPPoA
Modulation
ITU-T G.992.1
Latency type
Interleaved
Noise margin (Down/Up)
14.6 dB / 20.0 dB
Line attenuation (Down/Up)
22.0 dB / 12.0 dB
Output power (Down/Up)
19.8 dBm / 11.8 dBm
Loss of Framing (Local)
5
Loss of Signal (Local)
143
Loss of Power (Local)
0
FEC Errors (Down/Up)
41591 / 0
CRC Errors (Down/Up)
718 / 2147480000
HEC Errors (Down/Up)
nil / 0
Error Seconds (Local)
1039

Intermittent broadband connection hertfordshire SG...

Hi
For the last few weeks my 'high speed' broadband infinity service has been intermittent at best, at worst unavailable for long periods overnight, and in the last few days has just been dropping in and out of availability completely
Could you explain what the problem is please?

Can you post your helpdesk data from the HH5 please? These are in Troubleshooting/Helpdesk on the web interface at http://192.168.1.254 or http://bthomehub.home
Please miss out any data you don't want to post
If you found this post helpful, please click on the star on the left
If not, I'll try again

Re: Intermittent broadband connection (ADSL losing...

So whats the solution then? I cant see the solution as I have the EXACT same problem right now. The folk in India reckoned the Hub was faulty (but then again they said they would send a replacement 3.0 Hub which didnt arrive. when I complained two reconditioned Hubs which were 2.0's arrived via different carriers like the preverbial buses!) so I dont trust them one little bit> However, it seems the folk on here seem to know their onions. Please help me as its screwing with our businesses now!
Many thanks
Ian

I have moved your posts to start your own subject
welcome to the BT community forum where customers help customers and only BT employees are the forum mods
in order for the forum members to help please can you post the adsl stats from your router may need to 'show detail' to get all stats (if hub enter 192.168.1.254 in your browser and navigate to adsl or use a-z, if netgear enter 192.168.0.1) and run btspeedtester (MAC users may have problems). when first test completes then run diagnostic test and post the results .
are you connected directly via a filter to the NTE5 master or test socket or to somewhere else? Is the master the only phone socket in your home?
Have you tried the quiet line test? - dial 17070 option 2 - should hear nothing - best done with a corded phone. if cordless phone you may hear a 'dull hum' which is normal
Someone may then be able to offer help/assistance/suggestions to your problem
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’.

Broadband connection - none/slow

Hi. Hoping for help regarding very intermittant broadband connection, and when it is connected it's very slow (0.2mbps).
First noticed 5 days ago when returned home from a fortnight away. There had been a brief power cut at some stage during that time. Problem reported to BT and several telephone conversations with their advisors - 'further tests are being run' but nothing has changed.
As I'm having to access this via 3G, I can't view the forum guidelines I've seen referred to that have kindly been put together for this type of query so I don't know what info might be helpful I'm afraid.
Currently our Home Hub 3.0 has correct power and wireless lights (showing blue) but the broadband light is flashing amber. Very occasionally (perhaps 5 times a day) I've noticed that the light shows blue and connection is established, lasting anything from 2 to 20 minutes, then it returns to amber flashing and connection is lost. When it is working it's much much slower than normal.
First call to BT found no faults on phone line or broadband - they sent a new ADSL filter and cable which has been duly connected. Second call said there was probably a phone line fault. Third call said probably a fault within our property that would be resolved within hours, but just in case it was escalated to a 'Level 2' issue. Two days later and there's no change.
I've done the standard cable/socket checks and plugged into the test socket, etc.
I've done the quiet line test with our cordless phone (have tried a new phone as well during this period just in case) and there is a slight intermittant crackle. I don't have a corded phone to try I'm afraid.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

if you can hear line noise then that need fixing first you need to check the noise is heard using the test socket if it is then report it to BT Faults on 151 with no mention of broadband in the call once that noise is resolved your broadband should start to improve
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’

Home hub 3, broadband connection dropping

Hi, just a few days ago I recived my new home hub 3. The reason I wanted the upgrade from the hub 1 is because the broadband connection would drop and also the old hub would reset it self constantly.
The new hub is much better in terms of not resetting itself, if i try and watch something on 4od etc, youtube, it feels like any stress and the braodband connection drops, I had this on the old hub but it feels like its happening more now.
So much so I decided to make a paint version of my wiring so someone can maybe help me out.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r173/guysy1110/routerproblem.png
Sorry the paint image came out much smaller than I wanted.
The main phone line is dowstairs in the lounge, its split into 2 using a 2 way splitter, one goes to the main phone which has a microfilter attached, the other plug leads up to the spare room and there a phone box (sorry not sure what its called) is in place, this box was split into another one because a long time ago there was a router that lived in the spare room (the split box is unused). Probably confusing people now, but the main box upstairs in the spare room is extended into my room and then a microfilter is used and then goes into the hub.
The extension cable is FAR too long, possibly 10m of cable wound up and tucked behind the drawers. Could this be a problem? I guess so.
So my main questions are, if both the router and main phone have new microfilters on, what other causes could keep my router dropping the broadband connection? the extension into my room is FAR too long possibly 10m which is wound up behind my drawers, first off im going to get a shorter cable.
Also the microfilter is closest to the hub, would it be better at the first source downstairs, or even in the spare room?
Any suggestions would be great. thanks.

Im reviving this thread, so far from the phone box upstairs Ive shortened the cable, It still goes into my room but now instead of having a ridiculous 15m amount of calbing unused Its a straight 3m from the other room to mine.
This has slightly improoved things.
However the hub still suffers and drops the broadband connection when under "stress" when the phone rings it sometimes drops, and when downloading files it drops halfway through if the file is large which is a massive pain.
On the downstairs master socket I removed the facia and did a quiet line test on the inside socket, there was no noise. I used a corded phone. I wasnt sure if it mattered but I tested all other sockets using this method and none had any noise.
I phoned BT and was advised to take the hub closest to the master socket, but if i do this I have no wireless card in my PC so cannot connect, The obvious option is to get a wireless card but that will cost money. As will buying the power lines.
Any suggestions? I guess plugging the hub in downstairs and trying to connect to something is the best option.
Any advice please?

Very slow Broadband Connection - 330kbps

Hi,
My Broadband connection has been quite fast (around 2700kbps) until recently.
Having worked from home on several occassions in the last few months, due to the weather, I have exceeded my usage allowance. BT have charged me and I don't have any issues with that. However I have noticed that my internet radio is unusable as it keeps buffering. I also have become aware that the PC has become slower when online. A quick check using a speed tester revealed that the download speed is 330kbps and I know for certain that this speed was over 2700kbps a few weeks ago.
Reported the issue to BT on the 24th February (VOL011-29787652863) and the problem is still ongoing. The helpdesk settings on the HomeHub2 tells me that the connection bandwidth is 448 / 448 and this is backed up by BT speedchecker advising of an IP profile of 350k.
Yesterday and today have been spent on the phone to BT who have remotely connected to my PC and told me there is nothing wrong. Called again today and was advised that it was my location from the exchange, which I insisted was incorrect.
It seems to me that the Broadband Remote Access profile has been clamped but BT will not admit to that and have advised that I either have a line fault or it is due to the distance from the exchange.
As I type they are trying to call again - why can't they just fix the issue - they have all the diagnostic tools they need to identify the problem.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Update - no response to the email to the forum admin folk but BT are still working on the issue and have asked me to retry.....no luck I'm afraid, as the speed is still dreadful. After reading all the useful info on this forum I have gone through all the diagnostics again and have plugged the HUB to the 'direct line to the exchange', so passing any house wiring. Speedchecker still says that the IP profile is 250k ... but interestingly the connection now shows 448 / 1840!
Back on the phone to the helpdesk and they have arranged for an engineer to visit my house. The earliest suitable time was next week, so we'll see what happens. Meanwhile I've ordered a MAC code from BT in case I have to move to another provider.

Slooooooooooooooow and intermittent broadband

About a week ago, 27th Sept, I received an email from BT telling me "Good news
This is to let you know that we've upgraded your line and you should now have an improved, more consistent broadband connection, and maybe a faster speed too. "
Ha I immediately thought, I wonder how long that will last but checked its with Bt Speedtester and sure enough my 6mb speed was up to 15mb.
That was fine for two days. Now its intermittent, sometimes its 15mb, sometimes its less than 200kb, sometimes it simply doesn't work.
So I ring Bt and lose the will to live waiting.......thankyou for holding we are very busy at the moment, yep I know that because you can never deal with anything first time. So I get through I explain that all was fine until this upgrade (downgrade?) in service. Ah, when did this upgrade happen (check your ******* records I want to say) but no I have to read out this Bt email to Bt India.
All apologies, thank you for waiting, the excruciating slowness of the whole procedure, can I check this, can I check that, can I measure the length of the drive and tell him what colour it is........no he didn't but anyone who has dealt with these fools knows what I mean.
Do you think BT its got anything to do with your works, I mean neighbours are reporting problem s too....uh no its seems that such a coincidence could not possibly occur.
Yet BT I continue to pay you a full fee every month for this dire pathetic service.
Contract ends soon. Think about it BT.

Welcome to this forum.
This is a customer to customer forum only,
This is where customers help each other get the most out of BT products & services.
Anything you post here does not go to BT. Although the forum is moderated by BT, not all posts are read.
If you need direct help from BT or have an urgent problem please use this linkContact Us.
This is a public forum which can be viewed worldwide, so please do not post any personal information, especially phone numbers, account numbers, fault numbers, address information or email addresses, as this could be used to impersonate you.
Thanks
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.

Intermittent Broadband Failure

I have BT Home Hub 2, worked fine for the last couple of years. Recently started to get intermittent Broadband failure, sometimes twice a day, sometimes twice a week.
When it fails the 'phone light' flashes orange, the rest of the lights are steady blue. At this time the BB phone is dead, the main phone line is OK. After some minutes it comes back OK, reset also seems to fix it.
Anyone any ideas?
Thanks

Are you sure it's the phone light that goes orange ?
I'm in the same boat. HH2 was ok(ish) for a while then started to drop out, just for a couple of seconds at a time. On mine, the BraodBand light goes Orange.
I've had new cable and new main connection box (with built in filter), but to no avail.
If yours is like mine, BT will have a log of the outages. The engineer that visited me called the appropriate office when he was here. I like that idea, as you sometimes get the impression that BT / Engineers etc don't always believe what you say.
Mine still does it, in fact it dropped out for 3 hours the other day, but I think that was a separate issue.
You will see lots of other people on these pages with the same problem. I don't know what causes it,,,,,, and apparently, neither do BT,,,, or it would be fixed.
Good Luck

Intermittent Wireless Connection - Satellite A200-1VO

I can get wireless broadband connection, but then the connection is lost & then comes back on again sometimes several times a minute.
The broadband connection is OK using an Ethernet cable direct, but the wireless connection is intermittent even though the signal from the hub is strong.
Can anyone suggest what's wrong?

As far as I know such issues were solved in the past with latest BIOS update and newest WLAN driver installation.
Have you already tried to do this?
By the way, this Satellite A200 is pretty old and I am wondering you have noticed this issue now.
Have you noticed similar issues in the past?

Slow Broadband Connection Speed

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice please. Thanks.
I have a BT Home Hub 2. I have had it for about 4 years. I have generally always received a very good stable broadband with speeds that are acceptable for my use.
About 5 weeks I started to have problems with the broadband connection dropping out several times a day and then the wifi signal being intermittent. I put up with it for a while but then decided to contact Customer Services.
After several phone calls to Customer Services I had replaced all filters and wiring and plugged my router directly into the Exchange socket in the wall. None of this made the slightest bit of difference.
Finally, about two weeks ago, I was asked to replace the router with another one which I did. This made an immediate improvement. I was told that it would then take about 10 days for my line to stabilise but I should see a gradual improvement in the speed over that time.
Since then the speed has actually gradually deteriorated and for the last couple of days it has been running at 0.6mbps (the slowest it’s run since the problems first started).
I’ve spoken again to the Customer Services who say that this is part of the stabilisation process and to be patient for a few more days and it will improve.
I’m not an expert but is the guidance I am being giving correct or am I being giving the round around? It just seems odd that the connection is getting worse not better. Am I perhaps just being too impatient and will it start to get better?
I’d appreciate any advice please.
Thanks.

Hi,
Thanks very much for the quick reponse. Thats much appreciated.
I think these areb the figures that you have asked for
ADSL line status
Connection information
Line state
Connected
Connection time
0 days, 18:49:38
Downstream
572 Kbps
Upstream
747 Kbps
ADSL settings
VPI/VCI
0/38
Type
PPPoA
Modulation
ITU-T G.992.3
Latency type
Interleaved
Noise margin (Down/Up)
7.3 dB / 5.3 dB
Line attenuation (Down/Up)
56.5 dB / 33.6 dB
Output power (Down/Up)
0.0 dBm / 13.0 dBm
Loss of Framing (Local)
17
Loss of Signal (Local)
198
Loss of Power (Local)
0
FEC Errors (Down/Up)
2282309 / 4294967243
CRC Errors (Down/Up)
1523 / 2147480000
HEC Errors (Down/Up)
nil / 0
Error Seconds (Local)
1051
FAQ
<script type="text/javascript">// paintProgressAndMessageOnBar(100,"The test has successfully completed" ); // </script>
1. Best Effort Test:    -provides background information.
           Download Speed
           449 Kbps
         0 Kbps          500 Kbps
    Max Achievable Speed
         Download speed          achieved     during the test was - 449 Kbps
    For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds              is 100 Kbps-500 Kbps.
    IP Profile for your line is - 504 Kbps
2. Upstream Test:    -provides background information.
           Upload Speed
           891 Kbps
         0 Kbps          832 Kbps
    Max Achievable Speed
         Upload speed              achieved during the test was - 891Kbps
    Additional Information:
    Upstream Rate IP profile on your line is - 832 Kbps

Can I use a wireless router to share a USB broadband connection

Hi - I have an emac or a mac minin which have a USb boradband modem. I use airport from the emac to allow me to connect from an airport enabled powerbook when it is at home.
Rather than getting an airport card for the mac mini, could I use that as the primary conection to the internet (via the USB modem) and then get a wirless router (eg netgear MR814) an I use a wireless router to share the USB broadband connection to the 2 airport enabled macs?
Or do I either:
1) need to get airport for the Mac Mini
or
2) Get a ethernet modem to plug into the wireless router
Any advice appreciated?
Tommy banana

Sorry my first post was a little unclear.
Hi - I now have an emac and a mac mini, both of which which have a USb boradband modem. I use airport from the emac to allow me to connect from an airport enabled powerbook when it is at home.
So that all can connect at the same time and rather than getting an airport card for the mac mini, could I use the mac mini as the primary conection to the internet (via the USB modem) and then get a wirless router (eg netgear MR814) an I use a wireless router to share the USB broadband connection to the 2 airport enabled macs?
Or do I either:
1) need to get airport for the Mac Mini
or
2) Get a ethernet modem to plug into the wireless router
Any advice appreciated?
Tommy banana

Trying to get broadband connected...

Hello,
I'm writing this in the hope that someone can help me. I placed an order for a combined TV, phone and broadband on 14th May and was given a connection date of 31st May between 8am and 1pm. I took the day off work and at 10 am 2 BT openreach vans parked outside my house. I went down to ask if either of them were there to connect me and they said neither of them was. A courier arrived at this point with all the equipment and I was advised to call and check on the engineer status. I called at 1pm to say nobody had arrived and they apologised, offered a £10 compensation and said that the IT system was down for the engineers so they couldn't access the log but guaranteed that an engineer would attend later that day before 5pm.
I called back at 5 as nobody had arrived and was told that the engineer had reported it as being unable to gain access due to customer not being present. I was absolutely livid at hearing this and demanded that an engineer attend that evening only to be told that they'd finished work for the weekend and Tue 4th June would be the earliest. I asked to submit a formal complaint and the manager that I spoke to in the technical department said that he would note my dissatisfaction and email my partner, whose name the account is in, with confirmation of what they were doing to resolve the issue as well as details of his name, department and position along with the same info on the other operators that I had spoken to. No such email was received but we did get a text to say that we would be connected on Thursday 6th June!
My partner called on Monday to ask why she'd not received the email and to check exactly when we were getting connected as we would again have to take time off work. She was told that the text was wrong and that it would indeed be Tue 4th June. She managed to arrange to work from home that day at the last minute and an engineer duly attended but only activated the phone line and, when asked about the internet, said it was "nothing to do with him".
I called BT that afternoon to clarify what was happening with the broadband and was told to not worry, that the service would go live within 12 hours of the engineer visit. I waited the 12 hours and called to check, only to be told that the service had been cancelled by someone in an administrative error and that it would be 2-3 weeks before we could expect connection. I was once again very angry at this news and asked to once again submit a formal complaint. I was told the complaints team was closed and would have to call back the following day.
On Wed 5th June, I called and asked for an explanation as to why the order had been cancelled. I received no explanation and asked to speak to the manager. They said that the manager was on another call and would call me back ASAP. I waited 45 mins and called back, they reiterated that a manager would be calling me ASAP. I waited another 45 mins and still no call. I called back again and spoke with a guy called Stephen in technical, who gave me his personal assurance that the service would be connected within 48 hours of the call. He said he was taking personal responsibility for the case and that I had no further need to contact them. I took him at his word and kept a check on the homehub router for changes.
On the Thursday 6th June, the 'broadband' light went from flashing orange to constant red which, according to the set-up guide, meant that the broadband was active but the username was incorrect. I called to check this with technical and was told that this was incorrect and that red just meant that the broadband line was inactive. He checked further and said the order was still showing as cancelled which again caused me to get a little angry over the repeated misinformation and having to make so many calls regarding the situation. I again asked to make a complaint and again was told the department was closed.
I called again on Friday 7th June, after 12 which meant the 48 hours had elapsed and therefore the operator, Stephen, had not held to his promise to personally oversee the case. I asked to be put through to cancellations, explained the situation for about the 15th time and asked for all the monies that we had paid BT so far to be refunded, along with the £45 that we had spent on BT public WiFi since the 14th May and also compensation to cover my loss of earnings in taking the day off on Friday 31st unnecessarily as well as the bills that we had run up on our mobiles contacting them regarding the situation. They apologised again and put me through to someone in the technical Dept that guaranteed me that they would speak with openreach and get someone out that day. They also took my mobile number and said they would call me back at 4pm with an update. 4pm came and went with no call back so I called once more and requested a refund and compensation. They said that the technical team were definitely acting on the situation and if I held on a little longer, they would make sure the lady I had spoken to would call me. Needless to say, I got no call.
I called again on Saturday 8th June and spoke with someone called Darren in customer retention who said he was sorry that I'd been treated so poorly and gave me a number to call direct on Monday morning to speak with someone regarding the matter. He said that they needed one more chance to put it right.
I called on Monday 10th June and spoke with a customer options Dept operator who said that the order was still showing as cancelled and that he would have to place a fresh order which would take 2-3 weeks. I had lost patience by this point and asked to be put through to cancellations, they listened to the story once more and put me through to another Dept where an operator reiterated that they could process the connection in 48 hours. I said that was no longer acceptable as I'd been assured twice the previous week of this and it hadn't transpired. He then said his manager might be able to get it done that day and put me through to him. His manager said that 2-3 working days was the quickest that it could be done.
I asked to go back to cancellations, reiterated the refund and compensation I expected and was told that I would have to speak with billing about it. I got put through to billing and the guy I spoke to took all the security details but refused to go further unless I told him the payment method used by my partner, saying that the bank name and the fact that it was a debit card wasn't enough. I took his number and got my partner to call but it just rings out at the number he gave us. I called back again and spoke with cancellations. The girl I spoke to there said that she would personally try and sort it out for me. She went off the phone to speak with the various departments and came back saying that the order was still open and that the service should be getting connected in the next 48 hours. She said that she'd call me tomorrow to check if it was connected and gave me a number fro openreach saying that usually it would only be BT operators that could speak to them but this was a public number and that someone might help me out.
I called openreach and the operator said that she dealt with fallen cable poles and holes in the street and that she had no way of helping me and advised me to speak to BT - sigh!
Here's what I think is reasonable - that someone at BT could speak with someone at openreach and, given that the engineers are just as responsible for the delay as the BT operators, arrange to get me connected either today or tommorow. If this can't be done, I think that I should reasonable expect BT to:
refund all the monies paid to them for the package and the up-front line rental
refund the £45 that we've spent on the public BT wifi that should have been free as we had signed a contract with them back on the 14th May
pay for the costs of our calls to them through our mobile providers
compensate me for loss of earnings for the day that I took off to wait on an openreach engineer who fraudulently claimed that I wasn't home
I think that, given the level of stress that this has put both me and my partner under (we both need to work from home and this has proven very difficult for us as we live in a rural area and have to rely on the public wifi otherwise), coupled with the amount of time that I've spent trying to sort it our, that this is the least we should expect.
One of the biggest issues with cancelling the order for me is that there are simply no alternatives in the area. For our postcode of PH15 2AA, I've been told by Talk Talk, SKY and Virgin Media that they can't provide the service as BT charge them £17 a month to utilise the infrastructure therefore they don't offer their services in my area. This would seem then, that BT have a monopoly on the broadban for the area which I understood to be illegal under UK trading legislation.
Does anyone on this forum have any advice at all for me or know of where I can find out alternative ISP's? Uswitch and all the other checkers show that there are a number of ISP's in the area but when I contact them directly they all say the same thing...
Please help - I'm starting to go a little crazy with all this! (I know that some people are reporting that they have waited weeks for connection but I simply can't accept that...)

Well, now we're back to square one - we spent another hour on the phone to BT yesterday and the best they could do was to restart the whole order process from scratch as the orders team had no record of an order ever being placed. I spent yet another frustrating, fractured 20 minutes initially trying to get some sense out of the Indian call centre and the guy that I spoke to in cancellations himself admitted that it was a nightmare trying to get a straight answer out of them. This follows another person in cancellations admitting that they got just as frustrated with the other departments being poorly organised and hard to communicate with. I'd just like to underline the fact that I have no problem with BT outsourcing their call centres to other countries and no problem with people from those countries being tasked with the admin of the order process or customer service. I previously had experience of using the Dutch technical team that ran Be Unlimited's service and they were fantastic - great communicators, well-organised and able to rectify my problem within hours.
The fact is that everyone that I've spoken to in either the orders department or technical department rattles out the same spiel that they must be reading off some card in front of them like a robot. They don't actually listen to what I'm telling them and they obviously have no form of administrative infrastructure that allows them to work efficiently. I have to go through the same process every time, explaining the whole story from the beginning and being given the same empty platitudes and promises every time by yet another office drone. The inter-departmental communications are non-existent and BT's whole systematic processes are abysmal. The whole corporation needs re-organising from the ground up and surely can't continue to be a profitable business for much longer if the volume of customer complaints and despairing posts on this very forum are anything to go by.
To reiterate:
Order placed 14th May, connection date 31st May - engineer to attend between 8 am and 1 pm
31st May, courier delivers hardware, engineers parked outside my house for 3 hours, neither of them assigned to the job, call BT after time window of visit expires and am assured an engineer will attend. Call back after 5 and told that the engineer claimed he couldn't gain entry and all engineers are finished for the day until Monday (despite an engineer attending my work which is located 5 doors down to fix our business broadband connection on a Saturday, less than 3 hours after I called). Make formal complaint and am assured engineer will attend on 4th June and internet will be connected same day
Engineer attends 4th June, claims broadband nothing to do with him, call BT and assured that service will activate later that day, service does not commence and am told the order appears to be cancelled when I call to check. Make formal complaint and am told someone will call me next day, so provide my number
5th June, no call so phone to check/complain - am told manager will call back ASAP. Wait 45 mins, no call. Call back, am reassured that someone will call. Wait 45 mins, no call. Call back again, speak to 'Steven' in orders who apologises and tells me he's going to personally oversee a fast-track of the order that will see it connected in 48 hours and that I have no further need to call them.
Call on 6th June after a change on the homehub router lights to check if this is the service being activated. Am told that the order is still showing as cancelled. Make another formal complaint and am assured that someone will call me back next day.
7th June, nobody calls and the 48-hour window expires. Call to check on status/complain and I'm told the order is still cancelled by orders dept. Ask to be put through to cancellations to get the service cancelled and get a refund, am told that order has not been cancelled. I'm put through to 'senior manager' in order department who guarantees connection that day and that she herself will call at 4pm to confirm. 4pm comes and goes - no call. Call BT to check/complain/cancel order - speak with cancellations who ask for more time and say they will make sure the woman from orders dept calls me. Wait for rest of night - no call.
8th June, phone and speak to Darren in cancellations, he asks that I give them one more chance to fix things and gives me the customer options direct number to call on Mon 10th June
Call BT on Mon 10th June, am told that the order has been cancelled and that they will have to place new order. Try to cancel and get refund, once again talked into giving them 48 hours to connect the service. Spend 4.5 hours on phone trying to get answer to why the service has been delayed/order cancelled. Start to receive random calls on landline, am told that this is the engineer at the junction box testing the line and that he's found a fault which is why the connection has been delayed. Told that service will definitely be activated within 48 hours. I'm also told that someone will call on 11th June with an update.
11th June - no call
Call BT on 12th June to check on connection, told again that order has been cancelled and really start to get angry now. Make another formal complaint and am told that specialist team has been assigned to investigate the case and they will call the next day to let me know what's happening.
13th June - no call. Call BT to check/complain/attempt to cancel and get stuck in the usual run-around with Indian call centre. Don't get anywhere but am one again assured that specialist team are on the case and they'll call me the next day but that they've finished for the day so I can't speak to them.
14th June - no call. Call BT to check/complain/attempt cancellation/make empty threats and am informed that they have no record of an order ever being placed. I freak out and get slightly abusive with operator. Get through to cancellations and speak with 'Steve'. He spends a long time talking to orders dept on my behalf and comes back to say that he will have to start order process from scratch all over again which will take 5 working days. Make another formal complaint. I ask him to check on previous complaint references, he does and says "yes, there's a note here for someone to call you.......today". I ask him what is the point of submitting formal complaints when they aren't even looked at and he tells me it's a 10-day process - I ask why the complaint that I registered on 31st May hasn't been dealt with as that's more than10 days and he has no answer.
Now if you can tell me that this is in any way a reasonable way to treat someone who is paying for you to provide a service then we live on different planets. There is no way that the customer care team can rectify this other than serious compensation which will have to be a **bleep** sight better than the 2 months free line rental that we've been offered so far. I have never had a worse experience as a customer anywhere, with any company. I've travelled in the 3rd world and even there, the utilities companies purvey a vastly superior service than this supposedly flagship company of British technology and communications. I asked an operator if he thought that it was ironic that a telecommunications company couldn't get it together to make a phone call to me after more than 10 promises to do so, unsurprisingly he didn't get it. BT stands for something but my brain lacks the energy to come up with an acronym that is suitably abusive.

Intermittent broadband connection - UNUSABLE

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