Phones and broadband -You couldn't make this BT fa...

Question

Hello
This is my story - it reads more like a farce. If you cannot help, BT moderators, please pass this on to someone who is accountable and can actually do somethng about it, instead of telling me they don't understand. By the way, I have been a customer of BT for more than 30 years.  After the horror of this week, I think it may be the end of a long relationship.
I have two phone lines in my house, one of which I use solely for my broadband connection.There is no phone attached to my computer, though that does stop BT calling me on this number no matter how many times I provide alternative numbers.
The other number is I have had for more than 25 years and rely on for my business as a freelance journalist.  
I decided to upgrade my BT Broadband from Option 1 to Option 3, the order being due to take effect on February 14 - this week. The only other change I asked for was to change the Calling Plan from Anytime to Evening & Weekend, as I had forgotten I had the Anytime plan on this number and it seemed pointless to continue paying for a service I rarely, if ever, used.
Then the problems started. On the evening of February 14, I had a couple of calls on my mobile from friends, saying that my house phone line was not working. I spent an hour on my mobile to BT trying to get some sense out of someone, which is increasingly difficult to do with BT these days. I was gobsmacked by what I was told. I was informed that the number I use for my internet connection was being discontinued in a few days and being replaced with my other number,  which itself had been replaced by another number, which of course I wasn't aware of. There was no trace of any order for these number switches which, of course, there wouldn't be, as no such order had ever been made. No one could explain what had happened. The last thing I want to do is to lose the number I have used for more than 25 years.
Good job I hadn't splashed out on an expensive Valentine's Day romantic dinner, as I would have been in an extremely bad mood .....
I have this morning ( Feb 16) spent nearly three hours on the phone trying to stop my broadband number being changed and to restore my house phone number, which has already been closed, so I am effectively cut off ffrom the number which all my friends and business contacts use. I have no idea what, if any, progress I have made because the story is becoming more convoluted with every day that passes. If you think it is difficult to follow, think how dificult it was for me to explain it to someone in India and then, unbelievably, in Manila ! I have also talked to BT in Scotland at least four timnes.
I have lost count of the number of calls I have made or the option buttons I have pressed. Sadly, there is no option button which says "Massive BT foul-up."!
The idea that BT prides itself on its customer service is just a joke. BT has become an unwieldy monster, where consumers find it virtually impossible to speak to anyone who is accountable. On the evening
of February 14 I spoke to people in six different departments, all of whom said my problem was "not their department."
HELP, PLEASE
I want to speak to someone who is a manager and UK-based and who can get the status quo restored
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Answer 1

I had a very helpful call last night from one of the moderators, an Aussie I think. He had done some "homework" on my problem and is well on the way to sorting it out. It was a wonderful experience to talk to someone from BT who could actually get a problem sorted, instead of passing me onto someone else.  The root cause of my ordeal  it seems, was the same old problem - BT not getting its had round the fact that I have two dfferent lines, one used solely for broadband and the other my housephone.  When I placed the order for my upgrade from Option 1 to Option 3, I ticked the box for the Evening & Weekend Calling Plan. I have the Anytime Plan on my other line.  Nowhere was it explained that if you have the Anytime Plan on one line, you get it on the other. Thus, both my Calling Plans were changed to Evening  & Weekend, as my request was treated as an order to change the Calling Plan to Evening & Weekend on both lines. Confused? However, none of this explains the fact that BT also tried to change my telephone numbers, switching my current numbers around and also creating a new number to replace the number I have used for my housephone line for the last 25 years. Incidentally, this new number now appears in My BT as one of the numbers on my account, which worries me somewhat. Having created a new number which I didn't ask for, no one bothered to contact me to tell me, not surprising perhaps as the whole thing has been a catalogue of errors. My  new Aussie "mate" tells me it shold all be sorted by next week. Fingers crossed.