Re: Complaints to BT about phone line

My BT landline became nearly 2 weeks ago. I have a constant dial tone and cannot make or receive calls. The phone rings, but the caller cannot hear me and I cannot hear the caller. When I first contacted BT they checked the line and said it was fine, and that it was our equipment that was faulty. After checking every piece of equipment, removing everything from the socket, plugging phone directly into socket, it still did not work. I then bought a new phone - pointless as the problem was still there. I then insisted on an engineer visit. Well, the fault is with the telephone exchange - not me! The engineer went to the local exchange (he is not allowed to fix equipment there) reported and emailed the powers that be about the fault - which he said would take about 10 mins to repair.
I later received a text on my mobile assuring me that we would have our phone back in operation by 5pm. I also rang the fault line people (in India as it turns out) to ask to have my calls diverted to my mobile until the phone was fixed. The chap at the other end would not do this, as he assured me that my phone would be fixed by 5pm that day (Friday) Well, this has not happened - not even a text from BT to apologise or anything - As I rely on the telephone for my job, I am really angry. I have missed so many really important calls. I have no idea when this fault will be fixed. I am so angry about this, as all I was constantly told by BT fault line, was that if the fault was mine I would have to pay! Well, it's not my fault, it is their's. The least they could have done was to transfer incoming calls to my mobile - which is what they are supposed to do! So far it has cost me a whole pile of money, with lost business, expensive mobile calls to BT and of course the cost of a new phone !!!! We still have no idea as to when BT will actually fix this problem. Any ideas

Hi I suggest you contact the forum mods they will be able to get your problem resolved 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’

Similar Messages

Phone line corrosion

Hi,I need advice,we had bt infinity installed last year and ever since our phone been crackling we first had an engineer out in may last year who fixed the issue,our broadband kept dropping in between then so i was on the phone to them for 5 months we left it come December last year our phone line became crackling so we arranged an engineer to come out when I phone the customer services he asked us to take out the socket and test our line in the master socket and it was still crackling.when the engineer came out he done some testing never mentioned corrosion in the bt socket and replaced the front plate,now this year jan our phone again became crackling again and another engineer came out and repaired the faulty line beginning of Feb. our phone line become crackling again and we had a engineer out for two days there was a fault outside manage to change some line at the box.this month we had a £99 charge from back in December which the engineer didn't mention corrosion on our socket otherwise I would of got a replacement myself.now I've been on the complaints department I spoke to a guy called mark who was very rude to me and insisted it was our fault he said the engineer didn't say on the report there was NO damp on our walls and no spillages on the socket it was inside the front box? Now how did the corrosion happen I'm sure to my knowledge that them boxes are secure to stop corrosion? Any help how i can fight this?

Hi xxmcvapourxx,
I can take a look at the details of the fault report, if you like? Please could you send me in your details using the link found in the "About Me" section of my profile?
Thanks
PaddyB
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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How to make a formal complaint to Ofcom about BT?

How long does it take for a phone line to be activated for a new built property? In our case a new phone line takes 2.5 months already and is still not completed. And absolutely no line over the xmas and new year!
This is the time line of our phone line order:
08/10/13: order placed, engineer visit scheduled for 24/10/13;
24/10/13: engineer no show, no notification about the status;
between 24/10/13 to 08/11/13: numerous phone calls to BT, was told to chase developer because the problem was with them, BT openreach has to complete a survey on the outside before everything can move forward;
08/11/13: been informed by order management team that we will have an update by 15/11/13, obviously didn't happen;
18/11/13: been told the order got delayed again and the external planning was scheduled to complete on 03/12/13, engineer visit rescheduled for 06/12/13;
05/12/13: got a text message informing us the order got delayed (for the 3rd time) that there were 2 blockages outside for the line and we would be updated on 14/12/13 while another team from BT was telling me the engineer visit is going ahead; took an hour clarify that there would be no engineer visit and we would be updated on 14/12/13;
13/12/13: spoke to BT order management again, was assured that BT openreach engineer was onsite to clear the blockage, and we would be given an appointment on 14/12/13. no further delays was expected;
14/12/13: no phone call from BT all day;
16/12/13: called BT order management, was told BT Openreach engineer only managed to clear on blockage and the other one was schedule for 24/12/13, which is xmas eve! So this is a BT way of telling us that we won't have a phone line during the holiday season and an order of a telephone line will take into the new year!
This is 21st centry Britain we are talking about and a suburb London home we try to have a phone line installed. I am sure it won't even take that long in a remote island in the Pacific ocean! I wonder how regulators like Ofcom can turn a blind eye on the appalling services we get from the providers in this country. Would appreciate if anyone could let me know how to make a formal complaint about BT in this case. I don't care if it is BT openreach's problem, it is BT's collective failure for customer as a corporate!!!

Understand it might be a openreach issue and new build usually takes longer - and that's why we have been more than accommodating so far. the prob is that our contract relationship is with BT not Openreach. if BT cares about customer services, they they should be on the case with Openreach (since the latter is their supplier, there must be a service standard between the two otherwise Openreach could be the best place to work because they can unilaterally decide how long it takes them to do a job!)
Along the way we had msgs from BT order management saying we will update you on this date. Don't call us before that date but they failed even to give us the update on the day! Surely this is the culture of not delivering unpleasant msg.
I am 6 months pregnant and on top of another young child and work, having to get stressed about the whole fiasco is just not on! Let alone all the time and money wasted on this just for the basic household service!!

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.

Equium A60-191: Modem issue - Only analog phone lines are supported

My Equium A60 was powered up when lightning struck nearby and caused the electricity supply to go off and back on.
The OS is XP Home and my ISP is AOL. When I try to access the Net by DUN, I receive the repeated error message:
"Connected phone line is not compatible with this modem. Only analog phone lines are supported."
My desktop computer, which also uses AOL, still connects to the same phone line without any problem.
I have rebooted the A60 several times; changed and tried out 2 phone connnection cables - both work; the phone line works fine; I have reinstalled the driver provided on this site; removed the tick from the box that says to wait for the dial phone; checked out that the modem is in working and on the Device Manager list. All of this is to no avail.
Troubleshooter is suggesting that COM 3 is not enabled. I cannot see COM 3 listed in Device Manager, under Ports.
I have tried Google and ASK with the error message. There are not many posts and it appears that the Toshiba modem is in fact an Agere. This makes seems to be the subject of some of the complaints.
Finally I have uninstalled the driver/modem, AOL and one other DUN connection. I rebooted and went through the process of installing "New Hardware" and AOL. Whilst the modem is enabled and allegedly working... I am still unable to connect to the Net. I reinstalled an additional 'pay as you go' ISP. When I try to dial out on that it generates the error 680. It does this even when the box is unchecked, for wait for a dial tone.
I would be most grateful if anybody could help. I have run out of ideas.
Many thanks.

Hi
You are right, the modem support the Agere Modem Chip.
You will not find the COM3 in the device manager because the modem uses not real com port. Its a virtual com port.
I think you should start the diagnostic tool test and check if the Modem has no malfunction.
Additional you should delete the connection in the Region Select Utility and after new reboot create a new one.
I found also the useful Microsoft article about the Troubleshooting network and dial-up connections.
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/trouble_all.mspx?mfr=true
and here you will find info about the DUNS error 680:
http://www.modemsite.com/56k/duns680.asp
http://php.iupui.edu/~aamjohns/trouble.html#No Dial Tone

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.

At a loss with phone line

Firstly I am stating for the record that I have a problem with my phone line. My broadband issues are just a by-product of the phone line fault.
This problem has been going on for several years, although, 2 months ago i made some progress.
The problem with my phone line occurs during extreme weather conditions, heavy rain or winds and as a result of it not being a permanent feature of my phone line. Over the past year, it has got a lot worse (broadband constantly dropping, struggling to be heard when on the phone), and after a lot of arguing with BT an engineer came out. Now bare in mind that the BT line tests came back as perfect and not a problem. engineer took one look at the cable coming in to the house and it crumbled in his hand. He also mentioned that he was picking something "odd" up on the line, but couldn't be sure what it was and seeing as the broadband connected that he would leave it.
Since the engineers visit, I have had an OK phone line, just a bit quiet, until 2 weeks ago. When we had all that rain. The crackles came back that evening, causing crackles and white noise down the phone line. It lasted an hour or so, but enough time to turn my 2Mbps bras profile into a 130k profile. 3 days later and we recover (even though some intermittent crackles persist). The very next day and we're downloading at 2.5Mbps, the phone rings and the crackles are back.
The next day I ring up and complain and receive the whole dialogue about changing me £120 if the engineer comes out and can't find a fault. Funnily enough, the crackles (being intermittent) are not crackling at the time the engineer turns up, however, he states "The is more noise on the line than there should be" and "I'm going to pass it over to the underground team and see if they can find where the fault is". At this point I am now feeling hopeful that finally the fault might be found....
Half an hour ago I have heard nothing, I decide to phone up and see if there is any news... No fault found and expect a bill for £120 is the response, from a very nice Indian lady who did seem to struggle with understanding me or at least hearing me. i protested and asked how could the engineer tell me one story and for me to then be told that a line test shows no fault and that I have to pay!
Where it currently stands, is that I have insisted that the problem still exists and I have been told it will be resolved between 24-48hours.
I will of course wait and see what BT come back with tomorrow, but I am at a loss of what more I can do. I work from home and having an equivalent to ISDN when I pay for broadband because the phone line keeps having a fit is getting a bit of a hassle. If the BRAS IP profile did not take 3days to recover after a bad storm, then I could cope, but I'm now been on a 130k connection for over a week now and am looking at having to pay 3120 just because I am trying to do something about it.
If I turned round to my customers and said I'd look at their issue, but if I couldn't see anything I'd be charging them £120, they'd move else where.
Any advice as to how I can take this forward?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

I thought I had better post an update and I am pleased to say that it seems it has a potentially positive outcome.
First of all the lady I spoke to on Friday got back to me yesterday to say that yet again OpenReach had investigated my issue "outside the property" and claimed to have "fixed the problem". While I am sceptical that they actually did anything (surely the broadband should have disconnected, if they fixed anything like replacing a cable, but as I am not a telcom's engineer I have not authority to make judgement), the lady implied that I had a case to dispute any charge if it ended up on my bill.
The second was a response from a forum moderator who says that after reading my posts, my email and my fault reports, they say that it sounds like this is being caused by "a high resistance fault on your line. These can be very had to get to the bottom of unless the engineer is testing the line when condition are bad" and while notes that the fault has been closed (conversation yesterday with lady from BT), they suspect that if the line does have this type of fault, then it is highly unlikely that the fault has actually been fixed and I should contact them back as soon as the noise starts up again. Oh, and they have requested no charges be applied for the visit on Thursday.
So, fingers crossed... It does seem to highlight quite a variance in the quality of customer service that you get from BT. Plus, no matter how frustrated you get, you should persevere, as there are some good people that seem willing to help and will be on your side.

At a loss with phone line and broadband

Hi,
First of all, sorry for cross posting this, but as you might gather I'm currently stuck between a rock and a hard place.
http://community.bt.com/t5/Phones/At-a-loss-with-phone-line/td-p/54639
I'm not going to repeat everything in that post, just to say when all equipment is unplugged and you get crackles and white noise through the phone, it can not be equipment, no matter how intermittent. Am I correct?
The main reason for cross posting is around the annoying BRAS IP profile. It seems that for 30mins of static, I get stuck on a 130k profile for 3days. I could cope with the occasional outage or slow down, but 3days is half a week and when you have the recent bad weather, you get 1day of decent profile before the next spat! As a result of this, I would like to see if anyone else in the community has been through similar?
I will point out that I have been working in IT for 13years, so I like to pretend that I know something about things, but I must say that BT is one of the only companies that I deal with and dealt with that seem insistent on blaming the customer for everything.
Connection information
Line state Connected
Connection time 0 days, 1:44:21
Downstream 2,048 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) 9.6 dB / 19.0 dB
Line attenuation (Down/Up) 53.0 dB / 29.5 dB
Output power (Down/Up) 17.8 dBm / 12.1 dBm
Loss of Framing (Local) 0
Loss of Signal (Local) 0
Loss of Power (Local) 0
FEC Errors (Down/Up) 5261636 / 45
CRC Errors (Down/Up) 0 / 2147480000
HEC Errors (Down/Up) nil / 28
Error Seconds (Local) 134
Solved!
Go to Solution.

No I'm suggesting the mod team is preferable to calling India ....
What they do with you is down to them .... and you.
Allbeit I doubt you'll see a profile reset, but even better you may see a lasting resolution, hopefully.

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.
We are sorry that we are unable to deal with service/account queries via the private message(PM) function so please don't PM your account info, we need to deal with this via our email account :-)
If someone answers your question correctly please let other members know by clicking on ’Mark as Accepted Solution’.

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’

Phone line cancelled

I set up a BT landline in my flat along with broadband about 3 months ago - after taking a month or so to finally start working we were quite pleased with the service until a couple of weeks ago when we recieved a letter saying that somebody had requested our number and unless we called within 3 days our account would be cancelled. We duly rang to say we did not want our line cancelled and thought that was the end of it, until 3 days later our phone line and broadband were cancelled. 2 and a half hours later, having spoken to at least 15 different people from numerous departments (all of whom were extremely unhelpful - some even told us we would have to pay a years line rental again!) we were told that our phone line would be up in 3 days and our broadband in 8 - no explanation for why we had to wait so long.
The phone line came back on in three days but eight days later there was still no broadband - we were told that the engineers couldn't find our postcode (the same postcode on our account and used to re-install the phone line) so it would be three more days. It has now been five and no help has been forthcoming and we are still without the internet. The problem is getting absolutely ridiculous and we are extremely annoyed with the service that we are paying for but not recieving.

SEB wrote:
I set up a BT landline in my flat along with broadband about 3 months ago - after taking a month or so to finally start working we were quite pleased with the service until a couple of weeks ago when we recieved a letter saying that somebody had requested our number and unless we called within 3 days our account would be cancelled. We duly rang to say we did not want our line cancelled and thought that was the end of it, until 3 days later our phone line and broadband were cancelled. 2 and a half hours later, having spoken to at least 15 different people from numerous departments (all of whom were extremely unhelpful - some even told us we would have to pay a years line rental again!) we were told that our phone line would be up in 3 days and our broadband in 8 - no explanation for why we had to wait so long.
The phone line came back on in three days but eight days later there was still no broadband - we were told that the engineers couldn't find our postcode (the same postcode on our account and used to re-install the phone line) so it would be three more days. It has now been five and no help has been forthcoming and we are still without the internet. The problem is getting absolutely ridiculous and we are extremely annoyed with the service that we are paying for but not recieving.
Hi.
If you don't mind me saying, this seems extremely weird. What phone number was on the letter to ring ? Was it actually from BT ? I can't say I've ever heard of people being "told" that someone else wants that number and the service would be cancelled if not acted upon.
There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there, and this sounds like one of them.
http://www.andyweb.co.uk/shortcuts
http://www.andyweb.co.uk/pictures

Issues ordering with 2 phone lines on one account.

After being on the phone for half an hour on Friday the woman seemed to understand everything but we got no confirmation message so I called again today and after spending an hour on the phone was told to call back tommorow.. Not getting my hopes up of it working.
The lady didn't seem to really know how to place orders when we had 2 diffrent phone lines on the same account.
Currently we have 2 phone lines, one without broadband and one on BT Broadband "Upto 8Mbps" and recently Infinity became available in the area. We want to get Infinity setup on the line that has no connection and once it is up and running cancel the current Broadband and the phone line it is on. I understand this will incur a £30 fee to remove the broadband (not sure if theres a further fee to cancel the phone line, the lady didn't mention one though).
On Friday the lady we talked to also said we would have to pay extra to keep the current call plan with Infinity doing this method but the lady I talked to today didn't mention it.
The forum mods are pretty good on here so I was hoping they could sort it out as I'm starting to lose hope..

After spending about an hour on the phone today it seems we got it sorted out.
Apparently you can't have 2 broadband packages on one account even with 2 phone lines so we had to get a seperate account setup just for the Infinity broadband. Once we cancel the old broadband though apparently we can merge it together and the price will go from £30 down to £26.
We wasn't given the account number for the new account but I assume it wont be an issue when the time comes to merge the accounts (however we do that I'm not quite sure).
But we got the confirmation email so I assume everything is okay... The Openreach engineer will be coming a week later than the original date we had planned but it will do I suppose.
Thanks

Problem with phone line after installation of BT I...

Hi,
After persuading my dad (86) to switch from aol to BT infinity he is still without a working phone line. The phone line worked perfectly before switching to BT. Bt infinity was installed 5 weeks ago and ever since then his phone line developes a loud buzzing noice then breaks up completely after about 1-2 minutes into a call. Has been reported to BT several times, 4 BT engineers have been out to try and fix the problem without any success. We do not seem to be getting anywhere with BT and do not know what to do next.
Any help/advice would be gratefully received.

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’

Adding a 2nd Residential Phone Line

Last night I ordered a 2nd phone line from Verizon for my kids.
I nevered received a confirmation email but checked my order and it says it was processed already.
So now that a bought a new telephone number to use, what's next?
How do I go about getting a phone to work with that new telephone number/line?
Furthermore, if my order status says "COMPLETED" then why do I still have these questions with no email or directions telling me what to do next?
Thanks for any help.

I would call your local verizon office and see what they say. Someone will need to visit your home to install the second line. If you don't know the local office you could always call FIOS at 888-553-1555
Jim

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’

Re: Complaints to BT about phone line

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