Weird marking tape tied to phone line

Hey does anyone know what the marking tape in the photo means? Basically this morning i looked out the upstairs bedroom and found the marking tape attached to the phone line, i wasnt the only one in the street to have it as 3 others have aswell, i called the power companies at first because i thought it was power line but they came out to look at it and they said it was a telephone line owned by BT. I called BT but they dont have any record of anyone working on any lines. Does anyone have a clue what this is as i'm in two minds whether to take it down or to keep it up. There mustve been a reason why someone put it up there? and also they mustve climbed up a ladder to tie it.

Hi
Are you sure your premises are fed by an over BT cable? I can not see any overhead wires coming from any telephone poles in your pictures.
Openreach will only upgrade your overhead line to drop tube when you apply to have FTTP not before.
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Similar Messages

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

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

Hi smert,
I am sorry about the delay in getting your phone line on. It definitely sounds like you have been going through the mill lately with all the work being done and still no phone line.
Please send me in your details using the "Contact The Mods" link found in my profile and we will take it from here.
Cheers,
OlgaC
BTCare Community Mod
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Phone line dead, over 2 week wait for possible rep...

Hi there
I'm posting on behalf of my Mum who cannot post in the forum as her phone line/broadband are currently down.
On Friday 4th January 2013 she noticed the phone was dead, and also that the Internet had stopped working. She rang the usual number BT provides and was told by an Indian chap that there is a fault but there won't be anybody available to look at it until 21st January 2013! She was not provided with any reference numbers to track the case or anything which didn't help.
Bear in mind my Mum is in her late 60's and relies on the phone to keep in contact with relatives, and this is especially important since my Dad died.
I am aware that Openreach are busy yadda yadda, but it is simply not acceptable for her to wait over 2 weeks for someone to at least have a look at it! She has spoken to her neighbours and they were having problems originally which now appear to have been sorted.
I am worried that not only will she have to wait but that she will charged a ridiculous fee for any repairs, even though the fault is not anything that she has caused. Also I am not happy that BT are going to charge for zero service for a two week period, surely this is essentially robbery?
Is there anyway I can get this escalated, and is there anyway I can get the charges she will receive refunded?
I have already contacted someone in the forum via e-mail but I don't think it worked as I was using my brother's mobile at the time.
Thanks in advance
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Tootsie wrote:
You're welcome. Also, I understand that your mum can have al her calls diverted to an alternative number and there is some form of compensation available for loss of service....I'll see if I can find the details.....I've seen them somewhere
BT will not pay you compensation they will only refund your line and BB rental if your phone has not been repaired after the end of the 3rd working day also if you have your line diverted you are not entitled to this refund.
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Trouble getting my phone line connected

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

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

How long does a new phone line take to fit? Patien...

I ordered a new phone line in April and was given a date of 1st May 2013 for the engineer to call.
Having booked a day off work for the 1st May I got a text the evening before to advise that extra work was required on the lines outside my home and that they would be in touch soon. On 17th May I got another text to advise that my order for telephone and broadband had been CANCELLED. I phoned and a new order was placed (with a half-hearted apologies for the incorrect cancellation).
Text: 20th May. Apologies for the delay in booking an appointment.
Text 21st May: BT here. Your phone service is ready for you. You can find a phone's number by calling 17070 from it.
I did not not have a phione line.
Text: 30th May. To advise a new number.
Text: 30th May: Apologies for the delay in booking an appointment. Due to necessary additional engineering work. Next update will be 6th June.
Text: 5th June: BT here. Just to confirm you've set up online billing with BT, If you didn't please let us know at ... I didn't set anything up as far as I know.
6th June: Apologies for the delay in providing your service. No updates. Escalated the lack of infpormation and hope to have more news tomorrow.
7th June: Apologies for the delay on your order. I can confirm that we are awaiting the outcome of our escalation with our suppliers and are confident of haveing (sp) and (sp) update for you on 11/6.
Now, I am quite a patient person but I need a landline. I live 60 metres or so from a Post Office and even less from a main road. I can see a telephone pole from my back garden just 50 metres away. My neighbours have landlines. Why can't I have one?
S

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.
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Any way to switch phone numbers between phone lines....

I have 2 phones under my name, 1 of which has the unlimited data plan, which I currently have suspended because I don't use. I would like to upgrade my other phone because the phone I have is giving me problems, but I do not want to pay ridiculous fees and such for the data plan. Is there any way to transfer the phone number from the phone I use to the other phone, so that I may have the unlimited plan, and also cancel the unused phone? Thanks.

There a couple of different issues you'll want to consider here:
1) If you use the upgrade from the line you want to cancel, you will start a new contract on that line and owe a $175 ETF if you purchase a basic phone or a $350 ETF if you purchase a smartphone. The contract is tied to the specific line (and phone
number), so you can't move it around. If you upgrade a line, you must keep it for 24 months or pay an Early Termination Fee.
2) Your unlimited data package is tied to the line and phone number that is currently on. That means that if you want to use the unlimited package, you'll have to activate your new phone on that line and number. You won't be able to get the unlimited data on the other number on your plan.

Problem with phone line not working when BT Infini...

I have a weird problem I have no Broadband and no my phone is dead, however when I take out the Broadband cable from the socket my phone line then gets a dialing tone but still no broadband. Does anyone have any ideas?

Try a different dsl cable. Sound like either the cable or the modem is shorting somewhere.

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’

Help with phone line in new home

I hope someone can help me.
I have moved into a new rental flat. There is a telephone socket and the phone still works. I was able to get the number by calling my mobile.
However, how do I find out who this is connected to? Although it is not in my name someone is either going to get a bill at somepoint or a company will be out of pocket.
If I cannot find out who it is connected to, how do I trasnfer it?
I also, only want to get internet access, but if I am required to set up a new telephone, can I only do this with BT? Some years ago I got stung by setting up a phone acount with BT and getting my internet through another provider a day later who transferred the phone line and I ended up having to pay BT a full years contract. How do I avoid this?
Very grateful for assistance.

Keith_Beddoe wrote:
What happens if you dial 150, do you get connected to BT?
sky use 150 as well so they may well answer the call?
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If I have solved your Issue please click the "Mark as accepted solution" button.

Fault with phone line cleared, but IP profile stil...

Hi,
Apparently there was a fault with my phone line (didn't seem anthing wrong to me), which had caused my IP profile to be dropped, although my connection had never dropped. So an Openreach engineer came out and did something down the road from my house. He called later that day (Friday) to say the fault had been fixed and that my broadband should return to normal after 3 days. Its now over 3 days and I'm still stuck at 2mbps.
Download speedachieved during the test was - 1.91 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 0.4 Mbps-2 Mbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :8.13 Mbps(DOWN-STREAM), 0.45 Mbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 2 Mbps
System Up Time 201:57:13
Port
Status
TxPkts
RxPkts
Collisions
Tx B/s
Rx B/s
Up Time
WAN
PPPoA
937740
1332346
0
420
5663
78:43:14
LAN
10M/100M
2043242
1579859
0
2650
453
201:56:55
WLAN
54M/65M/150M
1062059
503669
0
951
153
201:56:58
ADSL Link
Downstream
Upstream
Connection Speed
8128 Kbps
448 Kbps
Line Attenuation
24.0 dB
14.5 dB
Noise Margin
8.4 dB
27.0 dB
Could a mod help to get this reset please, or do I just need to sit it out and wait?
Thanks
J

Once the Forum Mods have read your post they will post an invite here once you reply to them they will take personal ownership of the problem until resolved.
Do not send them a Personal Message as this is the incorrect contact method and cannot be properly tracked also the mod contacted may not be on shift for sometime and this will delay your help
The forum mods normally reply within 3/5 working days after you have contacted them
They will contact you personally by email or phone
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’

Trouble with phone line

Phone line has been dead since Saturday, had my kids birthday party so didnt realise till very late and was also away on Sunday so phoned yesterday morning and was told that there was nothing wrong with my line. However, it said all day yesterday and now(bt.com finally working after being down all day)that they were looking into a fault and it was still open. Phone line still down, have to turn internet off for them to trace fault so how am i supposed to get intouch with anyone?? Need phone line as I have no mobile apart from hubbys who has it in work so there is problem with my kids in school, they cant get hold of me. I know bt engineer was working on corner of my road on Friday afternoon so dont know if all this is connected as didnt actually use my phone Friday at all. Where do I go from here?? Line makes ringing tone if you are phoning you can hear as normal but the phone isnt ringing outobv because the line is dead, please help

Have you done any checks on your line to locate if the fault is not within your premises?
If you go back through the automated system does it say where the fault is located and does it give you an estimated response time?
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Moving a BT Infinity phone line

I have a Home Hub 5 with a BT Infinity line and the line enters the house on the ground floor at the main socket, where the router is currently located. Having just had building work done I want to move the socket upstairs but am not sure if the Home Hub will work off an extension lead from the main socket or whether some additional wiring is needed. Do BT still come out and move phone lines or is this a job that our electrician can do?

Hi nrt,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting, you'll need a data extension fitted as normal extension wiring can no carry the faster speeds. Check out BT Infinity Data Extension Kit and let me know if you want to organise this through BT.
Cheers
Neil
BTCare Community Mod
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We are sorry but 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 :-)
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14 weeks to get a phone line installed - £10 compe...

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

Hi
I am sorry to see you are having problems with your BT Service
I suggest you contact the forum mods they should be able to get this problem sorted for you this is a link to them http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact_email/c/4951
They normally reply by email or phone directly to you within 3 working days they will take personal ownership of your problem until resolved and will keep you informed of progress
They are a UK based BT specialist team who have a good record at getting problems solved
This is a customer to customer self help forum the only BT presence here are the forum moderators
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Out of contract for phone line and broadband

Hello all!
After receiving a really rather large quarterly bill i thought i would see how much time we had left on the phone line and broadband contracts. Quite astounded to find that BB finished in August last year and phone line in October. I thought we were all in contracts of some sort or another?
In this position then, might i be able to negotiate some sort of deal on a new contract?
Thanks in anticipation,
Kim x
Solved!
Go to Solution.

by rolling I mean month by month but important it is on standard terms and any previous discounts terminate with the contract so better to renegotiate a new cheaper deal asap if staying with BT - should only be 12month contract not 18month like new customers
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Weird marking tape tied to phone line

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