UKH

I'm having a bit of a Kafkaesque time with BT and my broadband, about a 2 weeks ago the speeds dropped noticeably to the point where I couldn't work at home I couldn't log onto secure websites without it timing out etc.

The first engineer came and kicked the tyres of the hub and asked the teeth grindingly frustrating questions before telling me I had a problem. I then got a text from BT telling me that my problem was fixed and was I happy with the service.

Engineer two came round at which point I was getting speed of 1.7mb and checked the box outside and thought it may be interference from cables installed for some new builds. You defiantly have a problem but I don't know what it is.

Engineer number three went straight to the junction up the road with his supervisor he phoned back and said they would probably have to add a new cable run and it may take a few weeks.

Spoke to BT and asked if I could have a temporary 4G router while they fixed the problem, apparently not as I still had internet (even if it was effective unusable) and the problem was shown as fixed on his system despite my conversation with the engineer which the guy on the phone was able to test and sure enough the fault was still there.

I was then offered a new package a Halo package that came with a backup 4g hub for an extra £5 a month (and 24 month contract)

I said I would look at it and reluctantly excepted the new option and they sent me through the details.

Heres the kick, the new guaranteed  stay fast speed was based upon the current faulty speed which was way below my current guaranteed speed, so BT were asking me to pay more for a faulty line which they would then have no incentive to fix and I would be committed to excepting my fault for 24 months.

Obviously I cancelled immediately.

Sorry for the long rant but does anyone able to shed some light on solutions, i'm finding it very stressful as I'm having to respond to work requests and sometimes I can't get the work done on time as the internet grinds to a halt. My Laptop is long in the tooth and not really upto the task and I can't afford to upgrade it at the moment so I'm tied to the iMac for now. Any help much appreciated.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Just sympathy, no real answers. We now have two internet providers and share these via a clever box (BT and Virgin). I can't say that either is better than the other and recent complaint was handled laughably by Virgin, but I do need working internet for work. Customer service that gets to the point and is not formulaic (checking that you plugged everything in every time you ring for instance) seems a rare commodity. 

In reply to SouthernSteve:

P.S. Did the Halo minimum speed have to be lower to accommodate the possibility of the 4G service I wonder. 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

I have BT FTP (Fibre to the Premises) here in Ceunant (Waunfawr exchange) and it works a dream.  70 mbps download / 20 mbps upload.  With a VOIP phone line it’s around £125 / quarter.  I think fibre available in Llanberis, worth a look?

In reply to David Lanceley:

Fibre not due in Deiniolen for another 18 months.

@southernsteve, With the Halo service the 4g kicks in only when internet speed drops below a certain speed, either way you take a hit as both minimum speeds are lower than I am guaranteed at the moment.

Just tried to upload some pictures from the cloud to a website and its not happening.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Maybe you could get a little MiFi device and a SIM as an interim solution whilst BT get their act together? At least you’ll be able to carry on working. I got a Huawei device off an auction site for about £90 and an unlimited GiffGaff SIM for £35 a month. It’s faster than my broadband. 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

We had a few months of chaos with BT a good few years ago now on a similar theme. My favourite part was someone technical at a customer service centre in India going round in circles as his checks clearly evidenced we were having severe bandwidth problems, well below contracted minimums, eventually asking us why we needed more speed!? Before I could think on the enormity of that question I said as an example streaming services like IPlayer were unwatchable.  After a few minutes explaining what IPlayer was, I was told it was illegal. It all helped get us a formal refund from BT before we left.

In reply to Offwidth:

I would consider the leaving option but I need to keep my email address as I’m juggling a lot of things at the moment so changing an email address could potentially by disastrous.

Also doesn’t really remove the problem of the line, I’d change provider but the fault would remain, it does sound like they have basically ballsed things up plugging in some new builds nearby, sounds like they might be reluctant to do any major work whilst fibre is on the distant horizon 😕

In reply to jethro kiernan:

No answers from me, but this is close to a nightmare scenario for me.  Sympathy for the maddening frustration.

If you can afford it and have a suitable property, move on from the dinosaurs.

https://www.starlink.com/

In reply to jethro kiernan:

I feel your pain. I had exactly the same issues, and in the end told BT to stuff it. Now using 4G, (sadly with EE, who are part of BT), but the EE tech support are really good.

It took BT 2 months to cut me off, and they've billed me for none existent broadband for those 2 months. Phoned to complain and a very snotty call centre person told me it was my fault for not taking out a BT Halo contract that would have 'allowed them the opportunity to fix the fault', and I could forget all about a refund.

Absolute bunch of ****s.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Had similar issues for several clients in the past. Solution was to order a new line and a new service. Don’t disconnect the old one until the new one is in and working otherwise the new provider will just reuse the old connection. 
 

Yes it’s more expensive.
Yes you shouldn’t have to jump through these hoops. 
Yes, it fixed the problem. 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

If you are still with the current contract that has a guaranteed speed and are below that then despite that their system says it’s fixed, it’s obviously not and they need to deal with it.

Of course they may not, or delay things, etc. If you have to stay with BT, due to email address or whatever, then you don’t really have many options. You should consider proceeding with a complaint at least. Meantime, I would consider a mobile Mifi type device, assuming you have reasonable mobile reception, to minimise your work disruption.

Once you go down the complaints route, even if not fully concluded, it opens up the door to the little known BT’s higher level complaints dept, who “are” in a position to deal promptly with matters, have the authority to do so, and get a conclusion as soon as possible.

I’m not now with BT, and haven’t been for over 2 years, so things may have changed, but I had a stalemate situation, went down the higher level route by email, got a email reply within 20 mins with an allocated named member of staff with their direct contact details (the matter had been going on for some 3 months with the usual staff and I was taken aback by the speed and professional approach). The whole matter was coordinated by them, dealt with efficiently and effectively concluded very quickly (about 2 weeks IIRC) and included compensation!

If you are going to try this route at some point, make sure you have kept details recorded of everything up to date like when who what etc., as they need facts.  Stating the obvious, sorry, but keep your correspondence to them entirely factual, to the point and well detailed …. no matter what you really are thinking about BT!

Good luck; dealing with the normal BT process is so frustrating. 

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

I seemed to have been allocated a single point of contact for now who is quite professional and helpful, so far I’ve been pretty polite in my dealings with them whilst stressing the point this may cost me financially 

Unfortunately the laptop might have to go on the credit card, but obviously a MacBook isn’t cheap but I’m invested in the Mac system and don’t want to get a “stop gap” as that is a bad investment