Is there anyone less efficient than Openreach?

tonybvi

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Today was the big day. After 3 months of waiting, over 20 visits from various engineers some of whom did a bit of work, some of whom didn’t, our full fibre to the premises (FTTP) was to be installed to replace our (if we’re very lucky) 4mbps “super fast” FTTC broadband. No such luck - the latest excuse is that they need scaffolding to get to the cable entry point on the house (this despite the fact that the same entry was installed by Openreach 3 months back to replace our old copper cable without the aid of scaffolding). Excuses over the past 3 months have been, after the engineers have turned up, we need a taller pole, we need a second pole, we need traffic management, we need an underground man as I can only do overground, we haven’t enough cable, we did the work on the wrong pole, the underground chamber is too wet, etc etc.
The logical approach would be to send out a surveyor, work out what needs to be done and how, then manage the project. This seems to beyond Openreach ability who just seem to send out any available engineer.
Not all is lost though as I am quids in because I have been paid compensation for every missed engineers visit (three so far) and every day that BT cannot provide the service I pay for so I now have a credit with them!
 
Used to work for them but fortunately not in a customer facing job. The whole system is run on box ticking on the customer service side and individuals can get a lot of grief for not adhering to the rulezzz. Rewind to the days when I started with Post Office Telephones and what you suggest was the way things were done, all at a local level and by someone who had been there and done that. The way work is allocated and controlled now is from an array of offices which, if you're lucky, will be in the UK so there's always the opportunity to ''queue kick'' the job to someone else's domain. Add to that the propensity for some people find a way of not doing the job and an overbearing management model and the customer is always going to lose out, sadly.

I dodged that particular syndrome by opting to go cabling on long routes, 30km plus usually, and we were left to it to a large extent. The graduate ''managers'' that very occasionally paid site visits seldom returned once they saw what proper work looks like.

See if you can pin an individual down and make them listen. Good luck.

Cheers

H
 
Before going full time I did some sub contract BT work and believe it or not they do do surveys, but not like you'd expect. They're done in an office (usually in India) using Google maps. I kid you not. Like Winks I worked for them when the engineer knew how phone lines actually work, some I've met now don't even know what a telephone exchange is let alone an MDF or PCP :(

Regards,
Del
 
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As soon as I made a complaint to our local MP I was allocated a case officer attached to the complaint resolution team. At least I now have a personal contact who does actually keep in touch with me and knows what’s going on. I don’t think it speeds things up but at least I can speak to a real person on the phone to vent my frustration!
 
After buying a house in Hull I looked at what options were available. Hull is different to the rest of the U.K. in that only KCom can provide terrestrial broadband which limits choice dramatically. We didn’t want a landline phone as we both have mobiles. We don’t need super fast fibre but do want more than ADSL speeds.
In the end super fast is not yet available at the house but a wifi mesh option was. 30mb speeds are enough for what we do and if we are away we can suspend service (similar to Smarty SIM cards. Was a little unsure about only 250gb a month but can sort that as needed by paying another £5.
So... I filled in an online form two weeks ago today. Just over an hour later an engineer turns up to check if the service could be installed. Engineer said he would report back to the office and they would contact me. As the van pulled away I got the message saying they can provide the service and to contact them to arrange install. I didn’t call but half an hour later they called me and we arranged for installation on the Thursday. Thursday comes and everything installed and working.
Not used to this after being in the sticks for 30 years. Less than 96 hours after my first enquiry I have a service provided. For any of you who have the option, check out wifi mesh 👍
 
witzend said:
Thats probably the same fella that we been dealing with at 3's customer support
Did you ever consider mobile broad band I've been using it for 3 yrs now
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That was my intention but signal wasn’t brilliant at the house, I have had one in the van a long time though 👍
 
We actually use mobile broadband at home when the superfast is superslow! (We borrow it from our motorhome) It’s better than superslow superfast but still only around 15mbps. Our main problem is that our mobile phones get no signal at all where we live so we rely on them piggybacking the wifi. At least our mobile broadband Huawei 535 router with external Poynting antenna manages to pick up 2 or 3 bars of signal but not reliably.
 
tonybvi said:
We actually use mobile broadband at home when the superfast is superslow!
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Well our provider has been 3 for 2.5 yrs alls been good then in august our data speed dropped but we still had a good signal Tried external aerial which doubled the signal but did nothing for the data after complaining and getting nowhere we cancelled the remaining months of our contract which 3 allowed with no penalty. and have gone with Vodaphone same signal same router but 10 mbps instead of the 1mbps that we where getting from 3. So signal doesn't make data faster may be worth trying a different mobile sim in yours
 
I remember when I first signed up with 3 home wifi they would fit an external aerial to improve signal. I can’t remember what the cost was as I didn’t take that up.
Could that be an option?
 
nabsim said:
I remember when I first signed up with 3 home wifi they would fit an external aerial to improve signal. I can’t remember what the cost was as I didn’t take that up.
Could that be an option?
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3 had connected remotely to my router and said that a aerial wouldn't help. But I bought a external aerial to try it upped my signal but did nothing for my data speed.
So in my situation signal strength didn't affect my data speed
 
tonybvi said:
As soon as I made a complaint to our local MP I was allocated a case officer attached to the complaint resolution team. At least I now have a personal contact who does actually keep in touch with me and knows what’s going on. I don’t think it speeds things up but at least I can speak to a real person on the phone to vent my frustration!
Click to expand...
When I moved here 21 yrs ago I rang BT to ask them to reconnect the line. They said there is no connection to the house and there had never been a phone connection at this address. I said "I'm talking to you on a mobile in my yard and I can see a wire to my house from your pole in the street and there is a phone socket in the living room." They still maintained there had never been a phone line here and an engineer would come to do a survey at a cost of £180. Then there would be further fees for connection. I had to use my MP in the end, but it still took 6 weeks.
My neighbour hasn't had a landline for years but has finally decided to join the internet age. It took Openreach 4 failed appointments and an engineer being wrongly assigned to the job who then had to go away again before he got connected.
 
When we moved house a few years ago, we arranged for BT to set up the landline transfer and braodband. All set for 24/12 while we were away in Portugal. Came back a month later to discover no landline or internet, computer error had cancelled the changeover! Took three months before we finally were connected, and then it was only when I emailed the CEO with a complaint. Within an hour I had a personal complaint handler, who sorted it all out. In the end I had so many credits that it was all free for the first year...but such a hassle.
 
We used to be with BT but moved to Virgin now, on the pavement near our home there is a green street box as they call them [Openreach ] and every time openreach did anything in this box our broadband went all to hell, I used to speak to the guys working on the box and say to them, "every time one of you open this box and TINKER inside the broadband goes all to hell, they did not seem to like the word Tinker for some reason.hee hee.
 
Took me months to get a dead smart meter replaced, they even asked me to send video of it not working ,
 
It will all be wonderful when Elons spacex gets a few thousand more satellites up their .
 
Currys could give them a run for the prize. At the store purchased an oven and an induction hob. Goods arrived installers came hummed and arred said they were not qualified to fit to a butane tank system. Second lot of installers arrived " always 2 or 3 of them " they said there is not enough power to supply the hob, third lot arrived and were just as useless . Sent goods back. The people at the store were sorry but somehow did not seem supprised?
 
Molly 3 said:
Took me months to get a dead smart meter replaced, they even asked me to send video of it not working ,
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Makes you want to cry I complained that I'd not received some cladding I'd ordered and They asked me for a photo to show what I was complaining about
 
British Teleconfusion and Openbreach both make a mockery of their titles as communications companies. Neither of them is the least bit able to communicate with their customers or each other.
 
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