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Broadband and Problems at the Goole Exchange

I have experienced slow broadband, no broadband, slow latency, DNS failure, websites not loading, intermittent connections and extremely poor service from my ISP, BT Yahoo, and BT.

The bulk of these problems have been caused by problems and work being carried out by BT at the Goole Exchange.

My problems started in July, two days after some scheduled update work was started to try to resolve on-going congestion problems.

It started with very slow, unusable speeds. My download speed fluctuated between 6kbps and around 30kbps. I could not upload at all. I could not retrieve my emails into my mail client. My broadband was completely unusable. What have I been paying BT for?

This has been a big problem, and especially so for me as I work from home. I am also reliant on the Internet in other ways too, as I am disabled. So having fast, reliable broadband is vital for me.

The problem went on for weeks. I was calling "technical" support every day, and they were just sending me around in circles. I am pretty sure that this is done by design to some degree, a sort of management technique.

However, from my perspective at the time, I needed to be sure that there was no problem my end.

So, I turned off my firewall and anti-virus software. The problem still remained. I uninstalled my firewall and a/v software; still no change.

I then replaced the router and all cabling with new equipment - still no change.

Then, I tested with two other computers, one of them new. And guess what – I still had the same problem.

I decided to take my PC to someone else I know in a different city and when I tried connecting to his broadband, there was no problem.

So, I was 100% sure that there were no problems my end.

Several weeks had now passed and I had lost a lot of income and business. I had also lost a client because there was end in sight to this problem; I had no way of knowing when the problem would be fixed.

Throughout all this time, "technical" support just kept saying the same things over and over again. They simply ignored the evidence that clearly pointed to a problem either at the exchange, or with BT's servers, or somewhere on the BT network.

There had been a reports on local radio from people in my area, who had called them as they were having problems and getting no response from BT. There are also forums on the Internet where people have detailed their own similar experiences.

BT staff also lied to both myself and my wife about work that was being carried out at the exchange. This happened on more than one occasion. It is simply not acceptable for this to happen.

We were also given incorrect and conflicting information from different members of staff.

If I documented all the problems we have had with BT during the past 8 weeks, I’d need several more pages; this is just a snapshot.

Nine weeks on, and there are still problems. I have been in touch with other people in the area that are having the same problem – though not everyone is affected.

You can see evidence of the work and problems via these links:

http://usertools.plus.net/exchanges...FeMthGw6J0eLEdd0EIwE6QAMV943Bz70RMucq1tGcs4TC

http://usertools.plus.net/exchanges/?exchange=Goole&exact=1211

http://usertools.plus.net/exchanges/?exchange=Goole&exact=1211&plugin=vp

Please Note: the ETA fix time on the last link just gets updated and goes on and on and on.

I would advise anyone who has had problems like this in the Goole area or elsewhere to formally complain about their problems and the service they have received. The same applies if you think you have been mis-sold a broadband package. I would advise that you write to the Chairman’s Office. Please contact me if you would like a name and address to write to.

If you would like me to do this on your behalf or would be interested in a collective complaint, then please feel free to contact me.

I would advise that you write to the regulator; write to your MP (he can write to the new BT Chairman on your behalf); contact your solicitor; contact your local radio station and news channels.

If you have lost any business or money as a result of such problems, I would like to hear from you. I have ended up losing thousands, as well as clients.

If anyone is planning legal action, I would be interested to hear from you. From people I have spoken to already, I think there would be enough people to form a collective or class action.

I would also welcome any constructive advice on this.
 
It might be worth you trying no.6 in our Connection Tip's article:

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/adsltips/02.shtml

Specifically the bit about bypassing your ISP to see whether it's something being caused by the ISP as well. Do the normal speedtest first though, for comparison.
 
BT problem

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Already done what you suggested a few weeks ago.

The problems have been identified, and acknowledged by BT; it's what they're doing and not doing about it that's the problem. There problems are still there and on-going.

There are now 32 people I have spoken to personally in my area that have had the same problems, all at the same time, all of which have had serious disruption and loss of income. They too have had the problems acknowledged. I wonder how many more there are? And across the UK where these upgrades are being carried out?

BT have also lied to me on more than one occasion.

For me personally, the broadband is vital and a lifeline; connecting via an old 56kbps modem has been faster recently than my broadband.

However, in order to affect any change, a collective voice is needed.
 
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sadly when it comes to problems, these days they outsource tech support to india and have way too few ppl in the call centres who can actually relate to problems... all in all they are all took keen to blame the user and their hardware than accept the blame themselves.. that and the system is always down, how the hell do they know what the right hand is doing when the left hand cant say anything
 
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timeless: what an excellent point.

Technical support for BT is neither technical or helpful. They have support systems (often just cards!) that help them to resolve the most basic of problems, but beyond that, you just go around in circles with them. They also do not escalate problems, which I believe is in part a management strategy.

It does not take too much for "technical" support to get out of their depth. I was talking to one about Quality of Service (QoS), and he thought I meant the quality of customer service I had received.

You are also right; you talk to BT Wholesale, BT Retail, Technical Support, BT Openreach, BT engineers and other staff - none of them know what's been said or done between the different parties. The organisational structure is just too complicated and fragmented. There is no worthy communication.

My advice is, if you know the problem is not at your end with any of your equipment, do NOT contact technical support. Write or contact BT Wholesale with your problem; write to the Chairman's office with your problem and complain.

If you do speak to "tech" support, ignore whatever they say and insist on an engineer coming out - if you are sure the problem is not at your end. This will result in someone actually coming to see you, seeing that there is no problem at your end, and going to the exchange.
 
OT, Marks article

It might be worth you trying no.6 in our Connection Tip's article:

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/adsltips/02.shtml

Specifically the bit about bypassing your ISP to see whether it's something being caused by the ISP as well. Do the normal speedtest first though, for comparison.

Mark,

I believe if you are on an adsl max service and try to run a speedtest while connected using the anything@speedtest_domain login you will be told to reconnect and test using your ISP login, unless you have been instructed to do so having got a fail (<400kbps I think) in test1 with your normal login and a second fail in test2 (bt_test_user@your_isp_domain login ) and haven't navigated away from the test page.

It will still work on a fixed rate service though.

ISP Perfomance tester handbook

Someone on adslmax confirmed that it was possible to run the old fixed rate BT speedtest with the @speedtest_domain login using a direct link http://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/showthread.php?p=177930#post177930 although I don't know if that is still the case.
 
Last edited:
timeless: what an excellent point.

Technical support for BT is neither technical or helpful. They have support systems (often just cards!) that help them to resolve the most basic of problems, but beyond that, you just go around in circles with them. They also do not escalate problems, which I believe is in part a management strategy.

It does not take too much for "technical" support to get out of their depth. I was talking to one about Quality of Service (QoS), and he thought I meant the quality of customer service I had received.

You are also right; you talk to BT Wholesale, BT Retail, Technical Support, BT Openreach, BT engineers and other staff - none of them know what's been said or done between the different parties. The organisational structure is just too complicated and fragmented. There is no worthy communication.

My advice is, if you know the problem is not at your end with any of your equipment, do NOT contact technical support. Write or contact BT Wholesale with your problem; write to the Chairman's office with your problem and complain.

If you do speak to "tech" support, ignore whatever they say and insist on an engineer coming out - if you are sure the problem is not at your end. This will result in someone actually coming to see you, seeing that there is no problem at your end, and going to the exchange.

another point is that we wouldnt spend so much time on the phone trying to get our problems across if the person at the other end could actually understand us and visa versa (as you can prolly tell, lve not had a great time with BT techs they come out and they dont help at all.. lm sure regardless of a problem they are told to feign ignorance so we ppl have to pay £160 per visit lm like £240 out of pocket for 2 visits l never even wanted)
 
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If a BT engineer comes out and finds no problem with your equipment, you are not liable for the call out charge. The same applies if you did not agree to the engineer coming out. If you have been wrongly charged for this, write to the Chairman's Office and complain, and demand a full refund. Write to BT Wholesale, Watchdog, the regulator, your MP and the media to tell them of your experience.

In these situations where the problem is at the exchange or on the network, if people collectively would write to and contact the Chairman's Office and BT Wholesale and deliberately avoid calling "technical" support, then management will eventually have to do something about it.

Do not get "sucked" into repeatedly calling "tech" support.

BT have a new Chairman - I would advise that people write to their MP and ask them to contact the Chairman on their behalf about these matters. After all, your MP is there to help you as a citizen. I am pretty sure that some MPs will have met the Chairman or possibly, as other people have indicated to me, some MPs will know the Chairman.

These issues need publicity; the last thing the Chairman, Board and shareholders will want is collective negative customer feedback and complaints made public. It would bring out more complaints from customers that would perhaps otherwise remain quiet. It would affect share prices and their marketplace standing - and that would make something happen that would come from the top of the organisation.
 
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