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BT wont do squat

a friend of mine who lives in the next town hasn't been able to get DSL for the past week. AOL software kept throwing out error messages left right and centre when he tried to connect. he phoned AOL, to talk to their renowned brilliant customer services:laugh: the Indian bloke told him to do this and that, which he did, but nothing changed. he was then told that his PC was faulty. so he phoned BT, but they didn't want to know as he wasn't with BT broadband, so they would not make a note of the complaint. he went to work and found that they couldn't connect to the net either. at his work place they use BT, so he phoned from there and was fobbed off that nothing was wrong with the line etc. he then found out from the guy in the local computer shop that 30 other people have been complaining they cannot connect to the internet. AOL blamed BT, BT said it was AOL fault on his home PC. although these people have complained to BT, BT said that they have received no other complaints, and they would not take the matter any further, as they found no faults with the line at his work place.

one guy he spoke to is with Talk Talk, he also could not connect either. Talk Talk complained on his behalf, as BT didn't want to know as he didn't have BT broadband. it was reported there was a problem with his line. my friend told BT there must be a problem with the exchange as so many people have the same problem, but still BT refused to ackowledge that they have received any other complaints, and told him it is must be the PC in question.

so, it is a case of going to consumer direct/watchdog/ofcom? how can these people complain or report a fault properly if BT refuse to acknowledge the complaint because they say there is nothing wrong?
 
Has the user attempted to logon using the BT test login account ?
 
no idea, I doubt he knows about it. I didn't know about it, and the owners of the place he works wouldn't know about it, as they know pretty much squat about the PC they have. I'll ask him to try that, how do you go about doing that?

one of the problems he faced was, he kept getting Indian call centres. the people he spoke to neither cared or seemed to know what they were talking about. even the one British bloke he spoke to wasn't that bothered. what is really pissing him off, it isn't a PC issue. how can 30 people in the same small town suddenly all develop problems connecting to the net all in the same few day period? it's that he tries to report a fault or complain, and they are saying "no thanks, we don't want to know" if you can't report a fault to the fault department, what else is there to do?

of course if all these people that are having trouble were with BT broadband, they would take note I bet. but of all the people that have compained that are not with BT broadband, they probably got told, it's a fault with your ISP or PC. so, as the case with my friend, he phones AOL, and they say it's BT's fault. what to do, BT blames the ISP's, and the ISP's with crap customer support just blame BT. when my friend told the Indian guy that so many other people cannot connect to the internet either, and it all started on the same weekend. the guy told him, no it's definately your PC. and the point of customer support is.....what exactly?

I think it's best that he gets in contact with consumer direct, and see what they say. maybe they can suggest a way all these people can get their complaints heard as one, not as individuals.
 
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I am not sure but some of BT Customer Services Teams, are in the UK, I know for defintie their payphone customer services are, and don't have anyone in India, it does make me wonder which other parts of BT don't use India but I have problems speaking with India myself, and I do try and avoid it whenever possible, because of the problems I know I face.
 
it seems that in this day and age, you have to resort to getting trading standards etc involved in order to get anything done as far as complaints go. see it so much on watchdog, people having trouble getting a decent service out of some companies. soon as watchdog gets involved, they are all apologetic and can't wait to sort out the problem.
 
well some good news at last. my mate went to the local computer shop and all the people that couldn't connect to the net signed a petition to be sent to BT so they will acknowledge that there is a problem if so many people cannot connect in the same area. the shop where my friend works, athough the owners are not too clued up on the use of their PC, staff mainly use it. one of the owners phoned BT, and gave them a right mouth full. only then, BT actually admitted there was a problem, and they did know about it. they didn't admit it sooner as they were bothered about local businesses claiming compensation. BT business broadband states that they will deal with any problems within 48 hours. 48 hours!!! try 168.
 
ok first things first

BT Retail are 150 telephone line and bt broadband customer services and 151 telephone line faults. neither of these 2 departments can help you with a broadband fault if you do not have bt retail broadband.

BT wholesale provide adsl to most isp's including bt retail, now if you ring 151 to report a fault all they can and will do is test your telephone line if this test comes back as no fault then your line is ok. This does not ofcourse mean your adsl is ok just your line, you need to persue through your isp rasing a fault with BTW trading standards pettitions etc will not help you as this is the recognised method and process to follow if your isp will not report a fault take it further with their management then report your isp to trading standards as its them not doing there job not bt retail.
 
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nothing to do with ISP. it was a fault with the exchange, a fault BT refused to admit was there for 5 days. so tell me, no good ringing BT broadband unless you are a customer, no good ringing the ISP you are with as it's no fault of theirs. BT wouldn't admit any fault. what then?

BT stink, end of.
 
I do agree the BT group stink at times but if there is a hardware failure and by the look of things then it wasnt just a small failure if 300 people went down in a small town, it isnt big enough to show as a major outage as it is just local, the ISP should of logged a fault with BT but that shows with who the named ISP's are I wouldnt touch with a barge pole.

The extremes these people want to go to just over a broadband connect going down shows how much this day and age people expect and demand that it is like the air never running out or having a problem, ADSL in its nature will fail and even more so as we are pushing these technologies to the limits of what they can do, how often on the forums do you see "my line was perfect before i went onto the MaxDSL"(different topic).

You always seem to be saying BT this and BT that remember it is not BT but BT wholesale who look after the data network for a large percentage of the UK who do not have to answer to the general public.

You should feel lucky that BT wholesale fixed the problem as ADSL doesnt have a service level agreement or is a garenteed service so it can be down or not working as you expect for months on end and you dont have a leg to stand on if you want to complain to trading standards.

EDIT: Typo king
 
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Eh? BT knew about it, they didnt admit it, and it took a petition to get them to do something.

How should he feel lucky?

BT are in the wrong, they are paid to provide a service (line rental) and they were not doing it properly.

Im sure his tune would have been much different if BT had simply said 'we are having some big problems at the moment, but we are trying to get them sorted, please bear with us.'

Rather than 'Its your PC'.
 
erm remember this post is about his dls not working not his line if his line is working 151 btretails repair teams for telephone line service only will not help him with a bt retail broadband fault or any other isp related dsl fault, if their was a problem with the exchange then if his isp had reported a dsl fault to BTW then this would have shown up easily.

he would have not been able to sych with the exchange and btw fault tools would have recognised this and reccomended further investigation by BTW repair teams. if his isp will not report a fult then btw cannot be expected to repair it.

remember the ISP has to report a fault and some isp's are relucant to do this
 
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Number one is always to check out Bt's TEST PAGE:

http://193.113.211.125/digitaldemo/

If you can't get this page then tell your ISP - doubtless some of the isp's call center staff would not know what the TEST PAGE is

It is the duty of your isp to contact BT wholesale and report a fault. Some isps are rubbish some with a liking for overseas call centers - anyone who uses such an isp deserves all they get - or don't git.
There are good isps; IDNET to name but one. Use your feet.
 
None of that excuses the fact BT fobbed him (and others) off, even if he couldnt log a fault with them. And it sounds like others who had BT business broadband had issues.
 
yes it is the duty of the ISP to report any fault to BT made by the customer. Talk Talk did this, AOL wouldn't, who told my friend to ring BT himself and that it wasn't anything to do with them. this was after they tried to convice him his PC was the fault. BT broadband also would do nothing after the fault was reported to them from one of their own customers, maybe more. they claimed no one else had reported any fault. the BT broadband technician also was sure it was the PC in question. if Talk Talk can report a fault to the relavent BT dept, to which a fault was found, why cannot BT broadband do the same? is it that difficult? clearly not.

it's simple, BT lied. they lied to cover their own asses. they admitted they knew about the fault after some pressure from an irate BT broadband customer.

ManOfMeans noted that I blame BT a lot, when it is BT Wholesale that deals with ADSL equipment. well are not BTW a part of BT then? or is it just a coincidence that they share the same name? as for these people feeling lucky, lucky! what the hell do they pay BT for then, the privilege of repairing their exchange if there is a fault if they can be bothered to? BT own the structure round here, whichever dept is in charge of it. they sell bandwidth to ISP's who then sell it to customers. so if BT whatever are NOT required to repair any fault to the ADSL in a local exchange that THEY own ASAP, that's brilliant.

indeed ADSL will fail, it's not that it fails that is the issue here. it's the crap that BT whatever have fed to the people that suddenly had no ADSL for 9 days. sure, the home user should be able to go without ADSL for 9 days, and yes there is too much expectancy for things to just "work" all the time. but what about the businesses that rely on their internet connection? they have a right to moan, especially if they are paying BT business broadband for that internet. BT business broadband do say "problems dealt with within 48 hours" something to that effect. 5 days went past before they admitted there was a problem. oops, I forgot, they can take as long as they like, can't they?

9 days isn't a great deal of time to be without ADSL. plenty of people that are without it for much longer. but it's how it's been dealt with that pissed these people off. all they had to say was "yes there is a problem, but we are doing our best to resolve ASAP" something like that. but no, they were just bothered about compensation claims.

and what about this ADSLmax farce. so many people complaining about poor speeds, disconnections etc. sure, new technology has teething problems, but look how long it took BT to admit there was a fault with the software.
 
"None of that excuses the fact BT fobbed him (and others) off, even if he couldnt log a fault with them. And it sounds like others who had BT business broadband had issues." and 151 bt retail telephone lines can not and do not check for broadband faults this needs to be through his isp if it was bt business broadband this would be connect!!!!!!!

"ManOfMeans noted that I blame BT a lot, when it is BT Wholesale that deals with ADSL equipment. well are not BTW a part of BT then? or is it just a coincidence that they share the same name? as for these people feeling lucky, lucky! what the hell do they pay BT for then, the privilege of repairing their exchange if there is a fault if they can be bothered to? BT own the structure round here, whichever dept is in charge of it. they sell bandwidth to ISP's who then sell it to customers. so if BT whatever are NOT required to repair any fault to the ADSL in a local exchange that THEY own ASAP, that's brilliant" nope BTW are part of bt group however due to the marketplace and regulatory requirements btw treat BT retail as just another isp same as aol etc.

"Talk Talk did this, AOL wouldn't" surprised thought they both wouldnt have
 
Let's get a few things straight.

1) your contract to provide ADSL is with your ISP, therefore they are responsible for getting it working again. The end user rarely knows who is providing the circuits. In a lot of cases it will be BT but not always.

2) If your phone line is partially unbundled, the ISP has it's own equipment in the BT exchange. So why should BT fault find on it. You state that a number of people in the same town could not connect to AOL. This would suggest that it was either AOL equipment or part of the network that AOL pays for and uses.

3) If your line is totally unbundled then the ISP is responsible right up to and including the master socket in your home.

It is time people got down off the "let's thump BT" bandwagon and tackle the issue at source. Unless you are on BT Broadband you do not pay any money to BT for your ADSL service. You pay it to your ISP who may or may not sub-contract part of the provision of your service. It is your ISP who are responsible for getting your service restored.

Complain to them, and keep on complaining.


For the record, I am NOT an employee of BT, and I do not have BT Broadband.
 
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1) true, the ISP is resposible. my friend who is with AOL should have pointed this out to them.

2) I should have made it clear that the exchange isn't LLU or partially LLU. to blame BT if it were LLU/partially would have unfair or wrong. I said 30 people had made complaints, not that they all are with AOL. some probably are. the only person I know for definate who is with AOL is my friend.

3) yes I do know that.

4) yes it is the ISP's responsibility to get their customers ADSL working again. if the exchange is not LLU or partially LLU, it IS the responsibility of BT to carry out any repairs to the exchange that maybe needed. if the exchange has been LLU'd or partially, it is then the resposibility of the ISP that has the equipment installed into the exchange to carry out repairs.

It is time people got down off the "let's thump BT" bandwagon and tackle the issue at source. Unless you are on BT Broadband you do not pay any money to BT for your ADSL service. You pay it to your ISP who may or may not sub-contract part of the provision of your service. It is your ISP who are responsible for getting your service restored.

why? if BT are going to fob customers off with crap about there being no fault when there is, and deny it for almost a week, then they deserve it. if you are paying BT for your ADSL, which as I have stated, at least 1 customer is. they (BT) have a duty, or at least they should do, to tell the customer that there is a problem and that they are looking into it. not feed them a load of horsecrap. unless it says on BT broadband's website "join BT broadband" "we promise not to tell our customers the truth"

not too much to ask is it?
 
well i am with BT broadband, if you call india about any problem with BT broadband they go through the script and tell you it's your fault. buy a new router still your fault. unplug all the cables, plug into the master socket, still your fault. rig a new network with cat 6 cable bridge the network, another new router, still your fault, after 5 weeks, oh there is a fault on the line, 10 days later fault fixed? well yes for 1 day then it goes agian. put up with the same crap from India for 3 months and 5 faults later...... nope not working, BT are regrading me and putting back down? to 2 mg connection, and they have relesed me from the 12 month contract.
now do i stay or do i go, at least i know the number for idiea, i know they will lie to me, but from what i have read in these forums just about every other ISP does the same, so where do i go.. anyone.............
 
john259
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 4



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well i am with BT broadband, if you call india about any problem with BT broadband they go through the script and tell you it's your fault. buy a new router still your fault. unplug all the cables, plug into the master socket, still your fault. rig a new network with cat 6 cable bridge the network, another new router, still your fault, after 5 weeks, oh there is a fault on the line, 10 days later fault fixed? well yes for 1 day then it goes agian. put up with the same crap from India for 3 months and 5 faults later...... nope not working, BT are regrading me and putting back down? to 2 mg connection, and they have relesed me from the 12 month contract.
now do i stay or do i go, at least i know the number for idiea, i know they will lie to me, but from what i have read in these forums just about every other ISP does the same, so where do i go.. anyone.............


Have your adsl from another provider such as www.idnet.co.uk who are between you and BT. A good ISP provider such IDNET will lean on BT and if necessary involve the REGULATOR Naturally never do business with ANY company that have call centers overseas
 
As stated eslewhere here, the buck stops with your ISP as an ADSl service is exactly under the sale of goods as anything else you buy, it must be fit for purpose.
However, please bear in mind a couple of things, although the ISP is responsible for everything up to and including the delivery point (box in your house) ADSl can be seriously upset by poor quality wiring from there to either your phones or your ADSL modem which, is your bit and second, it is your choice to use an ISP who deliberatley does not offer the level of or correct assistance (as the script readers are told what effort to make and how to do it by their paymasters) and / or has forgotten what a customer and puts more effort into getting new customers than keeping them (although it costs them some 4x as much.)
So, if you are not happy, get a MAC code, dispute the billing and move (note the order they are written in) and always remember you get what you want to pay for.

Should you decide to look for an ISP which relies on customers for it's business model, has knowlegeable staff & users and because it has a good relationship with suppliers can ask and have things done take a look at www.aquiss.net
 
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