Sponsored Links

Openreach Uselessness Question

greentrident

Casual Member
This is a bit long but there is a question at the end if anyone can help!

So I ordered my FTTP at the earliest moment it was available - 12th October and it was due to be installed on Nov 5th.

2 engineers turned up and said they were unable to install it for 2 reasons - 1) to get enough clearance from the pole across the road to my house they would need to connect a bracket to my neighbour's house which would need a wayleave agreement and 2) existing cables were too low to work safely on the pole so the road would need closing. Both of these things would take months to arrange.

Nov 12th. An engineer comes to install FTTP to my neighbour's house, says the road doesn't need closing but to get clearance he needs to connect the bracket to my house! He also says he can install mine at the same time. By 6.30 he has the kit in place, ONT switched on and he leaves saying "I'll finish up next door and if you just plug in the router I'll pop back and check it's working before I go" I never see him again.

Nov. 13th I raise a complaint with BT and they say despite the installation being in place it still needs an engineer to come out but they promise to install it on Saturday 27th pm.
Nov 27th - wait in all Saturday afternoon and nothing happens.
Nov 29th - follow up the complaint with BT - they guarantee it will be installed am 9th December.
9th Dec - waiting in for the engineer - check the order status and it's been changed to Jan 4th!

I'm annoyed at all the delays but the thing that really annoys me is the lack of notification. Not only do they cancel with no notice but they don't tell me!

It seems weird that the kit is all setup - the ONT displays solid light for LAN and POWER with a flashing light for PON. The router is orange which means the service needs activating and if I try to link to the internet using it it tells me the same thing. My neighbour's setup is working!

So does anyone know if an engineer on site is actually going to do anything other than request the service to be activated elsewhere?
 
Sponsored Links
Thanks - the complaints handler has been pretty good so far and I think they may ring later today. Unfortunately they don't seem to have much influence over Openreach! They did mention compensation and that could well be a decent amount of money but I just want them to get the broadband working really! I'm pretty convinced there isn't much to do and possibly nothing really at my house - I think there's an activation needed elsewhere.
 
Your ONT serial number needs to be registered on your order to your property, that should be it.
Were any of the engineers Openreach, or were they contractors? The guy that put it in may not have been able to get access to your job and get it done, or possibly they highlighted that they had put it in but the installation order was stuck with your provider.
 
So does anyone know if an engineer on site is actually going to do anything other than request the service to be activated elsewhere?
As noted above by Green Meanie, this looks like it’s your problem. Sounds like the engineer ran out of time on the first visit. This step does need doing and they should test the service with you, after the ONT is registered. Hence the visit.

The follow up is clearly sub par and you are entitled to automatic compensation (credited to your account). Escalate the issue as noted. Hopefully will be resolved asap. Good luck.
 
Last edited:
Green Meanie/Pheasant, thanks for the info, at least they are unlikely to turn up and say "this could have been done remotely!"
Noted about the compensation but no amount of money will help if the children end up homeschooling on our copper rubbish again though!
 
Sponsored Links
Astonishing! So no availability for my already delayed installation but this pm Openreach turned up to do my second neighbour! So a job that wasn't ordered until well after our delivery date is prioritised! We took the opportunity to speak to the engineer and at the end of the day he popped around to look at our installation and took a reading. Upshot is it's all ready to go, doesn't need an engineer to visit and just needs the ONT activating which can be done by phone! He will try and see if he can get it done on his way home but he isn't on my job and it's past 18:00 so unlikely to happen.
 
Can't fault the engineer who hung around and made the phone call. Apparently it is a 2 minute job to scan the ONT number and then ring it through with an activation code assigned to the job. Unfortunately he doesn't have the job assignment and so I will need to ring BT and complain again!
 
Can't fault the engineer who hung around and made the phone call. Apparently it is a 2 minute job to scan the ONT number and then ring it through with an activation code assigned to the job. Unfortunately he doesn't have the job assignment and so I will need to ring BT and complain again!
They typically call up and get the ONT activated, then do some brief 'hand-holding', answer any questions, run through a few speed-tests etc with the customer (at least the Openreach engineers do..not so sure about contractors).

Seems like you've fallen through the cracks somewhat annoyingly.
 
They typically call up and get the ONT activated, then do some brief 'hand-holding', answer any questions, run through a few speed-tests etc with the customer (at least the Openreach engineers do..not so sure about contractors).

Seems like you've fallen through the cracks somewhat annoyingly.
Yep, seems if they don't do it on site we may get all sorts of mismatches between ONT numbers etc so they may get out to me next week but probably not! It looks as though part of the problem is the original engineer marked my order as Traffic Management Needed! So my next door neighbours are fine but I need the road closed! Just keep thinking £5.04 a day till January!
 
Sponsored Links
So they told me they would escalate my job for expediting and if I didn't hear by the end of last Saturday it would be Monday for possibly an appointment towards the end of the week. On the complaint details in MyBT they then marked it as ringing me between 13:00 and 15:00 on the 16th so didn't look too promising. Today is Thursday 16th and nothing has happened. I wish I could have some faith that even Jan 4th was feasible but as the first day back for a lot of people I have no confidence in that at all!
 
Last edited:
Had a text yesterday to say the engineers are going to do the external works on Monday! There aren't any left to do!
 
Last edited:
So out of the blue and engineer turned up and eventually got it connected! Apologies for not turning up earlier - wasn't expecting him to be honest, we were about to go out! He couldn't understand why the first engineer would work on the pole! Happy enough now though as it's working! Thanks for the advice everyone!
 
Sponsored Links
Top
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Vodafone UK ISP Logo
Vodafone £24.00 - 26.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
NOW UK ISP Logo
NOW £24.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £25.99
145Mbps
Gift: £50 Reward Card
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £17.00
200Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Youfibre UK ISP Logo
Youfibre £23.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Sponsored Links
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (6026)
  2. BT (3639)
  3. Politics (2721)
  4. Business (2439)
  5. Openreach (2405)
  6. Building Digital UK (2330)
  7. Mobile Broadband (2146)
  8. FTTC (2083)
  9. Statistics (1901)
  10. 4G (1816)
  11. Virgin Media (1764)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1582)
  13. Fibre Optic (1467)
  14. Wireless Internet (1462)
  15. 5G (1407)
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules