Here's my communication with BT - okay I was irrate at the time!
But this is both sides of the story.
#1 Email from me.
To the department that deals with long phone queues, no broadband access and useless support.
Dear Sir,
Perhaps this is the only way I can receive attention from your company, as every other form of communication has failed.
I am completely disgusted by the way I have been treated ever since signing up for BT Total Broadband.
Firstly, my order was lost - online it stated I would receive the equipment and line enabled on the 1st August 2006, this never happened and I wasted a whole day waiting. It wasn't until I made a call to your company that the equipment was dispatched and eventually delivered on the 2nd August 2006.
I plugged the BT Broadband modem in as instructed by the manual taking note of a 24hr ‘learning’ mode. However, when I phoned Technical Support I was told 15 days in ‘learning’ mode – this contradicts the 10 day period online. I spoke to someone using your online help desk – little use that was – all they were doing was copying and pasting text that was relevant for a wireless problem not an Internet access problem.
Last night I was informed to report a fault on the BT line, which I did, this still did not rectify the problem. I tried the service this morning, and ‘Yes’ I had an internet connection! Wow… it lasted just under 30 minutes!
Today, it has been a nightmare – a one hour with no Internet light whatsoever, I had to physically login to the modem and press ‘Connect’.
So, I thought I would phone your company to complain of a service I cannot use because it is completely unusable – and even this wasn’t easy! I spent nearly 50 minutes in a queue, then got a message ‘the other person has cleared’ (I was not using the BT line at the time, I phoned your company from my Telewest line). Again I phoned your company, and I had to state that by this time my handset batteries were nearly drained, which I informed each department – little use did that make – I ended up in another queue, and my phone batteries died.
This is not the sort of behaviour or service I would expect from a company like BT. Under the circvmstances I don’t think I should be paying for something that is totally useless, and if I knew all this would have happened I would have never signed up for BT Total Broadband. I would like this matter resolved either by fixing the problem as soon as possible or cancelling the contract, and I will take my business elsewhere.
I purchased this item mainly for Xbox Live, but in its present state this can never happen since the connection to the
Microsoft servers drops far too often for any scores to be saved or demos to download properly.
#1 Response from BT
Thank you for your e-mail dated August 09th, 2006; your e-mail has been logged under the reference number xxxxxxx-xxxxxx.
I infer from your e-mail that you are not satisfied with the support offered. You have registered for a broadband connection from BT and received the equipment by August 02nd, 2006. However, you were unable to connect to the internet properly.
You have contacted the Technical Helpdesk through phone and the assistance provided was not helpful. It was informed that you are in the 15 days optimisation period which contradicts the online statement of 10 days. You wish to resolve the issue at the earliest or cancel the service. I am sorry for the inconvenience caused.
I would like to inform you that the first 5 days is the provisioning period where all paper works will be done and the activation of the account will be complete. The next 10 days will be the optimisation period where your telephone line will be monitored by the BT servers for the maximum and minimum stable rate of connection.
The provisioning period is not mentioned in the website and this the reason, there is been a contradiction. As you are in the optimisation period, we will have to wait for the servers to set a constant speed on your line. Only then you will no longer face any issues.
If you are not satisfied or wish to cancel the service, you can contact our Order Management department. You can contact OMD directly on the number 0800 800 150. We work Monday to Friday 08:00 to 20:00 hours and on Saturdays 09:00 to 13:30 hours. Numbers prefixed with 0800 are free on a BT line.
Thank you for your understanding and patience regarding the situation. If you need further assistance, write back to us the details.
Thank you for using BT Total Broadband.
#2 Email from me.
All you have mentioned is about the ridiculous optimization period,
and ignored the main question. Which is... Are you actually billing
me for a service that cannot be utilized? If thats the case then you
are in violation of Trade & Industry Standards.
I know your Tech Support can Remote Access the BT Home Hub, why
haven't you even tried that, instead of copying and pasting irrelevant
information.
Is this such an hard question to answer?
By the way, the number you gave me for cancelling is just the normal
BT phone number for all queries. You did not even mention which
numbers I need to press to get to Order Management department.
I like the end of your email... 'Thank you for using BT Total
Broadband.' Wish I could use BT Broadband, but thats impossible.
#2 Email from BT
Thank you for your e-mail dated August 09th, 2006; your e-mail has been logged under the reference number xxxxxx-xxxxxx.
Thank you for writing back to us your concern. I infer from your e-mail that you need information if you are billed during the optimisation period. Additionally, you need assistance in performing a remote support.
Additionally, the number provided in our earlier communication for cancellation is for all enquiries. You need information on which number has to be selected to contact the Order Management department. I understand your frustration regarding the situation.
Regarding your billing for the optimisation period, I contacted our Billing department on this. I was informed that you will not be billed during this period. You billing cycle will start after the 15 days provisioning.
Looking onto the issue with remote access, you have understood this correct. However, this requires an interactive session. Due to this reason, it is not available for the e-mail support team. You can contact our Technical Helpdesk through phone for assistance.
The number for BT Total Broadband Technical Support team is 0845 600 7030. This line is open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The cost for this call will be charged at a local rate.
For cancellation, dial the number provided in our earlier communication. Then it will prompt you to enter your telephone number. Please enter this detail and will list 4 options. The 4th option should be for more options. Press the number 4 on the telephone.
Once again the next set of option is presented for you. Again, the 4th option is for cancellation. Press number 4 and you will be redirected to an assistance. Thank you for your understanding and patience regarding the situation. If you need further assistance, write back to us the details.
Thank you for using BT Total Broadband.
At last I got some result regarding the useless service! Now still waiting...
Say 'NO' to BT Total Broadband 
Re: Say 'NO' to BT Total Broadband 
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