[robertcrowther]

Originally Posted by timboy

Name a couple of those exchanges.

It will easily verify your claim.

This is one of them: http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/SMBA

There was going to be a lot more FTTC cabinets for this exchange, but instead they did the FTTP trials instead.

[Icaraa]

Originally Posted by timboy

Name a couple of those exchanges.

It will easily verify your claim.

I had assumed he works for BT but he's admitted he doesn't so I'm now taking the 97% thing with a massive pinch of salt.

[robertcrowther]

Originally Posted by Icaraa

I had assumed he works for BT but he's admitted he doesn't so I'm now taking the 97% thing with a massive pinch of salt.

I'm sure if you go and talk to your local FTTC Openreach engineers they will be able to confirm what I have said.

[Icaraa]

Originally Posted by robertcrowther

I'm sure if you go and talk to your local FTTC Openreach engineers they will be able to confirm what I have said.

I am one of those so I won't be doing that.

Hence my comment about looking at the job on the laptop as it does say where the cabinet is connected to. That was aimed at you because I assumed at the time that you also worked for Openreach.

[Simon Rodgers]

Do a Google search with the term "bt broadband is s***" (replacing the stars for the actual letters)

The first 4 results (after the advert) are from BTs own community forum! Just proves that BT are totally unashamed of the poor service they provide. OFCOM should ban them from providing internet services!

[d'@ve]

I don't think it proves any more than randomly searching for "Simon Rodgers" and "useless", the results of which may surprise you. You can get lots of hits for just about anything in Google!

[VisionMan1]

Originally Posted by Simon Rodgers

Do a Google search with the term "bt broadband is s***" (replacing the stars for the actual letters)

The first 4 results (after the advert) are from BTs own community forum! Just proves that BT are totally unashamed of the poor service they provide. OFCOM should ban them from providing internet services!

Thanks for the helpful input. I've had over ten years great service from them. And with my recent switch to fibre, BT Infinity rocks! But sorry you had problems.

[bilsat]

I must agree with Dave, BT service is terrible, it took 10 days to get my internet & phone service back on, the fault was finely found by one engineer who seems to know what he was doing, he traced it to a box down the road in about 10 mins & fixed it, up till then I had 2 days waiting in for engineers to call but didn't, different stories each time I phoned, poor compensation for inconvenience, would never recommend BT to anyone for their after care service...........

[robertcrowther]

Originally Posted by bilsat

I must agree with Dave, BT service is terrible, it took 10 days to get my internet & phone service back on, the fault was finely found by one engineer who seems to know what he was doing, he traced it to a box down the road in about 10 mins & fixed it, up till then I had 2 days waiting in for engineers to call but didn't, different stories each time I phoned, poor compensation for inconvenience, would never recommend BT to anyone for their after care service...........

So was your problem with the internet service BT were providing or was your problem with Openreach and the engineers?

Your post slags of the BT service, but don't forget that BT only provide your internet connection and Openreach are the ones that do the servicing/fixing.

[Strathclyde]

The root problem here is that retail customers contract with BT. When problems occur, BT very quickly points the finger at OpenReach... with whom the consumer has no direct contract or contact. The crap reputation BT has for aftersales service is because they don't take ownership of the problem. OpenReach was formerly part of BT, split off by regulation, but now "nothing to do with us, gov" in BT terms.

By analogy, if I buy something from Amazon and it's not delivered, Amazon don't dump the problem on their delivery subcontractor and leave it for me to sort out. They fix it, quickly get me what I've bought, and THEY sort out the delivery subcontractor.

Is that too much to expect from BT?

If BT can't be bothered to handle the end customer's needs, they should withdraw entirely from retail sales, and leave it to those who understand and are committed to the basics of customer service.

[*MikeB*]

Originally Posted by Strathclyde

The root problem here is that retail customers contract with BT. When problems occur, BT very quickly points the finger at OpenReach... with whom the consumer has no direct contract or contact. The crap reputation BT has for aftersales service is because they don't take ownership of the problem. OpenReach was formerly part of BT, split off by regulation, but now "nothing to do with us, gov" in BT terms.

By analogy, if I buy something from Amazon and it's not delivered, Amazon don't dump the problem on their delivery subcontractor and leave it for me to sort out. They fix it, quickly get me what I've bought, and THEY sort out the delivery subcontractor.

Is that too much to expect from BT?

If BT can't be bothered to handle the end customer's needs, they should withdraw entirely from retail sales, and leave it to those who understand and are committed to the basics of customer service.

Openreach isn't 'formally part of BT' it IS part of BT. Due to the agreement with Ofcom however Openreach has to treat BT Retail customers the same as everyone else. Ask Openreach engineers what the name of the company that pays them is on their payslip.

[*MikeB*]

Double post

[d'@ve]

Originally Posted by bilsat

I must agree with Dave, BT service is terrible, it took 10 days to get my internet & phone service back on

I didn't say that, far from it! So far I have been delighted with my BT Infinity ordering and installation a year ago, and with the performance since then. The only other personal knowledghe I have of them is through a close relative, who recently had Infinity installed (after Tesco broadband) and he too is delighted with all that has happened so far.

Originally Posted by Strathclyde

The root problem here is that retail customers contract with BT. When problems occur, BT very quickly points the finger at OpenReach... with whom the consumer has no direct contract or contact. The crap reputation BT has for aftersales service is because they don't take ownership of the problem. OpenReach was formerly part of BT, split off by regulation, but now "nothing to do with us, gov" in BT terms.

By analogy, if I buy something from Amazon and it's not delivered, Amazon don't dump the problem on their delivery subcontractor and leave it for me to sort out. They fix it, quickly get me what I've bought, and THEY sort out the delivery subcontractor.

Is that too much to expect from BT?

If BT can't be bothered to handle the end customer's needs, they should withdraw entirely from retail sales, and leave it to those who understand and are committed to the basics of customer service.

I had problems with my Sky broadband a couple of years ago and it took them four months to sort it out - my hair tearing is well reported in the Sky BB forum. It was IMO because they tried for too long to handle it all themselves. When they eventually did go to Openreach, it was sorted out quickly and finally (an exchange equipment fault). Sky took ownership alright, but they were still inept and failed to sort it out.

So to blame BT exclusively for this kind of ineptitude is unfair, as all the retail suppliers can and do suffer from it at times.

[Ray266]

We are getting Infinity 2 Unlimited next week I hope all goes well, I'm one of those customers leaving o2 shame because o2's customer service has been very good but o2 are not doing fibre or no date for it anyway?.

[*MikeB*]

Originally Posted by Ray266

We are getting Infinity 2 Unlimited next week I hope all goes well, I'm one of those customers leaving o2 shame because o2's customer service has been very good but o2 are not doing fibre or no date for it anyway?.

Yeah it seems like O2 are not too keen on doing home broadband at all now. No advertising, no fibre.

[Ray266]

Originally Posted by *MikeB*

Yeah it seems like O2 are not too keen on doing home broadband at all now. No advertising, no fibre.

To be honest I think o2 will be bought out by one of the big players [ Not BT ] Sky etc, I think that will happen because people have left o2 because they have no plans to roll out fibre optic

[bottleofbest]

Originally Posted by Ray266

To be honest I think o2 will be bought out by one of the big players [ Not BT ] Sky etc, I think that will happen because people have left o2 because they have no plans to roll out fibre optic

That just won't happen. O2 is a profitable company and is primarily a mobile phone provider. Ever thought they might be more interested in the 4G side of things?

[Ray266]

Originally Posted by bottleofbest

That just won't happen. O2 is a profitable company and is primarily a mobile phone provider. Ever thought they might be more interested in the 4G side of things?

I meant the Broadband side not the mobile of course 4G will be the main side off things not Broadband, wouldn't surprise me if say Sky or Talk Talk got hold of o2 broadband ? both company's have spoken with o2 we will see.

[bottleofbest]

Originally Posted by Ray266

I meant the Broadband side not the mobile of course 4G will be the main side off things not Broadband, wouldn't surprise me if say Sky or Talk Talk got hold of o2 broadband ? both company's have spoken with o2 we will see.

Oh sorry, I misunderstood, I thought you meant as a whole.

In regards to the 4G maybe they are more interested in providing internet access to tablets and devices through 4G (as long as the device is sim card compatible) rather than the direct bb route.

[Simon Rodgers]

Originally Posted by VisionMan1

Thanks for the helpful input. I've had over ten years great service from them. And with my recent switch to fibre, BT Infinity rocks! But sorry you had problems.

You probably live in a better area, not that that should make any difference. I did check and the fibre BT Infinity service is not yet available where I am. I dare say it is very good, however they can shove it. Why should I pay more to get a decent service when what I am paying for should do the same but doesn't?

And there is no need to be sarcastic, I'm trying to point out that I am not alone with their mediocre services, you only need to look at this thread alone and then BT themselves have some of THEIR OWN threads with more negative comments.

[moox]

Originally Posted by Simon Rodgers

You probably live in a better area, not that that should make any difference. I did check and the fibre BT Infinity service is not yet available where I am. I dare say it is very good, however they can shove it. Why should I pay more to get a decent service when what I am paying for should do the same but doesn't?

Because your problem (I don't know what it is) may be related to long line length, which is something that cannot be fixed without... installing street cabinets containing the broadband equipment? (which is what BT is doing and is selling the resulting service as "Infinity")

They charge a bit more for the service to try to recoup the investment in the infrastructure. If you want to be stubborn and continue to moan then that's up to you, everyone else will be upgrading to a service that can deliver a massive speed boost though...

(and you don't actually have to be with BT, several ISPs sell their own services over the same network)

[Ambassador]

Well I was tempted to go to BT Broadband and dump Sky...but after reading this I'm a lil wary

[VisionMan1]

In fairness to all ISP's, Ambassador, if one judged any service solely by internet forums, no one would sign up to any of them.

[Ambassador]

Originally Posted by VisionMan1

In fairness to all ISP's, Ambassador, if one judged any service solely by internet forums, no one would sign up to any of them.

That is true and valid to the point that you can google anything you want to find anything you want!

So would you recommend them? My exchange is going Fibre next year. The pure reason at the moment id the deal being offered is cheaper than Sky and I've found Sky's service heavily inconsistent from 16 one day to 4 the next

[VisionMan1]

Originally Posted by Ambassador

That is true and valid to the point that you can google anything you want to find anything you want!

So would you recommend them? My exchange is going Fibre next year. The pure reason at the moment id the deal being offered is cheaper than Sky and I've found Sky's service heavily inconsistent from 16 one day to 4 the next

I'm one of the many who's never had any problems. I used to get a consistent 6.5Mbps and now I'm on Infinity Unlimited at a rock solid 57Mbps. And the install was quite painless.