topic Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter. in Plusnet Feedback

No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 08:42:46 GMT

Where to start?
I’ll try to remain objective and level-headed, but it is difficult when I’m feeling as frustrated, disappointed and let down by PlusNet as I am. Please bear with me with this post, as I’m going to try and include as much detail as possible so you can fully understand, appreciate (and hopefully empathise with) my situation.
A month ago, I placed an order for Fibre Unlimited Extra (39Mbs as that’s all we could get according to the checker) for our new property, which we moved into on the 1st of this month. I was informed we would have an engineer come install everything on the 9th. We received the router and an e-mail stating everything was planned and all was well. Wonderful. Or so I thought….
A bit of background on my family. My partner and I have 3 children; one of whom is severely disabled and suffers from epilepsy (myoclonic jerks, absence seizures, grand-mal attacks, tonic-clonic seizures etc.), has had a gastric tube fitted recently in the hospital for feeding (because of reoccurring pneumonia/chest infections where food/drink lays on her lungs). The other is 8 years and the other is a new-born; so we’re absolutely inundated in every possible way. The Internet is our PRIMARY means of contact with a lot of our daughter’s social networks i.e. health visitors, dieticians (she’s on a ketogenic diet), neurologists, gp’s, nurses etc. etc. They all use online-based tools/utilities for real-time updates on her health and status. We’re also in liaison with Great Ormond Street via Twitter and a few Health Professionals via WhatsApp on our phone.
Second to this, and equally as important, our daughter has regular ambulance call-outs because of the severity of her fits and seizures. It’s not uncommon to be woken up at 4am where she’s struggling to breathe because she’s choking or knocked her head in her sleep (she has to wear a helmet 24-hours a day and a backpack to keep her food pump/regulator in). As you can see, a phone line and Internet for us is not a luxury, it’s not a “nice to have”; it’s absolutely essential and the ONLY means of communication we have with Emergency Services, Support Networks, friends and family (who all assist).
So, our order was scheduled for the 9th between 1pm and 6pm. I took a day off work realising I’d have to wait in. I should add that 4 appointments were booked in for our daughter that day, which consequently were put on hold because we couldn’t leave the house as we had to wait for the engineer. We couldn’t re-arrange the time slot(s) once they were allocated.
So, 6pm came and went. The engineer was a no-show. I phoned up to complain and inquire as to why I wasn’t given adequate updates or notice of a potential delay. I was on hold for 30 minutes. I should add at this point I was calling from my mobile phone, which was charging me for the call, from the end of my street because there’s absolutely 0 signal in our new house (we have tried EE, O2 and Vodaphone “pay as you go” – same thing) so this added to an already frustrating scenario.
I was informed (no apology provided) that an “update will be provided on the 14th” and that there’s nothing that can be done because the provisioning department was shut (I called at 4.30pm) and the persons line manager had gone home so I couldn’t elevate the call. This is just bad. Not only was no apology provided, some reassurance given, but there was no empathy or remorse for our case (even after explaining) and I should add the person I spoke to was quite disgruntled and cold. They couldn’t of cared one bit and it was obvious they didn’t want to help.
So, I posted a “question” online via your portal, asking patiently for an update on the 14th and also if there was any possibility of compensation for a days lost wages from work or any kind of token gesture that could be offered to us because of the no-show. I was informed no, and that best case scenario would be “one month’s free broadband”. Not only is this weak; but how can I get one month’s free broadband…..if I don’t even have a phone line…..
Anyway, I digress.
So, the 14th came yesterday and I decided to post an update to the question by seeking an update (because it was close to 5pm and the “update” I was supposed to have received about our order never came). I never got a response to this (or any of the other questions I might add) so I called you again directly. Another 30 minutes on the mobile phone. This is costing me a fortune and I’m going nowhere fast. I spoke to a much more receptive chap who told me that “External work needs to be carried out on the cabinet in my area because it’s full”. Right….ok I thought, but what ‘kind’ of work, when, and how long will it take? He said that BT Openreach were responsible for touching all the cables and for doing all the physical wiring so I asked him to get in touch with them directly for an update as to when we can expect these works to be carried out.
Sure enough, I get a call back 30 minutes later (was nice to receive a timely update finally) informing me that “external cabling and joining” need to be completed from the cabinet to the exchange and that the next update for the PLANNING of this work is the 28th of May………… WHAAAAT??? Are you serious???
So, let me get this right. I’ve been without a phone line/broadband since the beginning of the month. The order was placed well over a month ago. The engineer was a no show. No updates of any kind were provided on the day of the supposed install, after the install or on the 14th when the “next update is available”. No compensation is offered as a token gesture and nothing is going to be done about it because we’re “at the mercy of BT to get the work done”. Oh, and to add insult to injury, the houses to left, right and across the street from me ALL HAVE THE SERVICES I WANT!! Also, our house ALREADY HAS A BT OPENREACH MASTER SOCKET sat there doing nothing from the previous occupier! So what’s so special about MY house that requires such extensive and prolonged work?
I have some questions for you PlusNet, and I’m really hoping you can provide some suitable answers, because, if nothing is done about this (as I refuse to jeopardise my daughters health because some “external work needs to be done”) I will be raising this with Ofcom, Ombudsman and my local MP. I will take this all the way, even to court if necessary, because I have entered into a legal contract with you; you’ve taken my money and are not providing me with the critical services I require. So, my questions are:
1) Why do I require all this work to be carried out, just for my house, when ALL the other houses in my area have a phone line and fibre broadband AND the previous occupier of the SAME HOUSE had a phone line/fibre without ANY issues;
2) What do you propose I do if my daughter has a fall, an attack or stops breathing in the middle of the night? How do I call emergency services with no phone line and no signal for mobile phones? Yes, I could run down the end of the street, but I’d have to ask my daughter nicely not to have her state worsened during that time while I make a call…. (P.S. I’ve inquired about signal repeaters, boosters from EE but they don’t sell them anymore; and “signal-over-wfif” won’t work for obvious reasons…)
3) What compensation are you prepared to offer me for the money/time/effort lost, calls made, stress encountered, lack of updates, no provision of service and complete lack of empathy for my case?
4) Can I at least have a working phone line WITHOUT fibre for the time being?
5) Will you please PLEASE provide me with adequate updates in a timely fashion?
6) When is this likely to get resolved in its entirety and can you do anything to force this through quicker given our circumstances?
Kind Regards
Malachor.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

StuartUK35 — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:59:37 GMT

A: Are you in Gloucester Kingsway ?
B: Did you copy my thread ?!!!! I just been through the same, external work rubbish, full cabinet, delays, delays, etc ! All I can say is, I feel your pain

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:40:58 GMT

Hi there,
No I'm in South Wales. I've spoken to BT directly today who informed me to get in touch with PlusNet (obviously) and that PlusNet "aren't part of BT". Passed from pillar to post.
It seems everywhere I go I hit a dead end. In the interim, our daughter is at risk; and nobody cares. Seems this is the way of the world:
"I'm alright Jack" attitude and "out of sight, out of mind". It's simply shocking.
The worst bit is that BT supposedly cater for areas where it's "financially viable" aka "We'll only provide the services to those areas where we'll get the most money so our Managers can buy fast cars and go out on the lash every weekend". We're lagging behind every other country in terms of broadband development and the attitude when it comes to the support of it as absolutely disgusting.
I'll be getting in touch with my local MP and I will not stop until something is done about this. I'll even involve the local newspaper. I'll make this as big news as possible and be the biggest thorn in their side until our contractual agreement is met.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:59:22 GMT

In case any Moderator or PN staff require, I already have open tickets:
102486899 Awaiting support team answer
102408418 Awaiting support team answer
102229559
Note the top two were posted on the 9th and 13th and I still don't have a response. What happened to the "12 hour response time"?

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

rongtw — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 13:48:22 GMT

A surprised 5 hours since OP posted and NO ! PN staff looked here

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

MatthewWheeler — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 13:57:42 GMT

I'm sorry to hear about the issues your having.
Let me chase this up with our Provisioning team to see what we can do.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 14:04:37 GMT

Thank you Matthew.
I appreciate anything you could do to expedite our order and help our situation.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

jelv — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 14:43:28 GMT

If you were with BT you'd be able to pre-register your phone line for priority treatment in the event of a fault occurring in the future. Plusnet have no such system in place.
Reading your situation I'd seriously consider cancelling and going with BT.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 20:05:45 GMT

I agree.
PlusNet, my custom and those of others reading and sympathising with my situation will disappear pending the results of your investigation and whether or not the outcome is positive. Even if it isn't, rest assured I will still take this to my local MP and the newspapers. You have the chance to do something right and help someone here who has a legitimate and desperate need for your service.
The ball is in your court. I await the results of your investigation with great enthusiasm.
Regards
Malachor

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

HPsauce — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 20:48:33 GMT

Quote from: jelv
If you were with BT you'd be able to pre-register your phone line for priority treatment in the event of a fault occurring in the future. Plusnet have no such system in place.
Reading your situation I'd seriously consider cancelling and going with BT.

I agree totally with that. It's been discussed a fair few times recently in various threads.
Check out BT's schemes, including the Protected Services Scheme and Free Priority Fault Repair Scheme.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

jelv — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 20:51:58 GMT

Link: http://www.bt.com/includingyou/other-products-services.html#fault

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 07:14:07 GMT

Many thanks for the link. That's something we will look into. Not sure if our daughter will fall into the category with epilepsy, gastric tube, re-occurring pneumonia etc. as, according to some sources, it doesn't make her "chronically disabled" but just "disabled"; but we'll speak to our Health Care Provider to see what can be done. Thanks for taking the time to post its appreciated.
PlusNet, I await your response today. If the news isn't good, I will be cancelling immediately, will expect a full refund, compensation for our lost time, expenses and stresses encountered and a full apology. I will then take out another contract with BT directly. Note: As previously mentioned - just so you get the hint and the penny drops - I will be taking this as high as possible and will not let this drop unless something is done right away.
Regards
Malachor.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

MisterW — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 08:06:14 GMT

Quote
If you were with BT you'd be able to pre-register your phone line for priority treatment in the event of a fault occurring in the future. Plusnet have no such system in place.

Does that mean they don't comply with GC15 ? http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/access-disabled/summary/GC15_Statement.pdf ( Section 2.2 ).

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

jelv — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 08:36:05 GMT

Correct. Plusnet have no scheme for users to pre-register. If a fault occurs it is an ad-hoc system and totally pot-luck if the agent taking the fault actually knows what to do.
If my child's life depended on always being able to make a phone call I would prefer to use a supplier that has a proper scheme.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 09:06:21 GMT

PlusNet - I have raised a case with the Obudsman Services. I'm sure they'll be in touch soon.
I would like a response asap.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

HPsauce — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 11:45:21 GMT

Quote from: jelv
If my child's life depended on always being able to make a phone call I would prefer to use a supplier that has a proper scheme.

Though, to be fair, if I was in that situation I'd also have backup - probably at least two mobile phones on independent networks.
For my very old and frail father-in-law (now in a care home) apart from registering with the BT schemes he also had a very simple mobile phone, a call alarm button round his neck (which he latterly forgot about) and carers calling in three times a day.
Nonetheless he still managed to have a fall and was actually spotted by the window cleaner who called the ambulance!

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Gel — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 12:04:25 GMT

Another Openreach farce related to Fibre provision, or not!
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/570646/BT-stopping-baby-Couple-spend-IVF-savings-on-INTERNET

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 12:06:37 GMT

We have 2 contract mobiles and 1 pay as you go ad-hoc, cheapo phone for such situations, all on different networks but still unfortunately suffer from the same signal loss. We have to go down to the end of the street to make a call. I've called all 3 networks and they say a mast is in the area so I should have signal. Well, I don't but they don't seem to care about the reality, only that there's a 'tick in the box' in the infrastructure asset inventory.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

Malachor — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:25:25 GMT

Two Alternative Dispute Resolution parties are now involved (Ombudsman and CISAS). Two cases have been filed and supporting evidence provided. Also, Medical Professionals including Paediatricians from South Wales & London will be in touch to ensure you're in compliance with all regulations and legislations involving disabled people. I don't know the legal requirements, but they do.
PlusNet - What the HELL are you doing. Respond to this case before things get much worse for you. You're playing with fire here. I kid you not this will be all over the papers before you know it. Trust me, I can and will make things extremely difficult for you and I will expect compensation so you'll lose out commercially, financially and not to mention receive a hefty dent to your reputation.
You need to sort yourselves out and RESPOND TO THIS POST. My patience is growing thin. I know it's only been one day, but I honestly couldn't care less about that. Get this order sorted, get the external work sorted (I don't care who is responsible - BT Open Reach, BT Closed Reach, BT on the Beach) just GET IT SORTED.

Re: No Phone Line, No Broadband and a Disabled Daughter.

x47c — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:49:39 GMT

Quote from: Gel
Another Openreach farce related to Fibre provision, or not!
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/570646/BT-stopping-baby-Couple-spend-IVF-savings-on-INTERNET

You will have noted I hope that the comments by the public on that article seem less than favourable towards the couple.
I saw a reference to 'home broadband' rather than a business line and the lack of any backup/reserve plan that you would expect a business to have.