It all started on 18/07/13, this is when I decided to switch from Sky ADSL Broadband to Plusent Fibre Optic (FTTC). We were estimated to recieve an 80/20 service. Naturally I was excited that we would no longer have to endure our sluggish speeds of 3mb. We were sent all the necessary emails and texts confirming when our phone line and broadband service will be switched, no hassle, no problems! Our phone line was scheduled to be switched on 02/07/13 as was our Fibre install date, our time slot was 1PM - 6PM. So... Lets fast forward 2 weeks to our install date - 02/07/13
It's just come to about 1:30PM and I'm sitting on the sofa watching TV,and because our living room has a window that gives us a view right into our street I couldn't help but notice a van had just pulled up in front of our house. The first thought that popped into my mind was that it could be the Openreach engineer, so I went over to look and it was indeed an Openreach van. I saw the engineer exit from the van and he looked into the window and made eye contact with me. I went back to sit on the sofa awaiting the knock on my door. After waiting about 2 minutes I wondered why he had not knocked so went back to the window only to see him driving off in his van!!! NO KNOCK, NO CALL, NO EXPLANATION AND NO REASON!!!!!! I got straight on the phone to Plusnet, I told customer services agent that I had seen the Openreach engineer park by my house and that he had just driven off, he told me that the engineer had probably just gone to do another job in the area and only came to make sure he could find my address later in the day. It was coming up to 5PM, I knew by now that no one was going to show up but I decided to call up Plusnet anyway just to find out why he drove off earlier. I spoke to someone who told me that I should wait until 6PM when the time slot would have ended and that there was still a possibility of an engineer coming. They also told me that if they don't come by 6PM I should call back at 8PM (this is when the engineer reports would have been submitted to BT) to find out why he didn't come and to rearrange another appointment. I called back at 8 waiting almost 30mins in a queue to be told that the engineer called and did indeed visit at 1:34PM but had no access to the property. (This was complete pile of POO) I was given a new appointment for the 16/07/13 which was totally unacceptable! I tried to plead my case but the guy on the phone remained adamant, telling me that there was nothing they could do as it was the earliest available date. After our conversation ended I felt so frustrated that I promised myself that I would make sure they give me an earlier date. So I called back the next day - 03/07/13- Again asking them to move my installation date forward and again I was being told more corporate bull, the only useful thing they told me was that they could investigate why the engineer didn't show up, but it would take 48 hours for a reply from their suppliers (Openreach). So I left them alone for the rest of the weekend. 05/07/13- I rang up Plusnet and they told me the same old rubbish about the engineer saying that he arrived but...yada yada ya (Again total BULL). It was as if they didn't believe a word I was telling them. She even told me that once an appointment has been made it is impossible to move it forward only for a later date as the system saves it and doesn't allow them to change it ???. I'm sure the thought I was stupid for her to be stringing me that nonsense. Again in frustration I left them alone for the rest of the day. 06/07/13- I was sent a text from plusnet saying that they were unable to bring my appointment forward as (and I quote) "Unfortunately we are unable to bring your fibre appointment forward as the engineer has provided clear and detailed notes confirming that he visited your address." .................................... WHAT THE HELL!!! All I read from that was "Sorry even though you're our customer anything you say cannot be trusted" 07/07/13- After the extremely insulting text I received the previous day I was so livid, I called plusnet AGAIN to make sure my appointment was moved forward . They told me that if I wanted it moved forward I'd have to provide proof that the engineer didn't try to gain access to my property. My proof was that I called plusnet within miniutes of the engineer driving off and that they should check his phone records to see if he actually did call me.. They told me they would tell openreach this and that I should expect a call the next day. 08/07/13- Well I got a call from plusnet today at 1:10PM confirming that my appointment had been moved forward to the 12th between 8 and 1 PM 12/07/13- Who knows if they'll turn up but I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for any openreach engineers. As soon as I see one I'll go outside and make sure they do their job. For the past week I've spend £30 on BT FON when my package is only £9.99 for 6 months. This is how I'm able to be online as we speak. I have seen many stories like mine, some even worse, I definitely haven't had it the worst but I wasn't going to allow them too. If you've ever had a missed appointment you may have been closer to them than you thought, they might have just sat in the van and drove off, here's an example: -J1TiIqpTo It's easy for them to say they came to your address because they technically did, but they made no attempt to get your attention or even carry out their duties. Expect an update on the 12th!
Be interesting to see if this is a common occurrence by BTOR doubt they could pull that stunt with my house considering theres a shop opposite with more cameras than a film studio Good luck on getting it sorted.
Hi there, Really sorry it happened that way, but I am glad we've been able to get the appointment brought forward for you. Hope everything goes smoothly on Monday, I've just double checked the order and the appointment is definitely booked in for the morning of the 12th.
Hi there, It's definitely booked in for this afternoon at some point between 1pm and 6pm, can't see any delays marked on the order so all looks good as far as we can see. Hope he arrives soon for you!
UPDATE - So an engineer arrived today at about 10:50AM. Was actually a nice He didn't have a key to the cabinet (which I totally don't understand why) which led to him having to call a colleague for one. I wasn't too fussed about that as he assured that he would be just be in his van as he waited. Installation went smoothly and I'm now getting a stable 74 Down and 17 Up. However about around 15 minutes after he'd left I noticed that there was no dial tone on my landline (which is quite silly of me as I should have checked before he went). I just couldn't be bothered to call Plusnet today, but will definitely give them a ring tomorrow, we don't really use our landline much so this doesn't pain me as much as the broadband did, but it doesn't mean I mind waiting a whole week for what is most likely a minor fault. Don't think there's anyone to blame really, i'm pretty sure it's an easy fix at the cabinet. I just hope there's no more "missed appointments" that's even if the engineer needs access to my premises. But lets indeed just hope that the communication between openreach and other ISPs improves dramatically because right now it's extremely tedious and inefficient.
and so should the engineer It's supposed to be part of the Fibre installation procedure to check that the landline is working properly.
Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.
Hi Dannyz0, Just tested your line for you and the tests found a fault so this has been raised to our suppliers - estimated resolution time is 9pm on Thursday this week. Hope that helps.
That's is BTO responsible to check it before he leave. He probably forget to check it if he had lots on his mind with no key to the cabinet. Sound like he had a bad day.
It's supposed to be part of the Fibre installation procedure to check that the landline is working properly.
