cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Engineer no show

mattyoung
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎22-12-2014

Engineer no show

I took the morning off work for my scheduled appointment to have fibre installed.  The appointment window has now come and gone with no sign of any engineer. 
I called plusnet support who said their system was showing "failed to gain access to premises", which is an outright lie.  I've been here all morning, no one knocked, no one called, waved, put anything through the mail or made any attempt to communicate whatsoever.  Plusnet telephone support said that they've "raised a query with BT, but they won't respond for 24 to 48 hours".  At which point I'm sure they will re-schedule an appointment, which won't be until the new year and then I'll be forced to take another morning off work with no guarantee the same thing won't happen again. This is completely and utterly unacceptable.
I have been without an internet connection for close to three weeks already (other than the extremely limited tethering of my mobile phone data connection).  I was originally very tempted to go with BT for my internet connection, because there is a BT wifi hot spot in my building that I knew I could use temporarily until a proper connection was set up.  As much as it grates at me, I think I am going to have to cancel my Plusnet plan and sign up with BT.  At least then I'll have a working internet connection in the weeks/months it takes to get the permanent solution installed.
I cannot be without an internet connection for another fortnight.  I can't see any way to avoid this other than changing my provider to get the BT wifi connection straight away.  Do I have any other options I haven't thought of?
17 REPLIES 17
tonycollinet
Grafter
Posts: 1,140
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎14-08-2007

Re: Engineer no show

I feel your pain.
I had 3 consecutive no - shows before someone finally got me working. And it is incredibly frustrating that when this happens, they have no priority slots available, you just go to the back of the queue.
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 16,871
Thanks: 882
Fixes: 221
Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Engineer no show

Hi mattyoung,
I'm really sorry about this.
I've just updated ticket 96614438 for you with regards to the next soonest available appointment that's been arranged.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
helidan
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎30-07-2009

Re: Engineer no show

I'm sure I read somewhere that if you need to take a second day off because of a no-show the first time then you could claim compensation.  I seem to be lucky in my area as the engineers always turn up when expected.
mattyoung
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎22-12-2014

Re: Engineer no show

Yeah, I've got an aggressive sounding message telling me that a new visit has been booked for the 8th of January (i.e., nearly three weeks time) and that "Please ensure that you are at the property during this period... If the engineer cannot gain access, a missed appointment fee of £50 will be due.".  The engineer has already claimed they "failed to gain access" once.  I do not feel like waiting three weeks to have the process repeated and being slapped with a £50 fine for my trouble.
I understand that plusnet is stuck dealing with BT and doesn't have complete control over the process.  However, it is not true there is nothing you can do about it.  I have an ADSL modem that you sent me sitting in my living room, along with an active phone line.  Why can you not supply me with an ADSL connection until the fibre connection can be sorted out?  You could also try exerting a bit of pressure on BT to deliver on their promises and not just accepting the standard, "we tried, it must be the customer's fault, see you in three weeks" line.
I do not know what happened with the engineer yesterday.  The most positive spin I can possibly come up with is that they were confused by the address.  I live in number N of a block of flats identified by a name.  I suspect that the engineer instead went to house N in the street in which the block of flats is located.  I suspect the engineer then knocked on the door of number N (which is boarded up for construction and clearly unoccupied), got no answer, left a "you weren't there" note and drove off.
Even in this scenario, this is the engineer's fault not mine.  Amazon delivery drivers and royal mail are able to find my address with the same information as the engineer.  I do understand why it might be slightly confusing, in which case CALL THE SUPPLIED CONTACT NUMBER!
I know that the root cause of my problem is the BT engineers.  Unfortunately, I paid my money to you and not the BT engineers.  If you are unable to do better than the current state of affairs of "we'll try again on the 8th of January, just do without an internet connection till then" then I have no choice but to ask for a full refund of all money paid to you for a service you have failed to provide and cancel my connection. 
I've heard good things about your customer service.  Now is your chance to prove it.
Omaraj17
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎16-12-2014

Re: Engineer no show

Sorry to crush your dreams mattyoung, but unfortunately, Plusnet customer service is only good for providing the following response "We will have to check with our suppliers to see what they say and get back to you".
I am not sure what the point of having a customer line open so late when everything you ask them has to be referred to BT Openreach. And Plusnet are never fully informed of your situation, they simply pick up your question and send it to BT, then pick their response and send it back to you, like the clueless middle man that actually earns a fortune from it all.
I have a similar issue to you, but its been over two months now and I have still had no indication of Plusnet pressuring BT Openreach to deliver on their responsibilities - eventhough Plusnet uses them as an excuse every. single. time. It's as though I am paying BT Openreach and not Plusnet! If my contract is with Plusnet then I do not expect excuses relating to a Third Party that I have no dealings with. They should be able to deliver the services without these stupid excuses.
Either way, I am currently in contact with Talktalk as we speak to finally be rid of this dreadful service - can't wait till that's done.
helidan
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎30-07-2009

Re: Engineer no show

Unfortunately Plusnet like many other ISP's are at the mercy of BT/OR because it is BT/OR that provide the infrastructure.  In my experience Plusnet do try to get issues resolved quickly but the truth is BT/OR seems to have a serious manpower shortage with engineers only able to to cope with a certain workload.  So until BT/OR can recruit more engineers I think we're kind of stuck with this.
tonycollinet
Grafter
Posts: 1,140
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎14-08-2007

Re: Engineer no show

Unfortunately all the ISP's are beholden to openreach, who are a monopoly, and behave exactly as though there are no consequences for appallingly shoddy service. Which there aren't, because they are a monopoly. You will therefore get pretty much the same level of service from all. (Some - eg AAISP - seem to have better control of them, but you pay heavily for that)
Access to the fiber infrastructure needs to be opened up in the same way as LLU was for ADSL - to give a bit of competition.


edited for typo
helidan
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎30-07-2009

Re: Engineer no show

Yep, this exactly!
jim:quote
Omaraj17
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎16-12-2014

Re: Engineer no show

Surely Plusnet have a system or method for punishing non-execution of deliverables or poor service.
In the same way Plusnet was happy to read me some T&C's about charging me £50 for an engineer visit if the fault was within my flat, I would of thought Plusnet would have a way of charging BT Openreach for failing to execute the work and reaching their targets.
Even if they manage to do that, whether that ever gets passed on to the Customer is another thing. It's just not really believable that the ISP's don't have a way of punishing BT Openreach for this poor service.
That's really beyond that though, because so often I have seen Plusnet having poor communication, making serious incompetent mistakes, and just completely misinforming me. Sometimes it feels like they are constantly hiding behind their suppliers performing poorly, but some of the things that happened on my case has clearly demonstrated Plusnet's incompetence in alot of areas.
chenks76
All Star
Posts: 3,274
Thanks: 338
Fixes: 12
Registered: ‎24-10-2013

Re: Engineer no show

it's Opeanreach that are charging the £50 for the visit should it be in your property, not plusnet.
Dodger21
Grafter
Posts: 71
Thanks: 6
Registered: ‎02-05-2013

Re: Engineer no show

I went through 4 missed appointments with OR but during one of the visits when an engineer turned up, I got a call from another engineer who asked had I been experiencing issues.
It turned out one of the cards in the exchange had a faulty group (i.e. 3 other people getting the same fault) because the fault was not present at the time BT refused to allow the engineer to replace the card.
Now if you have engineers doing repeat visits like this it will not take long to cause a back log.
Despite what anyone says I’m sure BT favours their own customers for call outs.
Just to clarify I was on ADSL at the time of the above fault.
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Engineer no show

Quote from: Omaraj17
Plusnet would have a way of charging BT Openreach for failing
I believe there is a payment from OR to ISP's for failed engineering visits, though much less than £50.
However, I'm not sure if this is paid when the reason is due to the customer, e.g. "failed access", so maybe that's why we see reports here of such events when the customer is INSISTENT that they waited in all day and NO phone contact was attempted or card left.  Lips_are_sealed
Quote from: mattyoung
system was showing "failed to gain access to premises", which is an outright lie.  I've been here all morning, no one knocked, no one called, waved, put anything through the mail or made any attempt to communicate whatsoever.
helidan
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎30-07-2009

Re: Engineer no show

Quote from: Omaraj17
Surely Plusnet have a system or method for punishing non-execution of deliverables or poor service.
In the same way Plusnet was happy to read me some T&C's about charging me £50 for an engineer visit if the fault was within my flat, I would of thought Plusnet would have a way of charging BT Openreach for failing to execute the work and reaching their targets.
Even if they manage to do that, whether that ever gets passed on to the Customer is another thing. It's just not really believable that the ISP's don't have a way of punishing BT Openreach for this poor service.
That's really beyond that though, because so often I have seen Plusnet having poor communication, making serious incompetent mistakes, and just completely misinforming me. Sometimes it feels like they are constantly hiding behind their suppliers performing poorly, but some of the things that happened on my case has clearly demonstrated Plusnet's incompetence in alot of areas.


Suppose it depends on what's stipulated in the contracts, the fineprint and all.
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Engineer no show

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/delivery-rights
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)