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Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

jorvikmik
Grafter
Posts: 160
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Registered: ‎29-12-2007

Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

Local lightning storm on the 10th put 2 phone lines on the island out which was reported on the 11th. One  is a BT customer and was working in a couple of days but the Plusnet customer has now been put back again with th next review on the 24th.
This is likely to be extended until after Christmas due to bad weather which has been forecast.
I feel guilty having advised the customer to transfer her phone to Plusnet who I had fixed up her broadband account with but now think she may be better transfering her anytime phone account back to BT but keep her Plusnet broadband package. She would then be able to get free call forwarding to her mobile phone during outages instead of permanent voicemail that she cannot turn off.


10 REPLIES 10
jorvikmik
Grafter
Posts: 160
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Registered: ‎29-12-2007

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

Just managed to get through to Plusnet on the phone and managed to check out the pricing of call forwarding on PN. It seems that on top of the £2.50 charge for call transfer she would then have to pay per minute for the calls.
She is already paying an average of £60 per month on her unlimited account package so it looks like she will be better off with the phone going back to BT and leave the broadband with Plusnet.
Now to find out how to transfer just the phone back to BT - hope that goes a bit easier to sort out.
gromittz
Grafter
Posts: 73
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Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

The other line probably needs more specialised access equipment, road closure or something like that to make repairs.
HarryB
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
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Registered: ‎25-03-2015

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

As far as I'm aware Openreach should be giving the same priority to any provider as it would be against Ofcom regulations to give any one provide special treatment.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Harry Beesley
 Plusnet
jorvikmik
Grafter
Posts: 160
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Registered: ‎29-12-2007

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

latest on fault raised 11th is engineer looking at it today but has not come out to the island. Faults like this where the line goes to engaged are usually in the exchange on the mainland. BT customer had his fixed in 2 days and we are not sure why there is a delay.
Is it a seamless trouble free process to migrate the phone line back to BT yet still keep the original broadband service? This is to give us the BT cover of free calls transfer to mobile phone and fault announcements on the line within the hour. We have at least 2 and more than likely 4 accounts to change over and none are complaining of Plusnets service and it is just that the BT line package suits our particular needs better.
In my case with an old legacy account I used to make use of the voip service when the phones were down but that is now unavailable and now have to look at what to do for any future phone outages.
The alternative may be a voip provider that gives a reliable service at a reasonable cost using local regional codes. The price of this could be offset by dropping the anytime call packages - Grateful for any guidance and recommendations.
jelv
Seasoned Hero
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Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

You still have to pay line rental to someone to have the broadband. You could look at Pulse8 who only charge £13inc. per month. (Their call charges are cheap with per second billing and no connection fee).
I use Sipgate for VoIP.
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)
jorvikmik
Grafter
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Registered: ‎29-12-2007

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

We prefer to keep the broadband with Plusnet and know that we have to pay line rental to BT but the free calls forwarding to mobiles during phone outages could make it worthwhile
Compare the £2.50 per month plus per minute call charges to forward incoming calls to a mobile using Plusnet during outages, with BT's free calls transfer to mobile service for faults which is usually set up within an hour. Also this can be done 24/7 with BT
The elderly ladies phone that brought the reality of the problem to our attention has been without a phone since the night of the 10th December and the latest update stated that it was to be addressed by an engineer on the 23rd but it is still not working and we would be surprised if an engineer arrived on the 24th to check the line between the cabinet and the premises. Imagine if the lady had to pay for calls being forwarded to her mobile during outages on top of the average £60 per month she already pays.
We realize that it is openreach that has the responsibility to repair the fault, but we have to look for a cost effective system. It may be cheaper to transfer the complete packages to BT but we intend to keep the broadband with Plusnet as the technical helpline is very good.


jorvikmik
Grafter
Posts: 160
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Registered: ‎29-12-2007

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

Local radio finally reports that the local phone repair system is overwhelmed with faults but all exchange faults have been completed. Not sure if the announcement was made by Openreach or BT as they did say that call forwarding to mobiles could be made, which makes me think it must have been BT.
Why do Openreach keep giving a new date every two or three days for work to be undertaken instead of just stating that they are overwhelmed.
If this was done then alternative means of local communication could be set in place. The lady with no phone is elderly and has type 2 diabetes plus other medical problems and lives alone with no immediate neighbors therefore relying more heavily on the phone than most.
I intend checking on pricing and reliability for voip services before making decisions on any changes to my own line but did find the pricing a little high that was quoted by Gradwell when the included service was withdrawn by Plusnet.
Mal08
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Registered: ‎20-08-2008

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

No evidence that BTOR don't treat PN customers worse than BT retail.
After PN ordered my FTTP, BTOR installed the fibre to the outside 3 days later
jelv
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Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

Quote from: jorvikmik
but did find the pricing a little high that was quoted by Gradwell when the included service was withdrawn by Plusnet.

That's why I moved to Sipgate.
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)
jorvikmik
Grafter
Posts: 160
Thanks: 6
Registered: ‎29-12-2007

Re: Does Openreach prioritise BT customers

Thanks  - I'll check sipgate out this evening