Line Removed by Openreach Engineer without reason

[#1]

I recently set up a new order on August 3rd at my new address. At the time, Plusnet were currently providing internet access to that address so the switch should have been quick and easy.

After several days without hearing anything, I checked my Plusnet messages (which I didn't know existed until today!) and apparently a 'Cease' had been raised by somebody (no idea who) on the line to that address.

Since then an Openreach engineer removed the line to my new address!! There has been no explanation as to why they did this, especially since I was in the process of setting up my internet with Plusnet.

My internet order is now on hold for the foreseeable future, even though I've already handed over £200.

This actually is the third time I've encountered this exact issue at previous addresses. That an Openreach engineer will physically remove a line to an address when the old account is disconnected. Now a new line needs to be installed which means I have to miss a day of work (meaning I don't get paid that day).

Is there anyway to get this issue escalated? It seems like a very frequent problem and I would have thought Plusnet would take umbrage with Openreach destroying intact infrastructure without reason. 

[#2]

Hi @slappybags,

I really am sorry for any inconvenience caused.

I have left a ticket on your account with details/information on what you require. You can view this here:

https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=view_question&id=180253808

Should you need any further assistance, please let us know.

Thank you,

Aisha

[#3]

Thanks for the response but this doesn't address the problem.

It seems that whenever an account is closed and new one is opened, an Openreach engineer is sent to the address and physically removes the cabling in the street. An appointment is then booked for an Openreach engineer to return to the address and install the same cabling that was just removed.

That seems insane.

Part of the reason why I signed up with Plusnet is that when I called customer services, they informed me that a new line would not need to be installed.

But you're saying that the line removal is normal when an account is closed.

Isn't this just a huge duplication of effort that could be avoided by just not removing the line in the first place?

[#4]

Sorry, I forgot to @AishaK you in.

[#5]

Hi@slappybags

I'm sorry for the information that was provided to you stating that you would not need a new line installation for your services.

You are correct in saying that when an account is closed and a new account opened in the same property that this would require two engineer visits. This is done if the previous customer requests an outright cancellation of service. The first engineer visit being to cease the previous customers line in honor of  their request and the second visit to provide a new line installation to the new customer.

I apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause you.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to get back in touch.

Kind Regards,

Satss

[#6]

@Satss Thanks for the reply.

This doesn't make any sense though. When I placed the order at the address, the line had not been removed. So the line was removed despite my order being in place? Why was I not told? I was the one who raised the issue, so what normally happens in these cases? Does the order just get stuck in Limbo because the previous occupant of the address also happened to use Plusnet?

[#7]

Hi @slappybags

The previous occupant at the property would have requested the cease and we would have actioned this at their request. If you then ordered our services at this address, we would not be able to cancel the cease unless the previous occupier instructed us to do so as they were the owners of that line.

You should have been informed at the point of sign up that a new line installation would be required  and I apologise if you were misinformed of this resulting in the delay caused.  I can see that your orders have since been placed and acknowledged by our suppliers and we are now awaiting a committed date.

Again, I apologise for any inconvenience caused to you and if there is anything else we can help with moving forward please do not hesitate to get in touch.

[#8]

Hi @Satss

Again, thank you for the response. 

I've spoken with the previous occupants and, as far as they know, they did not request a cease on the line. They knew we were going to start a Plusnet account and wanted to make sure we could sign up quickly and easily.

We were mostly definitely mislead and misinformed when placing the order and by not getting notified of the cease.

An instillation has now been booked for 30/08/18. Considering we placed the order on August 3rd, that is really bad especially since we did not expect to have an engineer installing a new line.

I now have to miss a whole day of work (which means I don't get paid) just to be present for an installation I didn't even know about or else I get fined £65. This is really unfair!

I am very unhappy about this and I think the whole process has just been a nightmare considering I still have to wait over two weeks for any service.

[#9 · Accepted solution]

Hi there.

As per my reply to your ticket there seems to be more to this than meets the eye.

When the previous account was closed our system (rightfully) placed a cease order on the line to stop the active services. I can only apologise that we didn't advise you of this via email/text after your account was created/our system tried to place the order, and you needed to chase us for an update.

When the line was ceased, unfortunately line records didn't update following this to show a recently used line. This can happen on occasion, and in these situations the only order we can place is for a new line installation/provide.

Discussing this with Openreach (A Team Manager) this morning, it got a bit complicated...in the background on one system called CSS, they're seeing the phone line is already reactivated, but on another system called Siebel the phone order was stuck in the first phase (KCI1). The manager promised to take ownership of this for me chasing the relevant team to trigger the second phase (KCI2) which I can see has now happened very recently. From there they should be able to complete the order in the Siebel system without needing an appointment.

This likely won't change your activation date of the 30th August, because we'll still need to wait for an engineer to be assigned to complete fibre work at the cabinet(The green box in the road).

For now I'd recommend ignoring the automated email regarding the appointment request. I'll update you again when I know more.
Thanks.

[#10]

Happy to say the issue is now resolved due to some hard work from @Gandalf. Also received a very nice gift in the post today:

Well done. You've won me over!

[#11]

No problems at all @slappybags

I'm happy I was able to resolve this for you and glad you like the chocolate.

Let me know if you ever need any further assistance.