Switch gone wrong

[#1]

Hi community,

This is my first post, and sadly, it's not a happy one.

I've switched service over from BT to Plusnet. My wife and myself were toying with the idea some time ago, and I started going through the process, but gave up as the service we had from BT was just working, and that was fine.

However, since I started going through the process on Plusnet's websitecjust out of blind curiosity, I had recieved many calls from them asking about a switch. Lots of calls.

Kept putting it off until we saw the MoneySavingExpert man on tv talking about their rates and successes and everything about them being good.

As my wife is disabled, it seemed like a good idea to switch as the extra money saved every month would come in very handy as I'm the only one bringing in some income.

The internet is a bit of a lifeline for my wife as it allows her to communicate and keep in contact with friends, family, and do other odds and sods while I'm not around the house and out working.

So we eventually gave in and decided to switch. Everything throughout the order process was very friendly. Very nice chap on the phone, who advised we should do it online in order to qualify for special pricing too.

Regular emails, regular text updates. Very good.

I recieved a text message this morning saying that the phone line had been moved over, and that the broadband would follow shortly. Low and behold, the internet went offline.

This afternoon, I recieved a text message saying that the broadband had been delayed.

When I called them, they said that there was a "fault" in the exchange, and that I now had to wait a full 5 days for an engineer to fix it.

I asked what on earth the problem could be as we hadn't had any problems with our previous service, and the customer service guy said he didn't know.

I asked if this could be escalated, and he simply replied "to who?".

So I have to ask, if there's a problem, do engineers just give up and go home?

I understand that there is an openreach thing going on, but seriously, they wonder why ofcom are coming down on top of them.

Surely, it should be, ok there's a fault, lets fix it immediately rather than sweep it under the carpet.

We're in a horrendous 3g area, so mobile broadband doesn't exist, and now my wife and I have no internet for nearly a week while something is sorted. I can only hope I get regular updates to this, although I was hoping the internet would be working on the agreed date, and that hasn't happened.

Having read some of the other problems people are having here, I'm quite nervous that this still wont be fixed either.

Supposing that the fix doesn't happen as planned, and we're still without internet, what's the best course of action to get back online again, or get this escalated quickly?

Personally, I get to use the internet as part of my job at work, but sadly, my wife who uses this at home can't get online, and this is a real inconvenience to us.

[#2]

Hi @guvna,

A warm welcome to the forums - sorry to hear of your troubles.

So I have to ask, if there's a problem, do engineers just give up and go home?

I understand that there is an openreach thing going on, but seriously, they wonder why ofcom are coming down on top of them.

Surely, it should be, ok there's a fault, lets fix it immediately rather than sweep it under the carpet.

Sadly the answer is somewhat "Yes" - many BTOR engineers (or should I say sub-contractors) show very little empathy for end user issues.  They are sent out to do a specific job and if the find a fault, the situation moves from being an install activity to being a distinct fault condition and their response time clock is set back to zero ... and the issue can be passed to some other department / person.  Unfortunately there is little any ISP (particularly one owned by BT) can / is likely to do - BTOR will fix it as and when the decide the will.

Watch out over the next 24-36 hours - BTOR will declare a sizeable number of MBORC locations (Matters Beyond Our Reasonable Control) giving them yet another excuse for taking far too long to fix faults.

Hope yours is soon sorted ... there is a slim possibility that your case could be priorities on welfare grounds, depending upon the 'depth' of real essential (life and death) dependence your wife has on the availability of communication services.

[#3]

Hi @guvna

Thanks for getting in contact. Please accept my apologies for the delays you encountered in the activation of your broadband service. I can see the order is now complete and you appear to have an active connection on your side. Due to the fact the broadband did not activate on the same day as your phone line, I have issued you a downtime refund and this will show in your account within the next 10 working days. 

If you need any further assistance please don't hesitate to get back in contact. 

Thanks