Extremely poor service - Ordered on 24th August - No Fibre and No Support

[#1]

We would like to make a complaint about the extremely poor service we have received so far from Plusnet.
On 24 August 2013 we placed an order for Plusnet Unlimited Fibre plus Telephone. We cancelled our service with BE and a few days later we were assigned an installation date of 10 September 2013.
The BT Engineer (Sub contractor)  arrived on the 10th September to install the fibre line. He disappeared down the road to sort out the connection saying he'd be back in 15 minutes.
One hour later he came back looking quite upset saying that he couldn't find the cabinet and that he had been on the phone to BT three times for help but was still unable to locate it.
I walked down the road with him and showed him where it was (right where BT wholesale had told him it was)
I went home and he started his work telling me that he'd be back in 15 minutes.... 40 minutes later he arrived at my house and told me that he couldn't precede with the job as BT had cancelled it due to the phone calls about not being able to locate the cabinet. He said he didn't have the required port numbers on his laptop any more.
The engineer told me to phone BT wholesale directly to arrange another installation date and because it was their error I wouldn't be placed back on the end of the waiting list but would probably receive a visit in a couple of days. I  phoned BT wholesale and was connected to a call centre in India who told me (as I suspected) that they don't take calls from the public.
I then phoned Plusnet to explain what had happened and were told that we would be fast tracked and subsequently was given an installation date a week later on the 17th September.
On the 17th of  September TWO engineers (contractors again) turned up. One guy unpacked the router and modem and installed the new faceplate while the other guy disappeared down the road.
After quite some time he arrived back telling me that there was a problem, He told me that I needed a "lift and shift" and although there were free ports on the telephone cabinet to accomplish this, the lady he'd been talking to at the exchange refused to allocate a port because they had all been allocated to up and coming fibre upgrades in the area. He told me there was nothing he could do but he'd write the whole thing up in his reports – Then they left.
I phoned Plusnet support, finally got through the queue and was told they don't deal with the issue and was transferred to the order progression unit where the line went dead.
I rang back support and finally spoke to someone from the order progression team and I explained everything I've written above. I was told that someone from a special team would look into it and call us back within 24 Hours.
Anyway, The guy that took this phone call must have glazed over with boredom or something because soon afterwards this was posted on the Help assistant log on the website :
"17/09/13 12:07  Open: engineer has just been to the property and could not find the cabenet on the street and has told the customer to call us and rebook an new engineer."
I corrected this on by typing in on the help assailant that this happened LAST WEEK and went on to type what had happened with the engineers that day!
Nobody called us back and nothing was updated on the online “Help Assistant” until the next phone call from us days afterwards.
The next morning I got a Phonecall from a very helpful BT Engineer at the exchange. He told me that he had been looking at the notes left by the Engineers the previous day but didn't quite understand what the problem was and that he would investigate the matter.
He phone me back later and told me that my fibre line was live from Plusnet and I could be switched over to it now but if they did I would lose my telephone connection. He said that I needed a line between the Fibre cabinet and the local cabinet but that there were probably no spare ports and a new "Line Card" needed to be installed. He said it was nothing to worry about as line cards are upgraded on a regular basis.
I did get an email from Plusnet the next day on the 18th saying “We can see that your account was recently activated and I hope that you are enjoying the service that you've ordered.
We phoned again on 23 September and asked to make a complaint and were told that you don't take complaints over the phone.
We were then told:  "Your Fibre order has now been cancelled from our suppliers side due to a BT System Error. We now will need to replace your order however we will require a new MAC code to do so, this is because we can only use a MAC code once. Once a new code is provided then we will place a new order for you and see if we are able to have this expedited."
We then phoned BE (our previous provider) who said that the current MAC code was valid until 26 September and was perfectly OK to use – and that they could not issue another one until the current code had expired.
We phoned Plusnet straight back and explained what BE had said about the MAC Code and were told that the previous person we talked to at Plusnet was wrong and we didn't in fact need a new MAC code.
Drained and fed up with the whole process we were then given YET ANOTHER  date of 3 October 2013 for installation and a new fibre order was generated within the Plusnet system.
Today (25th Sept)  I received this message:
"Unfortunately the order that was placed on 23/09/13 has been cancelled by our suppliers as there is another open order against your phone line. I called our suppliers and was advised that this open order is with your current service provider. Please contact them to remove this open order so we can proceed. As your MAC is due to expire tomorrow, we would also require a new MAC in order to proceed."
I don't understand, What open order? I cancelled the broadband service with BE and the telephone line is with BT
Has the installation date of 3rd October been cancelled now as well ?
Is what the BT Engineer told me true? If so has a new "line card" been fitted?
I know that most of these problems have been caused by BT Wholesale incompetence but In all of the conversations we have had you have absolved yourself of responsibility saying it is out of your hands. We have a relationship with PLusnet, not BT wholesale we therefore expect you to deal with this on our behalf and least get back to us and let us know what is going on!
We have spent a great deal of time chasing you to get answers.
We chose Plusnet over BT or Sky because of the promise of good customer service.

[#2]

Hi zorbz,
Sorry to read about this really regrettable situation and all the issues that you've experienced trying to get a service with us.
It's clear some continuity of support is needed here so I'm going to take ownership of this issue for you and do all I can to get this resolved as quickly as possible.
In the meantime whilst I fully understand you might not feel like chasing this up but a new MAC would be needed I'm afraid. The cancelled order is the one that was due to close on 3/10/13 and records show that the line is infact still with BE and it's them that have placed an order on the line. So on that front I can only advise persisting and speaking to BE again.
If you can do that I'll do my part in overseeing the completion of this order and I'm already compiling feedback to pass on to Wholesale and Openreach about the poor level of service you've received so far, also I'd like to apologise for any issues gaining support from us on this matter.
Adam

[#3]

Thanks for the reply Adam
We just phoned BE and they said that we don't need a MAC code because from tomorrow our relationship with them ends - We are being cut off.
We have kids loaded with homework, ongoing Ebay auctions, on-line banking etc etc - This is a disaster!

[#4]

Do 56k dial up modems still exist? I suppose they must do - Any advise from anyone on what to buy and what service to use would be greatly appreciated

[#5]

Thanks for your time on the phone just now, I'd advise getting back to BE as a matter of urgency to cancel the "cease" order as that will leave no service to transfer over and no services until we can provide ours.

[#6]

A 3G dongle is probably a better option than dial-up, most suppliers have stopped doing it.
Your problem seems to sadly be another example of the FTTC "black hole" that people get stuck in migrating directly to FTTC from an LLU connection when there is an "unexpected" (and poorly-managed) delay on the fibre side.
In recent months, due to the changes at Be, no FTTC from Be and the Sky takeover these seem mostly to be Be customers, especially those (unlike you) who also have their phone service with Be.
In the short term the best option is probably to try and get PN to enable a standard ADSL connection ASAP.
As Be will have had to give BT several days notice of your service terminating that is probably "locked in" and, stupidly (BT processes!), will probably stop both Be and PN doing anything at all until its executed.   Still worth asking Be if it can be stopped though.

[#7]

Quote

A 3G dongle is probably a better option than dial-up,

or a MiFi type unit. You can get them from various networks , Three for instance http://store.three.co.uk/view/product/ql_catalog/threecatdevice/2567?id=1398 . They tend to be 'locked' to that network or you can get an unlocked one like I have http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/phones-broadband-gps/mobile-phones-and-broadband/pay-as-you-go-mobile-b... ( possibly a bit cheaper if you shop around ) but then you will need a SIM card with data bandwidth that permits 'tethering'.

[#8]

Thanks for the phone call Adam - You may have saved me from getting cut off. I phoned BE and asked them cancel the cease on the line.
The advisor said that they would make an attempt to do so but they couldn't guarantee it would work. Basically, if the broadband line gets cut off tomorrow then it's too late and if it continues to work till the end of tomorrow they've been successful. They've issued us with a new MAC code (useless if I get cut off) that I have posted on the Help Assistant.
Thanks for the advice HPsauce & MisterW - I'm not sure a G3 device would be much use as I need a Vodafone Sure Signal box to get a good signal where I live. I'll just seen a cheap USB 56k modem on Ebuyer that I'll buy today in case I get cut off.

[#9]

Thanks for getting back to us and genuinely I've got my fingers crossed about that cease!
With that in mind we'd best see what happens tomorrow so I shall be checking and I'll give you a call to go through the next steps, depending on what happens in the meantime of course.
Adam

[#10]

Could someone please look into this again.
I received a message today informing me that BT had cancelled the Fibre order for the third time because there was a duplicate order on the line.
Last week, PlusNet created an order for a standard DSL line in order for us to have an internet connection while we wait to get the Fibre connected, Could this duplicate order be because of this?
The DSL line was due to go live on Friday 11th (Tomorrow) Is this still going to happen?

[#11]

Hi,
It seems that the DSL order has been cancelled, this is due to a system error on our suppliers systems.
Apologies for this, we need to place a new order again which we can expedite so the wait will be as short as possible to get your services working. We will be placing a fibre order tomorrow and be in-touch to confirm the appointment with you.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[#12]

Could I get an update on this please? I haven't had a meaningful update since last Thursday.
Nobody got back to me to explain what the outcome of BT's investigation was and whether this "Duplicate order" problem has been resolved.
I received an email yesterday saying "Your product change is now complete" so I assume the ADSL is ready at the PlusNet end and we are now waiting for the service to be connected by BT. I was told last week that the connection would be expedited and I really want that to happen , I don't want to wait yet another week!
Thanks

[#13]

Sorry to see this is still on-going.
I've created a ticket on your account(#75837636) which we will update you on today. It does look like the ADSL order will not go live until Thursday 18th October providing this does not reject.
We'll have more details tomorrow which I will check on.

[#14]

We've sent the expedite off today so your order should now complete tomorrow, I'll keep an eye on this and update you when there's further development.

[#15]

The expedite has been accepted and your order will complete tomorrow(17th). I'll let you know when you're active.