Complaints about BT

Sparky

Having noticed a few topics with the words bt, sucks and problem all in one sentence i think it would be a good idea to have a complaints topic:

Firstly my main problems with bt is their billing department, and their customer services, i was only ringing up to enquire about certain charges, but they may be busy but i was on hold for an hour and a 23mins (thats not service) and i wouldnt bother with that Q buster, it has never worked for me.
So i am going to cancel altogether from them, plus the complaints ive seen here dont assure me either of staying with them.

So show me your complaints about BT.

Dan Druff

You will see a huge improvement from your September 24th bill onwards.
Most billing issues should now be sorted.

Sparky

Dan Druff wrote:

You will see a huge improvement from your September 24th bill onwards.
Most billing issues should now be sorted.

just some info i want to ask, i want to cancel, but am 4 months with your bb plus and talk package, what charges sould i expect to get for canceling?

Sponge Bob

None I'd say , misbilling is a breach of contract on their part first .

If Dan is correct about this long awaited 'fixed' billing system then I'm sure he could resolve all your issues and provide reassurance as to what will (or most importantly WON'T) happen going forward ........... if you sent him a PM with some details.

If you posted back here in the next few weeks to tell us that Dan was a good substitute for the lamented Bill Murphy we would all be happy I'd say.

Sparky

i hope.

bloke

I posted about this before but after cancelling *3 years* ago and moving to eircom BB, a bill arrived for me at my parents house (it was in my name at the time) for €950. Out of the blue, around 6-8 weeks ago. The bill is for 3+ years of (cancelled) IOL dial flatrate that was never used in that time.

I've called many times, but only got through to a human (after marathon hold sessions) twice. Additionally I got one call back from someone who couldn't help me at all as all the managers had gone home. I've been promised two callbacks from managers that never came. In the meantime I've received another bill (now €1,000+) and a letter stating I was behind on my bill and must call to rectify!

Really don't have the time to spend any more hours chasing this yet I know they'll start getting nasty about it any time now, send solicitors letters, ruin my credit etc.

So yes, BT suck it would seem, at customer service and billing. And you don't even have to be a customer to suffer!

I just wish no-one had kicked the side of the wheezing billing server that coughed up my bogus bill like a three year old hairball...

Any suggestions welcome

Sponge Bob

Dan is yer man

Sparky

bloke wrote:

I posted about this before but after cancelling *3 years* ago and moving to eircom BB, a bill arrived for me at my parents house (it was in my name at the time) for €950. Out of the blue, around 6-8 weeks ago. The bill is for 3+ years of (cancelled) IOL dial flatrate that was never used in that time.

I've called many times, but only got through to a human (after marathon hold sessions) twice. Additionally I got one call back from someone who couldn't help me at all as all the managers had gone home. I've been promised two callbacks from managers that never came. In the meantime I've received another bill (now €1,000+) and a letter stating I was behind on my bill and must call to rectify!

Really don't have the time to spend any more hours chasing this yet I know they'll start getting nasty about it any time now, send solicitors letters, ruin my credit etc.

So yes, BT suck it would seem, at customer service and billing. And you don't even have to be a customer to suffer!

I just wish no-one had kicked the side of the wheezing billing server that coughed up my bogus bill like a three year old hairball...

Any suggestions welcome

Jesus and i was thinking i was bad, its a good thing you didnt have it set up by direct debit.

regedit

When I think, I was bit***ng about UTV service...
I moved to BT hoping things might be better but at least with UTV I never had the outages that I am experiencing lately. Just bvefore this post, I did a speed check and it turns out my connectioon is more like a 28.000 modem. Realy and trully. I will post the image. I am doping the test at 01:00 AM! My first neighbour is with IBB and he has some basic package. The speeds he get are however much better than mine ones ( I have BT plus with linne rental). Today, I was not able to load the ebookers page and many others. I was downloading something and I got 5.5 kB/s. Shameful. This never happened with UTV and I was with them 4 two years. Moved to BT just because the cap was bigger. I Have been "live" with BT for the past 4 months and have still not received a bill. I cal;led them 4-5 times and emailed them twice. Every single one promised to rectify trhe problem but none did. I uninstalled the modem, installed the drivers again, reset the router (No, I do not have any software firewall and the windows one Win XP SP2) is stitched of lately. I think I will cancel soon and go eaither with UTV again or even opt for NTL.

Sparky

mine was running slow at around 10:45, it was running at 200kps and droped to 35kps, and no other computer was on, so it wasnt a sharing issue in the house. And im on the BB plus with talk line rental, but i got a bill of 216 euros there last week, with the 68 euros self install charge. so expect a nice bill soon then.

dub45

Dan Druff wrote:

You will see a huge improvement from your September 24th bill onwards.
Most billing issues should now be sorted.

Which ones have you not sorted?

And why is a billing system that nearly works considered acceptable?

regedit

Just noticed metro from digiweb. Very tempted to join them if they served Castleknock (D15). Just wondering what will /should happen with the 150 Euro I had to pay to Bt as deposit (because we do not own the house) and how long contracts did we commit ourselves when we joined BT?

dub45

regedit wrote:

Just noticed metro from digiweb. Very tempted to join them if they served Castleknock (D15). Just wondering what will /should happen with the 150 Euro I had to pay to Bt as deposit (because we do not own the house) and how long contracts did we commit ourselves when we joined BT?

I dont want to be unduly harsh on you but it is this type of casual approach that allows isps to treat customers as they do.

It seems that you have committed yourself to a contract with BT including paying them 150 euros deposit and you have not got a clue what you let yourself in for or how and when you will get your deposit back.

Surely it is up to you to establish in advance all the conditions of your contract with BT including what length of time you are signing up for and what exactly are the conditions surrounding your payment of a deposit of 150 euros to them.?

regedit

dub45 wrote:

I dont want to be unduly harsh on you but it is this type of casual approach that allows isps to treat customers as they do.

It seems that you have committed yourself to a contract with BT including paying them 150 euros deposit and you have not got a clue what you let yourself in for or how and when you will get your deposit back.

Surely it is up to you to establish in advance all the conditions of your contract with BT including what length of time you are signing up for and what exactly are the conditions surrounding your payment of a deposit of 150 euros to them.?

I suppose U are right to a certain extent. At the time I decided to make the move I was "uspet" as UTV would not increase the cap and I made my mind to make the move. The BB plus package looked fine at the time. I filled the application form and was told that a security deposit (they mentioned sure that it is refundable) must be paid so I agreed as I has already cancelled UTV. As for the contract, I am almost sure that the T&C stated that there is a contract but no timelimit. Today, I see on trheir web site that they mention 6 months. Anyway, this is my 5-6 month so I can sail away if I want. Plus, I have the issue of the billing which pisses me off. I have not received a bill yet and the ee*** said they would post it out to me last week. I dunno why would they post it when I subscribed to the online billing option.
Anytway, I agree when U say that we seem to take a causal approach to most things in this rip off country and do not do our homework when it comes to shopping for products.

Dan Druff

Yeah the Cancellation Fee is not set so I'm not sure what it is! However you should stick around for the next 2 months and get the best service and quality in Ireland!

regedit

Dan Druff wrote:

Yeah the Cancellation Fee is not set so I'm not sure what it is! However you should stick around for the next 2 months and get the best service and quality in Ireland!

Was on to BT today again re: the billing issue. Signed upin April and still no bill. I was on to them at LEAST 6 -7 times + 1-2 emails. Everyone says that they will look into it. Today a guy (will not mention names) said that there was indeed a problem (eureka) with my billing and would raise a ticket which would take some 2 weeks to be solved!

I asked about the deposit. It is refundable if I decide to leave. There is no timelimit on when one can leave. Basicaly, if I want Ican bail out today.

Give us a few good reasons Dan Druff why should we stay around for another 2 months? If you give any good reasons, might stick around!

dub45

regedit wrote:

Was on to BT today again re: the billing issue. Signed upin April and still no bill. I was on to them at LEAST 6 -7 times + 1-2 emails. .......................................

I asked about the deposit. It is refundable if I decide to leave. There is no timelimit on when one can leave. Basicaly, if I want Ican bail out today.

Give us a few good reasons Dan Druff why should we stay around for another 2 months? If you give any good reasons, might stick around!

BT lose yet another potential customer - I was talking to a friend of mine today who in spite of my advice attempted to become a BT customer approx. two months ago and after signing up and plaguing them for news was told yesterday that he had to pay a depost! When he inquired why he had not been informed of this two months ago not to mention all the times he hasa been on to them since the question was just brushed aside. So he told them to stuff it.

''the deposit is refundable'' given their general level of incompetence can you imagine how difficult it is going to be when someone attempts to get the deposit refunded? How long will it be before the 'seize' the deposit for an 'unpaid' bill that has never issued??? Has anyone been told under what circumstances the deposit might be forefitted? As far as I can see they give no conditions for the payment/refund of this deposit? Has anyone who paid it so far got a receipt for it?

If 1000 customers pay up this deposit its a very nice interest free loan for them isnt it?

Sponge Bob

does it show in the new billing system you mean ?

No

dub45

Sponge Bob wrote:

does it show in the new billing system you mean ?

No

Will the person who pays the deposit have any 'physical' record of this payment? Any idea how one gets it back (without incurring a huge phone bill, having a nervous breakdown etc etc in the process) I bet EsatBT have not given any thought at all to a refunds procedure.........

Rattlehead_ie

However you should stick around for the next 2 months and get the best service and quality in Ireland!

Why is that? Are they planning something that we dont know about yet?

Im an Eircom Customer in middle of swapping over to ESAT papers where sent off lst friday and this thread is not encouraging me

Sparky

Rattlehead_ie wrote:

Why is that? Are they planning something that we dont know about yet?

Im an Eircom Customer in middle of swapping over to ESAT papers where sent off lst friday and this thread is not encouraging me

listen their broadband is good, i love it, now downtime or speed losses, but their billing dept. is a shambles, when i rang up today it turns out they took 4 months bb plus including line rental, which i didnt expect as i was told my bill was every 8 weeks not pay for every 16 weeks in advance.

Rattlehead_ie

ok thanks Sparky.

OfflerCrocGod

Rattlehead_ie wrote:

Im an Eircom Customer in middle of swapping over to ESAT papers where sent off lst friday and this thread is not encouraging me

As Sparky_S said their BB service is very good - I've never had any major problems in over 2 years but their billing is :mad: Anyway as long as you have no billing problems EsatBT are v. good.

Dan Druff wrote:

Yeah the Cancellation Fee is not set so I'm not sure what it is! However you should stick around for the next 2 months and get the best service and quality in Ireland!

Elaborate, what's special about 2 months???????

Sparky

could be something happening to compete with digiwebs metro.

Töpher

Are we getting some sort of upgrades? Will there finally be a reasonable upload speed?! 128K is an unfunny joke!

i71jskz5xu42pb

Sparky_S wrote:

So show me your complaints about BT.

From a previous discussion

Sponge Bob

Einst&#252 wrote: »

Are we getting some sort of upgrades? Will there finally be a reasonable upload speed?! 128K is an unfunny joke!

Ask phil.nolan@eircom.ie . He controls the upload speeds not BT .

flop

Ok first off this issue is partly my fault, I paid my BT bill early forgetting i had setup direct debit to pay the bill. (Thats the problem of a 2 monthly bill). Anyway here is an outline of what happened next:

27th Aug Phoned Lackey1 to ask for Funds to be debited to my Laser card. On the 1st of Sept my card had expired but was not notified that the transaction had failed.
12th Sept checked my account no funds credited. Talked to Lackey2 asked for funds to be credited back to my laser card. Gave new expirery date . Was told the transfer would take 10 working days.
21st Sept It Turns out Funds were credited to my BT account instead of refunded to Laser Card.!!!!
Talked to Lackey2 asked for funds to be credited back to my laser card. She said funds would be in my account in 48 hours.
26th Sept Talked to Middle Management Lackey. Was told i would be called back, I was never called back.
27th Sept Taked to Lackey4 Was told i would be called back, had to phone back myself, talked to Middle Management Lackey, was told that funds will be in my account in 3 working days. Middle Management Lackey, then phoned back and said there is a problem with your laser card number, can you reconfirm. thats the 3rd time i've had to give my number
29th Sept funds Finally arrive in my account. A Working day early

Sparky

Sponge Bob wrote:

Ask phil.nolan@eircom.ie . He controls the upload speeds not BT .

im ashamed he shares the same second name as myself.

whosedaddy?

Hi,
I'm a similarly disgruntled victim of the customer (don't)care department. I have been threatened to be disconencted so many times as they can't get direct debits in order or notify you of your new bill.
Then the accounts overdue dep sent letter for outstanding amount.
But neither my online bill showed money due, nor did the customer care rep see anything.. After 5 calls I asked them when I can start charging them in phone calls - they got really nasty... as if I caused the mess in the first place.

But the good thing is - my min contract period is over and I'm free to cancel...

Now I'm moving house this month (no smart on the exchange, but Metro is available) and now I'm wondering Dan D, give me one good reason to stay with BT - either to move my BB connection or apply for a new first time connection under my partners name?
Or should I just switch?

/WD

philologos

joining Magnet.ie soon anyway 4Mbit/512Kbit service with 50 digital channels and free phone calls (local and national) and line rental.

Dilbert75

Having read the posts about BT around here, it was with a sense of trepidation that I ordered my BT broadband last Sunday night (its still the best value for my requirements). After I ordered, I realised that I hadn't ordered my line rental as well, so I called them on Monday morning. No problem, we'll add that to your package.

Checked my e-mail on Monday evening - 2 e-mails from BT confirming that the 2 services had been ordered. So far, so good.

Then on Tuesday of this week, 9 days after order, I got a mail to say that my BB order had been completed. Wasn't quite sure what that meant but took it to be positive. Was away on Wednesday when my BB modem arrived but unpacked it when I came home earlier today. Tried to set it up and had the wrong username and password (hey it was late when I chose them). Rang the nice man who quickly corrected my username but was unable to tell me the password, as it wasn't available to him (I'd have to dial into their website to reset it). Luckily, by process of elimination, I got that too and I'm now connected using the BT modem. All I've left to do is set up the wireless modem I bought a couple of weeks ago.

For those who've had problems with BT, hopefully this is an indication that things are improving (granted I haven't received a bill yet!) For those who are thinking of it, maybe its an indication that they are still worth considering.