My BT broadband nightmare... turns out it should never have happened

mikeruurds · 19-09-2005 9:42am #1

I just wanted to give you all a warning about BT's slack sales approach... here is a diary of events:

1. 5th August I completed online broadband application for first-time connection (I had just moved from Nangor Road exchange to Newlands Cross)

2. 10th August - after not receiving an email with a confirmation number I started getting nervous so I rang in only to be told that I would have to wait till Eircom had done their work at my exchange to activate my line. At least another 2 weeks... at which point I would receive a letter confirming the transfer of service to BT

3. 17th August - I'm pessimistic... so I call in to confirm everything is still hunky dory... I'm assured that I need to just play the waiting game and that we are just waiting on Eircom

4. 30th August - l give BT the benefit of the doubt and give them till the end of the month, but after still hearing nothing I call back. The BT CSR tells me that my order is incomplete and that it is on hold as they are missing most of my personal information! Naturally I'm losing the head at this stage, but I manage to calm myself down and I supply answers to each and every question supplied to fill the empty gaps on BT's new customer form. I also go through a voice verification exercise and supply my credit card details again. After hearing stories on Boards.ie I offer to pay a deposit, but am told that my credit card number is sufficient.

5. 2nd September - I call again to confirm that we are on track to have broadband within 3 weeks. I am assured that all is well and that I need to wait once again for Eircom to do their thing.

6. 14th September - yet another call to BT... "please be patient... you will have your broadband within the next week and a half"

7. Today, the 19th September... 6-7 weeks after my initial call... BT tell me that they don't have my date of birth (I supplied this to them on TWO occasions), and they are not in a position to progress my order.

At this stage I totally lose it... I have demanded to speak to a sales manager. How can any company be this bad? You'd think that they would be interested in gaining market share by closing the deal with as many customers as possible. Is it too much to ask to get a call back within 2 days of the order being placed to clear up any outstanding details? Why do 4 out of 5 BT customer sales staff tell me my order is on track and only the 5th sees that the order is on hold? It's just a case of pure incompetence. I was with UTV for a year and never experienced any problems like this.

I give up!

Garfield... how much longer do I need to wait for Smart to save me from this red-tape torture?

ksl19 · 19-09-2005 10:48am

BT/iol customer service is staffed by monkeys. They need some serious changes to their way of dealing with customers as I know of too many people who have been arsed around. Its been like this ever since they rolled out broadband so it seems some one is turning a blind eye.

Jumpy · 19-09-2005 11:12am

ksl19 wrote:

BT/iol customer service is staffed by monkeys. They need some serious changes to their way of dealing with customers as I know of too many people who have been arsed around. Its been like this ever since they rolled out broadband so it seems some one is turning a blind eye.

I agree, I think the "dont have all your details" thing is how they have been trained to respond if there is a delay that they cannot explain.
I also got this excuse twice during my address change.

mikeruurds · 19-09-2005 11:42am

I called again today... these are the details they didn't have:

1. They wanted to know how long I had been with my bank
2. They wanted to know which bank I am with
3. They wanted to know my date of birth

... all very good reasons not to proceed with my application for 6 weeks. They obviously don't want my business. Even Eircom are starting to look good at this point.

Mick L · 19-09-2005 11:55am

mikeruurds wrote:

Even Eircom are starting to look good at this point.

Don't do it Mike!! I've been having my own problems trying to get BT broadband but it seems there's light at the end of the tunnel now. But it was a long tunnel. What really annoyed me was when there was a development on my order (Eircom rejected the order because they claimed there was already an order for broadband on the line and that it would need to be cancelled first) nobody from BT contacted me to let me know. It was only when I contacted them that I was informed of this. How hard can it be to set a procedure in place to email updates?? And this happened twice. I get the feeling that Eircom were just being awkward. I called Eircom both times and they said to me that they had no record of any broadband order.

However I just got a call from BT (yes, they do actually ring back!!!) and I have a go live date at the start of October. If it does go ahead it will be 6 weeks from order to live.

damien · 19-09-2005 11:58am

complaints@esat.com is their complaints Dept. Fairly efficient given the massive experience they have fixing all the fckups from the billing and sales people.

mikeruurds · 19-09-2005 12:05pm

I don't know if there is much point complaining as it's not going to speed things up... in the end Eircom is still going to take 2-3 weeks. I've signed up for Metro with Digiweb, but they can only install in my area at the end of the year.

So either I go for Ripwave to fill the gap, wait for BT to get their act together or go with Clearwire. Either way I'm probably going to end up being a Digiweb customer in 6 months time :rolleyes:

Thanks for your help guys!

Sarsfield · 19-09-2005 12:14pm

mikeruurds wrote:

I don't know if there is much point complaining...

If you have a genuine complaint it's always worth complaining. If nobody complains then BT will think they're doing OK! It mightn't help you but if may help the next guy.

Or they might send you a BT coffee mug or keyring to say sorry (or a free months broadband!)?

BTW, I had an excellent experience transferring to BT and the service is perfect. So they CAN do things right sometimes.

mikeruurds · 19-09-2005 12:25pm

Cheers

I think I will have a little moan to the complaints department then.

mikeruurds · 19-09-2005 12:33pm

Letter of complaint has been sent

mikeruurds · 19-09-2005 2:52pm

The penny has finally dropped. Like a 12 year old boy scared to initiate his first kiss (will I... won't I), BT have finally stopped arsing about and have told me that they want a deposit.

I was prepared for this as I had done my research on boards.ie and knew that BT often look for a deposit from tenants. The ludicrous thing is that I offered to pay a deposit on two occasions and was told both times by the CSR that one was not required as they had my credit card number.

The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. To think... if anyone I had spoken to previously had one iota of intelligence I'd have already had my broadband for 4 weeks now.

Unbelievable.

So the moral of the story is... if you are a tenant and applying for BT broadband, insist on paying the €125 deposit up front or alternatively spend the next month getting to know BT's entire customer service department.

Tony H · 19-09-2005 3:41pm

the same story with me except they have now lost my second DTAF form (the first posted the second faxed in ) , and are telling me i have to submit it again , all expained to me by a condesending american called kristan , who tells me i do not have to pay a deposit "i guarentee you no deposit is needed " i think i will have to stay with eircom , i have been waiting to change over since the 7 of august ,
ps i also told her i felt i was been discriminated against as i was a tenant and she got very defensive

Sponge Bob · 19-09-2005 3:55pm

pat.2.mccabe@estbt.com is the customer services manager . Do tell us the excuses this time

dub45 · 19-09-2005 4:24pm

mikeruurds wrote:

The penny has finally dropped. Like a 12 year old boy
...............
So the moral of the story is... if you are a tenant and applying for BT broadband, insist on paying the €125 deposit up front or alternatively spend the next month getting to know BT's entire customer service department.

I would be very slow to give that advice to anybody. Someone posted a copy of the letter that Esat are issuing to people 'requesting' a deposit.
It was appalling. There are no conditions spelt out for the paying of this deposit - the circumstances under which it might be forefitted are not mentioned nor is the length of time that the deposit will be held for.

Given Esats appalling accounts department it can only be a matter of time until we get posts of deposits suddenly being snaffled because someone did not pay a bill they never got.

If you are going to pay a deposit to them get full chapter and verse from them (and a receipt!!!!!!!!!) on exactly what is invovled. My guess is they have not even considered the implications of requesting deposits apart from the fact that its a grand interest free loan for them.

vampyre · 19-09-2005 6:17pm

off topic here, sorry but BT are the jackasses that bribe you to sign up for online billing and don't send any email notification of when your bill is available. You are to remember that your bill will be generated (so it's after vaguely) the 8th or 24th of every second month and go check. Now I know their answer is direct debit solves all but I'm very anti dd. And since 2 bank managers warned me over the years not to pay by dd if there's an alternative I ain't changing. Their billing service generally is a disgrace. Good luck with sorting out your BB installation

Rattlehead_ie · 20-09-2005 12:29am

Dam, Im about to swap over to esat and this makes me worry, but once I told them monthly cost of my bills Im payin with eircom for BB and phone they wanted to give me every offer under the sun at me. from what I hear the service with Esat is great once u get setup and sorted.

mikeruurds · 20-09-2005 8:45am

I really hope so Rattlehead

. So far I've not been very impressed.

I spoke with a lady named Ciara at BT yesterday and she was the first person who apologised for my 7 week wait.

Things can only get better.

cgarvey · 20-09-2005 9:12am

Another case of BT incompetence, there are many unfortunately, and people should weigh that up in their decision to move to BT.

Hard luck Mike, hope it works out. But my sympathy ends for you if you don't complain. It's the "why bother complaining" attitude that feeds this incompetence.

.cg

Newshound · 20-09-2005 9:12am

A friend of mine ordered BB from Esat BT over a year ago. After much stalling (about 9 months) from BT he decided to go with Eircom. He still hasn't got broadband because BT have to release his BB connection that they never even set up before Eircon can set it up for him. 15 minths and counting so far for him since he first ordered. The best laugh is that his 2 neighbours got BB within weeks of ordering it.

vampyre · 20-09-2005 9:19am

Newshound wrote:

A friend of mine ordered BB from Esat BT over a year ago. After much stalling (about 9 months) from BT he decided to go with Eircom. He still hasn't got broadband because BT have to release his BB connection that they never even set up before Eircon can set it up for him. 15 minths and counting so far for him since he first ordered. The best laugh is that his 2 neighbours got BB within weeks of ordering it.

That's a disgrace.
I certainly complain but they ignored me until twice I went to comreg over separate issues and got action but only in BT's own sweet time. But Comreg are now totally useless. The only reason I ever got any action from them is I knew somebody up there who has since left.

mikeruurds · 20-09-2005 9:48am

Dear Mr Ruurds,
Thank you for your recent email regarding problems experienced. Please accept my sincere apologies on behalf of BT for any inconvenience that this has caused.

I can confirm that your complaint has been logged and has been issued with a BT reference no 1-116026810. Please quote this reference if you require information relating to this issue.

Please be assured that all customer complaints received by BT are taken very seriously, treated as a priority and in confidence. An investigation will be conducted and once complete, a formal response will be issued. Should you require any further information, do not hesitate to contact me directly on 01-4327117.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to highlight your concerns.

Yours sincerely,

Niamh

Niamh Murphy | Residential Complaints Officer |BT | Grand Canal Plaza | Upper Grand Canal Street | Dublin 4 | Office: +353 1 4327117 | Freephone: 1904 | www.btireland.ie

Our commitment to customer satisfaction continues to be recognised by both our customers and industry, with BT awarded the Best National Carrier Award at the World Communications Awards 2004.

zoro · 20-09-2005 9:51am

Was that an automated response??

I hate those things ...

mikeruurds · 20-09-2005 9:57am

Looks that way... I'm still not convinced that my complaint is going to be "treated very seriously"... I'll probably just get a standard automated letter of apology too.

It would just be nice if all customer service representatives operated according to a standard set of procedures. At least you would receive uniform advice and/or assistance whenever you call. At the moment it's an absolute lottery. The girl I spoke to yesterday 'fessed up to the fact that the person that had assisted me on the 10th Sep was new and still learning :S.

Oh well...

zoro · 20-09-2005 10:03am

Good luck - really

I think you may just need it ...

Rattlehead_ie · 20-09-2005 10:16am

I got a phone call from Eircom today, asking was I swapping over and that they were offering deals to me, so looks like Esat are getting their behind's in gear. I only ordered the change yesterday. Im swapping phone and BB by the way.
So fingers crossed.

mikeruurds · 20-09-2005 10:25am

Thanks... :P

I just don't understand why so many people appear to be having problems of this sort. My mate in Holland had a five day turnaround time on his DSL activation... he thinks that it's atrocious that we have to wait 2-3 weeks let alone 6-7.

I just think that some of the companies pushing ADSL products have put way too much money into sales and marketing and almost none into infrastructure and support. My belief is that if you have a good product it'll sell itself. Excellent after-sales service should be the norm, rather than the exception.

These companies slash their prices and then appear surprised when they find that people start complaining after having waited an hour on the phone for a support call. Naturally, prior to making an assault on the competitors market share, massive resource needs to be allocated to recruiting sufficient competent staff to handle the enourmous amount of calls that will surely follow. Unfortunately most of these major market players appear to prefer to act reactively rather than proactively.

My €50 a month might not be very important to them when taken as a percentage of total turnover... but it's damn important to me.

Zombrex · 20-09-2005 10:31am

BT are f**king muppets ...

I have been trying to get broadband with them for over a month. My family got bb with them last year and they lost our application twice, but this time they are just taking the piss.

4 times I have rung up asking what is going one. First they were waiting to get my deposit, something I was never told about (I assume they were sending out magic brain waves to tell me to call them, cheaper than actually contacting me). The last 3 times I have run up they stall me saying the order has been frozen but they (ie the person I am talking to now) has no idea why. The promise to un-freeze it for me, and then the next time I ring up it is still frozen.

But the bit that really gets me is they are lying to me on the phone. The first time I rang up I asked to have the delievery address for the modem changed to my work address. The girl said that was fine, asked me for it, I heard her type something in as I called it out. Rang up a week later, no record of that at all. I tell the guy the address again, I hear him type something it. Ring up a week later, again no record and the girl says no one has edited my file. WTF!!! Are the muppets just banging keys while stairing out the window.

I am so pissed off, the only thing stopping me going some where else is that they are all just as bad. Smart Telecom are stailling another guy here at work, they have been for 2 months. Eircom couldn't give a toss about customers.

Is there any point writing a complaint to ComReg?

mikeruurds · 20-09-2005 11:01am

Hey Wicknight... sorry to hear about your plight. Send a letter of complaint to BT first (email address is in this thread)... demand to speak to a manager... throw your toys out of the cot. Eventually you should get some joy out of the situation.

Good luck Rattlehead... hopefully you'll get your bb soon.

Zombrex · 20-09-2005 11:06am

mikeruurds wrote:

throw your toys out of the cot.

Yeah that was a bit of a rant ... but I feel much better now .. calm blue ocean ... calm blue ocean ...

mikeruurds · 20-09-2005 11:13am

You think that's bad :P I wouldn't normally swear a lot, but I've been swearing like a sailor all day as a result of this ****e.

Better out than in I say... I don't want to suffer with ulcers :P

Tony H · 20-09-2005 11:46am

hey mikeruurds i got the exact same reply from BT after complaining yesterday , tried the phone number and all i got was voice mail , did you try her phone number yet ?
maybe i will sent the boss pat.2.mccabe@estbt.com a link to this page of complaints and see will i get any reaction

My BT broadband nightmare... turns out it should never have happened

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