When is a 24hr Helpline Not a 24hr Helpline?

[stwat]

When It's a BT total Broardband helpline is the answer

My BB download speed has dropped from around 5.5meg to 0.3 in the last week so i thought it was about time i rang the Indian help centre which is advertised as being a 24hr 365 day a year service.

I have been trying to get through for the last hour only to get a recorded message saying, 'Our services are open from 8am to 8pm' and then the line cuts off.

WTF?

Very very p!ssed off at the mo and by going on many posts on the the BT Help website I am not alone.

 

[moonloops]

Switch to plusnet. They are owned by BT so the migration is easy.

They have UK call centre and 24/7 cover.

I called them last weekend due to a local exchange fault. Spoke to the same chap throughout. They even called back after fault was fixed to ensure all was OK.

I can PM you a referral link if you want.

 

[markjay]

It's all in the small print...

You 'misunderstood' their promise.

British Gas are 'committed to come to you same day'.... 'except in peak times'.

Since when have major UK providers ever given consumers un-conditional assurances?

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Admittedly when we were with BT Broadband I had so many problems, and I found myself dialling different numbers every time.. what was most insulting is that they even suggest you check their FAQs on their website before proceeding with the call.. not much use when your broadband ain't working cos some numpty disconnected you by mistake at the exchange for the 23rd time.

Each time I got through to someone I was told to switch everything off, unplug the phone and the hub, every time I knew there was nothing wrong with the equipment (well... except there was the time the hub had NO green lights on). I was even told to switch off my computer and the hub when I had no dial tone - I asked how that would help, they couldn't answer - so I didn't.

In the end I got so frustrated I switched to a business broadband because my online business relied on it so heavily.. lo and behold - same level of service except.. sometimes... it appeared.. to be 24-7 (365)... but it would often still take an engineer 2 or 3 days to go to the exchange box and plug us back in.

We also have a local trunk box about 50 yards from our house where some local yobs have pulled the door off and systematically pulled wires out - I reported this and 3 years on they had done nothing to secure that box - I reported it to Virgin Media who share the same box and they repaired the door the next day.

Anyway thats my little rant over - I'm not about to bore myself or anyone else silly with my 904 different complaints..

Here's a number that IS 24-7...or used to be.. I'm not sure if it's the same number you've been trying..

0800 111 4567

 

[219]

Perhaps a '24 hour helpline' means they will answer the phone within 24 hours - if you let it ring that long ?

 

[tpwuk]

If you have Sky TV, switch to their broadband service. I've never had any problems.

 

[markjay]

Had very good experience with BE customer support.

Their website is:

www.bethere.co.uk

(and apparently they are somehow linked to O2 - not sure exactly how)

The help-desk is based in Bulgaria, but it is 24x7 (really) and the Bulgarians are actually very helpful.

 

[renault12ts]

I'm with Talk Talk, the free service introduced some years ago. Always works...and on the one occasion I had a problem, they resolved it.

 

[Martin clk]

Had very good experience with BE customer support.

Their website is:

www.bethere.co.uk

(and apparently they are somehow linked to O2 - not sure exactly how)

The help-desk is based in Bulgaria, but it is 24x7 (really) and the Bulgarians are actually very helpful.

Yup, I agree. I've been very happy with Be. Getting rapid speeds too!

 

[als]

Another vote for Be Unlimited from me too. I used their call centre last night as they had sent me a new wireless-n modem/router and the setup only allowed me to enter a single DNS server address. They were happy for me to telnet to the router and they gave me the command to add the other DNS server address at the command line. They even opened a ticket and put the command there so that I could log in to their support site and copy/paste it.

 

[219]

I've tried the availability checker on the BE website several times over the last couple of weeks , but it always comes back as 'temporarily unavailable' .

I'm now looking for a new supplier since UK Online , with whom I've been for a number of years , have ben bought over by Sky and are now closing down mid January . Sky have offered a deal but I won't have Sky TV nor any of their other services , despite the fact that my sister works for them .

All I need is an unlimited service - I can't get anything faster than 1 meg because I live out in the sticks , so no point going for the fastest , and am as well trying for unlimited use - even if downloads do take weeks sometimes .

O2 will only give me their 'access' package (which has a 20 gig limit) as I'm outwith 'their area' , despite being an existing mobile customer .

Orange are presently looking like the best contenders but I still need to shop around a little .

 

[Aoraki]

I'm with Orange and had two uneventful years with until this summer when it all went wrong. I had the internet develop a fault, ie not working although the phone line was ok. I must have rung the help line a dozen times, now I don't speak Pakistani and they don't seem to speak English!
After two weeks it was eventually sorted by a BT engineer pluging a couple of wires back in at the exchange! Because I'm not a BT customer, only Orange can report the fault etc, and I presume it's the same with all other ISP's.
I might try BT next, pity I can't get fibre but it's never installed in new developments.

 

[stwat]

Here's a number that IS 24-7...or used to be.. I'm not sure if it's the same number you've been trying..

0800 111 4567

Yes that;s the "24-7" helpline I rang. It even states on their website that it is a 24hr helpline but when rang all you get is a message saying normal working hours are between,,,,etc!!

We have agreed to have Infinity fitted but I am now seriously considering changing that order as there seems to have been a nationwide problem with it over the last week or so according to many on the BT help website forum.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Yes that;s the "24-7" helpline I rang. It even states on their website that it is a 24hr helpline but when rang all you get is a message saying normal working hours are between,,,,etc!!

We have agreed to have Infinity fitted but I am now seriously considering changing that order as there seems to have been a nationwide problem with it over the last week or so according to many on the BT help website forum.

Sorry to hear that, at one time I had over 20 different numbers for BT broadband faults, that was the only one I kept..

 

[grober]

I've tried the availability checker on the BE website several times over the last couple of weeks , but it always comes back as 'temporarily unavailable' .

I'm now looking for a new supplier since UK Online , with whom I've been for a number of years , have ben bought over by Sky and are now closing down mid January . Sky have offered a deal but I won't have Sky TV nor any of their other services , despite the fact that my sister works for them .

All I need is an unlimited service - I can't get anything faster than 1 meg because I live out in the sticks , so no point going for the fastest , and am as well trying for unlimited use - even if downloads do take weeks sometimes .

O2 will only give me their 'access' package (which has a 20 gig limit) as I'm outwith 'their area' , despite being an existing mobile customer .

Orange are presently looking like the best contenders but I still need to shop around a little .

thinkbroadband :: List of Broadband Providers in the UK

Have you also thought about a 3G connection? http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/Coverage_speed

 

[stchris356]

I'm with Orange and had two uneventful years with until this summer when it all went wrong. I had the internet develop a fault, ie not working although the phone line was ok. I must have rung the help line a dozen times, now I don't speak Pakistani and they don't seem to speak English!
After two weeks it was eventually sorted by a BT engineer pluging a couple of wires back in at the exchange! Because I'm not a BT customer, only Orange can report the fault etc, and I presume it's the same with all other ISP's.
I might try BT next, pity I can't get fibre but it's never installed in new developments.

That's why I'm with BT, firstly been with them for about 10 years and I can only remember it going down once and secondly they can't blame somebody else for any service failures or another ISP blame them!

 

[Dryce]

That's why I'm with BT, firstly been with them for about 10 years and I can only remember it going down once and secondly they can't blame somebody else for any service failures or another ISP blame them!

Other ISPs have their own kit in the exchanges these days - eg. O2/BE, EasyNet, and Cable & Wireless.

Personally I don't rate BT's offerings as better than mediocre. Though the situation is complicated as service offerings with all the major ISPs vary according to where you are.

I've had two really bad experiences dealing with broadband ISPs in the last 10 years - sadly one of these was with BT - refusing to accept that a technical problem was down to them and not the customer.

 

[als]

SamKnows Broadband Availability Checker

I'm now looking for a new supplier since UK Online , with whom I've been for a number of years , have ben bought over by Sky and are now closing down mid January.

Try looking on the SamKnows website to see which services are available in your area. The Exchange Checker is particularly useful for this.

 

[markjay]

Other ISPs have their own kit in the exchanges these days - eg. O2/BE, EasyNet, and Cable & Wireless.

Personally I don't rate BT's offerings as better than mediocre. Though the situation is complicated as service offerings with all the major ISPs vary according to where you are.

I've had two really bad experiences dealing with broadband ISPs in the last 10 years - sadly one of these was with BT - refusing to accept that a technical problem was down to them and not the customer.

Yes, this is known as Local loop Unbundling (LLU), and it means that the ISP relies on less BT equipment then they normally would as they have their own kit in the BT exchanges - but the local loop itself, i.e. the copper going to the property, the last leg , is still BT only (unless you happen to be cable customer).

The most common problem I have experienced with LLU circuits is that a BT engineer arrives to the junction box to install a new line, and looking for a free pair - so they connect their earpiece and hear no dial tone (LLU copper wires do not carry voice - just ADSL - so have no dial tone), and disconnect the 'redundant' line... BT's response time for such emergencies is 24 hours, this can be very frustrating, especially if you are a business and this happens several times.

But the bottom line is that it is all down to the ISP customer services. Yes, they all depend on BT to some extent, but from my experience if your ISP is BT then they can be very difficult to deal with when it comes to support.

 

[stwat]

I gave up on the helpline and PM'd a mod on the BT Help website. He got on the case very quickly and managed to get the cap reset at the exchange which reduced the noise on the line from 34db down to 5.9db. So irecomend anyone having problems to contact admin and mods on the BT help forum as the service from them is first class


BUT. The speed is till as slow as before

I now have an IP profile of 14.500kbps but still only have a throughput speed of only 385kbps I should be getting a throughput speed of 11.000kbps with an IP speed like that!

I have emailed them again so hopefully it should get sorted.