BT support *sigh*

[SilverHood]

Before I start, I need to vent. Argh. Shit. Crap. Useless. Exercise in futility. FFS. You're joking right? You're not? FFS. FGS. Not again. FFS.

There, much better.

So anyway, internet has been dropping on us on a regular basis. The only way to get it working again is to use the landline to call a mobile phone. This restores service for about 25 mins, after which the line dies again.

We had the same problem about a year ago. Took 4 engineer call outs and 6 months to fix. Determined to get it fixed in a week, I prepared my problem definiton for BT. And made the call.

So I go through 35 mins of hoops with this guy, including IE, firewalls and router settings, and he confirms that my internet connection is working fine. Of course it's working fine, it always works when you're using the bloody phone. So anyway, more hoops, some remote desktop stuff while he checks my router settings, and he confirms that everything is fine. THEN WHY DOES MY INTERNET DROP 5-20 times a day?
It must be a hardware fault, I can give you the number for the engineers. But in case it's a software fault, I'm gonna transfer you to the Home Support service.... "sorry, that's a hardware fault, we only deal with software... call this number..."

Call that number.... and go through 5 minutes of options. Get given another number to call. And guess what. I'm back where I started

So.... explain problem again. No, it's not an IE issues, no,it's not a firewall issue, no, I wont go through 30 mins of remote desktop crap again, just tell me how to call out an engineer.... I get another number....

Guess what? It's the same number I got given above.... press random buttons until I get to speak someone... Oh, you need to call this number....

Guess what? ..... more random buttons.... a new number....
Guess what..... more buttons... a different number....

Redirects me to a another number.... tells me to call.... guess what.... back where I started. And given another number.

Got fed up. More random buttons. Back where I started again. I want an engineer to come out and look at my problem. No, I don't want to open IE to delete cookies and temp files, Engineer to my house please. Tomorrow morning is fine sir? Yes. Yes I'll pay if it's not a BT problem.

So, 2 hours later, much frustration, much wondering if the woman who does the BT voice is good looking, some opera, classical and McFly while on hold, much swearing, spoken to more callcenter staff than I have family members, and it's done. I managed to get an engineer called out to my house on day one. It only took two and a half hours compared to the 3 months last year.

The sad thing about BT is that it's awesome when it works, but as soon as you have a problem.... read the first paragraph.

Anyway, I feel much better after writing that.

 

[Rubric]

Luckily i have a friend who is a bt engineer so when i had spent 2 weeks of phonecalls and broken promises of call backs i called him and he went to the exchange and put the wires in the correct holes for me.

 

[Gray]

I have heard quite a few horror stories about BT the past few weeks, moreso the amount of time you're actually on hold waiting to get through to someone.

Then last night one of my friends kept having his connection die on him every 10-15minutes - I seemed to remember the exact same thing when i was on BT myself a few years ago.

Generally i would get downtime maybe 4 times a year, on each occasion it would be a full 24hr jobbie so it left me somewhat frustrated. But again as you say, when it worked it was great.

Had some similar issues with NTL though, i seem to remember getting a lot more downtime per month than i did with BT, but pretty much as soon as Virgin took over everything smoothed out, and has been grand ever since.

Only thing i hate is the fact i get 2 bills [Phone/TV, then Broadband] its like, why the shite cant you just put them onto one bill. One of them has a direct debit setup, the other one i keep asking they set it up but they never do, so sometimes i get nailed with late payment fines [bastards]

 

[Ormorof]

can only get Kingston communications here, so i was relieved when i saw their prices at £20 a month for 8 meg connection, then i looked at small print... have to pay £10 extra for phone line if you want internet and unless you pay at least £25 a month internet its massively restricted bah

 

[Chilly]

You have to pay line rental for most connections, apart from cable and some other special deals.

 

[Raven]

My BT connection went down last night, after an hours fucking about with some peon in India going through IE cookies and shit (i don't even use IE, i gave up explaining that one to him) they decided i hadn't set it up properly, i explained that i had already disconnected it, left it for 30 seconds, reset its settings and its certainly not my PC. Try my best to explain this to the moron on the other end but i don't think he had the right script cards in front of him so couldn't understand.
After a while i manage to persuade him to let me have an engineer out, he says they will call me back. Get up this morning and its working.

Really really tired of Indian call centres, they should at least make sure their staff are fluent in the language they are taking calls in.

They even managed to annoy me after it was working, they phoned me up to book an engineer, i said that there was no need as its working. Trying to be as polite as i can the conversation went like this

Drone: Can you get a connection?
Me: yes, thanks, i don't need an engineer now
Drone: Can you view web pages?
Me: yes, thanks, i don't need an engineer now
Drone: Do you still need an engineer?
Me: No, i just told you
Drone: Ok, i will just pass you to my supervisor
Me: Sigh

Drone with a star on his badge: Can you get a connection?
Me: Hangs up

Fucking plankton

 

[Rubric]

Our IT support at work is based in India.

My outlook hasn't worked properly for 4 weeks now.

 

[gunner440]

My BT connection went down last night, after an hours fucking about with some peon in India going through IE cookies and shit (i don't even use IE, i gave up explaining that one to him) they decided i hadn't set it up properly, i explained that i had already disconnected it, left it for 30 seconds, reset its settings and its certainly not my PC. Try my best to explain this to the moron on the other end but i don't think he had the right script cards in front of him so couldn't understand.
After a while i manage to persuade him to let me have an engineer out, he says they will call me back. Get up this morning and its working.

Really really tired of Indian call centres, they should at least make sure their staff are fluent in the language they are taking calls in.

They even managed to annoy me after it was working, they phoned me up to book an engineer, i said that there was no need as its working. Trying to be as polite as i can the conversation went like this

Drone: Can you get a connection?
Me: yes, thanks, i don't need an engineer now
Drone: Can you view web pages?
Me: yes, thanks, i don't need an engineer now
Drone: Do you still need an engineer?
Me: No, i just told you
Drone: Ok, i will just pass you to my supervisor
Me: Sigh

Drone with a star on his badge: Can you get a connection?
Me: Hangs up

Fucking plankton

RACUMCISION!

 

[DaGaffer]

I have had the same BT nightmare the last week or so - I've moved house so I wanted to transfer my line & BB, first call - nearly an hour in a queue (left it on speakerphone at work) but when I got through, v. helpful, or so I thought. Moved in at the weekend and the line wasn't working; another hour on the phone to the "home moving team", who then spoke to me for a minute then cut me off! Tried again last night, another hour, although at least this time it was on ringback so I wasn't paying after they called back, to put me in a queue. When I finally got through to some muppet in Delhi, he clearly didn't understand English (seriously, I couldn't understand a fucking word he was saying and he couldn't understand me), so he said he was passing me to another dept. (I think) when it was obvious all he did was put me back in the queue! Waited another half an hour. Gave up. Phoned again at 7AM, got an English person after about 3 minutes, phone fixed, no problem. But I still don't have BB which is supposed to be five working days, so no doubt I'll have another few years of hanging on this weekend.

 

[Jupitus]

I had nightmares years ago getting BB at all to my house in the bad old days of ADSL launch. After lots of hassles I got fed up and emailed the BT CEO at the time. Reply within 10 minutes from his blackberry, assigned to one of his management team, problem sorted in about 2 weeks after that.

A colleague here recently was having tech issues. I told him 'go to the top'. He did. Problem solved next day.

Get the hint?

 

[Tom]

NTL haven't charged me for internet or phone for months. I keep getting bills in credit.

No idea why, but I'm not about to tell them about it.

 

[Raven]

After i left NTL when i moved they kept sending bills demanding i pay -£0.36 they gave up eventually.

 

[Nate]

I could go to your exchange and cut some wires(with special BT provided Wire Cutters)!!! I have your internetz!! Gifv me cookies for ransom or I take a hammer to your equipment!

 

[SilverHood]

Had the engineer out. He tested the line, it was fine... and told me he couldn't deal with the issue because he's a phone line engineer, and for broadband related problems, I need to call out a broadband engineer.

Argh. Time to call up Mumbai or Delhi again.

 

[ford prefect]

Reminds me of when ADSL first came out, before self install, it took four guys to come out one day and change 25 ISDN lines to "normal" phone lines at work. Exactly the same guys came out the next day and changed the "normal" lines to ADSL ones, because apparently it was two completely seperate jobs, and we were charge twice for each job on each line, and then the adsl was as slower than the isdn had been for the next six months or so.