Privatisation and customer service are at opposite ends of a scale. Once telecoms industry privatised, the customer (I you, me, EVERYBODY) was basically totally fucked (excuse my language) the minute any of you were to have a problem that needs fixing. Like a bunch of kids breaking your favourite vase – you will never find out who did it, they’ll all just blame each other.
Eleven years ago we moved our ‘services’ from BT toTiscali as BT were complete arses during our move… we upped sticks and took the line, the broadband and the phone away… what we didn’t realise in this ‘act of rebellion’ was that we might not have any contract with BT but they still own all the lines so when there is a problem our provider has to creep to BT and see if they’ll help out and fix it. So from day one we were up the swanny. At some point in time between then and now some regulations were put in place and BT Openreach were the ‘missing link’ providing ‘customer service ACTION’ between the script readers with your (our, their) providers and BT who own EVERYTHING
At some other point we tried to switch provider again for a super great business rate. And at some point again the Welsh Government got some spare cash together and decided to solve Wales’ telecoms problems with a national SUPERFAST CYMRU solution…
… and their folks is the start of the ‘nightmare months’.
Ever since the Superfast Cymru work in December the broadband here fluctuates from 6 to 0.6. with the low speed lasting from about 4:30 pm until at least midnight (I’m then in bed so it may be slow until breakfast).
Superfast started the work and put in some new cabinets to which our house is not connected we are ‘too far away’ . The cabinet is not (??) connected properly to the BT exchange as the BT exchange is ’20th Century’ (I quote the latest in a long line of BT Openreach engineering expert) and “what you need in LW is some 21st century telecoms tech”.
So anyway I message Superfast and they say “nothing to do with us mate’… apparently they didn’t touch the ADSL ‘plumbing’.
BT say ‘nothing to do with us mate your contracts with TalkTalk”.
TalkTalk spend 4 months denying they provide our Broadband so can’t provide our wannabee new provider, Axis 4 Business with the appropriate code to switch. (but there is a separate nightmare chapter)
Eventually TT (previously written Talktalk) accept we are their customer . TT engineer booked and is here for 3-4 hours says “nothing to do with us mate”. Complaint is ‘escalated’. We are told to stay in for an engineer ALL DAY Monday. We do, no-one comes. TT say, ” no we didn’t book someone we only scheduled that we need to book someone”. (I know right!). BT Openreach Engineer comes, one of us can’t go to work, says after 3 hours, “that’s fixed mate”, leaves .
TT call from us saying it’s not fixed. 2nd day off for Openreach 2nd visit. 5 hours here. Line checked from house to exchange. “it should be fine now mate”. Call to TT to say it’s not fixed.
3rd day home for an Openreach Engineer. No-one arrives or calls. TT ask if probelm is fixed. PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED
5th Day off for BT Openreach Engineer… We have 40 plus speed readings from the last 4 days listed for him. Apparently we are ‘better than most’. He tries a spot of ‘expectation management” says the problem is probably our “virtual speed” as the “actual speed” is fine and has been for months now (!!!! I KNOW). I say, “surely its the speed WE GET that matters” , he agrees. Says it might be a “Hot Vat “(of something like that – he’s a bit cocky and likes to name drop promises to ring his mate at Superfast “i can’t believe its a year til they come back and do the second fix”, says He. He says that “Hot Vat” or whatever it was is “that Exchange in town runs at capacity when there’s low demand so can’t cope at peak times.”
Here’s the crux. BT would need accept this as a problem and “they don’t like to do that ” but we’re lucky as HE is a senior so he’ll talk to The Man. THEY need to agree that the exchange exchange needs to be a priority for change!
Goes off to ” check the line between our exchange and Birmingham (!!!! I KNOW!!!) …anyway apparently “nothing wrong with that mate”.
APPARENTLY “problem is with TalkTalk”
APPARENTLY “they can’t cope with peak demand, victim of their own success” (!!!! I FUCKING KNOW!!!!!!!!!)…. TalkTalk BT Openreach British Telecom AXA 4 Business ALL OF YOU … now personally I don’t give a flying whatsit whose problem it is, I just want the problem fixed!!! I’m self-employed , had 5 days at home – lost earnings for engineers who all blame each other…. SORT IT OUT YOU’RE LIKE A BUNCH OF BLOODY KIDS AN ITS DRIVING MUMMY HERE INSANE.
…sorry readers … not the ‘rosetintedrambling’ you expect from me but ARRGGHHHH MUMMY NEEDS A RUM
someone i know emailed me this : ” The more I read about your broadband issues and from others, the more I realise we are indeed screwed.
For towns like ours to get fibre BT openreach need to put fibres from their main centres to our local exchanges. Super fast cymru has limited funds from Welsh Govt to give to BT Openreach to do this. But it only pays for about 80% of properties to be connected. They connect a few in the town near the exchange then move onto the next town. If they connected every person in every town there I’d simply not enough bandwidth in their main pipe to their main exchange.
BT openreach could of course use their own money to upgrade..but why..they would never gain enough money back from the investment.”
Maybe you don’t need Superfast broadband; you just need and ISP that doesn’t throttle your bandwidth during peak hours? Zen is one of very few ISP’s who don’t do that, but maybe another is still accessible to you? ISP’s call this throttling ‘traffic management’, and that’s what you’re suffering going from 6mbps to a tenth of that. Of course, they don’t tell you they do that when you sign up.
Two words: Zen Internet.
not here in Powys…