Adding external domain for mail use with BT

[DebbieS]

I want to use mail from an externally hosted domain in my BT account (I will then upgrade to Office 365 Small Business).

I don't want to move the domain registration and I will manually change the MX records once everything is set up within my BT account.

I have added the domain in MyOffice (using Use an externally hosted domain with BT Email or Web hosting under the "Domains" option). It currently says "Pending verification".

I spoke to someone at BT yesterday who said that the existing domain hosts have to approve this request. Why do the existing hosts have to approve the request? I am just setting up a new mail service for the domain with BT and I will manually change the MX records. It has nothing to do with the existing host. 

How long does the verification take?

Thanks

[Stephenc]

Hi DebbieS,

Apologies but you have been misadvised, they may have been talking about a transfer.

To setup the domain name with BT, if ordering for an office365 for small business licence, I would add this first.

Then:

1)  Login to http:/myoffice.bt.com - manage services - email - add new user - attempt to create a new user @yourdomainname.com

2)  This will then say the email address needs to be verified under the email section, at this point an automated email should be sent to your primary btconnect.com address and possibly your contact email address.

3)  Check this email and this will give you two MX records, update both in your hosts domain control panel (ensure the priority is set correctly).

4)  Go back to myoffice once this propogates - email - click verify email address.

The domain should now show as verified, the first mailbox may take upto 20 minutes to create, once this is done you can create more mailboxes.

Thanks,

Steve

[DebbieS]

Thanks Steve - I even said to the person I spoke to yesterday that this made no sense as I didn't want to transfer the domain from the existing hosts and I hadn't instigated a domain transfer. Very frustrating that operators can give out such false information and not understand simple queries.

My goal is to have a single mailbox running Office 365 Small Business Ed. I would like this single mailbox to have incoming mail from my xxxx@btconnect.com address AND a few addresses @myowndomain.co.uk. I assume that this is possible?

I have followed your advice below and under "Email Summary" I now have two addresses (@btconnect.com and @myowndomain.co.uk - pending domain verifcation). I will proceed to update the MX records.

Once this has been verified, my assumption is that I will be able to proceed and configure the mail from all addresses to land in one single mailbox which I can then upgrade to Office 365 Small Business.

Thanks

[DebbieS]

Steve - the domain is now verified and the MX records updated so mail is flowing to info@mydomain.co.uk without a problem. I also want to add user2@mydomain.co.uk as an alias but it keeps failing. I have also tried to create a new user with the address user2@mydomain.co.uk but this also fails and says the address already exists. Ive double checked the list of email addresses and it definitely isn't listed.

Who do I contact to sort this out?

Also - when I add a forward, the mail doesnt send and the sender gets an NDR. 

[Stephenc]

Hi Debbie,

Sorry about the information you were previously given, if the tech desk can't answer your question, they should transfer you to the domain name services department.

It sounds like the alias creation may have failed, do you perchance have the user2@mydomain.co.uk on an online bill at www.bt.com, go to www.bt.com - click forgotten password and see if the user exists here, if so, login and change it to an address not hosted by BT, e.g. hotmail, gmail.  Then try and recreate.

If this still fails, contact the helpdesk on 0845 600 7020 and they will likely need to transfer you to the email team, if there is an error this end, we may need to pass this off to be resolved, which can take upto 48 hours.

The forwarding should work, unless you have forwarded to an address that doesn't exist or to the address that you are forwarding from (creating a loop).  The helpdesk should be able to sort this out too.

Thanks,

Steve

[DebbieS]

Just wanted to add a note about my TERRIBLE customer service experience from BT over the last few days about this problem.

I called on 23rd about the alias problem and was told that I couldn't add an alias because the address already existed as an inactive user. I was told that I had to reactivate the user and set up a forward. This sounded crazy - why could the inactive user not just be deleted? The user was reactivated and the foward put onto the account. I also wanted to add another alias but it kept failing for me. I was advised that I would receive a call back today. I didn't receive a call back but mail sent to the alias is being delivered to the correct mailbox even though I can see no reference to this alias in the user settings.

Today I used the online chat service to ask how to upgrade to Office 365 Premium. I was told to call 0800 800152.

I called this number and was told I should have been given the number 0800 800 150. He put me though.

When I got through I explained that I wanted to upgrade one single email account to Office 365 Small Business Premium. She processed the order but didn't ask what account I wanted to upgrade and said that I would receive an email from the "back office" team and that would contain a link which I would click and select the account I wanted to upgrade.

The email arrived in three minutes but only contained my btconnect.com email address and no mention of a link to select which account I wanted to upgrade. 

I called Tech Support and was told it was a problem with sales because they had sold me the wrong product and they needed to fix it. He was in the NI call centre. He took all of my details, including the order number but then put me through blind to the sales department (ie didn't pass my details through to the operator). The lady who answered could hardly hear me and wasn't impressed when I explained that I'd been put through blind. She also couldn't hear me because "id been transferred from the NI call centre". She then promptly hung up because the line was so bad.

I called the sales department again as directed. I was told I had been put through to faults. Eventually I was transferred to the sales dept. The sales department told me that there was nothing that they could do and that I did need to speak to Technical Support.

Finally I was put through to someone who knew what they were talking about. I asked why I'd been given so much incorrect information and I was told that "because people don't know what they are doing in and I have to deal with issues like this all day long to sort out the mess". A great image that BT are giving customers! A self admission from 2nd level engineers that the 1st level and sales team don't know what they are doing and are given inadequate training and causing problems all day long. 

Then the engineer told me that it would take over 48 hours to upgrade the account to Office 365 Premium! I am only with my parents for a few days and really wanted to sort the issue out for them. This now wont be possible.

I've worked with BT as a key supplier in my job for almost 8 years and my experience today matches the usual experience I have with all BT businesses. Clueless people in call centres who just tell the caller anything to get them off the phone. Call backs that never happen. Incorrect information given out rather than the operator taking the time and the effort to find out the correct information. I've recently moved to Australia and I can quite easily say that I don't have the same issue with Telecom suppliers there. 

I would like to know how I can make a formal complaint so that each person I spoke to today who gave me incorrect training can receive the training they need so it wont happen again. Or perhaps a P45 would be the best solution for some of them - espeically the person in sales who processed my order as she clearly didn't have a clue.