Appalling service and ridiculous barriers to contract termination

[PaulEvans]

Since I signed up in the Autumn there has been nothing but problems. All connection problems - the service drops out intermittently, it often falls over whenever I click on 'complicated' sites (like ...er.  Google Ads or Google Apps, or Facebook for example). Elements of web-pages often simply display as broken links and I get regualar 'security certificate' pop-ups to tell me that services aren't working properly.

As a web-mail user, I often lose work when a half-finished message gets interrupted by a 'you must restart your browser' message. The cost to my business has been substantial.

I'm desperate to get away but they're trying to hold me to the full term of the contract - to charge me the full cost of 24 months! I opened up a complaint very soon after starting with the service. It involved hours on the phone to their tech support and even more hours in the queue on the phone to their tech support. They were calling me back regularly in the end and were unable to do much to improve the service. It got a bit better but there are still intermittent problems. An engineer was sent to check my line - while he was here he replaced it with a new terminal breaking my phoneline in to the bargain (we were without a home phone for a few weeks until they came back to fix it).

The person who was dealing with me (Carol) eventually called me to say that she still hadn't fully worked out what the problem was but she was moving jobs. The problem was still annoying - totally unsatisfactory from any reasonable service standard - but because the problems weren't quite as bad, because I was busy and because I was working away from  home a lot of the time, and because it was a huge hassle getting in touch with them again and starting the whole process again, I delayed continuing with this into the new year.

At the start of this month, the service kept failing again resulting in lost work, lost time and a lot of frustration. I called again and just couldn't get through. Promised callbacks didn't materialise and I finally decided that I'd had enough and wanted out.

I went through the cancellation process on the website on Sunday 9th January. Filled in the form and the confirmation screen promised a call-back by the end of the next business day. Monday - no call. Tuesday - no call. I called them on Tuesday but had to give up before I got to the head of the queue. I had a business trip for the rest of the week and picked it up again on Monday 18th. Again, long waits in the queue to speak to the Customer Options team. Once I'd got through to them they said that I couldn't terminate the contract unless I could show that the service wasn't working. 

I then queued to speak to the tech support team who started conducting their diagnostic tests again (from scratch). Unplugging things, resetting my browser - all disruptive stuff that loses settings that I need for my work. All stuff that I was certain was going to be fruitless because we'd been round the block on this a dozen times before. In the end, I told them it was all pointless, that I didn't want to go on with it (all taking up valuable time) and that I just wanted to terminate. They said that I had to speak to the Customer Options team as they couldn't authorise this. They also told me to expect a callback from the customer options team later that day. It seems that - because I didn't want to go through the diagnostic tests again - that they then marked by problem as 'closed'.

The call didn't come, obviously. I later found out that this never happens. So next day I call the Customer Options team again. 25 min wait before the call was answered by staff who had no record of my wish to terminate. They told me I had to speak to tech support and after a long argument, I gave in.

So I call tech support. No record of the previous conversations and they told me I had to speak to Customer Options to terminate my service. They could do nothing to help. Another long wait to speak to Customer Options who (you guessed it) said I needed to speak to the tech support team who had to tell them that the service was unfixeable before they'd agree to a termination. So - another long wait followed by a long argument with the tech support team who insisted (again) that they had to go through their diagnostics (again). I objected and said it was pointless.

I asked to speak to a manager and was passed (eventually) to Laura <surname removed by moderator>.

Now here's the best bit: Laura told me that I had to spend 14 DAYS working with them on their diagnostics - that the complaint had to be unresolved for 14 days before they would agree to tell the Customer Options team that my service could be terminated. I was furious about this. After a long argument, I pointed out that my case had been unresolved since I opened the account.

I was then told by Laura <surname removed by moderator> that my original complaint (Carol - see above) had been marked as closed - even though her notes showed that the problem hadn't been resolved! Laura said she didn't know why this was but the system wouldn't let her reopen it (doing so would have solved my problem!).

So now I'm having to waste everyone's time doing 14 days of 'diagnostics'. I'm almost certain that they won't work and I'm sick to death of BT Business anyway. I want away. It's been a terrible experience that's cost me time and money and caused no end of frustration.

I'll keep you posted on how it's going though... let's see if someone can come to their senses.

[Fiona]

Hi

I am really sorry to read about the problems you have had with your service from BT Business Broadband. There may be several factors causing websites not to load properly and cause Internet Explorer to keep re-starting. It would be best to confirm that this fault is to do with the service provider (BT Business) and not to do with a hardware or software fault that would remain the same even after swapping provider. 

You never used your BT Business details when signing up, so I have been unable to check on the fault information. If you can please private mail me your BT Business account details and any reference numbers, I would be happy to review the case.

Kind Regards

Fiona

BT Business Forum Moderator

[Mervyn]

I feel sorry for you - I went through (and am still going through) a very similar situation with BT. It seems all they want is for you to 'sign up' and then abandon you. I tried to cancel, but they told me there was a 14 day cooling off period STARTING ON THE DAY I ORDERED, so you may already be too late. I was. It was 14 days before the service started!

I moved all our staff BT mobiles to another carrier. We make all our international calls via a third party by dialling a prefix. I cancelled every BT service that we could do without. I don't pay them by direct debit, I pay them at the last minute. And so on and so on...

It doesn't fix the problem but makes you feel a lot better. As IT director of a small call centre, the funds we diverted from BT far exceeded the cost of an Openreach van for the day...

[PaulEvans]

Fiona,

I've finally had agreement that BT will agree to terminate the service. That was last Wednesday from one of your colleagues - (details removed by moderator). Laura told me that they would be in touch shortly to agree the terms of the termination and give me the MAC code so that I could move the service away.

Laura left me with her mobile number and email address so that I could follow this up. I've heard nothing since and I can't get an answer from the phone or email. I'm really desperate to get this resolved - you've no idea how much I want to be away from your service so that I can have a reliable broadband connection again.

Can you help me bring this to a speedy conclusion please. We're now into the third week of me trying to end this contract - it's dragging on ridiculously.

Thank you.

PE

[mattfort]

yep, they sign you up, then rip you off.

you will waste your time trying to conclude it. you will be better off writing the money off and saving your time and energy.

complain to OFCOM.

[PaulEvans]

BT really are the most specatularly incompetent and frustrating company to deal with. I was promised a MAC code(so I can move providers) during the middle of last week. I've been calling the tech support person who promised this and she contacted me back yesterday to say that it was now being actioned.

Today I get an email saying that my service is being cancelled on 1st Feb. No MAC code - just this notice. I call the customer options team (25 mins on hold AGAIN) to be told that they will have to un-cancel my cancellation if I want the MAC code. This will take up to 48 hours.

If I don't get a MAC code it will take my new providers six working days to set up my new service and it will be a £40 fee (probably payable to BT as my domestic line is with them - for now!).

So you ask and ask and ask for a MAC code and instead they cancel the service. I am now half-expecting someone to tell me that I have to go through the whole rigmarole of trying to terminate my service again .. please god, no!

Leaving BT Business is just a death-march. It takes up countless hours to put on top of the hours wasted by having to work with a bloody awful broadband service.

[PaulEvans]

Something needs to be done about this terrible company and its terrible service. In providing an essential business service so badly, they are effectively imposing a huge cost of small businesses and they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. I've almost made it a project - all of this writing - because I think it should go somewhere and BT should be stopped from providing such a wretched service. I've had to use this forum and Twitter to make sure that they don't ignore me and it's worked up to a point - I'd be a lot deeper in the hole if it wasn't for the fact that nowadays you can complain in public. We're well over 24 hours now since the promise to get me a MAC code 'within 48 hours' was made. I must confess, I'm almost sportingly curious to see if I can actually get this bit of progress finally - within the promised timescale. Almost every single call-back or response has arrived much later than I've been promised. What BT's prospective customers need to know is that the cost of dealing with them is just astronomical. They sell you what is - for many businesses - now an essential service and they have an almost universal reputation for doing this very badly indeed. Almost everyone I've spoken to about my problems using them looked at me like I was an idiot for chosing them in the first place. "Haven't you heard? They're awful!" is the general response. But when the service fails (and it will fail as far as I can see in many cases - my informal polling shows very few people with good experiences) they just mess you around with a combination of sheer incompetence and mendacity. Incompetence because they give you a number to call, you call it, wait in the queue for half an hour only to be told to call another number. It goes on and on and on. I finally snapped and decided to terminate my contract and it's taken weeks of wrangling so far and I'm no more certain that I'm actually going to get out of this than I was when I started (even though they have now told me that they have agreed to terminate my contract). They take up hours and hours of your time and you have to sit on them and try to second-guess them every step of the way.

[PaulEvans]

On Tuesday I was promised a MAC code 'within 48 hours'.

I was certain that this would not arrive within 48 hours.

I was right. It hasn't. 

Pathetic!

[erewego]

I have a nasty feeling that I am following in your path and that of many others it seems.  My Business broadband has been intermittent for several weeks - dropping out for hours on end - and painfully slow at other times.

I phoned yesterday morning and seemed to make progress.  With the aid of a very helpful agent we seemd to isolate the problem internally to my home but "Bill" suggested that it might just be a coincidence so I was to leave the router running from the BT test socket (thus eliminating all wiring internal to the house) and he would call me back just after 12 pm the next day.  The link seemed to work fine except, as I pointed out, it was running at only 1 Meg not the promised >2.5 Meg. This morning it suddenly dropped to 450K and has stayed there ever since.  No problem, I thought - I'll take it up with Bill when he rings.

12 pm has come and gone 2 hours ago and still no call from BT.  I tried calling them on an 0845 number - waiting time > 20 mins.  Tried the live-chat facility but it went into permanent download - probably because my broadband link is too b***** slow.

Emails seem to be working at the moment but not holding breath.  Will try emailing BT (response time > 10 hrs.  Meanwhile this is costing me time amd loss of earnings

[PaulEvans]

It goes from bad to worse. After finally going through weeks of death-march to terminate this service and them finally agreeing to terminate it without me having to pay the whole bill on a two year contract ..... they've send me the bill for the two year contract.

And the only way I can appeal this, so I'm told, is to write or fax to their 'Correspondance Team' (they don't have a 'complaints team' and you can't reach them by email - only fax.

So that's a £600+ bill for providing an absolutely appalling service, wasting hours - days even - of my time trying to get them to deal with my complaint seriously. Oh - and here's the kicker! I knew right from the start that the prolem was their stupid connection software and router and nothing to do with my connection, my PC setup, my browsers, my firewall, the ADSL filters or the connection wires. When I got my new service installed with another company, it worked perfectly straight away - no problems.