Sharp practices I wonder ?

My friend and neighbour has been on BT broadband (2 mbit) for some years, with one of these silver and grey BT hubs etc. The wireless part of this thing is performing very badly. Only on RF channels one and two, can you get anything, via the wireless and then the computers have to be next to the hub. Going in the next room gives nothing at all.

Anyway in desperation he asked me to take a look, (he also had other Windows problems) and I suspected a fault with the hub. So we rang BT support and after being passed from pillar to post we finally got to talk to someone. Then they simply told me (I was speaking to them on his behalf) that unless he upgraded his connection to ADSL MAX (for free) they could not do anything to help. However the upgrade requires him...

(something I knew, not something they readily told me, but which they admitted when challenged)

...to stay for another 12 months (or was it 18 months ?) so, I suggested to them that if they wanted any hope of keeping his business, they sort out his current problems first, or advise him what to do, if he needed to buy a hub of his own. I asked then, to speak to a supervisor, and was on hold for even longer. Eventually after some irritating discussion on the 'phone with the supervisor, and a total refusal on our part to upgrade my friend's service, the advisor agreed to send out a new hub.

It never arrived.

BT, this kind of practice (making service conditional on upgrading and extending the contract) is UTTERLY APPALLING and you should be ashamed of yourselves.

My neighbour is now using his connection via ethernet, and pondering who to migrate to.

Mind you, nearly all IPS stink, and it is a case of him getting the best of a really bad lot.

He is a Sky TV sub, so I suggest he goes there. Cheap, but very cheerful.

Cable is not a option here. Such a pity really.

I see his / your pain. Can I ask exactly what the problem is in regards to upgrading to ADSL Max ? - your neighbour would get a free brand new hub which should cure his wireless issues. He may also get a hub phone & BT Vision free too if he's lucky. You may well quote the 12 / 18 month lock in - but you don't get owt for nowt these days.

I doubt that they have any of the old hubs to give out and can only send out a new home hub if he upgrades to Max - it sounds like they didn't explain it very well.

Edited by deleted (Wed 04-Jul-07 10:46:48)

If the router is a few years old im not suprised they did not replace it free. With in a year yes but not years old. No other ISP would replace it after that time.

As for not sending the agreed repacement out ... Im not suprised I waited 2 weeks for a replacement hub phone and that was only after 6 calls to them,

You can use ANY adsl router your you like, don't have to get one off BT.

"You may well quote the 12 / 18 month lock in - but you don't get owt for nowt these days. "

are you mad ?? . locked into a 18 month contract for the sake of a cheap router

go buy a descent router for about

I have a voyager 2110 and its far from [censored] paid

Did you actually read my post ? - you not only get a wireless, VOIP home hub (decent kit in my opinion) you get a hub phone & BT Vision (worth hundreds). Go back, read my post again and then think before you start being personal.

Oh, and his broadband will be afaster too !!!.

Edited by deleted (Wed 04-Jul-07 11:14:48)

Hey hold the phone ffs ...........i never got free bt vision lol. Webber where did you hear that one

In reply to:

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"Can I ask exactly what the problem is in regards to upgrading to ADSL Max ?"

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Well, he only uses it for a bit of web browsing and email, and therefore doesn't really need 8meg. He doesn't want BT vision and doesn't want any further lockins.

I understood that the hub was part of the service he was paying for ? If that's the case they are obliged to maintain it surely ?

Not only that he has some kind of associated phone (hub phone ?) which is part of the service, and that doesn't work either. Presumably because of the faulty wireless. That doesn't bother him too much.


If they had simply said: "You need to buy a new hub" or whatever, fair enough, but they didn't, they eventually said, after much argument, one would be delivered within a day or two.

Not only that, our initial request for advice and support, was denied, unless he agreed to upgrade his PAID FOR service, which really isn't on is it ?

Edited by shaunhw (Wed 04-Jul-07 11:19:29)

Neither did I - but if you are out of contract and try to leave they will offer it to you for free.

Outside of this - the vision box is only

Yeah but

I see your point. Although you cant expect BT to replace a wireless router for free when you are out of contract. The currect customer service issues are well known. If things go well - it is great. It's when you have a problem that things go downhill.

If your neighbour has no wish for a further lock in and the associated benefits then I would suggest that he buys a cheap new router - that should cure his wireless problems. Alternatively - he can move to another ISP.

Oh I take it back, install is free just now long as you pay for a months viewing,... thats not to bad a deal.

"Oh, and his broadband will be afaster too !!!."

without knowing the stats of his line how can you say that ?????

Craig - there is no

If his line supports a 2mb fixed service then he'll almost certainly get much more than 2mb on ADSL Max.

My line could not support a 2mb fixed service - only 1mb. With Max I can get 5mb.

His line is better than mine - work it out for yourself.

I was out of contract with BT, so rang up to try to get the reduced rate of

You did very well there - nice one.

Forums are always full of complaints - it's human nature to shout up when somethign is wrong - people hardly ever mention it when things are going well.

AFAIK the Homehubs are a bit Like the Sky Digiboxes.

They are given to you when you signup unlike some providers where you rent the modem/stb/whatever they are yours to keep, which unfortunately also means once the 1yr warranty runs out they become your problem to sort out.

In reply to:

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AFAIK the Homehubs are a bit Like the Sky Digiboxes.

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hmmmm....

Why didn't the customer service people at BT explain that then, instead of trying to lock people in for another 12 months or so... ?

In reply to:

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without knowing the stats of his line how can you say that ?????

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Here (just round the corner from his house) I sync at 7616 down.. So yes it probably would be faster. But as I said, he's not bothered about extra speed. All he wanted was his system to work as provided.

Edited by shaunhw (Wed 04-Jul-07 12:22:31)

i'm afraid I don't have an answer to that

Probably were hoping to signup another customer to an upgrade,make their figures look good?

From what I can gather he is having wireless issues, you say he has a hub. Check the wireless channel it is currently on 11 or thereabouts is usually the best ones to go for lower ones such as 1-5 are most times poorer due to more RF data such a bluetooth passing over the same frequencies.

As for ADSL Max it is a recommended upgrade, the new contract lock in is usually 12 months.

As for Sky somebody who recently moved from BT to Sky will tell you the experience was one of out of the frying pan and into the fire.

We tried all the wireless channels. As I already wrote, it only works on 1 and 2...

As for Sky, my parents have it, and it works well enough. The lady living across the road from my friend with BT internet, also has it (I helped her get it put in) and it works well enough too.

It's not the best, but there are a lot worse around. The problem is when things go wrong, all that hanging around on 08702 numbers..

BT have 0845 numbers which are cheaper. Hopefully they will rethink the use of these and supply them free to BT Landline customers or provide a 01 alternative as BT make no money from an 0845 I think its the same for 0870 but think it gives you a small return.

If you call up BT customer options on 0800 800 150 speak to them about it they will get you sorted with it. As somebody else said you do not need to use a BT router any ADSL router can be used.

BT are on a current stride to get folks into contracts but its also bringing customers who previously were not up to date with their equipment the chance of staying for the extra 12 months and getting a hub free of charge to ensure a easy time.

Hubs are a mixed bag some people moan and moan about them but now mine has been working fine and I have to say when I joined BT it was ok then as the months wore on it was getting worse now I look back and think what was my problem their wasn't one its a decent enough piece of kit which sometimes misbehaves.