Yeah, thanks for that, interesting idea. I haven't upgraded the firmware as I didn't have a reason to, but maybe I have one now

Edited by deleted (Mon 07-Jul-14 12:40:24)

OK, it just read that way, but I too have gone through drafting long replies then scrapping them and putting something shorter that upsets the person. Let's move on.

One of the points I was homing in on was that with the wrong numbering in general the engineer will be sent out with incorrect/invalid instructions, as you found with the one sent to the other address. This problem of wrong instructions to the engineer is likely to repeat, and not all will be as co-operative as that one. In the end, even he was hamstrung by it.

How you get the numbering sorted out I confess I have no idea . If all else fails there is always [email protected].

Meanwhile best wishes with the problem itself. It may be possible to fix it even with the duff numbering. If not, remember to include that n any email to that address. (CEO/his office Serious Complaints).

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 07-Jul-14 14:35:40)

I wouldn't think the phone number/address mix up would have any bearing on getting the fault repaired if the SFI was made aware of that in his instructions?

I think we have seen phone number mix ups before where a phone number was changed on a line but the broadband remained active on it because the line was referenced independently of the phone number as such. The system must be aware of the initial activation of broadband on the OP's line and any phone number/address mix up must have been due to human error regarding the OP's account and not specifically a technical problem.

Obviously if any remote tests were done by BT Retail on the neighbours' number they would have been a complete waste of time since, as far as we are aware, they don't have a voice fault. It's surprising (or perhaps not ) that the phone number mix up wasn't rectified after the repeated calls to the neighbour by BT Retail, i.e. end user name and broadband account type not matching the phone number.

Edited by 4M2 (Mon 07-Jul-14 16:06:39)

I could take a shortcut like the CEO's office or the Watchdog email address but I'm already experienced at dealing with BT's support system and I'm equipped enough where it's very unlikely their broken procedures will cause me to become broken.

I am also thinking about all the other customers who are having to deal with BT's broken support system who aren't as equipped as I am to cope with it. I know from past experience that effectively being blocked at every turn can cause a serious amount of stress and anxiety where people break because they can't cope with it. So while I'm still looking to get the fault fixed I'm also learning what is required to get BT to take notice of how dangerous the broken procedures can become for their customers.

For weeks it was impossible to make any progress and much of my time was being wasted following the broken procedures while also doing my own testing and diagnostics. I expected BT's offshore team to be able to handle an intermittent fault but once I realised just how broken the support system is I changed my approach. I became much more demanding. I didn't hesitate to speak up when I knew more than the support agent I was speaking to. I often ended up educating the level 1 and level 2 agents and even their managers and after a while I knew what to say where they couldn't waste much of my time.

I wanted my fibre broadband to work without frequent disconnections and at a reasonable speed but it was like I had to go to war to progress. It had turned into a four-pronged attack plan just trying to get BT to take notice of the broken procedures. It is almost impossible to progress because BT's offshore support team have effectively become a front for what they call the UK complaints team. I don't doubt they are all worked very hard and I'm not blaming them for anything as they are simply following broken procedures. Of course to make matters worse the offshore team are unable to transfer my call to someone who could make a difference not even the managers can do so or so they tell me. Also the UK complaints team aren't required to speak to the customer unless an escalation occurs but it's optional because they can choose to do nothing instead and obviously in my case they did nothing of note during the weeks when offshore had opened a complaint to them.

My UK high priority team case handler hasn't called yet and now I know more I'm starting to wonder if this is the same UK complaints team who have been dealing with my fault for weeks but have done nothing of note during that time. I might not get a call until tomorrow as I was told I have to give them some time to deal with it. I also don't know the plan for making progress but I'm hopeful it's moving along behind the scenes. I was promised they will work quickly to resolve all the problems and I am very hopeful that they can deliver.

I understand why BT have built their support system in this way. Openreach charge the ISP every time an engineer visits due to a customer reported fault like the one that happened for me on Saturday. I believe BT created the broken procedures to reduce the number of chargable engineer visits where BT has to foot the bill. Of course every Openreach's ISP is in the same situation so they all must foot the bill for engineers sent out to deal with a customer reported fault unless of course they can pass it on to the customer. Basically BT/Openreach make a lot of money when the customer's mental health is of no consequence.

I can only wait on the UK high priority team calling me now. I hope they offer a SFI visit.

I don't know why the renumbering orders are ignored after they are passed on from the Order Management team. I tried to find out but as is usually the case there aren't any notes on the system regarding it and the support agent doesn't know either and when pushed I am told I will receive a call back with the answer but it doesn't happen.

Relentless noise from around 15:30:

http://s30.postimg.org/qilbhvrpt/RSHub_Noise_Margin_...

Only the Home Hub 5 is connected to the NTE5. I did consider plugging in a phone to check the line for noise but I rather wait for the UK high priority team to get back to me before I do further testing.

Some syncs:

6. Data rate: 18999 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 22049 / 81485
8. Noise margin: 6.4 / 33.0
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.2

6. Data rate: 18011 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 18066 / 30273
8. Noise margin: 6.1 / 21.8
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 20.2
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 20.2

6. Data rate: 13922 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 11269 / 13610
8. Noise margin: 4.1 / 10.8
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 22.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 22.5

6. Data rate: 13922 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 12095 / 17144
8. Noise margin: 4.8 / 14.6
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 22.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 22.5

6. Data rate: 13922 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 8567 / 15905
8. Noise margin: 1.5 / 13.3
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 22.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 22.5

6. Data rate: 13922 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 12317 / 17745
8. Noise margin: 5.0 / 15.2
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 22.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 22.5

I wouldn't want to bore you with the trials and tribulations that I've had with BT Retail in the past, however by always requesting to speak to managers/supervisors and requesting a text confirmation of agreements I've just about managed to keep my aunt's BT Basic account on the rails - she doesn't have broadband though.

I forgot to add that after I saw the noise seen in the screenshot I tried BT's report a fault facility (BatBoy posted the link a few days ago):

https://www.bt.com/consumerFaultTracking/public/faul...

I'm not sure which test or tests it performs but it could be a whoosh test? Both times I entered my telephone number but it came back saying:

We cannot detect a problem with this line.

What's a BT quiet line test, dial 17070, like at the moment?

I haven't checked because it's been the same for a few days now. There will be a short burst of crackling/popping but it quickly disappears. When I hang up another burst of noise will occur and the hang up noise is usually noisy enough to cause the broadband to disconnect even when the noise margin is very high.