Five days BT Infinity installation

So I place an order for BT Infinity Business and they could immediately tell me an engineer would be available in 5 days (6th May). This is fantastic, but it is totally on contradiction to everything else that has happened and that BT has done:

1) about a month ago, I noticed a new FTTC cabinet, and I ran all the checks and it said it's not yet available, so, I call them up to upgrade to ADSL2+ and they set an activation date for a week later. On activation day, I swap old modem for new one and it doesn't work. Turns out they activated a new broadband connection on the wrong line, instead of upgrading the existing one!
2) I get mad at them and they tell me there's nothing they can do, so they will cancel the order for the NEW connection, and after some interesting conversations, the sales rep tells me there's FTTC available on the line and he advises me to not cancel by BT dsl so that we could get "up to 30 meg" as he put it. I asked him WHEN and he simply said in ten days, an engineer would visit and finish the install.
3) ten days later nothing happens, so today I call them and they say that none of the two(!) broadband lines have had any orders placed on them. So I ask them why didn't they cancel the other one when it was their mistake, and they can't tell me. I asked them why wasn't the real line upgraded to ADSL2+ or FTTC and they don't know.
4) So when I finally say "ok just give me fttc for the current broadband connection" they promptly and without hesitation get everything ordered and arranged.

Eager to take our money, clueless on how to manage it!

Edited by Saltank (Wed 27-Apr-11 13:51:14)

Glad things might be sorted, this is one reason I chose not to go with BT...

And you have shown a speed test...

I think anyone with a 40mb sync would see the same speed test on a BT infinity product.

Bad example.

The reason I wouldn't (Didn't) choose BT wasn't my speed test, I am perfectly aware someone on BT Infinity would have the same speeds as me. I was simply agreeing with the OP!

Getting BT Infinity does seem to be a bit of a lottery as regards things going ok. It was for this reason that I was concerned when I ordered Infinity, however in my case all went as it should. At the price point of Infinity it really is worth it especially as option 2 now has no FUP limit.

This particular BT Infinity install will be on behalf of colleagues - our own new line will be installed...on the same day! After which I'll be placing an FTTC order from another company.
I really am guessing it might be abit of a lottery as the premises are REALLY old and, the current modem WILL have to be placed on an extension and not the master, because the master is in a really poor place.

The VM 50Mbit speed test is my home broadband.

The modem will go at the master and the router can be relocated elsewhere. The two are separate.

An update.

Today someone called when I wasn't in (and they chose NOT to call the designated contact number, my cellphone... lousy [censored]) and said that they have cancelled the BT Infinity installation.

Later on when I called, the clueless lady, reading from a script or something, just told me that 'due to a systems failure the engineer can not install the service tomorrow'. Upon further clarification I got a moot confirmation that it's THEIR scheduling system, or something, and not the actual technical aspects of BT Infinity. They promised someone was due to call back this evening to confirm another date, but alas nobody has.

I am glad, from this experience, that I will not be ordering anything from BT ever again. Tomorrow we have an XLN line being installed by an Openreach engineer, and then I'll be placing an order for FTTC from another provider.

Words can not describe how much disrespect is owed to BT and their total lack of competency. I understand they're under a lot of stress and all, but I do not care, I don't think anybody should care, not after they have lead me by a string for over a month now.

recommend aquiss you will get excellent service

I can't recommend Aquiss highly enough either, yes it costs a bit more but more than worth it IMO.

have fun paying the competition more if it makes you feel better.

I had two engineers from Openreach come to install our own new line today, and they did a good job at dealing with the horribly old wires and everything, in the end they managed to get a new socket installed and I'll be placing an order for FTTC soon.

One of them said he had a look inside the new FTTC cabinet and it was empty, as in, nobody has been connected yet! Ultimately, they were nice enough and did a good job, but the same can't be said for everything else that wastes so much of our, and their, time.
I was told that when FTTC is installed, they'll have to swap the new socket they installed and basically, it's a very convoluted process which could have been made simpler if it was possible to place for an FTTC order immediately without ordering a new phone line first.


With regards, to the existing line that has BT Total Broadband - they called and said 'due to a system block' of some vague and odd kind, they can't get an engineer out. I've not heard anything more preposterous, but they promised to get someone here on Tuesday. I'm not sure what is going on, but I feel sorry for them and how much money they're wasting from being so unproductive!

I'd rather give my money to Aquiss rather than to BT.

Aquiss is far better imho, great customer service and I like paying that bit more for a lower contention and non-traffic shaped service.

In reply to a post by Saltank:

With regards, to the existing line that has BT Total Broadband - they called and said 'due to a system block' of some vague and odd kind, they can't get an engineer out. I've not heard anything more preposterous, but they promised to get someone here on Tuesday. I'm not sure what is going on, but I feel sorry for them and how much money they're wasting from being so unproductive!

Openreach and Wholesale are very much going down the line of "The computer says..." It seems impossible to do anything unless it is on the computer; so if the ordering system (or your individual order) is loused, then you've had it.

I know... having ordered FTTC on 25th March.

In reply to a post by orly:

have fun paying the competition more if it makes you feel better.

It might get him or her a service though; BT were too incompetent to supply one so it wasn't an option. But they're cheap, right?

your mising the point u pay for what u get lol NO CONNECTION in this case. we are only offering our opions as customers of aquiss . we know ur probably on BT PR payroll the way you constantly defend them and dont regonise other suppliers

I'm sure I will eventually suffer through this ordeal and get FTTC going, but another thing that was REALLY worrisome was the distribution point (DP) which houses the copper cabling. When the engineer opened it, it was apparent everything there is ancient, with lots of dust and spider webs, and some of the wiring started snapping off as he was handling it, luckily he said it should hold, but ideally it has to be fixed.

I told him I'll pay for him to fix it, but I don't think he was ready to do that since it was Friday and it's probably a lot more work than he expected. What do we do next?
At some point over the past several years, BT have been warned of the condition of the dp a few times and they've done nothing! I'm sure due to the state of the wiring and the dp box itself, the quality of the phone lines and internet is already being degraded and one day it'll just snap or something.

I would like to avoid that, of course, but it seems BT don't care, even though it's their wiring. Any suggestions?

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

your mising the point u pay for what u get lol NO CONNECTION in this case. we are only offering our opions as customers of aquiss . we know ur probably on BT PR payroll the way you constantly defend them and dont regonise other suppliers

People who make such statements anonymously are about the lowest form of forum life. Would you dare speak to anyone like that face to face in a public place?

If you want to be gratuitously insulting, at least have the courage to register and put a name to your remarks.

As for the insult itself, that is just simply and obviously factually wrong. See the extremely helpful and impartial data in the "Comparison" link in his sig. Have you ever done anything as useful in your whole life?

actually i would !

Have ordered from IDNet and an appointment is made for next Wednesday, only time will tell if something gets cancelled again...

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

The modem will go at the master and the router can be relocated elsewhere. The two are separate.

The modem can go at the remote end of the OR Data Extension Kit. That's what the kit is for. See See this screenshot of an OR document. Note the position of the Data Extension Kit.

Order Delayed

Dear Mr X,

We are sorry to inform you that BT Wholesale have notified us of a delay to your order due to :
:

Yes, due to " : " which is another poor reason, or lack of any explanation whatsoever!

I thought I had bad luck!

I've been trying to get FTTC since March 3rd. BT tried and failed for 6 weeks and Plusnet are now having a go. During that period I have had 3 valid MACs (checked by the ISPs). The number of orders rejected is now into double figures!

The reasons given so far are:

A MAC is needed (although one was supplied) x 3 .
The MAC is invalid x 2.
The MAC doesn't match the phone number x 3.
"Something" is preventing the order being placed x3.

There must be some kind of computer glitch causing this. It's surprising that no one can get into the system to fix it.

If Plusnet fail I will likely order a new line with FTCC and call bundle from BT. At the moment this is free. I hope it will then be possible to cancel the existing line rental and transfer my old number to the new line. Can anyone advise?

Edited by ffox (Sun 15-May-11 09:37:56)

I too have suffered the complete incompetence/ineptitude of BT. I ordered FTTC with Aquiss on 20th April & received an installation date of (Friday) 13th May. The date should have given me a clue as to what would happen. Engineer showed up and fitted the faceplate/modem and it sync'ed with the cabinet OK. Trouble was there was no data stream (if that's the right way to put it). Router reported "No DHCP/PPPoE detected".

So the Openreach engineer made a few calls and then left saying he'd be back. To be fair he did come back, 2 hours later, to tell me the job had been "cancelled" by "someone" who hadn't even notified him! Cue lengthy chats with my ISP (who I have to say are first-rate, humans on the end of the phone, calls returned quickly as promised) who eventually said BT need to "re-order" and will be in touch with a new install date.

Thankfully I got reverted back to my O2 ~4mbps connection for the weekend.

If I hear any more stories of BT whinging about poor uptake of FTTC though I'm going to scream. They really are a useless company and how they have made these recent profits I do not know. If I could avoid ever doing business with them ever again then I would.

Sorry...rant over!

Got a new message giving a new installation date:

"Your broadband order has been given a committed delivery date of Thursday 26th May 2011. Your service should be activated by 6pm on this date."

Too good to be true! Still I am hoping for the best.

In reply to a post by Saltank:

Got a new message giving a new installation date:

"Your broadband order has been given a committed delivery date of Thursday 26th May 2011. Your service should be activated by 6pm on this date."

Too good to be true! Still I am hoping for the best.

As one now wise and experienced in this process, I assume you will: "Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst."

@Saltank
Good luck and I hope all goes well for you!

My ISP (Aquiss) called Monday evening to say that resubmitting the order failed because my original MAC had expired! Had to get a new one from O2. I've not had a date through yet for BT's second attempt at installing my FTTC despite their promise to "expedite things". On Friday it will be exactly a month since I first ordered... I have no confidence that it will be anytime soon. If it wasn't for seeing all the wonderful speedtests on here I'd question if all this hassle is actually worth it! After all I'm going to be spending more than twice what I currently pay for internet access...

I swapped just for the hell of it, from O2 6Mbps at £5pm, (just before it was going to rise a bit), to IDNet 40000/10000. (Home Starter Fibre £23.39pm). As I'm a lite user it ticked my boxes against Infinity.

Normal browsing is a bit snappier, as modern picture/video-rich sites are quicker, but occasionally I have to download software files.

For example in the last few days I (twice ) had to download Nokia's Ovi suite, 70-95MB IIRC. Took a few seconds - great! I think the chap at the other end of the help line who asked me to do the second download didn't understand when I told him it had finished downloading and was installing.

(Edit - typos).

Edited by RobertoS (Thu 19-May-11 09:47:00)

@RobertoS
Thanks for the positive comments. I currently squeeze about 4-5mbps out of my O2 connection & cable isn't available in my area. I honestly felt hard-done-by until reading people overjoyed at getting 1mbps out of their lines. Puts things into perspective I guess. By the way I picked my router based on your recommendation in other threads by the way so I hope it's not going to let me down!

Aquiss have just emailed me to say BT are coming tomorrow to try again! They can't possibly screw it up twice....can they?

Hope it all goes well MadPom

I get a voicemail at 8AM from a BT Engineer. I call back, and he's saying he's at the premises installing the line, for BT Infinity!
No warning, no notification! How stupid would it have been if the offices were closed and they would say they're charging a fee because nobody was there, yet they never informed anyone that they're coming!

I'll update with line statistics after I get to the office. Unfortunately they had to move the modem back to the place where the socket is, downstairs. My computers will be losing internet access for a few weeks while we wait for our own line from IDNet. The reason was that it would be a 'different charge' or something if they had to extend the line to where the modem for the old Broadband is right now.

@Saltank - Hope you at least get connected & it works.

BT haven't even been to me today - they visited my cabinet earlier this morning and discovered from there that it still wasn't going to work. I've just had a call from Aquiss now to tell me BT won't be coming over, and it's going "up for review" at some point. They couldn't tell me any more at this stage but have promised to call later.

Needless to say I'm incredibly cheesed off with this. In all seriousness how many attempts should I be allowing BT to actually get this right? Or should I face facts now I'm forever doomed to ~4mbps unless Virgin decide to cover that extra mile to my house after all?

I think we're all early adopters, despite the fact that this product has been implemented for a few years now, the fact that BT seem to be using a broken down computer system in addition to completely ineffective work practices and strategies, will mean that unless they change that (dramatically), everyone will continue to have the same problems.

It's not like the good old days when the market was pretty much saturated and everyone knew (at BT and other ISPs) what they were doing, so the customers had a reliable time frame.

I'm no expert, but from the way I've seen things go wrong, their decentralised department strategy is doomed to failure: - everyone's order goes through different people at different places through different computer systems, and when there's such a huge strain on the company to deliver (lots of demand) and they don't have the resources, it'll just get worse.

Good luck with your connection, and the one thing I would advise is that you wait, like we have (check my first post here, it's a while back!) Eventually they'll get your FTTC conneced!

Edited by Saltank (Fri 20-May-11 11:15:10)

Well Aquiss just left me a voice mail. Seems BT have admitted there's a fault with the cabinet. Now seeing as I'm the first person to be enabled, it's clear they didn't test the thing after they implemented it. I work for a major IT firm & if we demonstrated this level of incompetence we'd be facing serious fines from our customers, assuming we had any left!

Anyway the earliest BT can look at the cabinet fault is the 27th. 7 days! This leaves me with no confidence whatsoever in the system, especially as I rely on broadband for work (on-call at 3am for example). In nearly 3 years my O2 broadband has never failed. I'm starting to think that my slow-but-rock-steady O2 connection is better than will-it-ever-work FTTC?

Had a think about it & decided to cancel my order. Can't fault Aquiss in the matter - they've been great and handled my cancellation request/refund promptly. However BT are just useless. There's no way I'm paying £50 installation, plus £36/month (with a 12month lock-in) for the sake of being their guinea pig! I'd rather stick with a slow but reliable connection that's less than half the price.

I might try ordering again in 6 months, but for now I don't consider it worth it!

It took the engineer five minutes to connect everything, and said it's not his 'job' to do the speed test or anything, because I had to provide my own router. I went with the Linksys E4200, and it seems fine so far.

Here's the speed test: http://www.speedtest.net/result/1313187406.png
He showed me a text he received on his phone saying it synced at 40/10 (maxium speed). So here's to hoping things stick this way.

Edited by Saltank (Thu 26-May-11 15:29:09)

Glad you got connected & it works! I thought the Openreach engineers were meant to perform a speed test regardless of which provider you were using and whatever router? The engineer that visited me tried to get a reading from the modem using his own equipment (of course couldn't due to other reasons).

I have no regrets about cancelling my order, it was rapidly becomming far too much hassle. Will (hopefully) see tomorrow if Openreach still bother coming out to the cabinet knowing I've cancelled my order. The cabinet is faulty regardless of whether a customer is wanting FTTC or not so needs fixing. I'm hoping that someone else in my area will be the "guinea pig" with FTTC instead & I'll re-order in a few months time when I'm more likely to have success.

He said he could only provide to do the speed test if I was using one of their own routers. Incidentally, there was one of their routers lying around, but it was when BT made their initial screw ups trying to get ADSL2+ on another line, and I just had it left over. So he didn't bother because he didn't know any connection settings.

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

Openreach and Wholesale are very much going down the line of "The computer says..." It seems impossible to do anything unless it is on the computer; so if the ordering system (or your individual order) is loused, then you've had it.

I know... having ordered FTTC on 25th March.

I had BT broadband back in 2002 and they were very much 'The Computer says ...' back then. (One of the reasons I left).

I thought the Openreach engineers were meant to perform a speed test regardless of which provider you were using and whatever router?

No, they just test that the provided sync rate is within agreed rate.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

What's happened to the JDSU testing Zarjaz?

My engineer was quite clear he had to run through a number of tests using that, IIRC 6. One (or a combination) of which gave the syncs, attenuation, SNRM and approximate distance from the cabinet.

Is that now not the case? I have seen a few reports here of this text message telling him the sync.

He said that in the area, there are only 4 (four) trained engineers that know how to install FTTC and they were stretched out so thin, he was rushing away because he had a lot more work to do in the day, I don't think he cared.

I was also shown a text message with 40000/10000 back in December last year.

Why go with BT when you can have 50Mb/5Mb reliably from VM? 100Mb/10Mb coming soon.
speedtest.net

Reliably? How about this thread?

It isn't the headline speed that matters - its the sustainable speed that is available at the time you need it. It is the response when things go wrong. And to a lot of people it is the mere availability in the first place.

Hourses for courses, as ever.

I guess I didn't make myself clear. Yes, all the JDSU/Exfo stuff is still done, including a final 'Eclipse' test with all the kit in sync, which give the texts others describe. What I was saying is that a 'throughput' speed test is not required, IE using the punters kit and then using speedtest.net, BB Max, etc, etc.

Thanks. I think I confused you with my q as well.

I didn't expect the engineer to do a speed test, not even the BT one. But the distinct impression given by several posters recently has been that the JDSU info is not available, or even JDSU testing has not been done.

From what you says, it is, but some people are just asking the wrong question(s). The text though seems to be to do with the modem sync, rather than the JDSU? That wasn't something I was told I don't think - bah! .

"All the kit"? Modem & user router, (HH3 on Infinity), or just the modem?

The first engineer i had in gave the impression he knew what he was doing and only tested to the supplied VDSL modem.
Wasnt shown the text, verbally said a stable 39.1meg.
He did say he checks in and given a job which could be next door neighbour or 35 mile away the other side of Brum- Where the common sense there thats 2 1/2hrs travelling time.

The second engineer i think the mrs knew more.

I am getting severe fluctuations in speed, more so serious lag at undefined times. Open a web page nothing, pages almost time out at times then suddenly wham. Same with speed tests loads of lag and when finally going it just registers peak speed.
Personally think its the local exchange or routing and was told BT dont supply such data.

To top that have had sub 0.3meg to 1meg for several days before BT put it right, now reappeared again 10 days ago sorted yesterday.

The text though seems to be to do with the modem sync, rather than the JDSU? That wasn't something I was told I don't think - bah!

The Eclipse test is done at the end of all repair and installation tasks. If the installation is an FTTC one, then the test returns two separate texts, the first shows both up and down sync rates (this only works to registered staff mobiles and when there is an open provide or repair task), the second is a copper pair test. It doesn't matter what's in sync on the end, as long as 'something' is is sync. If no router is connected it just displays a different text message.