Fibre Installation Problems

I am hoping someone can give me some advice.

I am currently trying to upgrade my broadband to fibre, i am currently with Zen. When i contact Zen to order the fibre package, they do a check on my phone number to confirm speeds and availabalilty, they use a BT database called tags on the line http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/totl.welcome which shows that my line is ready for fibre and the speeds i can get, the problem is it lists a wrong postcode on this database which is a about 3 miles from where i live, Zen can't change it as it is not their databse, so they can't progress my fibre order, i have contacted BT both customer service and their 150 number and they say they have no record of this wrong postcode.

Zen have sent me the screenshot of the BT tags on the line database clearly showing this incorrect postcode. Has anyone any advice they can offer, because as it stands i won't be able to upgrade.

Ask them how they managed to connect you to their ADSL2+ service. (Is it a BT Wholesale service you are on, or their LLU type?)

What does this checker say for your phone number? Does it say the same for your full address, and does it say the same for the two postcodes - correct and incorrect? Make sure you note the exchange and cabinet number it gives in each case.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 20-May-14 13:55:15)

I am on the BT Wholesale service as Zen haven't any LLU presence in my exchange.

I have used the website link you have given me, when i try by phone number, it says i can have fibre broadband and gives me the exhange name and the cabinet number. When i try by my correct postcode it doesn't show fibre as being available, when i use the incorrect postcode it also shows fibre as not being available, and when i use my full address it gives the same information as my phone number search with the same exchange and cabinet info.

The cabinet number given for my phone number search and full address search also matches the screenshot that Zen sent me, which shows that that my phone number is linked up to the correct cabinet but its this incorrect postcode on this BTtagonline site that they use which is throwing everything out. No one at BT seems to be able to tell me how to get the postcode on this website changed and Zen can't do anything as it is not there system.

Searching by postcode alone is not the way to go, since a postcode can be shared between two or more cabinets, hence give funny results.

The job is down to Zen to collate and explain the problem to their supplier, BT Wholesale who will then work with Openreach to fix the database if there is an actual problem.

Has Zen actually tried to place the order, since it sounds more like their own pre-order checking is failing, rather than the BT Wholesale system.

Yes, i ordered it from Zen with the incorrect postcode last week, it was noted at the time that the postcode on this bt tag on the line site was incorrect, the Openreach engineer was booked to come yesterday, but never showed up, i contacted Zen this morning to get them to look into why the engineer never showed, they came back to me saying that Openreach had told them that the engineer had turned up at 2:10pm at the address and had been told by someone at the address that they hadn't ordered fibre broadband, so if the engineer is telling the truth he obviously went to the address that the incorrect postcode relates to.

Zen are now telling me they should never have accepted the order in the first place and can't accept a new order until this BTtagontheline database postcode is corrected and that the only people that can correct it are BT yet they are denying that this postcode error exists.

BT is a big organisation willing to bet you are talking to the consumer arm who are nothing to do with this database.

It is down to Zen to chase on your behalf, i.e. escalate this within Zen to someone who knows who to contact in the right part of BT.

Any advice on the best way to escalate it? i am not too hopeful it will be resolved to be honest.

Talked to one of the Zen reps who post on the forums?

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Searching by postcode alone is not the way to go, since a postcode can be shared between two or more cabinets, hence give funny results.

That's why I asked for all those tests, to see where there was any consistency and what went wrong .

Is there another road with the same name at the wrong postcode?

For instance I live on My Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, but there is another My Road, Stockport.

Four miles away on the other side of Stockport.

Looking up My Road on a Postcode checker it is easy to select the wrong post code. I'm wondering if that is how the tag database got corrupted, as it's the other one that appears first in the list for My Road.

I suggest that you also check your Address on the Royal Mail Postcode Finder, as the source of UK Postcodes; and quote its contents to Zen etc.

http://www.royalmail.com/postcode-finder/

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Is there another road with the same name at the wrong postcode?

For instance I live on My Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, but there is another My Road, Stockport.

Four miles away on the other side of Stockport.

Looking up My Road on a Postcode checker it is easy to select the wrong post code. I'm wondering if that is how the tag database got corrupted, as it's the other one that appears first in the list for My Road.

I would say thats exactly how it has got corrupted, the postcode that is incorrectly linked to my phone number is for an area 6 miles from my address but it has the same street name as mine, it is quite common for junk mail to arrive at my house with my name and correct address on it but with that incorrect postcode, its just so frustrating, i am not getting anywhere close to speaking to someone at BT who can help change a simple entry in a database.

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

I suggest that you also check your Address on the Royal Mail Postcode Finder, as the source of UK Postcodes; and quote its contents to Zen etc.

http://www.royalmail.com/postcode-finder/

Yes, its fine on the Royal Mail postcode finder site, i have been a Zen customer for 9 years and they have my correct address on file for all of the time i have been with them, i have my phone line through BT and the billing address that BT have for it is correct as well, as is the installation address they have on file for my phone line, but for some reason this BT tags on the line database that is needed to order fibre has this incorrect one of a property nearly 6 miles away, which shares the same street name.

In reply to a post by RaveDave:

i have been a Zen customer for 9 years

i have my phone line through BT

but for some reason this BT tags on the line database has this incorrect one of a property nearly 6 miles away, which shares the same street name.

The database will be one way down in the hierarchy, used by Openreach; you cannot directly tell them to amend anything - it has to be done through one of your service providers; in this case it is likely to be BT Wholesale, who you can't talk to directly either. They must be requested from the layer of service provider above that.

It seems that Zen, as one of these service providers, thinks they cannot request this change, so are passing the blame onto BT (Retail) as the provider of your phone service.

Unfortunately, this sort of thing is going to be *way* beyond the script of someone in the Indian call centre. You need to work out how to bypass them, and get to someone who understands you.

When I ordered fibre, my order stalled because of a problem with the a database - badly enough that the failed order couldn't even be deleted by anyone. My ISP (Plusnet) knew enough to escalate this issue (presumably to BT Wholesale), where it became known as a "bridge case". I suspect this is the BT-internal terminology used when someone needs to go in and manually fix the that database.

I've also had a case where an old ISP (Demon) had forgotten to remove their tag from the database, and had to chase them before a new service could be ordered. That didn't turn out to be much of an issue, once you found someone in the Demon support team who understood what tags were.

If you can't get some at BT support to understand you, I'd suggest an email to the BT CEO, in order to get them to clang the right heads together. His team of trouble-shooters would appear to be good at untangling the layering of CPs that we now suffer.

Edited by deleted (Wed 21-May-14 12:14:09)

The problem has now been resolved, i emailed the Chief Executive of BT explaining the problem and he passed it on to his senior complaints team. It took them two weeks from my initial contact with the Chief Executive to get it resolved but it finally is, the difference in attitude between his team and the normal BT customer care people is remarkable, i had phone calls every day updating me on what was being done and i was given a direct contact number for the woman on his team looking after my case.

If anyone has similar issues don't waste your time with contacting BT customer services go straight to the Chief Executive.

Good news

I have just raised a similar issue with their senior complaints team a couple of days ago, so I hope for good outcome too.