BT FTTP Line slammed by EE

Hi all,

Just getting frustrated since I just seem to be getting no consistent on information on what to do since I keep getting fed different information on the situation. So here goes:

11th October - I get a notification that someone is trying to takeover my line (due to be taken over 21/10) and to call BT to get this cancelled, to which I do immediately, and am informed that this would be cancelled.

20th October - I get a text from Openreach saying that changes are being made to my FTTP service. To which I phone BT and tell them AGAIN, DO NOT go ahead with this takeover as I do not want it.

21st October - Suddenly find that my provider has switched to EE and now stuck on 40/10 instead of the 900/110 that I pay for. I phone BT and ask them to explain. I am told that the line takeover request was cancelled on the 11th, but never actually happened. I am told to wait 24 hours after the service goes live and to contact them again tomorrow.

22nd October - Phone again, and am now told that it can take up to 48 hours for EE to cancel the service. I am then told that BT can take up to 2 weeks to bring back the service, which in my eyes is completely unacceptable.

I did my due dilligence by calling to make sure this wouldn't happen, twice, and it failed.

Where do I stand, what do I do, and is this normal?

Maybe an email to the BT Chief executive. [email protected] That should get to a team which deals with problems.

Complain to Ofcom.

A BBC radio programme such as 'You and Yours' might take up your case.

Write to your MP suggesting that Openreach should have to pay a large penalty for allowing this to happen.

From a case I got involved with last year it still took a week to get a connection reverted even with the involvement of the local MP.

Communication providers seem to think that they never make mistakes and have no quick process to revert changes. Where an active FTTP service is being taken over they should insist on the customer providing the ONT serial number as verification. Hopefully this will addressed with the introduction of One Touch Switch (OTS) processes next year.

Whilst loosing providers cannot block most transfers out there are specific codes which can be sent to the Openreach systems to indicate that the transfer was not requested by the exsiting customer. In your case BT should have done this as you contacted them promptly, but have obviously failed to do so. You should certainly push for compensation.

Once you're back on I would say you are due the £8.40/day compensation from BT as well. This is a loss of service issue, not a delayed installation.

Yes - Please escalate this to the Openreach complaints because this is wholly there responsibility and fault. How on earth in a world where everything is tagged with asset ID's etc, that human error and the postal address system overriders that. The Openreach ONT's have literal barcodes on them, which imo should be scannable to activate a service, especially a working line takeover.

Not an Openreach issue IMO, the physical link is good and the ordering process worked as it should do. It’s not Openreach’s responsibility to check that migration orders are legitimate - it’s 100% on BT for not properly cancelling the transfer or checking the cancellation had gone through properly.

In reply to a post by jpm:

Not an Openreach issue IMO, the physical link is good and the ordering process worked as it should do. It’s not Openreach’s responsibility to check that migration orders are legitimate - it’s 100% on BT for not properly cancelling the transfer or checking the cancellation had gone through properly.

+1 for this not being Openreach's fault.

When I was on Plusnet, I got slammed by Talktalk.

I received a strange letter and a package, both addressed to some unknown person - I returned them both to sender without opening them. I now know that these were from Talktalk, and the package would have been the router. A few days later I was cut off.

Plusnet took about 3 weeks to resolve the problem. I didn't receive any compensation, only a refund of rental for that period.

The main problem was that Plusnet had made no attempt to contact me prior to the migration. If they'd sent me a letter or an E-mail saying "we're sorry you're leaving", I would have known immediately that there was a problem, and got them to cancel it.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

+1 for this not being Openreach's fault.

When I was on Plusnet, I got slammed by Talktalk.

I received a strange letter and a package, both addressed to some unknown person - I returned them both to sender without opening them. I now know that these were from Talktalk, and the package would have been the router. A few days later I was cut off.

Plusnet took about 3 weeks to resolve the problem. I didn't receive any compensation, only a refund of rental for that period.

The main problem was that Plusnet had made no attempt to contact me prior to the migration. If they'd sent me a letter or an E-mail saying "we're sorry you're leaving", I would have known immediately that there was a problem, and got them to cancel it.

Someone I knew had the same thing done to them, Talk Talk tried to move them from plusnet, thankfully Plusnet sorted it out pretty quick.

That was Sky slamming was it not as I recall?

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

Maybe an email to the BT Chief executive. [email protected] That should get to a team which deals with problems.

Complain to Ofcom.

A BBC radio programme such as 'You and Yours' might take up your case.

Write to your MP suggesting that Openreach should have to pay a large penalty for allowing this to happen.

It’s something really that Ofcom as the regulator should be errr regulating - but I fear they (a) don’t really know the actual numbers/incidence of slamming (b) don’t want to install safeguards in the process (like a serial number check) lest it slows down the GPL process and somehow ‘harms’ competition