Address database SNAFU

I recently tried - and failed - to effect a Change of Provider, adding Fibre and Phone. I'd determined my exchange was recently enabled and queried a BT Openreach eng about actual availability. That big Provider wot also does sat-tv was very happy to undertake, with sky-high promises of what and when.

'What and when' didn't happen. Their guy was unable to effect a connection. I was left with the previous provider. S**'s broadband escalation wonks promised the earth - and that they'd resolve the issue PDQ. They didn't.

After a couple of weeks' telephone calls to Uncle Tom Cobbley - inlcuding the secretive Openreach Fibre Inquiries Team - it emerged that they, Openreach ( or possibly BT Wholesale ) had a small mismatch error in their address database. Their address for here differed slightly from S**'s.

"Surely that would be an easy fix?" thought I. Not so. Openreach were intransigent. So were S**.

I eventually traced the definitive official source of Address Data. It's not the Royal Mail Postcodes office. It is my/your local council.... who were most helpful. They agreed that what I considered my full address and postcode was exactly right, by them, and offered to email-confirm to the Royal Mail office, so I could point would-be Providers of FTTC to that database.

But that doesn't help with the Openreach intransigence. They are non-accountable....

Oh, and the BT Wholesale online Address Checker insists that this telephone line, fully-functional here for the past 28 years, is a 'ceased line'. No amount of speaking to them on it, no amount of Openreach engineers' speaking to them on it, and no amount of emails to them using it has persuaded them otherwise.

So no order for Fibre will be accepted by 'the computer'.....

Should I write a complaint to the Minister, copy my MP - or is there any way to embarass them into sorting this out?

Edited by deleted (Thu 16-Jul-15 12:57:28)

There is a High Level Complaints team that handle email to the BT Group CEO. In 99% of the referrals to them I've seen here over the years they have sorted things quite quickly.

Email [email protected]

That should sort out Openreach, but not Sky. I can't tell from your post if theirs is correct or not.

Oh, and although I understand your post, that email would probably work best as a simple statement of the facts and a request for help . Don't miss out the bit about the "ceased" line.

Edited by RobertoS (Thu 16-Jul-15 13:01:41)

Thanks for that, RobertS.

I've emailed the man, and will post here any outcome... if I can find my way here again.

In reply to a post by bilbobaggins:

I've emailed the man, and will post here any outcome... if I can find my way here again.

Click on the favourite link the top or bottom right of the page of this topic, then to easily find it you just go to "My Home" top of page.

Paul