'Kin BT

TTony

We live out in the country.  We are a long way from the exchange.  A long way along an old and fragile copper wire.  That breaks frequently (water gets into the various joints along the way).

It actually surprises me that we get any broadband at all (on a good day, 2mb).  

For the last 3 weeks, we've had a phone line that's been so noisy it's unusable for conversation.  Broadband speed is <1mb.  I use my mobile instead.  Had a few surreal conversations with the call centre (who insist that there is no problem, and then ask us to repeat our reply because the line's so bad that they didn't hear properly).

in the 3 weeks, we've had 4 separate engineer visits to fix the problem.  The most recent one was at 8am this morning.  (Yup, 8am, New Years Day!).

And they've still failed to fix it.

3 miles up the road, the next village (on a different exchange) are getting fibre to the home.  

'Kin BT.

ESchap

Their call centres are diabolical.   I had broadband drop out on a daily basis for weeks, back in the summer.  Like you, I'd call (even while the broadband was not working) and they'd tell me it was all fine.  Eventually I insisted on a new router .. which they reluctantly sent me (the old one was at least 6 years old), of course problem solved as soon as I plugged it in.

Came back from a trip to the USA back in November and they had somehow and without my consent implemented "parental control" on my router.  Thing was it wouldn't let me on any website at all, even the Fret board!  It said that I had to select if I wanted it  ... pressed "No" and it just crashed out of IE and I was back where I started.  I couldn't get rid of it.  It took 3 calls from me, each time being promised a call back before an eventual call back 2 days after they said they would, to get sorted.  I still don't know what they had done and they weren't for telling me! 

Most recently, when I get a phone call, the broadband goes down immediately and takes about 5 minutes to come back on!  I really don't have the strength to go through their call centre rigmarole over the holidays ...... 

Feel better for the rant on here though, much obliged @TTony

TTony

I think it's the complete powerlessness that is most frustrating.  I'm presuming that we've achieved some sort of internal escalation to have the guy here on a bank holiday, but in 2015 why the feck are we still dependant on such ancient and fragile infrastructure?  (Yes, I know, "shareholder returns").

BT's call centre is the sort of operation that gets Indian call centres a bad name.  "I have a script, and I'm trained to read it ... and only trained to read it".

Apparently, the cabinet that serves us is "full" with no spare wires.  So we're thinking of ordering a second line, just so that they have to run some new cable.  It'd be a business line and apparently there are different standards of service for business lines ...

Sambostar

1 Mbps, you are spoiled.  We get 0.2Mbps. Should be some sort of discount considering I'm paying the same as someone on 40Mbps.

BT Engineer can only identify the fault and put in a work order.,  Usually nothing they can do as headquarters decide the dates and priority. If you are getting an exchange upgrade in two years anyway, they won't do anything.

If you order a spare line, you'll just either get refused, or put on a waiting list.  Why so many people have more than one line is beyond me anyway.  But a free line will get snapped up fast.

At least you can rest assured that you are at least paying more council tax, because the council assume you have a pleasant view, even if you don't and don't even have cavity walls.

Great innit.

Sambostar

You're only option may be to set light to the cabinet, then they will have to bring the work order to replace it in two years forwards.  I would set fire to the next cabinet chased up the line too, it may be a mile or two away to be sure.

Sambostar

Problem is old people who delude themselves that they are still running a business and townies and sub division new development that ruins it for everyone else.  I know 4 bed properties with a family of 4 around here that have 4 lines.  I kid you not.

Set light to the exchange, it's your only hope, if you can wait and time it with the steam fairs next year, you may get away with it.

TTony

Sambostar said:

We get 0.2Mbps.

You have got to be joking.

(I hope.)

Sambostar said:

BT Engineer can only identify the fault and put in a work order., 

Errrmmmm ... then who actually fixes it??  Of the 4 engineers who have been to visit (I presume that they like the view out here), each one of them has tinkered with some part of the connection, replaced a bit here or changed a bit there, so they've all done something.

Just that none of them have actually got as far as fixing the root cause - which - according to today's engineer, is in an underground junction box, on a bend in the road, where they need traffic control lights before they can get access.

Sambostar

That is the point, they can't fix it.  They are told what to do and what the fault vaguely is, if they are faced with a full cabinet or required line replacement, nothing can be done.  They will put in a work order.  It will get done only when the office decides it will be done.

I had no phone, the engineers were ace (Subcontractors), but they arrive expecting it to be straight forwards, they have no background info.  The second guy had to call in a cherrypicker and they had to run a line for over 800 metres for what should have been a simply hook up.  I took the last line available and they had to prove that for two miles from the exchange first.

Everytime a BT engineer fiddles with the cabinet because someone is moaning, someone loses their line, It is the way it goes now.

What particularly fucks me off is the people (Townies) who have two or more lines and don't even work from home or use then for business use, as they seem to make the most noise and the rest of us mere mortals end up losing our one and only line because of it.

Who needs a phone anyway, just you should get a discount, that is an outrage in itself that you don't.

Sambostar

It drops usually down to 0.2Mbps after 7pm it can drop out anytime to nothing.  Usually it is around 1 to 2 Mbps,  Same deal as you mate.

Sambostar

Can of petrol and some matches or a firearm is the only thing you can really use at the moment.

Sambostar

Corroded aluminium I reckon.  Something needs replacing in the cabinet, probably the whole thing, you should be getting up to 5 Mbps at best even with copper far from the exchange. Unless everyone else is online and on Skype, in which case you'll get around 0.2Mbps

Roland

Sambostar said:

Can of petrol and some matches or a firearm is the only thing you can really use at the moment.

JCB? They're quite useful for demolishing street cabinets

TTony

Sambostar said:

Can of petrol and some matches or a firearm is the only thing you can really use at the moment.

Actually, the main box is in the middle of a triangular road junction thing.  All it needs is for someone in an old Transit Tipper to be forced to swerve off the road (probably to avoid hitting a granny in a pushchair who appeared out of nowhere), around a couple of trees, and ....

Sambostar

Well if you can wait till March, that is when the MOT is due, drop me a PM, I'II forward my Paypal details.  Obviously you'll have to cover fuel to yours and a bus back as well.

Paul_C

my problem at the moment is with the ping numbers - I get 22Mbs on speedtest but streaming TV and radio on the BBC website is patchy.

Sambostar

I think there are some engineers on here no?  I reckon it is corroded wires in the cabinet.  They should fix it within 3 or 4 months.

WezV

i had a similar issue a few years back at the old house.   if you looked at the phone line it was obviously the fault - looked like a pigtail compared to lots of other straight phone lines on the same pole.

my mistake was mentioning internet speed.   they seemed to focus on this and ignore the fact the actual line was dodgy.   I had 3 visits from internet speed engineers before they sent out one to look at the phone line.   he took one look, agreed with my diagnosis and changed the line.   he tested it and all was good.

but then i had a few more weeks trying to get my internet speed back to where it should be.   they had capped my speed at impossibly low.  they claim they don't do this but the engineer said the line would set itself at its most viable speed and stay there.   it set itself to the low speed on the dodgy phone line and would not increase once the new one was in until someone manually intervened.

then last year they changed all the lines again, moved them to the front of the house instead of the back just before we moved out.    told us to wait a few hours for it to start working.   still nothing after 3 days and numerous calls.   when they finally came out it had been connected to the wrong point at the box

chillidoggy

See if you can arrange for someone to take the cabinet out properly. I dunno, maybe someone with a Transit tipper could accidentally back into it, or something? Then BT would have to fix the bastard. Good luck with finding such a person, though.

VimFuego

we're right out in the boonies, but cos we're gods own county our internet is so fast we get the pages up even before we ask for them.

Axe_meister

Have you tried opening up the master socket? I had loads of problems with my line. It was partially fixed by me replacing the master socket (all the copper inside had turned green) also got rid of all in house extensions (speed went up from 2mb to 6mb). After that all the problems were down to line coming from the pole to the house (lost connection every time it rained or was windy). Also of you are getting drop outs when the phone rings it's either filter or miswiring either in the master socket or an extension.
I'm so glad I'm of fibre to the home now (including the phone)

TTony

Axe_meister said:

Have you tried opening up the master socket?

The first engineer actually did that for us.  The router now plugs directly into the external line and bypasses all internal wiring.  Each engineer has confirmed that the fault is outside rather than inside.

The problem is with the line being ridiculously noisy - to the extent that you can't hear the other person - which also kills the BB speed.  It's earthing somewhere between the house and the cabinet, though they've had ridiculous problems identifying exactly WHERE the problem is!  Hence they just seem to be replacing random sections of the line and/or random connections in an attempt at fixing it.  Today's guy seemed pretty certain that the problem is in the box under the bend on the road (ie the least accessible location) which might explain why none of the others have managed to fix it.  Today's guy was old-school BT.

And don't talk to me about fibre.  We don't even have a date for the local exchange getting fibre.  There's a possibility (no more) that fibre will be run from the exchange to our closest cabinet.  But that's all dependent on BT getting more government funding for the roll-out.  The only certainty we have is that we won't be getting fibre to the house.

So we're stuck with trying to get a copper-wire phone line that actually works.