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Author Topic: BT Retentions & Technical  (Read 1865 times)

JamesK

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BT Retentions & Technical
« on: January 11, 2018, 12:13:20 PM »

I contacted BT Retentions a couple of weeks ago as my current contract ends early February. Their online offer for a valued customer such as myself is £15/month more than what I'm paying now. I'm currently on Infinity 2. However, as my line was banded last year at 35mbps, it seems pointless renewing on an Infinity 2 product.

The retention team thought differently. They said the minimum speed I should be getting is 34mb, and the max is 46mb. They felt I should try their 'new and improved and mostly UK based' technical team to get the issues resolved. So I agreed to try them. I immediately got put through to India. The expert I spoke with felt I needed a new Home Hub, despite me telling him I didn't use one. He assured me this would fix all my issues. So I agreed to let him send me one.

A week passed and it didn't arrive, so I called BT again, and despite it being on the records they would send one, they actually hadn't. This time the expert I spoke to had me doing various speed tests, all of which came back with speeds around 31/32mbps. He then asked me to reset the modem, and while I was doing that he was going to "clear some congestion from my line". I'm not really sure what this involved, but it took him at least 20 minutes to do it  ??? He advised me that now the 'congestion' had been cleared, it would take 48 hours for things to get back to normal.

I then said to him it was clear the line was banded/capped at 35mbps, the IP profile on the BT speed test was showing 33mb, so I was never going to get speeds in excess of that until the banding was removed. He then went on to explain that my acceptable speed range was 30-33mbps, so actually everything was fine. I said so despite having a speed of 40mbps+ for the past 4 years, the BT speed estimate and retentions team both saying the minimum speed I would get is 34mbps, you're now saying 30mbps in order to avoid doing anything. He disputed this and apparently they're going to call me back in 48 hours to see if the congestion has cleared.

BT Technical seem to be the same as they've always been... impossible to work with! So I'm going to move provider, knowing that in many cases the technical support isn't a lot better - but I'll certainly have a few more £'s in the bank each month!

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Virgin M500+Asus RT-AX86U

j0hn

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Re: BT Retentions & Technical
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2018, 03:04:08 PM »

You may be heading for more headaches.
The minimum guaranteed line speed they quote you is the sync speed and completely unrelated to throughput or I.P profile.

If your guaranteed 34Mb and sync at 34,999 then you're within their guarantee.

They are currently giving BT Unlimited Infinity 1 for £28.99 for existing customers who renew.

They wanted me to sign a new 18 month contract to stop my price going up by £2.50/month (I currently pay £26.49). They would only guarantee the price of my Phone/broadband though. They weren't interested in fixing my TV price.
Quote
He then asked me to reset the modem, and while I was doing that he was going to "clear some congestion from my line".
Utter gibberish. I'm sure they make it up as they go along.
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Talktalk FTTP 550/75 - Speedtest - BQM

tubaman

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Re: BT Retentions & Technical
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2018, 03:31:55 PM »

...
They wanted me to sign a new 18 month contract to stop my price going up by £2.50/month ...

Interesting - the deal I was offered was an 18 month contract to stop it going up by any more than the £2.50 increase.
Every one of their "£xx for 18 months" contracts I've had in the past still allows them to add their regular price increases!  Very misleading sales tactics if you ask me.
 >:( 
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JamesK

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Re: BT Retentions & Technical
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2018, 04:41:04 PM »

The discussion on speed only actually started after the retentions person insisted Infinity 2 was an option for me, and she sent me back down the route of talking to the "new and improved" technical team.

I couldn't believe it when the technical guy said he was "clearing congestion" on the line. It was clear it was rubbish, but these people mainly talk to people who aren't technical on a daily basis and they probably believe it.

In terms of contracts being offered it depends who you speak to. The first person wouldn't offer anything, the person yesterday offered £26.99 but on a 24 month contract, or £30.99/month on a 12 month contract.

At the moment I'm tempted by Vodafone as I can use my own router with them now, or Plusnet. Both are offering decent prices... Vodafone £20/month for 18 months, Plusnet £23.99/month for 18 months.
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Virgin M500+Asus RT-AX86U

j0hn

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Re: BT Retentions & Technical
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2018, 05:51:57 PM »

Interesting - the deal I was offered was an 18 month contract to stop it going up by any more than the £2.50 increase.
Every one of their "£xx for 18 months" contracts I've had in the past still allows them to add their regular price increases!  Very misleading sales tactics if you ask me.
 >:(
That doesn't sound right....

Ofcom rules say they MUST allow you the opportunity to leave your contract if they raise the price mid-contact. What's the point in offering you the chance to fix the higher price, when they can just do the same again in 6 months time. Are you sure you didn't read that wrong?
Quote from: BT
Act now to keep your broadband price the same
Keep paying the same price as you are now for your broadband, even after the changes in January. All you need to do is renew your contract with us.
Quote from: BT
You don't need to do anything but if you want to change something, please give us a call. If you want to leave and you're within your minimum contract term, you'll need to call us within 30 days of receiving this email to avoid paying a charge for leaving early. You'll need to give us 30 days' notice to leave (or 14 days if you're switching to a new provider). We won't charge you for any increase in price during that time.
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Talktalk FTTP 550/75 - Speedtest - BQM
 

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