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[bbnovice]

Hi,

I started a migration to BT Infinity this morning and am already beginning to think this is a big mistake.

I currently have ADSL from Virgin and a BT phone.

(1) First problem. The BT online ordering system does not allow you to migrate additional phone services such as Call Minder. I am told I have to raise an order and then phone them after “installation” to get them to add Call Minder back onto my phone. I will lose any stored messages during the transition.

(2) But a much bigger issue was getting a MAC code.  I spent over 3 hours this morning backwards and forwards on the phone between BT and Virgin. I’m too fed up to go into all the gory details but the highlights from a series of several protracted conversations was:

- Virgin told me that I do not need a MAC code to migrate from ADSL to a fibre service (eg Infinity). They would issue me with a MAC if I insisted but it would cost £24! Their story was that BT are playing around and they “know full well they do not need  a MAC and they are charging us to supply it”.  I said they had a legal obligation to provide a MAC and they did not disagree – but they said that if they issued a MAC they considered to be “unnecessary” then they were free to charge the end user. I asked to speak to a Supervisor and he corroborated this.
   
- BT Customer Services agreed (initially) that I did not need a MAC. So I started to order online. But the BT system insisted on a MAC as part of the order. I queried this during the order process with the online BT “CHAT” service and was told to ignore entering the MAC (it was not required) and that I should enter a blank.

- After completing the order (and paying £126 on my credit card for line rental in advance) I got an email from BT saying they could not progress without a MAC and that I should phone a special number which deals with MAC. This I did and they initially also said that I did not need a MAC.  However they checked with BT wholesale who told them that a MAC was required. I queried why I kept getting different stories from different parties at BT and that I was very annoyed that I had really been conned out of £126. They promised to refund if the order did not proceed but by now I don't trust them at all.

- I went back to Virgin and told them that BT was insistent that a MAC be issued. This they reluctantly agreed to do. I threatened retribution with OFCOM if they charged me £24. They countered by telling me that they will disconnect my email service the moment BT use the MAC and that if they do not use the MAC during the transfer they will charge me £24. They then told me (dragging their feet deliberately I suspect) that the MAC would take 5 working days (or more) to arrive.  In the event it arrived by email about 15 minutes after the end of the phone call.

There seems to be some sort of war going on between BT, OR and Virgin. The latter told me that there have been lots of instances where OR have installed Infinity but also left ADSL on the subscribers line and then Virgin have to raise another order (which costs them) to cancel the old ADSL service.  I also inferred from what was half said that whoever is issuing the MAC is charging the ISP for issuing a MAC in certain circumstances and that they are very unhappy about this (and trying to pass this on to the customer).

All I know is that as usual the customer is always wrong.

Sorry about the rant - I remained commendably calm during all of the above shenanigans but had to get this off my chest somewhere.

[burakkucat]

Oh dear, what a pig's ear of a situation. 

There are two people to whom you must recount the details of that nonsense -- Ian Livingston and Richard Branson, the big "cheeses" of the BT and Virgin groups, respectively.

For the former, an e-mail message to Ian.Livingston AT bt.com will reach his office.
For the latter, I'm sure another Kitizen will be able to provide the contact address.