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[neilgl]

Hi all,
it is Saturday 19:18 and you might have guessed, no-one turned up.

I called BT complaints Manager in India. After a lot of delay she said due to "system issues" no-one had been scheduled for Saturday but someone will come between 6 and 8pm Monday.
I said that it seems very strange that a "system issue" occurs exactly when a vist to my house should have been scheduled?

Let me know if this is boring you all now.

Regards,
Neil

[toulouse]

Hiya neilgl,

Don't for one minute think that you are alone in expecting a visit from a BT engineer, only to find that no one turns up.

I'm currently on the ADSL2+ trial with Plusnet, and have been since 1 May. Everything was going along swimmingly until 23/24 June when all of a sudden I had a fault, and the ISPs initial response was that all my internal wiring plus my router plus my computer had all suddenly stopped working properly. The bl**din' idiots !!!!!

Eventually after going through the usual bullsh*t with 'try a different router', 'plug into the test socket', etc., etc. they arranged an appointment for a BT engineer. I waited in all morning between 8:00 and 13:00 expecting the BT engineer to call, but noone called or contacted me. I let Plusnet know about this, and it turned out that the appointment didn't get through to the engineer. Rebooked an appointment, and again I waited in, but this time received a call from the engineer, telling me that he was conducting a series of tests from the exchange. After around an hour he called back and said that he would need to make another appointment to come and inspect my internal wiring. I said go ahead, but the problem ain't here, it's out on your network somewhere. Anyway, finally I got an engineer to call to inspect 'my extremely dodgy wiring', only to be told that the setup I had was perfectly OK. He was going to fit a SSFP, but I've already got one of those, which I have told my ISP about no end of times. He also told me that BT Openreach engineers have not been given any test equipment for testing ADSL2+ issues, and there was very little else that he could do. However, during his time looking at my case he did contact the BT ADSL Helpdesk who apparently reset something to do with my connection and all of a sudden I was back to ADSL2+ speeds again, i.e. 12000(d)/1000(u) and an IP profile of 11000. Sadly that only lasted 2 days, so I think they ought to go back to the drawing board with ADSL2+ (21CN) - I cannot imagine anyone wanting to pay for such an unreliable service.

Good luck with you efforts to resolve your problem

TTFN


toulouse

[waltergmw]

Gentlemen,

1.   If you have a reasonable, but possibly more costly, ISP you can access their fault log where you will go through a series of exchanges:-

A)  to give BT your availability times
B)  confirm a BT booking has been made and acknowledged by them
C)  confirmation that BT are working in the exchange, or the line, or in your house
D)  reminded to report on anything you observe or the engineer said to you

A typical (edited) extract in reverse order is shown below.
I find this to be an invaluable tool, particularly if I'm helping several people at the same time.

2.  In this area I believe BT are trialling suitable broadband test equipment such as the JDSU unit at the following link:-

http://www.jdsu.com/product-literature/FO-TBMTS4000_SS_FO_TM_AE.pdf

Kind regards,
Walter

_________________________________________________________


29-Jun-2009 09:11 (ZZ)
Moving from Parked to Active as engineer booked for today.

29-Jun-2009 09:07 (BT)
**This fault is currently under investigation by BT**

We have received an update from BT to indicate that they are resuming investigations on this fault.

Further updates will be posted on this Web site as we receive them.

Please note: no further action is currently required by you. However, you should ensure your broadband equipment remains powered up for the duration of our fault investigations - and connected to the BT test socket where available.

25-Jun-2009 17:57 (BT)
**Engineer visit arranged**

A BT engineer has been booked to investigate this fault further and we are awaiting the results of this visit.

In the case that this is a site visit please keep us up to date with any repair actions undertaken by the engineer.

25-Jun-2009 17:04 (ZZ)
Booked appointment for Monday 29th AM slot.

Added notes to ensure the line is on best E+D side.

25-Jun-2009 10:25 (Customer)
Hi ZZ,
XX is available on Mon or Weds morning or afternoon next week.

25-Jun-2009 09:23 (BT)
**Awaiting engineer visit appointment**

BT have requested that an engineer be booked to investigate this fault further.
Please call our support department on nnnnnnn to arrange suitable access times.

Engineer visits take place Monday to Friday in two slots:

AM (8am to 1pm)
and
PM (1pm to 6pm)

Due to engineer availability you may not be able to obtain your preferred appointment time. We therefore advise supplying alternative dates/times for an engineer appointment.

During the agreed time slot an engineer will work for up to a maximum of two hours at any of the following locations:

*The BT Exchange.
*Along the length of the cable external to your premises.
*Inside your premises.

You must therefore be available on-site for the duration of the agreed AM or PM slot.

Please note: By booking this engineer you accept you will be charged £144+VAT should you not be available at the appointed time or if the fault is determined to be due to your hardware or internal wiring.

25-Jun-2009 08:30 (BT)
**This fault is currently under investigation by BT**

We have received an update from BT to indicate that they are resuming investigations on this fault.

Further updates will be posted on this Web site as we receive them.

Please note: no further action is currently required by you. However, you should ensure your broadband equipment remains powered up for the duration of our fault investigations - and connected to the BT test socket where available.

[toulouse]

Thanks for that info waltergmw. I wasn't aware that one could check the status of a BT engineer visit, but I'll certainly look into that for the next time. And there will be a next time.

TTFN

toulouse

[Ezzer]

It's not uncommon for us to turn up at a customer with say a pm appointment on the job details yet the end user was told by the isp its an am appointment, or visa-versa.

happens too often to be put down to butterfingers on a keyboard and never with the "smaller" isp's

I often let the end user see what I have on my lappy to avoid looking like the idiot 

Although I have gone to a address due for a pm slot in the am cos If I havn't anything else or the earlyer job is a "no access" where I'll on to the task if i can come back later in case someones in..Never know if that next task can be sorted without needing access to the inside of the property or maby the end user is in before the appointed time

[orainsear]

Never know if that next task can be sorted without needing access to the inside of the property

Presumably this was one of the drivers behind the new external NTE?

[toulouse]

@ezzer

Just to be clear, I wasn't having a go about the engineers, who I have found to be very helpful in trying to resolve problems. It is the system that seems to be lacking somewhat. I was told by my ISP that an appointment had been booked, so I waited in only to find that no one turned up. I passed that on to the ISP who then told me that the appointment hadn't been passed on to the engineer - so hardly his fault.

It's just a little frustrating when you are trying to get something sorted out.


TTFN


toulouse

[kitz]

I dont know if this is still applicable but you used to be able to track progress of adsl visits from the BT website if you have an online account with them.

It was a few years ago since I last tried it, but the last time I had an adsl fault recorded on my line it showed up on there... and there was little images etc showing me where BT thought the fault may lie  (eg home, D/Eside or exchange).



Try logging into your account at bt.com - http://www.bt.com/
Click "At home"
Enter your login details

From the "your account" tab
Click on the Right hand side "Report or track faults"

Now I think there was 2 sections track a  fault - one which may have been just for BT Broadband.. 
or because Im not with BT for my adsl..  I think it may have shown under the normal "track a fault".

[neilgl]

Hi all,
progress at last.
BT Openreach engineer (they are all good guys) with RF detector in hand came to my house at 1830. He had identified the house and the equipment causing the noise (though he is not at liberty to tell me who or what of course). That equipment had just been turned off, and my sync went up to 2560kbps. He said lets see how it goes over the next few days; if not OK BT Legal will get involved. I said: "OK".

Also looked at the bt.com track a fault - there was one open since 16 May, which said "Your problem is currently being investigated. We will provide you with an update on the status of your fault when we have more information and this investigation has been completed." hehe

Regards and keep monitoring...
Neil

[kitz]

He had identified the house and the equipment causing the noise (though he is not at liberty to tell me who or what of course). That equipment had just been turned off, and my sync went up to 2560kbps. He said lets see how it goes over the next few days; if not OK BT Legal will get involved. I said: "OK".

Thats excellent news 

>> Also looked at the bt.com track a fault

Thanks for letting me know it still works..  not much detail in yours though..  mine showed any booked engineer appointment times etc.

[Ezzer]

Toulouse

I wasn't taking your post as having a go , I was just pointing out a frustration which is something going on within the system somewhere 

[toulouse]

OK, no offence intended by me, and none taken, either.

TTFN


toulouse