Incompetent feckers! (Plusnet, Sky and Openreach)

DeanoVilla

DeanoVilla

One Bloody Number
What a day... where do I start?

I mentioned on here a while back that I was switching Broadband having found a great deal online I was switching from Sky to Plusnet.

Went through the whole process online, paid my deposit, got given a go live date of 20th June. Easy right? Simple switch. Must do thousands a day..

So 19th June rolls along and I've still not received my new router. Call them and there's been a cock up. Phone and broadband orders had become out of sync. Told they need to cancel the orders and restart them from the beginning... going to add an extra week on to the process but shouldn't experience any issues with service in the meantime.

3 days later (i.e. this morning) I'm working from home and my broadband connection drops. Call Sky (still my current provider) who tell me the phone line has been terminated and they are unable to switch it back.

Call Plusnet who tell me they've not taken over the phone line yet. The cancellation of the 1st order was still in progress. They then have to put the other order through and could take another 10 days after that. 10 days with no broadband!!!

Call Sky again, and they say if I stay with them they may be able to get the phoneline switched back once Plusnet inform them that order has been cancelled.

Call Plusnet and cancel the order completely.

Call Sky, and am told I need a brand new phone line as the previous one is now 'ceased' and it will take approx 2 weeks! 2 weeks with no boradband and I'd be tied in for 12 months to a company I wanted to leave on an expensive deal.

Tell them to fuck off.

Do another search and find a deal with BT. Order that. Installation.. 11th July!!! 19 days with no fucking broadband!!!!!!!!!

I had to book half a days leave today as I was unable to work from home.

I've had to book tomorrow as leave as I've a new washing machine arriving and was hoping to work from home.

My annual leave is precious as I book days to spend with Buddy.

I need to drive into the office at Banbury for the next 2 and a half weeks every day! Costs me £13 per round trip!

I've had to increase my mobile data allowance to 30GB so the family can tether off it for generic browsing etc.. another £6.

I think I should therefore me compensated to the tune of atleast £150.

So I ask both Sky and Plusnet who i should complain to to request compensation and neither company will even accept responsibilty for the cock up, so both tell me I have no chance of getting compo.

I could kill someone!

:26: :26: :26: :29: :29: :29:
 
I had something similar a few years ago. I got hold of the direct contact for the customer service director of BT (from an Internet forum) he emailed me within 20 mins and his pa called me within an hour and put it right
 
That's a shocker Deano.

Maybe you should escalate it to Ofcom?

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/how-to-report-a-complaint/changing-provider
 
Cheers guys. I'll follow that complaint procedure, but not entirely sure who's the guilty party so guess I'll have to complain to all 3 companies.

Nightmare.
 
Personally I think these things happen to deter people from leaving and joining another network, years ago you had to get the "migration key" which in most instances they e-mailed to you just after they cut you from their service.

I hope in the long run it will be OK Deano and they get you sorted.

 
Plusnet are to blame, they handle the switch with Sky reacting to their dates in effect for the service going dead from their end. So delays are their end.

Ofcom are the regulator but only compile complaints for investigatory purposes - they won't do anything but accept the complaint.

https://www.cedr.com/cisas/ cover plusnet and serve as adjudicator for individual cases but you need deadlock letter from plusnet first or 8/12 weeks to pass having made a formal written complaint laying everything out.

Can include standard compensation for time and trouble but itemise holidays taken owing to lack of access from working from home (but don't make it a big point as many providers would argue you need a business internet line for working from home, not simple home broadband), the time to formalise the complaint with evidence, such as uplift in mobile broadband costs, additional petrol from not working from home etc etc.

For time taken to write complaint etc - lead from the small claims track where LIP's are entitled to claim £19 ph - research, time spend trying to deal with claim etc.

If they settle though I wouldn't expect them to pay costs.

Hopefully that makes sense!?
 
Cheers Mike. Have just PM'd you a complaint letter I've drawn up, if you wouldn't mind giving it the once over before I send please?
 
Our eldest is having a massive problem with 02. The problem has been going on for a year. It is so complicated I would bugar my own head up trying to explain it all. In brief

1/ Our eldest has 2 contracts with 02. 1 is his and the other his wife's. He pays both. When he took out the 2 contracts they would take the money for 1 and not the other so a phone would get cut off. He would sort that out. Next month same thing happened only the other way round.

This has continued for a year, with nobody able to sort it properly. He was promised compensation and has the email proof. The compensation hasn't been paid and he is still having the same problem every month.

2/ He is now going to do the only thing open to him. Cancel both contracts and start again with 2 separate contracts this time

3/ He is complaining to Ofcom

These companies are a bloody nightmare when things go wrong. They pass the buck and send you round in circles.

He doesn't want to change mobile phone provider as where he lives 02 is the only 1 that has a good connection. They live out of York in a small village
 
Some good news. After the cock up I decided to completely ditch both Sky and Plusnet and went with BT.

Again the lead time for a phone line was ages (July 11th) but by this time I had given up and just needed something sorted.

Well good old BT have now managed to bring the installation forward to this Thursday. yay!

Still a full week without Broadband, but not 3 weeks as feared.

Oh..... but I still had to be on the ball... they brought the engineer appointment forward from July 11th to June 29th, but when I checked online to see how the order was progressing, I noticed the delivery of the router was still set for July 10th!!! :26:

Managed to get that switched and its not being delivered tomorrow but it took another phone call, they wouldn't have done it automatically which I just find bizzare.
 
Let this be a warning to all those thinking of changing Internet provider.......

BT has Openreach this makes BT the Billy Big Bollocks of the Internet in the UK.

Its their ball and all the other companies have to wait for BT to pass them the Internet ball.
 
I realise it is no consolation Deano, but you're not alone! A friend of mine has just moved and organised new broadband & TV through Sky. This Friday for the phone & broadband, and Saturday morning for the TV. Result!

Actually no, they have just told her the phone will be delayed for "at least" a week!! WTF?! How is this sort of thing even possible? In this day and age, it should be virtually instantaneous.

Useless tw@ts :29:
 
I do believe most of the Issues are down to BT and their ownership of "Openreach"
 
Yes Col you are right. I shoud have been more explicit - I meant all of the companies - they are all a bunch of useless tw@ts and customer service is almost totally non-existent. They are very quick to promise you the world and far slower in delivering.

We changed from Sky to BT last year (phone & broadband) and they changed the date 3 times - ridiculous!!
 
Openreach guy turned up nice and early at 9am this morning so I am now back up and running and it so far seems a lot quicker than Sky.

Sent my compliant letter to Plusnet yesterday asking for compensation of £600! Doubt I'll get anything at all in all honesty but worth a shot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.