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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To decline to give BT 120 pounds...

31 replies

NeatandTidyTidyandNeat · 01/04/2016 13:38

...to replace their own broken equipment? BT you view kit is defunct after two years of more or less reliably working (ALL tech support options and advice painfully explored. It is dead. Even the factory reset fails.) My two oh so tempting options were an engineer visit that "might be charged at 120 pounds if engineer finds your wiring at fault" (hmm) or 140 pounds for a new box.

I chose option 3 - thirty odd pounds for an Amazon fire stick. Agh. Do BT want to keep any customers? Confused

OP posts:
edwinbear · 01/04/2016 14:21

I once paid for internet I didn't have for 2 years where BT had failed to connect it at the exchange, because paying for something I didn't have, was preferable to having to interact with BT. YANBU.

araiba · 01/04/2016 14:25

why dont you cancel?

then sign up again with bt or other and get new equipmen

londonrach · 01/04/2016 14:27

I will never ever ever go to bt even if they paid me after their attempt of getting us on the internet. Can you cancel and go to someone else?

howabout · 01/04/2016 14:30

I know 2 people who have gone with option 1 in the past month. Unsurprisingly neither had to pay £120. Both had months of telephone ping pong, not using their non working BT lines prior to the repair visit which took minutes. One is now considering claiming for loss of service.

The water people are worse as their opening bill threat is usually £1,000s even when you can see the burst mains in the middle of the public road.

wasonthelist · 01/04/2016 14:39

Yanbu.

BT have always treated me with utter utter contempt when I have been their customer. Despite all the ridiculous claims to the contrary, they still have an effective monopoly in many areas.

Original poster
NeatandTidyTidyandNeat · 01/04/2016 19:23

I have cancelled it now! I don't believe I would have ended up needing to pay the engineer charge, but like PPs, my will to live deserted me at the thought of days weeks of waiting in for non-existent engineer visits etc.

Was almost tempted by araiba's idea - but then realised it would mean ringing them again. So, no.

Right, an evening of vanishing the remaining DC's Easter eggs awaits Grin

OP posts:
Littletabbyocelot · 01/04/2016 20:53

I had to call out BT as our phone stopped working. They turned up without notice a few days later and asked me (about 8 months pregnant with twins) to move our stupidly big tv and stand out of the way. When I refused he said 'well the problem might be the one I've just fixed with the exchange. I'll just check shall I.' It was but I've always wondered whether they'd have charged me the 120.00 if they'd been able to access my kit.

Fizzielove · 01/04/2016 21:48

My DH managed to get our contract ended 2 months in cos of their terms and conditions! ( and their lies! )

NataliaOsipova · 01/04/2016 21:57

Oh God - don't get me started on BT..... Can we start a petition? An online support group?

On the bright side, though....I had a scam call the other week - you know the sort, someone from abroad claiming to be from BT and calling to "help you to fix your computer". I laughed out loud at him - and told him that as BT don't phone to help you when you've actually reported a problem to them, I was damned sure that they don't call to be randomly helpful....

BombadierFritz · 01/04/2016 22:05

Engineer visit = new upgraded box for free. Stupid policy but they only seem interested in new customers these days

captaincake · 01/04/2016 22:12

We are currently forced into being a BT customer. New build and BT is the only option. YANBU they are awful Angry

travellinglighter · 01/04/2016 22:49

Same problem for me. I told that “I’m out of contract for broadband so send me a new box or it’s a new supplier for me.” Got it two days later.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 01/04/2016 22:57

NataliaOsipova Grin

My in-laws had no phone line for weeks. Every day we rang to be told random lies and false promises that it would be fixed with 24 hours. They told us an engineer was at the house, or there were roadworks in their road, or the next road - all compete bullshit. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

ivykaty44 · 01/04/2016 23:03

My phone with them wasn't ringing at the house (landline) they were supposed to fix it. I called and they said as you didn't answer we thought the problem was resolved and ended the customer issue

She well if the problem is the phone won't ting in, hoe will you call me on very same phone.

I cancelled my landline about six months later and haven't had a landline for nearly six years now £720 I've saved just on line rental alone

CateNoviceBaker · 01/04/2016 23:12

I once went 6 months with no broadband or at best broadband that would only work if device was plugged directly into router, and even that was beyond slow. BT sent out 4 different engineers and none of them could fix it. Everytime an engineer came out I was told I might be charged £129 for their visit. They couldn't fix so I had to PAY to get out of my contract! Can you believe that? But that time I would have sold a kidney not have to deal with them anymore.

I've since cancelled my phone line with them as I want nothing to do with them. They will never get a single penny from me.

pigsDOfly · 01/04/2016 23:31

I suspect that's BT's business plan. Bugger the customer about for months or even years until they can't stand it any more and cancel. Upon which event BT will present the customer with a bill to enable them to get out of the contract.

The way BT are going, they'll lose so many customers that eventual that'll be the only way they'll be able t o make any money. Everyone knows BT are rubbish.

CockacidalManiac · 02/04/2016 02:19

I've had BT for nearly 3 years, the LL wouldn't let me have sky or virgin. Luckily, I'm moving soon so can dump BT, because they're a sack of shit. The vision box moves at the speed of a sloth on diazepam, and every times it rains the BB stops working. They're a pile of shit, and the threat about the £120 stops you from getting it investigated.

HermioneJeanGranger · 02/04/2016 06:56

Everyone on MN has issues with BT but I have to say, we've used them for three years and have never, ever had a problem.

Our internet has gone down once in that time, and that was because the SKY engineer who came to connect our downstairs neighbours, disconnected our line by accident (all our phone lines go through their flat as our building used to be a call centre). They came out two days later, had us up and running again within an hour, apologised and didn't charge us a penny to get anything fixed.

Having heard all the horror stories on here, I have to say I was very impressed.

LisaMed · 02/04/2016 08:38

BT have been lovely with us.

StoorieHoose · 02/04/2016 09:02

The problem with using another supplier for phone lines is that BT/OpenReach still own the lines and have to do the work with the added nuisance of not being able to deal directly with BT and having no to go through an equally useless supplier (plusnet I'm looking at you , who are actually owned by BT)

squeezed · 02/04/2016 09:52

BT are fine unless you want to change anything or anything goes wrong. I've never seen experienced such appalling customer service and can't wait to leave them.

Tink06 · 02/04/2016 10:09

Oh no. Have just signed up with BT from Virgin (house move so didnt have much choice). Am not filled with confidence after reading this....

FirstWeTakeManhattan · 02/04/2016 10:18

I hardly ever hate anyone or anything, but I do hate BT.

They treat their customers with complete contempt. We're leaving after 12 years, as soon as I can brace myself to jump throughout the invisible hoops of poisonous fire that they put in the way to discourage you from going to a company that y'know, doesn't treat you with contempt.

FamiliarSting · 02/04/2016 10:24

We're with Sky but the line is a BT one apparently. BT came to dig it up, it happens to be right in front of our house, we weren't having problems at the time but I guess someone else was. When digging they cut through our cable, internet instantly went off.
It was a huge joke, in between waiting for someone to come out and sort it out they refilled the hole. When they finally tried to sort it they first had to dig it up again (someone had to come out and grant permission before they could re-dig, each time) but they cut through the cable AGAIN. Then before fixing it they refilled the hole AGAIN. So they had to dig it up for a third time before finally fixing the problem.
The communication between Sky, BT, the digger people and the BT engineers was terrible. It would have been funny if it wasn't so frustrating being without internet/a phone line for so long.

spiggidydodah · 02/04/2016 10:44

We had problems with our landline- very poor quality, when you rang our number you got someone else in the village and could only use broadband if the phone was off the hook. 3 months of being told it would be fixed within 2 days but it never was. After one particularly bad round with the call centre I emailed the chief exec. That was at 7.30pm. 9.30pm I got a personal response. 9.30am the next day a dedicated complaints handler from the chairman's office. The day after 8 openreach engineers working our street to resolve it. Plus compensation and a direct line so that should I have any complaints in the future I don't have to use the contact centre.

Google ex bt engineers- there's a guy who used to work for bt that now runs his own business fixing faults. He's cheaper than bt and if he can't help he gives you hints on how to navigate the call centres and get stuff done. He was brilliant.

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