So I work from home and want to be able to use the internet when I go to my mum and dad's in Leeds. Blah blah blah. BT "Total" Broadband at their house was allegedly "activated" on 01/11/05, except it's never worked. I've tried three different routers with it and spent over an hour on each of three occasions on the phone with their call centre (at cost - it's not 0800). I ordered a BT router at the time but it was never billed / delivered, but that's by the by. I know the 3 routers are fine / settings OK etc.
In the end I said to the call centre people, just send an engineer, there's clearly a fault. They said it would be 80 quid. I said OK fine just do it. So they said they would and that they'd call back. So they didn't call back.
I didn't really think anything of it, but when the appointment letter they promised me never arrived I called them again. This time they said they couldn't arrange an engineer but to call "IT home visits" not them. I called the latter, and they said yes we can send an engineer but it's 50 not 80. So I said fine go ahead. But he said I'd have to go to "IT advisors" on a different number.
Some time later, it turns out the first shower have put a note on the account saying they called me but I never called back and the problem is "pending". So the visit was cancelled.
Now today I've been through the whole thing again and they are saying they've booked a visit but it will be 75 quid. The fact we're paying 18 quid a month for something that's never worked appears not to matter. I said if it's a bt fault will it get refunded - they said they weren't sure.
So anyway, while booking the visit just now, the guy asked "what is the engineer going to do?". I said "figure out why it's not working". I was a bit puzzled as that had been the point of the conversation thus far. He said he had to choose an option on the screen. I said "is there one called fault diagnosis?" He seemed OK with that.
They are unbelievable. I think I might have inadvertently wandered into a Kafka book.
Thing is, what really want to do now is cancel whole thing and get cable, but they are talking about minimum contract. This beggars belief as we have not yet had any service at all despite being 4 months in and having paid about 6 months already (they seem to bill broadband in advance.)
So what I'm expecting now is:
- engineer turns up (possibly)
- If so, engineer says "we don't support non-bt hardware" - despite my having told them already the router is netgear.
- Engineer goes away, charges 75 quid (or possibly 80 or 50, who knows at this point)
- Back to square one.
- Try cancel account. Can't.
- Over time, BT gets total of about 200 quid + 75 for engineer while delivering absolutely nothing.
In revenge, I'm getting rid of my own home phone and getting one from telewest / virgin. I never ever ever ever ever ever want to give BT a red penny again for the rest of my days.....