BT Openworld ADSL
11 February 2001, 02:25 PM
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I feel your pain !
I've had a reasonably long standing run in with BT regarding Home Highway (ISDN).
The short story goes, engineer installs Home Highway box and leaves without leaving any instructions i.e No. to dial etc.
I ring BT and ask which numbers to dial now that I'm using Home Highway (ISDN) during the various times of day/evening/weekend (I'm also on BT TALK and Surf together).
They give me a telephone number to dial and say 'If you use it during the day you will be charged, but after 18:00 and at weekends you will not be charged as you're on 'Talk and Surf together'
Great stuff I thought and played Counter Strike to my hearts content, days evenings and weekends (Sad I know
).
Imagine my horor when the next bill arrives through my letterbox after the quarter is over for £567 !!!!
They'd only given me the pay as you go number !!!
I complained and they basically said 'it's your own fault for not checking the number' !!! Excuse me but how do you check a number that they (BT) have told you to use ?? Ring it and speak to the modem and ask how much it charges you ?? I think not !
So, 3 letters later and I've just emailed them another episode in the great 'Your Fault/My fault' debate, here it is for interest :
"
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for you letter dated 31st October 200 (reference xxxxxxxx).
You state 'I understand from your letter that you had been charged for connection to the internet through use of an incorrect dialer number' - that as I have stated on numerous occasions is not the case.
I have been charged by your company for connection to the internet through the use of a home highway connection provided by yourselves (BT) at a cost. I have also been (and continue to be) charged for use of your internet access package 'BT Talk and Surf together' and as explained at length in my previous two letters, I have also been charged for using a 'pay as you go' phone number provided to me by your staff as the number to use at all times (as I again explained at length in my previous two letters).
You also state 'Unfortunately , BT Openworld have no way of refunding any call charges'. I am afraid that I do not believe this. Were this to be true then mistakes made by your billing department would not be able to be rectified and you would not be in business !!!
You state 'I am afraid that I can only reiterate the points made by my colleague, Mr. Burrow', and in reply I'm afraid that I can only reiterate the points made in my previous two letters !
Your latest correspondance offers me no additional information other than to tell me that divisions withing BT are unable to communicate with each other which I am afraid I can not and do not believe.
I would like to know how you can justify charging me the monthly fee for use of the BT 'Talk and Surf together' package and then allow your staff to tell me to use a 'pay as you go' number, let me use it for months and run up a £500+ telephone bill and then show the plain audacity to tell me that it's my own fault for not checking that I'm using the correct number !!!.
I would also like to know why, now that I have the correct numbers/diallers to use, when there are two internet diallers provided, one for daytime and one for Surftime, why does the Surftime dialler tell me that I cannot use it if I attempt to do so outside of 'Surftime' but the daytime dialler does not tell me to use the Surftime once it has gone 18:00 ?
I suspect that I am not the only person who has been duped by BT in this manner.
As previously stated, I refuse to believe that you cannot refund money that has been mistakenly charged, and your statement 'Due to the data protection act, we have no access to your telephone bill to enable a refund of these charges' is simply a laughable excuse !
I hope you understand that in making this statement you are both implicitly admitting liability and further you are insulting my intelligence by printing this statement on a piece of paper with a footnote that states quite clearly that 'BTopenworld is a division of British Telecommunications plc' !
A copy of this mail and all previous correspondance is being sent to OFTEL.
I look forward to your next letter.
=====================
Anyway, BT ? Wouldn't pi$$ on them if they were on fire, but I would if they weren't !
Needless to say, when my year minimum contract is up I'm going to ask a BT engineer to come round to check the box, rip it off the wall and ask him to 'use it like you would a suppository'
Wow, my longest rant so far on Scoobynet, sorry to bore you for so long.
[Edited by Norman D. Landing - 11/2/2001 2:27:25 PM]
I've had a reasonably long standing run in with BT regarding Home Highway (ISDN).
The short story goes, engineer installs Home Highway box and leaves without leaving any instructions i.e No. to dial etc.
I ring BT and ask which numbers to dial now that I'm using Home Highway (ISDN) during the various times of day/evening/weekend (I'm also on BT TALK and Surf together).
They give me a telephone number to dial and say 'If you use it during the day you will be charged, but after 18:00 and at weekends you will not be charged as you're on 'Talk and Surf together'
Great stuff I thought and played Counter Strike to my hearts content, days evenings and weekends (Sad I know
).Imagine my horor when the next bill arrives through my letterbox after the quarter is over for £567 !!!!
They'd only given me the pay as you go number !!!
I complained and they basically said 'it's your own fault for not checking the number' !!! Excuse me but how do you check a number that they (BT) have told you to use ?? Ring it and speak to the modem and ask how much it charges you ?? I think not !
So, 3 letters later and I've just emailed them another episode in the great 'Your Fault/My fault' debate, here it is for interest :
"
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for you letter dated 31st October 200 (reference xxxxxxxx).
You state 'I understand from your letter that you had been charged for connection to the internet through use of an incorrect dialer number' - that as I have stated on numerous occasions is not the case.
I have been charged by your company for connection to the internet through the use of a home highway connection provided by yourselves (BT) at a cost. I have also been (and continue to be) charged for use of your internet access package 'BT Talk and Surf together' and as explained at length in my previous two letters, I have also been charged for using a 'pay as you go' phone number provided to me by your staff as the number to use at all times (as I again explained at length in my previous two letters).
You also state 'Unfortunately , BT Openworld have no way of refunding any call charges'. I am afraid that I do not believe this. Were this to be true then mistakes made by your billing department would not be able to be rectified and you would not be in business !!!
You state 'I am afraid that I can only reiterate the points made by my colleague, Mr. Burrow', and in reply I'm afraid that I can only reiterate the points made in my previous two letters !
Your latest correspondance offers me no additional information other than to tell me that divisions withing BT are unable to communicate with each other which I am afraid I can not and do not believe.
I would like to know how you can justify charging me the monthly fee for use of the BT 'Talk and Surf together' package and then allow your staff to tell me to use a 'pay as you go' number, let me use it for months and run up a £500+ telephone bill and then show the plain audacity to tell me that it's my own fault for not checking that I'm using the correct number !!!.
I would also like to know why, now that I have the correct numbers/diallers to use, when there are two internet diallers provided, one for daytime and one for Surftime, why does the Surftime dialler tell me that I cannot use it if I attempt to do so outside of 'Surftime' but the daytime dialler does not tell me to use the Surftime once it has gone 18:00 ?
I suspect that I am not the only person who has been duped by BT in this manner.
As previously stated, I refuse to believe that you cannot refund money that has been mistakenly charged, and your statement 'Due to the data protection act, we have no access to your telephone bill to enable a refund of these charges' is simply a laughable excuse !
I hope you understand that in making this statement you are both implicitly admitting liability and further you are insulting my intelligence by printing this statement on a piece of paper with a footnote that states quite clearly that 'BTopenworld is a division of British Telecommunications plc' !
A copy of this mail and all previous correspondance is being sent to OFTEL.
I look forward to your next letter.
=====================
Anyway, BT ? Wouldn't pi$$ on them if they were on fire, but I would if they weren't !
Needless to say, when my year minimum contract is up I'm going to ask a BT engineer to come round to check the box, rip it off the wall and ask him to 'use it like you would a suppository'
Wow, my longest rant so far on Scoobynet, sorry to bore you for so long.
[Edited by Norman D. Landing - 11/2/2001 2:27:25 PM]
11 February 2001, 08:46 PM
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You lucky get.
Stick with Home Highway. My "BTOpenwound" ADSL is barely different to when I had HH.
Disappointed punter after 2 weeks.
Sure surfing and e-mail are OK, but they were on 56k modem for God's sake.
Norm, Like I said try barking at the moon.
Or keeping tropical fish in your underpants.
[Edited by BarryK - 11/2/2001 8:48:16 PM]
Stick with Home Highway. My "BTOpenwound" ADSL is barely different to when I had HH.
Disappointed punter after 2 weeks.
Sure surfing and e-mail are OK, but they were on 56k modem for God's sake.
Norm, Like I said try barking at the moon.
Or keeping tropical fish in your underpants.
[Edited by BarryK - 11/2/2001 8:48:16 PM]
11 April 2001, 06:36 PM
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Norm
BT Openworld is a separate company from that which provides your phone. They cannot therefore refund through your phone bill. Not ludicrous just the result of the way BT has been forced to go because of the "regulator". You may have better luck asking for compensation direct from them.
If BT Openworld charged through your phone bill (making life easier for you) that would be abusing its power as the incumbent telco.
I would suggest you complain to oftel that their meddling has resulted in BT not being able to operate in the manner you want.
Home Highway pricing has been changed btw.... Lower rental but less call allowance.
[Edited by dsmith - 11/4/2001 6:37:35 PM]
BT Openworld is a separate company from that which provides your phone. They cannot therefore refund through your phone bill. Not ludicrous just the result of the way BT has been forced to go because of the "regulator". You may have better luck asking for compensation direct from them.
If BT Openworld charged through your phone bill (making life easier for you) that would be abusing its power as the incumbent telco.
I would suggest you complain to oftel that their meddling has resulted in BT not being able to operate in the manner you want.
Home Highway pricing has been changed btw.... Lower rental but less call allowance.
[Edited by dsmith - 11/4/2001 6:37:35 PM]
02 November 2001, 01:38 PM
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Beggers belief.
Free upgrade available to BT Anytime customers. Rang them signed up and off we go. 2 weeks later they ring to tell me they detected a multiple line. Is that coz of Homehighway I ask. Yes they say. I did tell them when I ordered I say, can you amend it please. No we have to cancel the order and then you can reorder. It'll take 30 minutes to feed through. 2 days later I call sales... can't reorder, why I ask, your order hasn't been cancelled they say... Ring order management, yep it has been cancelled but it can take the weekend plus 48 hours.
I go on holiday and time moves on............
Yesterday I call and ask to reorder... £78.40 they say... on your life I reply, I want it for free still it's not my fault!
Anyway 7 calls to three departments later over the course of 1 hour and twenty and the best anyone can offer me is to send an e-mail to complaints. No managers will talk to me... despite the fact that I have been very polite not resorting to shouting or foul language.
Little wonder BT shares are in the toilet....
Dave
Free upgrade available to BT Anytime customers. Rang them signed up and off we go. 2 weeks later they ring to tell me they detected a multiple line. Is that coz of Homehighway I ask. Yes they say. I did tell them when I ordered I say, can you amend it please. No we have to cancel the order and then you can reorder. It'll take 30 minutes to feed through. 2 days later I call sales... can't reorder, why I ask, your order hasn't been cancelled they say... Ring order management, yep it has been cancelled but it can take the weekend plus 48 hours.
I go on holiday and time moves on............
Yesterday I call and ask to reorder... £78.40 they say... on your life I reply, I want it for free still it's not my fault!
Anyway 7 calls to three departments later over the course of 1 hour and twenty and the best anyone can offer me is to send an e-mail to complaints. No managers will talk to me... despite the fact that I have been very polite not resorting to shouting or foul language.
Little wonder BT shares are in the toilet....
Dave
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04 November 2001, 05:17 PM
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You can get ADSL through a different isp though, you dont have to go through OpenWorld.
BT are tw@ats all the same., i`ve had no end of problems with my isdn
If you can get cable i`d go for that, alot cheaper and better pings to boot!
BT are tw@ats all the same., i`ve had no end of problems with my isdn
If you can get cable i`d go for that, alot cheaper and better pings to boot!
06 November 2001, 11:24 AM
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On Counter Strike last night for the Scoobynet session on Barrysworld.
Ping generally 40-60. Some lag spikes, a few really bad, like I went back a couple of seconds in where I was on the map. People ocassionally beamed down and shot me. Got shot several times but couldn't find the culprit.
Good d/l speed also.
In all some improvement. Perhaps BT sorting it? Touches mucho wood!!!
Ping generally 40-60. Some lag spikes, a few really bad, like I went back a couple of seconds in where I was on the map. People ocassionally beamed down and shot me. Got shot several times but couldn't find the culprit.
Good d/l speed also.
In all some improvement. Perhaps BT sorting it? Touches mucho wood!!!
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