Can I sue BT? Do I have any ground/legalities?
 

As some know, I moved into a new build property in October. BT and Open Reach still haven't got a phone line to me or Internet access. It's been 3 months now and I'm tearing my hair out over this. They keep telling me that they keep occurring "unexpected delays" but I don't believe any of that! They'd rather get their fibre optic broadband to the estates than a slow line out in the country. Is there a legal clause or anything that I can use to claim for compensation etc? In my opinion, 3 months is an unreasonable amount of time to leave someone without a phone line and Internet. Utter disgrace. :brickwall I can't see it being sorted before Xmas either! :razz:

I'm using 3G on my phone and have well exceeded my limit each month costing me money. To add to that, I've spent a fortune on phone calls using my mobile! :brickwall I'm just lost for words why it's taking so long. There's simply no explanation for it (they haven't even given me a proper explanation) other than that they can't be bothered as I'm probably bottom of their priority list!! My girlfriend is a teacher and we both work full time; Internet access is essential to us for our jobs! I don't think I've ever been so wound up by a company before. Dont even get me started on the Indian call centres that they use!! :brickwall :brickwall

I may be wrong, so will happily be corrected.

My parents had an issue, living in the sticks, when a tree fell and ripped the line down. They chased BT and openreach relentlesly to no availe.

Speaking with the ombudsman BT do not legally have to supply you with a phone line so there was nothing they could do, but wait.

Surely it's against my human rights?! Every household should be entitled to a landline at least? Certainly provided within a reasonable amount of time unless there are extreme circumstances? Yes I live in the country side and the houses just down the road from me have Internet. I'm fuming about the whole thing as I have been constantly chasing them for the past 3 months and they keep delaying and pushing me back by weeks on end until "the next update" they can give me :brickwall

I have an outstanding complaint with BT too as we have only just got a phone line and still no internet. Every date they promise passes with no contact from them and only excuses when we ring them!

Useless!

They had my name wrong in our old house for at least 6 years. EVERY time they rang me they would call me Mr (Wifes Maiden Name). I corrected them every time and they assured me the system was and had been updated whilst I was on the phone even putting me through to different departments to sort, yet EVERY SINGLE TIME they contacted me they got it wrong still. Amazing how a company can continue to operate in that way.

It got worse as I started to receive telemarketing calls asking for Mr (wifes maiden name) and the only place that had that info (all be it incorrect) was BT. So it transpires that BT had sold my details to various companies! Great!

Good luck. 3 months is painful with no phone and internet. I feel for you.

Human right to a phone line FFS :cuckoo:.

You have a house, warmth and food, get a fewking grip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you established a contract with them? If so you need to read the terms of the contract or get a legal bod to. If not then you are up s**t creek without a paddle in my opinion. All these ombudsmen and the regulatory bodies mean little in reality sadly!

I think I have because I've signed up to them and set up a direct debit although they don't start billing me until I have the services. There needs to be a governing body of some sort to keep an eye on all these types of service providers.

Lol, on a day when a report into the CIA,s use of torture and abuse of inmates human rights is released - a report that shames America

We have someone complaining THEIR human rights may have been infringed by being denied cheap access to porn on the internet

Makes you think!!!

BT have no obligation under law to provide you with anything within any specified time. You are neither a customer (yet) nor contracted with them. I appreciate your frustration but BT as a business will rightly devote resources to more profitable and already established customers.

:lol:

First World problems... :lol1:

I'm just very frustrated ok! :lol1: I guess there's noting I can do other than wait :(

LOLzzzzz :D

However, BT (and Kingston) are covered by the USO or Universal Service Obligation which says everyone should have access to telephone services for a reasonable price. IIRC, I think there's a limit of £3400 of costs for installing a new line which BT will suck on. I don't think there is anything in the USO which states how long to provide services though.
No doubt after the high winds today / this week, some areas will get declared as MBORC (Matters Beyond Our Reasonable Control), at which installation dates can go out the window as fixing the fault backlog becomes priority. Best start praying you ain't in one of those areas ;)

sounds like developer fudged up and didnt stick a trench in for them

Been waiting two years for high speed broadband. Finally got the router, some work needs doing; we have to wait another two months.
Try ringing them and you hold forever and get no useful information.
Annoying but not quite life threatening.

jesus, you drama queen

http://playeressence.com/wp-content/...ramaqueen1.jpg

lol

all joking aside, does such balls, i'd be tempted to ring up and threaten to cancel. see if that makes them get their act together

That would be a bad move because even if I changed service provider, ultimately its BT open reach that still have to put the line in.

BT Open Reach are legally bound to offer the same service to all service providers

Other smaller service providers (we use 5g) are more inclined to shout more on your behalf.

I'm not going to risk swapping service provider to go through the same tedious process again... I doubt it would be any quicker now. They installed 4 new telegraph poles last month (no worrying about trenches being dug; it's all overhead around here), so you'd think it's a simple matter of an 'engineer' coming out to install a new cable from my house to the pylon 20 metres away! My Fathers line runs along these 4 new pylons, past my property and into his place just across the road! :brickwall

Can't you use an outfit like this: http://jibbajabba.uk.com/

That looks very good but looking at their coverage, they only cover just north of Leeds and York which is hundreds of miles away from me.

Just had talk talk installed - apparently the bt guy that installed new fone line from telegraph pole said theres no fibre optic to the door like virgin ,, its fed to the box at the bottom of the road then jumps its way up to me thru existing copper cables in the road - sounds odd but was told this by the bt guy just a few days ago

yep, why you dont get more than about 40-50mb from it on average.

Ive never had broadband so for me its plenty ,, always been on a mifi before so it was like 3mbos as an old mifi ,, its pkenty fast enough to watch videos etc without buffering and stuff so im happy

So for the op the question isnt just getting the fone line in but also is there a green box anywhere near as engineer said im lucky to live right by a green box but further distance can slow it down ,, again just going on what he said

copper cable isnt like fibre, signal degrades over distance, thats why you get a drop off the further it travels from the green box.

Gotcha ,, so is l sherrat relying on copper cable and a green box or is the bt he ordered one that needs fibre optics running in ?

if there isnt a phone line prob missing copper to the house, may be an exchange fibre optic box locally but no link. Or cables could be there but not connected at the street outside the estate etc. no real way to tell tbh

Just to add, virgin is different, runs straight into your house as fibre

Hmm , sounds like he might be waiting a while then

Would of recommended get a 3 one plan rolling payg sim and a mifi for unlimited internet for l sherrat but 3 now stopped the unlimited contracts for browsing with tethering

Might be worth looking at a giff gaff card and a mifi as a tide you over solution

The nearest exchange is 3 miles from me and that's not fibre optic, it's the old stuff. We have all the overhead pylons running the cables to the houses in the village but all I'm waiting on is for someone to attach a cable from the pylon which is 20 metres from my house and into my property. My parents who live down the road get 1.5-2mbs so I will be around the same once it finally gets sorted. Like mentioned, last month they installed 4 new pylons towards my house so that it will reach, now they just need to tac off that last pylon and into my house! No chance for fibre optic that's for sure until 2020! :brickwall