Further tales from Broadbandland

It seems that our previous post is not the only person to encounter difficulties with setting up on broadband - different supplier this time, but definitely same level of service...
LETTER 1

Leeds

August 2005

Dear Sir

Fault Reference BLAH BLAH

I arranged to be connected to XX Broadband on the 6th July. I carried out the procedures for ‘connecting the hardware’ as directed but I failed to make contact and consequently I began discussion as to the possible reasons for this failure through your helpline . By Friday, 8th July, nothing had been done to determine the ‘fault’(?) and even a long telephone call at premium rate did nothing but to demonstrate the embarrassingly inept service that XX is providing.

The initial difficulties of making contact with a ‘helpline’ are considerable (to say the least) but they pale into insignificance when compared with the conflicting ‘advice’ / ‘help’ that is proferred by various members of staff. And as for distinguishing a path through which I could channel my frustration, there seemed to be none (‘until I was connected’). For days I was told that the fault lay entirely around my computer and its connection and I became sick of explaining that this seemingly simple procedure had been checked repeatedly. Eventually, it was agreed that an engineer should call and, after the third ‘arrangement’, he did.

The engineer, monitored the telephone with total efficiency and announced that the line (2 Mb) in my contract was unable to be picked up and the problem would be resolved by downgrading to the slightly slower 1 Mb connection, that this would be done within a day and that I would be informed. (Question : How can you offer a service to a postcode in the suburbs of Leeds that was unavailable ?).

After two days, I had heard nothing and I was forced to resort to the telephone exchange and all its frustration. How can a company such as XX advertise its products in such a profligate fashion and, at the same time, allow a customer to hang on to a telephone for up to 70 minutes to enquire about a problem / fault that is entirely the company’s responsibility and still not provide a resolution or an apology ?

On Monday, 1st August, after at least a 60 minutes phone call, I was told that my problem would be resolved, that I should ring back to be informed. On at least ten attempts into 2nd August there was no response on this number and I was forced to repeat the procedure through the helpline. Again, total confusion, but eventually an operator told me that she would ring me back at 1.30 pm to explain the situation. You will not be surprised to hear that I received no call but idling by my computer, as I waited, I switched on and realised that I had been connected to BT Broadband – after one month, huge frustration, many hours of time wasted, and some expensive telephone calls. Ah, but I suppose that the shareholders are happy and that, after all, is your raison d’etre.

I feel that this whole saga could possibly be summed up in one unrequested telephone call some 7 or 8 days after what was to have been my connection. It was clearly from a call exchange, sponsored by XX, asking me whether I was pleased with my recently acquired XX Broadband etc. Could you please arrange another call from one of the Directors so that I could really express my feelings but on this occasion I would be appreciate it if it was not made at 8.59 pm when even double glazing merchants or Spanish Properties cowboys would hesitate to encroach one’s privacy.

I expect my contract to be revised, the service was established some 4 weeks after July 6, and that allowance should be made for the premium rate telephone calls I was forced to make. As for the time I wasted and the attendant frustration I leave it for you to consider but the least I would expect would be an apology.

THE IRONY?

This blogger was also a believer and did think they were connected but it was not to be. After a month of a 'hit and miss' service on broadband the horror was revealed, he was still using DIAL UP! Jeez! All is sorted now, but it took another 1,000 phone calls and another trip from the Engineer. The problem? In the junction box in the street. Never heard of checking postcodes against your service provision capabilities XX? Didn't think so.

The Joy of Broadband

One day it seemed a good idea, considering the use of the internet and the tying up of the phone line, the squawks of frustration at how slow the computer was going to buckle and agree to organise broadband in our house. This is the story of one woman's quest to be connected....

LETTER 1
Armley
Leeds LS12

April 2005


XXXX XXXXX
Complaints Department
LONDON W3

Dear Sir/Madam

REF ACCOUNT NUMBER BLAH BLAH BLAH

I write to complain about the stress I have been caused in attempting to get reconnected to XXX XXX and take advantage of your 'Mad March' offer for Broad Band at £14.99 a month.

I moved house in January 2005, and I was disconnected by BT and as a result my XXX XXX account was also discontinued. I did not want this to happen but it did. When I went to BT to reconnect me in my new house (just around the corner) I continued with the same telephone number and I started getting letters from you saying ‘sorry you are leaving us’. I wasn’t. But you seemed to think I was.

That is between you and BT no doubt - it is very irritating to me, but I understand that there was some issue about my postcode which your staff had not changed on my details as it is almost the same as before and this seemed to confuse them.

I started contacting you about signing back up or starting my contract again in February and then I was told about the Broad Band deal and rang on 14 March to set that up. Then I have had more and more phonecalls checking out the status and being told all sorts of stuff by your staff, none of whom seem to know what is going on with my account.

Eventually I spent an HOUR on the phone holding on mostly, listening to Dido (for crying out loud) on Friday evening trying to sort this out. I eventually spoke to Leona who was very helpful and apologetic but couldn’t do anything until Monday when she said she would make sure your Broad Band people rang me. They didn’t. I phoned today (Thursday) and she got Chris from Broad Band to phone me. He broke the news that I will be put on as a XXX XXX customer on 26th April 2005 followed by, a week later, getting Broad Band.

My point is:

• I have a 13 year old boy who plays those internet games and asks me every single day ‘have we got broad band’ and then takes up the phone line all evening every evening playing those games. I cannot tell you how irritating that is, and how disappointed he is.
• I have been given conflicting advice from your staff about my customer status with XXX XXX to such an extent that I was absolutely convinced I was a XXX XXX customer and now I am dreading my phone bill from BT because of the amount of calls I have made to XXX XXX trying to get to the bottom of this, including being on hold for ages listening to Dido

So:
• I expect an apology for the distress that you have put me through with your inability to give proper feedback to customers checking their status
• I expect to get the Mad March £14.99 deal when I eventually get signed up to Broad Band with XXX XXX after 26 April 2005, at the very least or better still some sort of complimentary package or upgrade
• I expect some form of financial compensation for the amount of time I have spent calling XXX XXX, including being on hold, when I was mistakenly under the impression that I was a XXX XXX customer (and the calls would therefore be free) because of being told I was by your employees that I was. (I would say that I have made at least 12 – 15 phonecalls to XXX XXX of varying length, including the mammoth one last Friday which went over one hour).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely



ANGRY FROM ARMLEY

LETTER 2
Armley
Leeds LS12
May 2005



XXX XXX
Complaints Department
LONDON


Dear Sir/Madam

REF ACCOUNT NUMBER BLAH BLAH

I just thought I’d write to update you, having not heard from you since my last letter dated April (copy attached).

I am still awaiting the Mad March £14.99 Broad Band offer. Isn’t it hilarious? Not.

After being told I would be on broad band on 26th April and 6th May and then ooops, there was still a problem with my postcode - on Monday I was told I would be ‘going live’ on 18th and my ‘kit’ would be sent out to meet that date. Today I phoned enquiring as to the whereabouts of my ‘kit’ and was told that it had been sent out yesterday, a day after my ‘go live’ date. It doesn’t matter apparently though, I can just call up XXX XXX when the Broad Band Kit eventually arrives and ask to be credited back for the service I haven’t yet received.

Aren’t I the lucky one?

I expect to hear from you promptly about this debacle. The stress and strain of this remains, and as a full time working single mother, no, it wasn’t an option for me for jack in my ‘relationship’ with XXX XXX and look elsewhere as stupidly I have actually believed your many many staff over and over again that ‘everything is fine now’. In the last two months I must have spoken to every single one of your staff including Joanne in ‘customer services’ who made it very very clear to me that the pressure on the sales people to ‘sell’ means that their attention to detail (like getting customers addresses and postcodes right (so they match what BT have)) is the least of their problems, and that she is heartily sick of (trying to) mop up after them.

I bet I’m not the only person who has written to you. I note you can afford expensive TV adverts about your wonderful XXX XXX landline service from the XXXXXXX. Perhaps you would do better to pump some of that money into training your staff.

Yours faithfully

ANGRY FROM ARMLEY


LETTER 3

Armley
Leeds LS12

Late May 2005



John Smith
Chief Executive
XXXX XXXXX
LONDON


PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL

Dear Mr Smith

RE: ACCOUNT BLAH BLAH BLAH

Can I please refer you to the two letters attached dated 15 April 2005 and 20 May 2005, for both of which I am still awaiting a response.

I am writing directly to you, and copying this into Mr David Jones who I understand is the Contact Centre Manager at Warrington to try, once again, to elicit some sort of response, and some sort of sense of responsibility from a company who high pressure sales “sells” a service that, as far as I can see, they simply cannot supply.

It will not come as a surprise to you when I tell you that further to my letter of 20 May 2005 I (and my 13 year old son) are still awaiting the ‘kit’ for us to be able to use Broad Band, and by god it better be worth it when it comes.

My latest concern is of course the fact that you have my bank details and I am supposed to just ring through and tell your billing people that my kit didn’t arrive in time for the ‘go live’ date of 18 May 2005 and therefore I am not to be charged from then. I don’t have any faith that this is going to happen, not just because of the incredibly poor performance of your staff in getting me my Broad Band but particularly as I was allegedly ‘credited’ by £10 for the ‘inconvenience’ at an earlier point in this debacle, by Joanne at ‘customer services’ but when I received my bill after that for the phone line that credit didn’t appear. I don’t think £10 is going to sort me out for the inconvenience any longer.

I mentioned in my last letter that I noted you had started advertising on TV, and now I see you are the sponsors of XXXX XXXX XXXX. Are you sure that is wise judging by the capabilities (or lack thereof) of your staff to actually provide the service?

Last week I had the dubious ‘pleasure’ of speaking to your Broad Band section about the whereabouts of my ‘kit’. Are you familiar with the ‘computer says no’ sketch from Little Britain? I had that, in real life. Apparently your computer had cancelled my kit because it had taken so long to set up my Broad Band, this was after I had been told on 20th May 2005 that it had been sent out. I pointed this out. Computer said no. Then I was told by your operative that he didn’t understand what my problem was as I could just go into B&Q and buy the kit for 50p so why was I waiting around? I expressed surprise, as did a number of his colleagues when I shared this information. Then I was put through to Frank, who I said he’d just check that Laughing Boy had put my order through as ‘he has a habit of saying he’s done stuff when he hasn’t’, he then put his hand over the receiver and shouted over to Laughing Boy. I asked to speak to Customer Services. I was told, eventually, by an incredulous Frank, that infact he was Customer Services. I can’t say I was encouraged by this. I then started the cycle of calls again and spoke to Stephen who said that Laughing Boy should never have said that thing about the kit being available at B&Q for 50p as that was not the case, and he said he would speak to a manager about speaking to me in a 24 hour call back (I’m still waiting for that almost a week later, do you think I should give up on it?) and that he may be able to organise having the kit couriered to me. I know he was just saying that to get me off the phone but I was comforted by it.

Because, I am, it seems, a believer! Even after everything you have put me through.

So, I still await the Broad Band Kit. The three months subscription to my son’s internet game, £23.99, has almost expired. I have spent an inordinate amount of time on the phone to your staff, and on hold, day time, evening and weekends, there is never a good time. Oh, unless you want to subscribe to XXXX XXXX and then, boy oh boy is that phone answered quickly. And every so often I get a real ‘class act’ on the end of the phone who makes me feel as if I am definitely stuck in some Kafkaesque nightmare.

I wonder if you would be good enough to respond to me on this, bearing in mind every thing that I have said in this letter and the two previous ones, for which I have not received a reply.

Yours sincerely



ANGRY FROM ARMLEY

Names have been changed to protect the innocent from legal action.

THE RESULT?

A two page letter of apology was received by Angry from Armley, in which much grovelling and offering to make amends was present. Angry from Armley decided to take that leap of faith one more time and accepted, with incredibly good grace, the offer of the 'Super Turbo Booster Free Calls Plus Super Speedy Connection' normally retailing at £29.99 for the Mad March cost of £14.99 - for one whole year - and retire with as much grace as she could muster. We have never looked back.