BT’s ‘no broadband’ service cost me £30 a month

We have had no broadband for more than three months and have got to the point where we despair of ever getting BT (through Openreach) to supply what they are charging us for, at £30 a month.

In July we noticed a reduction in what was already a woefully slow internet speed, which we put down to usage by others. But throughout July, August and early September it went from about 1.1Mbps to 0.24Mbps. We now have no service and have endured endless hours talking to BT’s Indian call centre.

Since writing to its chairman, Sir Michael Rake, in mid-December we were contacted by the executive complaints team which insisted everything was fixed.

There is history here … seven years ago it took BT eight weeks to provide a telephone line and I complained to Ofcom. Both my wife and I rely on broadband for our work and it has been impossible for her to work for most of the three months. We have also been unable to access our subscription TV and music and film streaming services, and have had to use our mobile phone data which is very expensive. I think BT is in breach of its code of conduct, in which it claims to care for its customers. MA, Dorking, Surrey

The good news is that you have finally got a working broadband connection. The bad news is you are battling BT over what you say is a “derisory” offer of compensation, 49p a day, part of which consists of a credit for the service which was not provided during the period of the fault. It is refusing to pay anything for the time you spent dealing with this incident and the huge impact on your ability to work.

We receive large numbers of complaints about Openreach, amid much national concern about underinvestment and whether the company is run in the interests of shareholders rather than the customer.

Since we received your complaint, Ofcom sparked further controversy by agreeing to allow Openreach to remain part of BT, to the dismay of its rivals.

Back to your case, and BT said: “MA contacted us in September to say his broadband speed was slow and a fault was opened. Later that month he contacted us to say he had no phone service or broadband. There was a major fault.

“We aim to fix faults within three working days. However, this was a very complex case which needed traffic management requiring road/lane closures, which involves getting permission from the relevant authorities.

“Engineers had to clear blockages and lay cable and both underground and overhead work was needed. We have apologised to MA for the time it took.”

BT says it has also apologised for “poor customer service” in dealing with the complaint, and since the service was restored it has discussed compensation. It has subsequently credited your account with £134.19 for the period when you were without service.

It acknowledges you are unhappy with this amount but confirms this is the end of the road. You have a deadlock letter and your only other option is to go to the small claims court or the Ombudsman Services. You are going to start with the latter.

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