Any problems tonight?

[Niall]

That's what I was thinking.

Exactly where can I (or the ISP support) go to resolve this? There is CLEARLY an issue with something going on in the exchange or on the lines, and yet BT say there isn't. My line is supposed to be giving me 14mb down and 1.1mb up, which I think is pretty poor as it is considering I live within a mile exchange, but I was happy with the increase anyway, and my sisters line is now getting IDENTICAL results, where my line is seeing what theirs was!

I'm now at risk of being charged for quite frankly what seems to be BT's incompetence. I suppose I'll have to beg support to have a word with BT to ask about this.

[Simon]

It seems to be a no win situation for the customer.   Even if you sued BT, they would just claim they are delivering an acceptable service. 

[Lance]

One of the best things you can do is treat the engineer like a god. Drinks and offers of bacon sarnies work well. Remember the engineers can often be the good guys within BT and they are not the ones responsible for the management decisions taken.

[Niall]

I've sent support an email. Talk about feeling powerless.

Incidentally, since I sent support an email I've replaced the adsl cable on the router to the filter to see if that helped. Nope. Another pointless expense. Also, while I was doing all this someone that I don't know replied on the blokes facebook page that I mentioned earlier saying that they're having problems too. These are BT internet & phone customers too, so BT will have a record of faults being reported, so I've asked IDnet to check with them. If BT say they've had no reports of problems, we'll know straight off that they're lying, as BT replied to that chap today, by text as his phone line wasn't working.

Whatever BT did, it's taken out phone lines and knackered ADSL. EXACTLY what was happening on my sisters line.

I feel like a stuck parrot (erm, stuck record of a parrot? ) saying the same things over and over again, but I'm really pissed off. It's like dealing with corruption, knowing you'll get nowhere because it'll be swept under the carpet.

[Glenn]

Any chance you can get a list of names and addresses of people down your street that are having problems, presenting them all to BT may help your case.

[Steve]

It would be nice if you could persuade your neighbours to get BT out and see if they have any success before you risk your £200.

[kinmel]

Well they'll have nothing inside my house to check as it'll be an empty room by the time they get here. Anything broken will belong to BT.

That means nothing, for my Engineer visit last November there was nothing connected to the line and the electric supply was switched off at the meter, the engineer said that he could not carry out all the tests using his equipment since the line SNR was stuck at 15dB.  BT billed Idnet for £110 because there was no fault found during the visit.  The line only returned to working properly at the exact moment I was moved to a new ISP and the Idnet/BT view is that it was a coincidence.

Expect to be charged the full amount and gain no improvement at all.

ps In my case too a number of neighbours were initially affected, but their lines were either repaired or went back to normal of their own accord after a few days.

[Steve]

That sadly is my fear as well.

[Niall]

Any chance you can get a list of names and addresses of people down your street that are having problems, presenting them all to BT may help your case.

Unfortunately not. For one thing I'd have to walk door to door asking people, and also the people that reported problems that posted on a Facebook page are not people I actually know. The only things I can say with absolute certainty are the chap up the road has problems and did register a problem, and apparently has been doing for a while now. Trouble is, getting hold of him is nigh on impossible as he runs a shop during the day and his band is out gigging by night! The other certainty is that I've spent nigh on £1000 sorting this out, which frankly is absolutely pathetic service from BT. Whilst IDnet support have been their usual helpful selves, I have to ask the question why support is actually needed because the way BT work, you could submit your queries through a website and be lied to by BT

Seriously though, barring knocking on every door, getting every neighbour to give me a report of their network status, and performance over the last 4 months, there is literally nothing I can do to prove what shouldn't need to be proven by me.

All this wasting money and time testing things, emailing support, checking exchange status updates, having to use other ISPs websites to locate reported faults as there is no public facing reports like AAISP seem to have (for better or for worse), double checking all software and hardware and then replacing hardware on advice from several sources (still annoyed that people were adamant that my router and equipment were at fault, resulting in me spending a fortune on routers; THREE OF THEM, over several months) and even replacing all PC hardware in an upgrade (unrelated to internet, just needed one)which actually reduced power consumption across the board, further ruling out electrical interference, and yet I still have problems and STILL I'm threatened with a bill for BT, which they must damn well know most people can't afford.

Incidentally this month I'm paying off a credit card, due to an unexpected expense, so if I get a bill, I don't have money to pay the bloody charge now. I think I might as well just ask IDnet to get my line reset completely again, which in the past reset everything to the speed it should be (but if the card swapping at the exchange idea is correct, this will result in my line repeatedly dropping again, finally reducing to absolute shite). If that happens, quite honestly I think I may be forced to move ISP. I can't say I want to as IDnet and their support have been great for me, but if that's what it takes to get BT to fix the bloody line so I get what I pay for and what my line supports, then sadly that's what I'll do. With me using more and more web based things, videos for training, guitar lessons, photography tips/processing videos and iplayer, etc and not to mention the photography side of it needing a line that won't result in me spending half my life queuing up up/downloads and having to wait, or restart them all when the line drops. Then there's the website I'm planning on building, which will need a stable connection.

All of that is just causing me more and more stress. Some people would love to have the speed I have now (currently down to 6mb, from just under 15mb), but it just isn't quick enough for me to get what I want done, in a short enough period as I have very limited spare time as it is.

Oh, and since my last post my line has dropped 3-4 times. But hey, the line's fine.

[kinmel]

No need to risk any money you can't afford.  Try AAISP's "we'll fix your line" Free Trial and you can still return to Idnet later, if you so wish.

Absolutely no risk and at no cost.

[zappaDPJ]

I'm not sure where you are located but I do know that the BT infrastructure in the Rhonda Valley is terrible. We have a large number of relatives living in that area and their landlines are all so atrocious you can barely hear them over the background noise. Broadband is not an option for any of them. We regularly report line faults to BT and they do come out but it never seems to improve the line quality.

[Simon]

I just don't know how BT get away with it.  If Shell or BP sold petrol that made a Ferrari only go up to 40mph, there would be uproar.

[Rik]

Especially at Spa this weekend.

[Niall]

No need to risk any money you can't afford.  Try AAISP's "we'll fix your line" Free Trial and you can still return to Idnet later, if you so wish.

Absolutely no risk and at no cost.

I'll have a nose at that later when I'm home. Yet again I can't download my emails from IDNet on my phone. I think due to the size, so I'll see what their reply is before doing anything. Quite honestly, if AAISP can sort the problem that BT tell IDnet doesn't exist, I'll gladly pay a premium to move there.

[Niall]

I've accessed my email now, and I've asked support to contact BT again regarding my line as it seems they didn't from my last email. Probably because I was too busy ranting about how sh*t BT are

Anyway, I've asked support to ask BT to do something and if they come back with "there's nothing wrong" I'm going to move ISP. It's not IDnets fault, but at the end of the day what can I do if BT just bullshit IDnet?

[Niall]

Well, after my line dropping repeatedly last night and IDNet telling me it was BT that told them to request an engineer I've decided to wait for this engineer next week.

Also, I looked into AAISP and they have a hidden charges page which lists the BT charges too, so their guarantee on their site, to fix your line or pay no migration fee, is purely a boast that they've got a better system for fault reporting and a visible ticket system. I would still be liable for BT charges if no fault found so their boast seems more of a confidence of their pressure on BT rather than any actual money saving promise.

IDnet really need a public facing ticket system so we can see what is being reported and what BT are saying.

[Niall]

Oddly my nm has increased from 5.4 to 20 while I was out last night  However my speed has dropped to 3mb. Wouldn't it be ironic if it fixes itself just before the engineer arrives when it's too late to cancel without being charged?

[Rik]

Keep records...

[Niall]

I am doing. I've got logs from various days and I've had routerstats running for a day and a bit now, then about half the day before, so there are records of it being weird.

[pctech]

I have to say, when Zen opened a fault with BT to get my socket replaced I got a link to a fault tracker running on their secure server which all parties can add relevant information to (that is, the customer, Zen and BT) so I could at all times see what information was being passed to BT.

[Gary]

I have to say, when Zen opened a fault with BT to get my socket replaced I got a link to a fault tracker running on their secure server which all parties can add relevant information to (that is, the customer, Zen and BT) so I could at all times see what information was being passed to BT.

This is not Zen though, Mitch.

[pctech]

Indeed Gary, but it is something IDNet should consider doing and I was making the point that its not just AAISP.

[Gary]

Indeed Gary, but it is something IDNet should consider doing and I was making the point that its not just AAISP.

I agree with you on that, Mitch. The info on the AAISP pages are very useful, IDNet should offer the same service tbh, its something that sets nice ISP's apart from the bigger ones who don't even know what's on their main page as deals half the time.

[Niall]

Well I just got ready this morning and the engineer phoned, and was here in 30 mins. I've gone through all my tests with him, power use, removal of electrical items and pointed out I've got three routers and three faceplates and filters he's welcome to test. He declined and ran a line test, looked at the box outside and disappeared in his van. I'm assuming he's found a fault and has gone to the exchange a mile down the road. Fingers crossed.

[Niall]

Anyone seen my engineer? I've lost him