2014-12-24

BT won't fix their own error

Another day wasted - after my previous blog the previously impossible was being done, or so we thought, with BT actually trying to install a line at the requested address today.

Except that they now say they cannot. They have the wrong address, and they point blank refuse to fix it.

I have even suggested that as the details they have are the personal contact details of our customer, and are wrong, they have a legal obligation under there Data Protection Act to correct that incorrect personal data. It was worth a try!

They have made an error and got the address wrong but are point blank refusing to actually fix that and go to the address we stated on the order.

I am at the point of threatening legal action on this now - it is not acceptable for BT to refuse to correct their own mistakes where they have accepted the order.

The upshot is that they want me to do work - to cancel the order and re-order as before. No guarantee that the same mistake will not be made. Additional delay on the order. And us doing work to fix a BT mistake.

I am thinking the simplest may be to do as requested and then charge for my time as previously advised, and when they don't pay I just issue a county court claim and see what happens.

BT can be really good - they can be good to work with and we try - but there are times when they are an unrelenting bureaucratic nightmare and need sorting out.

Update: It seems now that BT think they may be able to sort this themselves, cancelling and re-issiing the order on their systems. But just in case then need us to do things for them we have launched a new Special Ordering Investigation service (SOI2) of which they can avail themselves, if they wish.

Update: Hopefully we will hear more today, though the BT person we are dealing with thinks it is summer? "I am currently out of office and will not be available till 25/12/2014 16:30 BST and have no access to emails and phone calls till then."

Update: BT are doing the cancel and re-order, yay! Except they did the cancel, and can't re-order because, magically, FTTC is no longer available. I am at a loss...

Update: Now they state the exchange is not planned for FTTC even. Yet the BT checker for the address, and the address key, agreeing the exchange and cabinet involved, says it is, and is up to 80Mb/s. Madness.

7 comments:

  1. Should have called it Work And Network Kase Expert Reordering System

    ReplyDelete
  2. The problem is BT's interpretation of Ofcom's "Equality of Inputs"; Ofcom expected it to mean "BT will improve service for all BT customers, including BT-internal customers created by regulatory fiat"; instead, parts of BT have interpreted it as "we must not do a good job for anyone - that way, every BT customer gets crap service".

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is actually quite interesting. You now have a product that they can buy and account for, which should be very acceptable to a large bureaucratic organisation. Do you make reference to this service with your orders?

    ReplyDelete
  4. You don't have the right to make them correct it, but surely your customer does!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are BT plc's customer in this case.

      Delete
    2. I think he means from a DPA mandatory fix perspective, as its not your personal data.

      Delete
    3. I see. AFAIK they have a legal obligation to correct it, full stop. It is one of te Data Protection Principles which they have to follow. Yes, usually, it would be the subject that points out the error but not sure it matters who does.

      Delete

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