Services: The BT story.

I hated BT for many years in my old property, getting their services sorted out almost drove me to despair. It took about 10 technicians and dongles to get the service working. But for the last couple of years it has vaguely been ok. And when I discovered the new property did not have a phone at the same time as I was offered internet teaching, I had to approach them. Only if they could supply a phone line, and a quality service, could I move. They assured me all would be well.

A lovely engineer called round 3 weeks after I had moved in. Three weeks without internet work. He had a few problems with the phone line, but was able to assure me it would be sorted by the following day. He was not supplied with a BT dongle so had to wind loads of wire round the flat, cracking walls, to get the internet in, but it worked. Yippee.

Then it stopped, then it started. then it stopped ... You get the picture. I was trying to start my new internet teaching post, but was tearing my hair out instead. I could not even phone anyone to get it sorted out as the phone did not work for 2.5 weeks. BT agreed to compensate me for that loss. Meanwhile I was assured that outside engineering work would resolve the internet problems. I hoped so: the dongle I had been given by a friend, so that I could work, was not working either. He had to go to Welwyn Garden City a couple of times and several other shops before getting a new one that worked, but that is another service story. So every time my system crashed he would have to load up his dongle and dash over to rescue me, several times I lost work and he lost time and money.

I was on the now working phone regularly to BT begging them to sort it. I only earn £6 an hour for my work and phoning them was taking that amount of time. I pleaded with the staff to enable me to earn a living and they seemed sympathetic. They said the problem was the ethernet cable. They said they would send out a new welcome pack. It did not come. I contacted them again. They promised another internet cable: it did not come either. Finally I begged them send me a dongle: they said it is not BT's policy to help their customers in this constructive way, or words to that effect, we would rather spend hours on the phone damage your health and our reputation than do anything useful However, they did say they were escalating my case to help sort it out more urgently. Given that I had been suffering for two and a half months and unable to work properly I wondered why I had not been a priority before. They promised to send an engineer and it was fixed for last Wednesday. I got a text confirming the apppointment for last Monday. I wrote to them begging them to resolve the problem and giving them the correct time for the appointment.

The engineer came on Monday. Luckily, he arrived when I had a moment and so far, he has fixed the problem: a faulty hub. I wrote for compensation for the stress, lost time, lost income and my friends unnecessary expenses. And asked for a letter to provide my employers so that they know I am reliable and that the problem was not something I could expect or resolve on my own.

I got a phone call next day, the woman, did not know the engineer had been round,she explained that my emails had been going to the wrong place within BT, but she promised to send me an email so that I cold reply to her and be in the right place to resolve any remaining issues. I got her email. It said she was going on holiday!. The next day someone else rang me she informed me I had gone without a phone for two days, had received £13 so what right had I to expect anything more. I suggested she had her facts wrong.She said she had not as the information was written down in front of her. I don't like to tell you what I growled at her from my stress induced sick bed.

I don't want to ring BT on my now working phone. I do not want to email them, on my now working internet. I just want to receive a big fat cheque, like the one, they will demand from their suppliers. I think I could be waiting a long time.