BT Business Broadband: appalling service

I’m currently enjoying an appalling experience with BT Business Broadband services.

The call center departments that are provided to support business customers not only supply conflicting information when faced with problems, but are additionally incapable of addressing problems actually raised with them.

When I recently moved to Scotland, I moved to a newly-built property which had no phone-line. BT Business Broadband services had out-dated records and were unable to process the proper house address as provided, and required additional information on the house plot number of the building site development.

Three months later, my broadband connection was unexpectedly cut-off - crippling my access to my online business - because BT Business Broadband services had been billing the building site, rather than the home address I provided.

Despite admitting that they were in error, BT Business Broadband services are now escalating the entire matter rather than correct it - by charging me for the full 12 month contract after just 3 months.

This despite that BT Business Broadband services breached their contract with me, and then due to a combination of their incompetence and negligence, have attempted to cripple my online business, and then charge me in advance for this.

Anyway, I have a draft letter which I’ll finish off and post today, so as to try and get this issue resolved before they try to cut me off again:

I am writing to convey my utmost dissatisfaction with the BT business broadband service, and the appalling level of treatment I have endured under that service.

The problems began when I moved my business to a newly built property which had no installed phone line.

After various unexpected delays and technical problems with regards to getting my telephone and broadband order processed for the new home, I was finally able to subscribe to BT business services for telephone and business broadband.

This not least included the fact that the BT Business Broadband services were unable to use my proper residential address as was provided, which was 28 Holly Grove, Menstrie, Clacks, FK11 7DR. I had to additionally provide a plot number of the development site so that the telecommunications connection could be established.

On August 2nd of this year, BT Broadband services discontinued my account for non-payment. When I rang the helpline, I was informed that rather than bill the proper postal address as I had given it, I was instead being billed to a location based on the plot number of the development site provided to help the installation, and of course these bills were not received.

The first point is that I found it astonishing that BT made no provision to contact myself using its own services, via e-mail or even by phone, to inform of a problem with billing not being paid, which would have prevented the situation developing.

However, the immediate worst of that situation was that my business was crippled for 22 hours while I was unable to access the internet, e-mails, order numbers, invoices and receipts.

I spent two hours the following day trying to get the situation resolved. Unfortunately, I was shunted between different departments – Billing, Orders, and Credit Control – and none of them seemed able to deal with the issue in terms of reconnecting my account to the internet.

In fact, at one point, I was able to speak to a manager in one department, who assured me that they would seek to get the account reconnected – within 3 working days. However, another department already insisted that the account could not be enabled. The inability to address the issue directly I found completely unacceptable.

When I insisted to speak to a manager in the Order Department, I was put through to a manager by the name of Ian Usher, who insisted that he was unable to deal with the issue. However, when I asled to speak to someone higher up the command hierarchy, who could have authority and initiative to be able to correct the situation and get my business back online without constantly redirecting myself between different departments, not only did Ian Usher repeatedly refuse, but then when pushed he stated that he would have the required department call myself back, which never happened.

It was only after this whole series of phone calls to the broadband departments that eventually a technician who had some ounce of initiative, was able to reconnect my account and allow my business to resume some semblance of operations.

While obviously grateful for this, I have since contacted BT to ensure that I can settle existing debts, quoted as just over £200, caused by BT Business Broadband services being incapable of using my proper billing address.

However, I have been astonished today to learn BT Business Broadband services claim that I owe them £1,186.23, apparently because I am now to be billed for entire year because of BT’s error. Again, this is entirely unacceptable.

I am now in the unenviable position of running an online marketing and advertising company via an account with an ISP, who could cancel that account at any time and without warning, because despite BT staff admitting that the error is with BT, the call centre staff I have wasted so much time with so far are incapable of doing anything other than escalate this error to my disadvantage.

I have only been with BT as a business customer for just over three months, and so far I have found the service to be utterly appalling, negligent and incompetent.

I am writing this letter in the hope that someone in the complaints department of the BT Business Broadband services departments is actually able to show some degree of initiative and authority to deal with this entire matter in a proper and professional manner.

I should advise you that should BT Business Broadband services be unable to resolve this issue in a prompt and proper manner, then I fully intend to seek legal advice.