I applied to have BT Fibre1 Broadband installed on August 20th, 2022 via BT Enterprise. To date it still has not been done. It is currently November 3rd.

There are many people like me. Stories that are very similar in nature on BT's Trustpilot page and on the Openreach page, their ratings speak volumes, both are rated 1.6 out of 5 and you cannot give zero stars. I have have had countless missed appointments from Openreach. Since the 20th August all they have done is put a socket on the wall. 

In the last 2 weeks I have had 2 cast iron guarantees that it would be installed but it hasn't been. Last week an Engineer stated that the wires were buried under concrete by the local council. The excuses are endless. Today I was told it would take a week to contact the Patch Lead to get it sorted, by BT Enterprise.

I feel powerless, I feel like I am being held to ransom. I am free to leave my contract without penalty. But with so much control that Openreach has, it's meaningless and also it would excuse BT Enterprise of any compensation due.

I'm disabled, The internet is not a luxury, it is a human right, it is essential for me. I have to travel 4 hours every day when I could be working from home. I get up at 5AM and get home at 7, I am exhausted. I am not alone, there are many others like me. Apart from Disabled people the elderly and People who work from home are also being affected.

The really sad thing is that BT have signed up to the Ombudsman service, Openreach hasn't. They are accountable to OFCOM and themselves, that's it. They don't reply to their Customers on Trustpilot. Both companies are owned by BT Group.

I believe it's time that Openreach signed up to the Ombudsmen so that they can be held accountable for the work that they do or in my case, haven't done.

 

From the Ombudsman website :-

 

"Openreach: we cannot review your complaint

Openreach installs and maintains the UK copper and fibre network to allow your supplier to provide you with service. Openreach aren’t a member of our service as they do not provide a consumer with service directly. If you want to make a complaint about Openreach, you should do so by contacting your supplier and they will forward your concerns to Openreach. However there are some occasions where you can contact Openreach directly, such as reporting damage to the network, or to your property."

I have contacted BT on many occasions, today they stated that the Ombudsmen are powerless to act and I have to wait. Sadly, that's true but it shouldn't be. I could be waiting indefinitely, this shouldn't be allowed to happen. End users should not be held to ransom.

Most Broadband providers with the exception of Virgin Media, G Network or Community Fibre use Openreach.

BT own EE, Openreach and Plusnet.

Openreach have a very large Monopoly when it comes to the Network and they have little accountability to anyone. 

I believe that they should be accountable to the ISP's that use them and the End users that ultimately they serve.

If there isn't an Ombudman service for them then one should be setup, they should be held accountable.

If you believe this too, please sign this petition. It will help many, many people.

 

Thank you.

 

*My Broadband was finally installed on 16/11/2022

 

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