BTInfinity cancellation implications

A question about : BTInfinity cancellation implications

We ordered BTInfinity early Jan but BT have repeatedly delayed the installation date and we have been without any broadband for 8 days as our previous provider have cut us off. (phone line went over as expected). At the time of writing, BT are unable to tell us when we can expect to be connected. To add insult to injury, we have paid out Ј70 on mobile wifi to enable us to work from home as necessary.

So, perhaps not surprisingly, we have lost faith in BT and no longer want to proceed with our order. But before we cancel, I want to be sure of the full implications of cancellation and if there are any potential pitfalls we need to avoid?

Best answers:

• If the service has not yet commenced then you should be able to cancel without penalty-just make sure you do it in writing and send it RD. However since all FTTC installs are done by BT OR, regardless of actual supplier, you will simply find yourself at the back of the same queue should you cancel and recorder with another supplier.
  If the phone service has already gone live, then the situation may be more complex and you may only be able to cancel the fibre install without penalty-they will usually be separate contracts.
• Thanks for that. We're pretty confident we're not getting fibre, OH says it says it says copper on the paperwork and we certainly don't need an engineer round to the house. But, trying to get any answers out of BT customer services is impossible.
  To be honest, we're at the point now that's we'd rather wait for someone else than carry on with BT as, if they are this poor before they even manage to get us connected, then what happens if something else goes wrong?
• Isn't BT Infinity the name for BT's fibre product though?
  Either way, fibre or ADSL, what macman says is correct. You will simply go to the back of the line as Openreach do all the installs (except Virgin if that's an option for you.)
• Hi Mels1,
  I can take a look at your order and see what is happening with it and hopefully get things moving faster.
  You can contact me through the link in my profile.
  Thanks,
  Olga
• Olga,
  Thanks very much but we've had a call this evening from the first person in over a month that we actually think might provide us with some information. But I'll let you know tomorrow if she doesn't follow through. She agrees we should have had a proper explanation but it seems one part of the company hasn't responded to the other. She has promised to chase in the morning and provide us with a fuller picture so we can make a decision whether to cancel or continue.
  I'll keep you posted .....and I appreciate your response.
• Mije1983......we were under the impression we were ordering a fibre connection but we're really confused at the moment. Everything throughout the order process says fibre but you find out after you have ordered that it may not mean fibre to your house only fibre to the local exchange. We only found that out by accident.
  It's one of the questions we want to ask today but so far any technical questions remain unanswered.
• Its fibre to the cabinet not fibre to the exchange .
  Fibre to the premises is far to expensive except where laying to new premises .Fibre runs to your local street cabinet then over the standard BT wire to the house .
  BT fibre is branded Infinity .
• Thanks JJ Egan that's useful to know.
  We've had a call from someone helpful from BT and it seems that our cynicism about "routing problems" being a catch all excuse by customer services was correct. The routing was completed 10 days ago so we now have to wait till Tuesday to find out what the real problem is. Frustrating as that will be at least a 12 day broadband outage but we are finally getting some proper information which is a huge relief. We have agreed with BT to revisit the cancellation depending on the outcome of Tuesday's call.
• As above, fibre = FTTC = Infinity. There is no new cabling to the property unless a new line is required. If so, a traditional copper wire will be installed. It's usually simply a shortage of broadband engineers with OR, which is why they seem to increasingly subcontract. Bear in mind that the repair work is also in peak season due to the cold weather, and that always takes priority over new connections.
  If working from home is mission-critical, then you should be on a business contract and not a residential one, because there is no SLA whatsoever on a residential contract.
• Thanks Macman. We're now not sure exactly what the problem is as it seems the routing was completed 10 days ago albeit 3 weeks after our service was supposed to start.
  My OH doesn't usually work from home on a regular basis but a huge piece of work has meant working evenings and weekends and the office building isn't open.
• WFH on residential broadband isn't an issue. However, if your Broadband goes down for whatever reason you won't have an SLA to get it fixed quickly.
  BT Infinity is FTTC, so fibre to the cabint, and copper from the cabinet to your house. The technician visit is required to change your master socket, if required, and test the line speed. The chap that visited me for my BT Infinity 2 install was here about 20 mins.
• Well, we're finally online today, 4.5 weeks after our given switchover date and having been without broadband for the best part of 12 days. Seems that after the routing was done we then had to wait for an engineer to visit the nearest cabinet which he or she has done today.
  Have to say that once we had got away from the standard call centre and the issue had been escalated to the right person, we finally found someone who told us exactly what the problem was and phoned back when they said they would which was just so reassuring.
  And the speed does seem to be much improved so fingers crossed it will all be OK in the end.