fao Andy Hughes - re Screaming out loud

[LoftyLottie]

You can stop running away from me now. BT turned up this morning again. They are opening up the manhole (which apparently hasn't be opened for 30 years) and investigating the fault asap. They have to wait for traffic lights to be organised. I am told extra precautions have to be taken down manholes in case of gas.

Keeping fingers crossed, but am sure things will change and I will get more bloomin' phone calls from India before too long.

They have now at least acknowledged we have an intermittant fault!!!

Have a lovely Christmas Andy!!

xx

[ChuckFickens]

In my experience (and I have a fair bit of experience of dealing with BT) their biggest problem is a total lack of communication between departments, one part never knows what the other is doing or has done. I have found that individual openreach engineers are fantastic though, they tend to be well trained and do know their jobs and try to do a good job while acknowledging that the system they have to work under is seriously flawed.

[LoftyLottie]

I agree Chuck. It is the communications that are dire. The Open Reach blokes have been wonderful. Two came this morning and spoke to Mr LL. The original one that came last week has been liaising with them as he promised he would. I would never criticise those engineers Did you see my original post? x

[LoftyLottie]

http://www.theanswerb...k/Question970078.html

[NazNomad]

"I am told extra precautions have to be taken down manholes in case of gas."

you are told correctly ... almost every underground BT access point undergoes gas-testing before work is carried out and in the case of the bigger manholes, they are monitored constantly when occupied by workers.

[LoftyLottie]

Yep, I don't doubt it Naz. The other 'holes' they work in around here are not underground as such so than don't have to take such precautions. I am pleased that these precautions are in place. I am amazed that they have not been down this manhole for so many years. We have lived in this house for 31 years and have always had problems that come and go. We are very rural and I suppose the lack of numbers complaining is minimal (4 houses where I live). Hopefully, they will get to the roots of the problem now !

[dotty.]

Chuck is right, I rang BT after the October bill arrived and I told them that I felt the BTVision package was too expensive for us as we didn't really use it very much. I explained that the contract ended at the e4nd of december and we would be cancelling the vision., the woman then proceeded to offer us half price on all 3 servcies, the internet, vision and calls! 10 phinecalls later we have not had any confiormation that this is ever oin to happen, nor has BT said they will change the quartely bill, out total bill to end of october was £185 whioch included 57 a month foir the internet/vision and call package as was, we have so far since end october paid them £120 and £107, up to now! so we have paid £227 in 8 weeks of a £185 bill! and one department says they will credit us back to 1st november but another oen says they can't amend ciobntracts miod-billing cycle and we had a letter oin monday offering us £19.99 a month vision from the day after the existin contract runs out on 27th dec! So they are oing to alter the package m,id billing cycle and they will owe us about £150! It's a farce!

[LoftyLottie]

And we are paying for this excellent service Dottie!! x

[NazNomad]

"The other 'holes' they work in around here are not underground as such so than don't have to take such precautions."

They do ... for any brick/concrete box in the ground, regardless of how deep it is. with the exception of one type of small fibreglass ''buried directly in the soil'' type box.

Over 1m deep and they have to do 'extra' gas-testing.

[ChuckFickens]

I didn't see your original post LL...

I have been told by several open reach engineers that the health and safety rules they have to abide by now are very restrictive (overly restrictive). Whereas a few years ago a engineer could turn up, look down a manhole to see if there is a problem, then get a ladder off the van and take a look up a telegraph pole to see if there was a problem they now have to call in a manhole team to look in the hole and a heights team to look up the pole.

Although I fully understand that health and safety rules are in place to protect workers it can be taken too far and stops people from doing a job that previously they would have been quite happy to perform themselves to get a problem sorted quickly.

[LoftyLottie]

I was just quoting what the Open Reach bloke told me Naz. He said that although the other boxes are buried around here they don't have to take precautions because they are not classed as man holes, so perhaps they are the ones you describe. They are buried quite deep though. We have always had trouble because they flood when the water comes off the field and into the dykes than run beside them!!

[LoftyLottie]

Chuck. Although we have underground cables the overground lines to invidiual houses are from telegraph poles. One is in our garden. They came last year and put a danger of death notice on it - facing into our garden, so it only benefits us and any Open Reach engineers that may come. What a waste of time and money!!