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No Internet connection, BT and ISP blame each other

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I have no Internet connection and I haven't had any connectivity since Saturday night.  It feels like my right arm has been cut off because I use the Internet so much.  Everything from communication, paying bills, running my business to entertainment and catching up with the news is all done online.

I first spotted the unusual configuration of flashing lights on the router on Sunday morning.  I was on my way out so I wasn't too bothered and figured that it was probably just a blip and that it would be okay in a short while.  I haven't really lost my Internet connection a great deal in the last two years since I moved here.  The odd half hour here and there with no service has been a very rare occurrence, so this time I thought nothing off it as I went out for the day.

I returned that evening to find the router flashing away in a manner that told me there was still no Internet connection; rebooting and powering off for a short period had absolutely no effect so the next step was to get on the phone to my Internet provider.  Their network status bulletin informed me that there was no known issues so I managed to navigate my way through to a customer service advisor.  My ISP is one of the smaller UK providers, and they were in fact one of the first in the country.  The level of service has always been excellent and I like them because they provide a "no nonsense" service and they don't feel the need to hold your hand every step of the way. It's assumed you know what you're doing and they simply provide you with you're connection to the Intranet - unfettered.  For this reason and the very relaxed and almost non-existent fair use policy, I chose their business Internet service.

ADSL, modem and filter The 'ball' was passed back and forth between my ISP and BT with no one really willing to take responsibility

Over the next hour or so I made four calls to my ISP, each time I was instructed to try something different to see if it solved the problem.  If you've ever been in this position before (and I have) it will all sound quite familiar.  They'll usually run a line test first, then you have to unplug any telephones, swap the filter, plug the router into the master socket, try a different ADSL cable, try a different modem, try a different router etc.  None of this helps of course and you still have no Internet connection.  They just need to make sure the fault isn't at your end.  At this point they need to log a call with BT to investigate the problem.

As soon as BT was mentioned my heart sank because I've been there before.  A few years back at a different address and with a different ISP I had a very flaky connection that would drop out several times an hour.  The 'ball' was passed back and forth between my ISP and BT with no one really willing to take responsibility and each blaming the other.  It turned out to be a faulty box somewhere down the road and it took no less than six BT engineers to figure this out.  I'm really not looking forward to

This is the stage I am at now, playing the waiting game.  I'm sat at home tied to the phone like an expectant father, waiting for that first call from BT.  The lights on the router are still flashing and I'm pacing up and down.  I'd go up to the library to get online and sort a few things out, but of course I need to wait here just in case someone decides to call me!  We're four hours into the first day now and I have successfully resisted the temptation to ring my ISP to see if they can hurry things up.  I know how that would go anyway, their hands are tied and everything is now down to BT.

Time passes slowly when you've got no Internet connection, or at least it appears to!


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Ditch the Landline Providers

Ditch the Landline Providers

It's high time to dump your landline. It's time to let BT and Virgin Media and whoever else to know that they can no longer rip us off. All we need nowadays is a broadband connection, and a mobile telephone [PAYG]. Landline calls are twice as expensive as mobile phone calls. Let 'em all know you are going to ditch the lot of them.

You do not need cable TV. You do not need SKY or Virgin Media.

Freeview has all the channels you need.
17/04/14 Ditch the Landline Providers
0
roger williams

roger williams

i've been attempting to set upan email account with talktalk, have had no success to date dispite talking with the so called backup team I am seriously thinking of leaving this contract with talktalk as i'am not paying for something I cannot use
06/05/10 roger williams
-12
Candy

Candy

Best of luck to you - if you suffer my fate, you're at the outset of 8 months of hell, and ongoing. Although perhaps not, because I've suffered the effects of an antique BT line to my property since I bought the house. Anyone who reads this - I beg of you - help me campaign to the Govt, the Law Society, whoever it takes, to make a check and disclosures of the condition of the local BT lines a part of the HIPS checks and/or searches during conveyancing! I would NOT have bought a house in this area if I had known I'd have little or no internet connection. And yes, I know that BT are determined to find that the fault is with one's own equipment - but finally (having needlessly ripped out my bedroom extension line, amongst other things) they have had to admit that their lines are not good in my area - but apparently they are not contractually obliged to be good enough to carry broadband! Dial-Up, anybody?
19/02/10 Candy
0
Changeit!

Changeit!

I am yet another customer who is absolutely appalled by the so called customer service at Talktalk. After a year with the company I have had numerous hourly long telephone calls to them and know every word to their jingle from being on hold for ridiculous amounts of time. I was left without phone service and Internet over the whole of New Year and spent 2 days trying to rectify this with Talktalk; 30th initial call at 1100 on hold till 1125 no conversation just told to call back the next day and hung up on..call again at 1135 on hold till 1150 told I was being transferred to the technical team then hung up on...on the 31st called tech team at 0930 the passed from one department to the other and on hold for most of the morning. To top it all after moving to another service provider at this point and cancelling my direct debit, I find today that Talktalk have taken a payment out of my account and as usual I call them to ask for my money back and low and behold their "systems" are down (again, this is another problem they seem to incurr when they need to) they say they cant do anything until Monday. Furious!! I have read their policy today ...
If we don’t look after the customer, somebody else will.
Nothing is gained by winning an argument but losing a customer.
Always deliver what we promise. If in doubt, under-promise and over-deliver.
Always treat customers as we ourselves would like to be treated.
The reputation of the whole company is in the hands of every individual.

I beleive policies are there to be adhered to?!
16/01/10 Changeit!
2
BT Retail Business Broadband T

BT Retail Business Broadband T

I think what the problem is, is the BT PHONE LINE is faulty. If there is not a correctly working phone line (even if you seem to be able to use the telephone fine) then the broadband will have too many problems to operate properly.
Call BT telephony on 0800 800 152 (residential line) or 0800 800 154 (business line) and tell them to do a Copper Line Check. If this is completely clear and find no fault, it is a problem on you ISP's side. If there is a fault, BT will arrange to fix it and your broadband should work again once this is fixed.
27/10/09 BT Retail Business Broadband T
-4
Usagi

Usagi

mememe your reply was rather harsh and uncalled for, you do not realise that disabled people rely heavilly on the internet as their mainstay for socialising, and maybe this is the case with this poster. I am disabled and run a business from home, and so I too use my internet(when it isn't playing up, which is almost unheard of) very heavilly, so to suggest something alternative which if the poster is a disabled person may require assistance to do is rather tactless, and the same goes for you Mr Rupertm you ought to be ashamed of yourself the internet is a marvell to disabled people, it has helped us regain a lot of independance in life and I for one am glad it's there, but alass BT fail me abismally and so I empathise with you fully dear poster on your situtaion, I hope you get it all sorted out quickly, failing that threaten your ISP with legal action see if that helps speed up a resolution =)
29/06/09 Usagi
1
Bifta

Bifta

BT charge people £3-50 extra per month if they don't pay by direct debit.
that's bad, they should be booked for that?
Sky TV charge nearly £700 per year to watch their HD Channels!
That's bad too.
Santanta Sports charging £158 per year to watch their sports channels thats bad

Old ladies getting water bills of over £450 per year that's bad too.

People paying average of £1600 per year for Council taxes is another one.

What bonuses do these bosses get?
Does anyone know?
13/04/09 Bifta
-11
Geoff

Geoff

When I moved house last year I had no internet connection for a couple of weeks. I went to the train station in my town centre with my laptop and got online there. Maybe you should choose a decent ISP in the first place. I've heard that BT aren't all that bad.
06/04/09 Geoff
-9
Get Modern

Get Modern

Buy yourself an O2 mobile broadband device for £30 and pay £2 per day usage when you need it, anywhere in the country.
01/04/09 Get Modern
-17
mememe

mememe

READ a book, WATCH the TV, LISTEN to music, PAY a bill at the bank or over the phone, GO for a WALK, TALK to someone for a bit, FEED the ducks, GO to the pub, get some FRESH air, there are lots of other things besides the internet, it's easy to forget. The internet isn't everything, now sorry I have to log off and socialise with some real people. Bye x
01/04/09 mememe
-2
Mr Rupert

Mr Rupert

Or you could decide to get a life and not rely on the Internet so much.
01/04/09 Mr Rupert
0
Paul

Paul

Normally if you restart your computer and go back to square one, this, more often than not, corrects the problem... if not, you'll have to call Technical Support :)
31/03/09 Paul
-3
Alex

Alex

Try something like this :-

http://shop.o2.co.uk/promo/o2mobilebroadband/tab/Pay_and_Go

Thats just the O2 one - you can get them from Orange, Voda or whatever.

Just for backup connection when stuff like this happens.
31/03/09 Alex
1
Mallory

Mallory

Does anyone else actually spot the contradiction in this gripe? I'm sure there's a rational explanation but it seems funny that a gripe about having no internet connection is posted on an online gripe site...
31/03/09 Mallory
-13
NSI.

NSI.

Makes you realise just how dependent we have all become, on the internet in the 21 st century!
I use the web in an identical way to yourself.
Now I use a web and walk plug in, no phone lines or cables etc and you can take it with you anywhere!
Had all the problems you stated in the past, and I know how frustrating it can be.
I hope your wait for connection, doesn't grag on too long. : )
31/03/09 NSI.
-18

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