Landline changeover

Sun 16 Mar, 00:10

I voluntarily switched my BT landline to EE in March last year and came close to throttling someone.  I believe that this switch to EE happens to all domestic users.  Here's a little of what happened: 

- A BT engineer was booked (by them) to make something happen with the phone in my home (don't ask me what).  They cancelled at the last minute, saying that the engineer was unwell.  They gave me a number to call to reinstate; when I called that number - it was some kind of subcontractor, can't remember the name - they wouldn't reinstate, saying that only one cancellation was allowed.  I said that they'd cancelled it, so they should reinstate.  This made no difference; they told me to arrange with EE.    

- When I phoned EE they didn't have my address correctly, insisting that I lived in Chipping Norton and scrambling other information.   When I tried to give them the correct address they told me to take it up with the Royal Mail.   After a day and a half of solid telephoning I discovered that EE uses an Openreach address database that is notoriously out of date.   The engineer who finally arrived said that this was a known problem, with national impact, but that the company refused to change it.  All in all they wrote my address wrongly in three different ways, and they still haven't got it right. 

- They said that none of my landline features would change.   I lost the use of my answering machine, which blinked when messages waited; now there's nothing to advise about messages waiting.

- I also lost the facility to make alarm calls.  I have to use a paid-for reminder call service.  

- I told them that I do not conduct business with my phone.   They sent a text to my phone acknowledging receipt.  

- Their landing page offers all sorts of directions you can take (such as reviewing your bills) but they don't work. 

- If you want to complain you have to attach your complaint to a designated product.  There is nowhere to indicate that you want to complain about their service.   So you find yourself answered by people who can't help.  

That's been going on all year and they still haven't fixed anything.  There is, of course, no way to contact the CEO or line management.   My advice: get it in writing and gird your loins for totally unnecessary battle.