Bonded ADSL Part 3 - BT OpenReach are a no show again !

Well despite contacting BT Retail just 2 days before my second line was to be installed (and them assuring me that all was in order for an engineer coming to my house on Friday 7th March), nobody turned up - again ! This is the second time this has happened, and when I followed it up with BT, they told me that there were line 'management' works ongoing that prevented the engineer coming to me (these will be the same line repairs that I was told about 4 weeks earlier when the engineer didn't turn up then either no doubt).

All in all a dreadful service from BT (Retail & OpenReach); I've had to take 2 days holiday so far off work to get a phone line installed, and here I am 2 months later still with no phone line. I might even understand (a bit) if this was a brand new line to my house, but it's a 2nd line so there is already a cable installed to my hallway with spare pairs etc.

So after following this latest hassle up with BT Retail (you can only speak too them via their call centre in India), I was told that a further update would be available today (11th March). I confirmed with them that I was going to be formally complaining and asked the case to be escalated, however I was informed they couldn't do this as they're not authorised (!).

I did however lodge complaints via their website & Twitter and got a call from a UK based case manager on Sunday (9th March). I was assured that BT accepted this was an awful service and that they really valued my business, blah blah. I was assured I'd have a full update by 20:00 today, so we'll see what happens.

All this is made even more annoying given that I have spoken directly to my local OpenReach manager and he's confirmed that they know nothing of my job & had never seen an order from BT Retail for my address, so it sounds very much like these companies simply aren't talking to each other. He also doesn't know what the 'line management' works are all about.

On a plus, I spoke to my existing ISP, Zen Internet, and they confirmed that they could get a line installed for me in about 2-3 weeks from order placement. I'd be dealing with a UK based ISP and they have direct contact with OpenReach. I think I'll be taking them up on their offer if BT can't sort this within a week. It's a bit more expensive with Zen, but the service is great and their ADSL speeds are far quicker & more stable than anything BT can offer. I only went with BT as I thought they'd have better links with OpenReach. Ah, hindsight.

Hopefully my next update will be a bit more upbeat & positive.

Bonded ADSL Part 2 - Sharedband Packages

Following on from my last post (part 1) you'll know that I intend to give Sharedband bonded ADSL a go for my home broadband. There are a few options available out there though and it's offered by some resellers as well as through Sharedband themselves. Below are some examples I've found.

Direct from Sharedband
The Professional Package has the following key points:

• £10 per line per month
• Static IP
• Max of 250GB data transfer (if you go Business, it's 2000GB, but £20 per line p/m)
• 14 day set-up assistance
• 30 day money back promise
• Initial set-up cost of £49
• Cost per router £49 - £299 depending on model. For a home package they offer a Netgear DGN1000 at £49.
• Shipping £10
• 1 month rolling contract; all prices excl VAT

Eclipse

This is a well respected company, but from the prices it looks to be more aimed at business.

• £50 per line per month
• Static IP
• £120 per month for unlimited data transfer (you can pay less for less data)
• 1 month rolling contract; all prices excl VAT

BroadbandBuyer

Again another well known company, though I've only used them previously for hardware.

• For a package that includes 2 lines for 1 year on a business quality service (up to 20Mbps) is £332.00.
• Unlimited data transfer
• Static IP
• 14 day set-up assistance
• 30 day money back promise
• No set-up cost
• Annual contract, pay up front.
• Cost for 2 lines is £120 per year thereafter.
• Add another line for £199 for the first year

So an interesting range of prices. As you can imagine I won't be going for Eclipse as that's well out of my budget. Broadbandbuyer is certainly the best value over a 12 month period (saving £75 over the year), but I'll need to be certain that the system works well for me within my 30 day period otherwise I'll lose a bit of cash. Direct to Sharedband needs the least initial outlay (£177) and has the added benefit that it's only a 1 month rolling contract, but the package is restricted to 250GB per month data transfer - something that's unlimited with the BBB deal. I've spoken with both companies and they are certainly very approachable in terms of getting help, which is always a plus.

Anyway I'll think on this a bit further over the next few weeks. The next milestone is getting the second line installed by BT OpenReach - this is planned for 10th March and is my second attempt to get the engineer out to do the work. Once the line is up and running I'm going to let it settle out for a couple of weeks before trying Sharedband out. All going well I should be giving it a go by the beginning of April.