Personal Blogs

Having been fed up with talking to chat bots and a community forum  that is used by a company to exploit their customers  good will to resolve  technical issues, I embarked  on finding a human to talk to that could reassure me that if l switched companies l would  gain a human to talk to in relation to any  issues.

 Our Request.

To  switch to a broadband  and phone package that enables us to connect with the outside world.  Employs  humans that are able to use initiatives and not scripts to deal with customers issues .

Explained how imperative it was to have a smooth switch over due to not having a mobile phone signal where we live and having disabilities it was essential that we would need  the connection for health reasons as well as our work and studies. This was guaranteed by the agent and so we took the plunge.

 The day came and went and it is now two weeks later.

 For the first five days we were left with nothing , no phone no internet. On the fifth day we found ourselves with a dial tone. Our misfortune was to think that people could now phone us. To our horror we found out this was not the case. We were, and still are, unable to receive incoming calls. As a result of this, l am unable to have ring back appointments with healthcare professionals and important work calls and appointments are being missed. We have also ascertained that we no longer have a telephone number. This came to light when my partner tried to call home to check that l was ok.

Once again, we spoke to the provider  to try and rectify the situation, from a lay by two miles away from home, and we were informed that it is  only Open Reach, that can provide the connectivity  and not the service or product providers. This information is not that forth coming  when switching or buying new products. The service provider issued us with a mini hub  for the mean time. This buffers  due to the amount of network traffic from the surrounding area and so we have very limited accessibility .  

The UK is relying on one private network company to connect the whole of the UK. The theoretical assumption of Open Reach appears to be that where ever you are in the UK you are able to  get a mobile signal.

The reality is that this is not the case.  There needs to be an alternative operational network that accommodates the reality and not the theoretical landscape of the nation. One blanket model does not fit all.  

 What is the true ethos of  Open Reach ? What value if any,  do they  place on their residential customers life’s ? In what way is a private company providing a public  essential service to the individual ?

Open Reach, is a LTD   company they do  not sell products or provide a service to the public. What they do is to provide a service for the industry,  enabling them to sub contract work out ,  to try and  fulfil their commitments.  They are not a public  service, but a private company and as such, their business model is not one of ensuring the  basic essential network is in good order and the public have accessibility to suit their needs, they are there to negotiate lucrative contracts with the industry on the premise of being able to fulfil the commitment  to the  private sectors which include the service providers. As such they are able to use the theoretical framing and narrative of the digital roll out benefiting the whole nation.    

 Sadly, the companies selling the products and services, have  their hands  tied  in relation to connection issues.  Open Reach hides behind automation and as such, the companies that provide the products and services are left to flounder and bat off the continuous  stream of complaints.

All the  while Open Reach sit back and  accumulate  profits and profiteer from the public’s misery.  Open Reach appear  to be oblivious or totally nonchalant to the strain and pressure they put on the customer service teams  trying to resolve  the issues.  As a result of  Open Reach’s  elusiveness,  reviews, (the terminology used by the companies when an issue is raised) are constantly closed  without being rectified.

 For us, this has happened on a daily basis . Again, they seem not to understand that we cannot receive incoming calls and we can not get a mobile signal.

We have not seen nor have we been contacted by an engineer, we have not even been asked what would be a suitable time to contact us, and l am in fear of leaving our home just in case that valuable commodity that is an  engineer  arrives unexpectedly.

Missed university deadlines and work deadlines all feed into the stress and anxiety and exacerbate pre-existing health issues, we have no way of having a call back from health professionals and no longer having a telephone number does not help matters.

 The slogan  ,’ Connecting you to the world’ . (About us | Openreach) appears to be false advertising within the context of the residential customer.    They appear to preach an idealism that they cannot fulfil and yet the government  appear to turn a blind eye.  It appears that engineers are no longer are provided with all the relevant equipment to fix issues and therefore have to go make several trips to rectify the issues. I can’t help thinking this has to be a money saving exercise for the benefit of the investors.

 Why has the government allowed  Open Reach to have  the monopoly  of the UK’s essential communication network  ?

Who thought it was a good idea to give just one private company the monopoly of telecommunications being,  that it is an essential service for not only the business sector but for residential customers nationwide ?

  Unfortunately, we are not an isolated case and it appears that public frustration is growing. The excuses have worn thin and the reality is, Open Reach are unable to fulfil their obligations within a timely manner and the blame has to lie firmly at the feet of the person who gave just one company the contract to provide an essential service for the nation.  

 The question begs, why are the public paying  tax, for an essential service that is  not  nationalised and, is dependent on just one solitary private company whos’ profits for investors will naturally come first ?

 Openreach Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of www.openreach.co.uk (trustpilot.com)

Openreach kept us waiting nine months to install broadband | Money | The Guardian

Openreach is failing to connect me | Internet, phones & broadband | The Guardian

 

 Has anyone seen a real human engineer ?

Still waiting !!!!

  

 Happy to say we now fully up and running and the engineer that came to sort out the issue was brilliant.

I wish companies stop abusing technology when it comes to customer service issues. 

To think you can just flick a switch and all would be well is the stuff of fairy tales and  not reality !