what are my cancellation rights and what are ofcom rules on how long ISP has to fix issues ??

2013 · 15 Mar 2017 at 22:03

Im with Origin broadband signed up with them because I wanted to support a small local company (big mistake) I've had issues from day one, much slower speeds then promised, when i called to confront them about it they told me that was not the speed offered, not being able to cancel because the cooling off period had passed so i stuck with it.

Now i've not had internet for the past 3 days, waiting times of 90 mins and keep getting discount before speaking stage 2 support (ive called about 28 times) I finally spoke to the stage 2 team who have told me its a cabinet issue someone will be taking a look but they dont know how big the issue is or how long it will take, it could be a day or a few weeks.

Ive spoken to 2 people in the cancellation team, the first person has told me I cant cancel im still in contract and i should not have any problems my broadband is free anyway, which I replied my line rental is not and its not much use for anything else, then he told me ofcom allows them 8 weeks to fix a issue so i cant cancel without the cancellation fee. he did pass me to stage 2 tech support who cut me off.

I spoke to someone again in the cancellation team again and they told me again they have 8 week to fix the issue and i can cancel without the cancellation fee's

What are my rights,
I dont want pay 2 month bills and not have the service, I'm having to use mobile broadband which will not last long, I'm really unhappy with both the support and service.

what can i do ?

2013 · 16 Mar 2017 at 00:27

I wanted to support a small local company' == 'I couldn't find a cheaper option' Even Plusnet answer the phones faster than that.

the truth is it was not cheap plusnet, sky and talktalk was cheaper. I just thought because they are not offering cheap modems or offering really cheap prices they may not be cutting corners, assumed i would get a better service and the sales team was good. I made the mistake of hoping it was better then other suppliers.

Is this a VDSL or ADSL connection?

ADSL

What were you promised speed wise, and what did you actually get?

I was told between 8-11mb Im getting between 3-5

2013 · 17 Mar 2017 at 01:30

If it's ADSL then you have to wonder what the cabinet issue is. I was assuming street cabinet, but they could be referring to something else. Is the voice line okay?

Did you have ADSL at this address from a different ISP prior to moving to origin? If you did how fast was it?

Have you done anything to try and test/optimise the speed you're getting? What do your neighbours get? What are the line stats when it is working?

Ive been told its not a street cabinet and they dont know what the issue is or how long it will take, all my neighbors have internet, most are getting between 8-13mb,
ive tried everything possibe ti get better speeds. from origins tests the line has no issues and its also a newish line.

as i have stated, you need to get someone senior from Origin's tech department to confirm a time line for which they need to resolve this before they deem it as un-rectifiable. at that point you can then start talking to the cancellation team.

postulating possibility is no use and hindsight is not helpful in your cause to get out of the contract. the sooner you put real pressure on the ISP to act, the sooner you will be able to either get the problem resolved or get out of the contract.

my issue with Plusnet was with BT 's unannounced network migration, which resulted in my line's authentication being messed up. it took plusnet 2 weeks toing and froing with me before I got through a tech manager who gave me a definitive time by which if the fault is not corrected then it is deemed unresolvable. alright it was a ridiculous time frame - 30days from the date of the conversation with the manager which meant if it was the case it cannot be sorted, i would be without connection for over 6 weeks. but it was a better situation where i was getting no where with the average tech support guys, who never gave me a date at which they can sort it out or a date at which they will give up and own up.

so get on the phone and yes you wait a long time, but make sure when you are connected you record the persons name and details of the call and if not satisfactory then insist on the manager.

Ive been speaking to the cancellation team because the stage 2 tech support have started they don't know what the issue is or how long it will take, they also cant move me to another cabinet, I've recorded my recent calls today just to be on the safe side, after a long chat I explained the issues ive been having and being without internet for a number of days plus hold time and calls, the agent tried to avoid cancellation but did agree with me on all points but had to speak to his manager a number of times, he offered me a 3 months free for the issues ive been having, because I was happy with the way the agent dealt with me I agreed to the 3 month but only if things are sorted withing the next 24hrs otherwise i would go ahead with the cancellation, hopefully they get it sorted.

2013 · 17 Mar 2017 at 02:36

bremen1874 said:
Are you on a LLU exchange?

If you are jumping ship could fix your problems (eventually). If not it's unlikely to help.

I know it may not help but i can go with a ISP that has a better customer service which i have used and I'm happy with.

2013 · 20 Mar 2017 at 21:00

So far im not happy, I still keep getting cut off, 7 days in and still no internet or any updates.

I've managed to speak to someone after about 4 calls (40-70 mins each), tech level 2 (waited 90 mins in all) they told me my town is having some major issues its affecting everyone and open reach are fixing it, but im the only one in my area with no BB, spoken to 10 people in my area they all have BB with no issues.

Tech 2 said it should be live by Thursday, Friday or Monday no confirmation, cancellation told me Friday but i cant cancel even if its not fixed by Friday.

I called the tech back to confirm (took another 2 calls), the agent told me the issue is with the line card but no info has been left on the account or the system open reach has not provide any updates yet but they are working on it and I will need to call back in the morning so they can call open reach, I will need to speak to customer support to see if they have any info or see what they can do.

I spoke customer support, the agent told me they have no info on the account regarding the issue and dont know when it would be fixed, after speaking to someone else he told me they can offer me compensation but nothing till the service is back live again so I assume the original offer of 3 months has been binned.
after a chat about the issues he was willing to speak to cancellation who again told him they have no info on the account on when the issue will be resolved no info has been provided yet, after asking if they have no info can I cancel, they told him I can cancel the broadband but not the line rental because the issue is not with the line but the broadband (my bb is free I only pay for line) i will need to pay for line if i wanted to cancel, I cant cancel without fees because they have 8 weeks to resolve the issue and im still in contract.

From the calls it seam to me Im getting a lot of BS, excuses and delays so i dont cancel.

all the calls are recorded,

What can i do now, I cant go