What's BT up to?

[chesters1]

surley they can detect the autodialers :confused: bt disconnects after 2hrs ish and you have to redial ,dont pick on the goodblokes find the ones that autodial so they can stay online allday :mad:

[poledark]

Don't you think it is a coincidence that BT are also running a quite intensive campaign on TV, trying to sell their Broadband service?????..........and a few more ???????????

 

Den

[loonyl]

Going back a few years...

we all complained (PlusNet users) to Oftel.

The ISP blamed BT and vice-versa.

I spent a good few hours with a BT technician on the phone...nice guy...no results tho'.

(Usual fob off is the gain on the line needs to be increased)

 

btw If one home has broadband (512k) then 512k/32k = 16 homes can split the cost (£1-2 p month) for 24/7 access at modem speeds.

Or for those outa reach, wireless NIC (Network Interface Cards) will do the trick too.

Or for wooly-backs Orange have mobile phones that your PC can connect to. (dunno the speed? 32k? but that's truly mobile, mobbly)

 

Liam

[chesters1]

heres the reply from oftel ,looks like a case of lump it or like it

Our Ref: CR/536792

 

Dear Mr D Granger

 

Thank you for your recent email dated 6 October 2002 regarding BT Openworld and the new limits on their Anytime and Surftime packages.

 

We have noted your comments and we appreciate that you are concerned about these changes, which introduce new useage limits of 120 hours per month on Surftime and 150 hours per month on Anytime. We have made a registration of your complaint.

 

Oftel has already been made aware of the changes to the terms and conditions that BT Openworld are making to their services and we have seen the text of a letter that BT Openworld has sent out to its customers. These changes come into effect on 1 November 2002 follow on from those ones effected from 5 June 2002, when BT Openworld reduced its daily internet use limit for Anytime and SurfTime customers from 16 to 12 hours out of any 24 hour period.

 

Oftel understands that the reason why BT Openworld has taken these actions is to maintain quality of service to the majority of customers who do not log onto the service for such long durations.

 

BT Openworld's contract allows it to make such changes so long as it gives its customers sufficient notice and allows them the option of terminating the agreement if they are unhappy about the changes in those terms. Oftel has no powers to require BT Openworld to maintain the existing arrangements for daily use of the Internet.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Rachel Francis

Consumer Representation

Tel 020 7634 8725

 

monopoly rules ok

[davidP]

Unfortunately OFTEL are mainly there to ensure BT don't exploit their near-monopoly status to drive other companies out of business. Sadly they aren't there to make them stick to their promises to cutomers. Fortunately BT are doing a grand job of driving their customers into their competitors arms, thus reducing the need for OFTEL!

[chesters1]

still not clicked with these modern methods ,my line is a bt one ,am i right whatever phone service i get bt still charges line rental :confused: or is there another way of using a phone using the existing line :confused: :confused: (were too far away to get broadband and no cable)

[davidP]

I'm not too sure if this is still the case (a few years since I worked for Mercury/C&W), but I *think* that another company can 'adopt' your line - you pay them then they pay BT a rental/usage fee as part of their deal with BT. You don't directly pay BT - it's down to the new supplier to do a deal with you that makes them money once they've paid BTs rental fee.

 

This is much the same way the gas & electricty industry works. You may pay your bill to Scottish Power even though you live in Kent, but they then pay rental to whoever owns the cables/pipes that actually deliver it to you. I worked briefly for the company that does all the calculations for electricty on the National Grid and in some cases people are indirectly paying rent to 4 or 5 different companies because of the convoluted route the electricity theoretically takes to get to them from their supplier.

 

[ 08. October 2002, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: davidP ]

[Dan]

Chesters

In a word Yes! if you have an active BT line you have to pay the rental even if you are buying someone elses services through it, least that s what i understand, luckily i have cable too.

 

Incidentally heres BT's reasons for the changes:

Thank you for your recent e-mail.

 

I am sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with the changes to our Terms and Conditions.

 

Please allow me to assure you that this has only been implemented in order to ensure the quality of the service that we are able to offer to all our customers.

 

The technology used for our narrowband service is based on customers sharing access to a bank of modems. To provide a continuous or extended connection, using this method, would require a contention ratio close to one user per modem. Such services are available at around £100 a month from other providers. This is obviously more expensive than our broadband internet service, which uses a more appropriate technology and is designed as an 'always on' service for people who make regular extended use of the internet.

 

However, some customers are now going online for long periods of time, which makes it difficult to maintain quality at a reasonable price. After reviewing our network usage it was noted that 10% of our customer base were consuming nearly 50% of our network resource, seriously affecting the quality of service that we are able to provide to the majority of our customers.

 

It was therefore necessary to change our service to prevent this and having listened to the views of our customers on the type of service they would wish to receive, decided upon the new structure.

 

All of the alternatives have been carefully researched and it was found that 95% of our customer base would not be affected by this change as they use well under the 150 hours per month provided. We have also changed the usage policy to a per month basis after receiving feedback from customers regarding the fact that, whilst one day they may not connect at all, another day they may need to stay connected for extended periods. This was prevented under the previous structure as a daily limit was applied.

 

We believe we have priced our products at a competitive rate for the quality of service we offer. In order to continually maintain and improve the service we must ensure our networks are operated to optimum capacity.

 

Customers will now have the ability to choose how and when they access the Internet within the remit of the technical specifications required, providing a high quality service.

 

We believe that we have priced our products at a competitive rate for the quality of service offered. In order to continually maintain and improve the service we must ensure that our networks are operated to optimum capacity.

 

Our flat rate tariffs are designed so you may access the internet within specified times without the worry of internet call charges - all day every day for Anytime, evenings and weekends for Surftime. Neither tariff is intended to be an always-on service for continuous connection during the unmetered periods. I assure you that we would not wish to mislead any customers with regards to the provision of the services and as such these restrictions are clearly stated within the Terms and Conditions, which all customers must agree to during the registration process.

 

The Anytime service is so named as it is intended to be a service that can be accessed at anytime, but this does not mean all the time for unlimited periods.

 

I appreciate the fact that these restrictions were not in place when you originally registered, but hope that the above information has served to clarify the reasons for this change. We are always reviewing the services we offer in line with customer requirements and as such clearly state within our Terms and Conditions that we reserve the right to change our service provision as required.

[chesters1]

forcing people to get broadband i expect :mad: alright for those that can get it and more to the point afford it ,i thought things were supposed to get cheaper in this tech age were lucky to get gas (the last house didnt have it) so i suppose were well into the 20th century now

[Gazza_Wakey]

Had the same email so rang BT and asked them if they were going to lower the prices now that they are cutting the time allowed on the internet, in a word "NO", so I told em to stuff their internet was going to go on Broadband with them (See earlier) but phoned around and got the best deal from Freeserve (no setup fee) BT want £65 so just waiting for the modem to arrive and get it runningg then I can cancel my surftime. YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH