Madasfish to Plusnet migration problems

[#1]

Moving from Madasafish to Plusnet fibre.
Should be simple; - same group they pass on the MAC etc.
Or so I thought;-
ordered by phone; confirmed that the MAC would be obtained internally by Plusnet. Woman I spoke to on 7th November told me that Plusnet would obtain the MAC, and booked me an engineer for installation on 25th November, morning. She explained that I might get text/emails asking for a MAC, but to ignore them as Plunet would obtain it direct. She would try to stop txt/emails going out, but not to worry if I received any.
So far, so good - NOT.
Received several texts when I was abroad (which I have to pay for!), and checked the question code when I got back ( 94261894 ).
Nothing seemed to have progressed.
Rang yesterday - the MAC had not in fact been processed by Plussnet, but would be actioned.
Rang today  to check on status - the MAC has been requested, but  the engineer visit has not been actioned due to lack of MAC.
And nothing can be arranged until Monday as systems are down
So 2 weeks after arranging everything, still
-no MAC
- no engineer appointment
- not possible to move forward until Monday
Seriously not impressed.

[#2]

Hi Timothy,
Welcome to the forums and PlusNET.
This sister-act migration is a reoccurring theme around here, so I am sure that the support staff (CRT) ought to be able to resolve this quickly.

@CRT,
This must be about the 3rd time I've seen this issue on the forums in as many months.  Has anything been done internally to clarify / streamline what ought to be a slick sister-act migration?
For clarity, does such a migration require a MAC / BTOR involvement or is it just internal commercial billing / package / configuration changes?  Do all front line advisors understand what is required?  Would MAAF uses wanting to 'switch' to PlusNET be better served by contacting COTS?
Kevin

[#3]

Hi there,
Really sorry for any confusion @timothyb
To clarify a MAC definitely isn't needed.
Apologies for the texts, the expectation we should have set is that you'd receive those anyway that they can be ignored.

Quote

....and checked the question code when I got back ( 94261894 ). Nothing seemed to have progressed.

It's a manual process which means it's needs some further work to get eveything moving in the right directon. I can see a member of our provisioning team has taken personal ownership of this. I'll contact them now and do my best to get this done today for you.
@Townman,
There's no issue with the process in this case, the problem is the incorrect expectations we've set, I'll ensure some feedback is passed on.

[#4]

Adam how long should this sort of process take? I had something very similar back in '09. I gave 3 weeks notice to MAAF to end my monthly contract and asked PN to commence my contract with them for the same date but even then I had no internet for 4 days. Whilst the process may have changed in that time it appears that it's still not a slick operation.

[#5]

Thanks Kevin, Adam.
Well it obviously wasn't sorted out yesterday, as I have heard nothing.
The question for today is will an Openreach engineer turn up, as originally arranged.
-opinion is divided on whether this will happen
1st person I spoke to 2-1/2weeks ago = YES
2nd person I spoke to last Saturday = NO
Plussnet home page = YES (still says yes on day of your choice from 3 dates)
3rd person I spoke to yesterday = NO (not 100% sure of this - but wouldn't advise waiting in).
I am assuming not; but as I never got a wholly correct answer  on the phone from Plusnet about the MAC, who knows?

[#6]

If you were on fibre previously then an engineer shouldn't be required. However if you are moving from non-fibre to fibre then an engineer needs to attend in order to change the faceplate and provide the openreach modem. There's also work at the local cab that'll need doing.

[#7]

Since when has Madasafish offered Fibre

[#8]

Jim,
I think that Chris is alluding to the possibility that this migration could also be an upgrade to fibre, which would require an engineer visit.
The OP has not indicated the characteristic of the migration and I am mindful that my question had presumed (dangerous) that this was a like for like ADSL migration.  Whatever the MAAF to PlusNET journey appears to remain confusing for customers and support staff alike.
Kevin
EDIT: Thanks for the PM Jim - may be I too should take a visit to specsaves, albeit I prefer Boots.

[#9]

Hi All
Just to clarify, it is a Madasafish broadband to Plusnet fibre conversion.
I set up (and paid) on 7th November over the phone with Plusnet, and during the call was given a day for the Openreach engineer (today, Tuesday 25th); was told a router would be dispatched; and that MAC would be handled internally between Plusnet/Madasafish, and if I received any requests for a MAC to just ignore them.
But it appears apart from taking my money, Plusnet have done nothing for  3 weeks.
(i) whatever procedure was needed for migration has not been done
(ii) the router was not dispatched
(iii) the appointment for Openreach engineer was either not made or was cancelled due to lack of MAC.
Tim

[#10]

I'm just taking a look into this at the moment but there is a distinct lack of notes from my colleagues on your account as to what's happened. Let me take a look and get back to you asap. However from what I can tell at the moment, no engineer is due to visit today.

[#11]

Thank you

[#12]

I've asked one of my colleagues who deals with these types of orders more often than me to pick it up, he's going to let me know how he gets on asap.

[#13]

Well after delays due to me being away, the big day of the Openreach engineers visit arrived today.
Did he turn up - yes
Did he do anything - alas, no.
My BT master socket is installed in my loft , and the the contractor was not "loft trained".
The loft is accessed by a fixed/sliding aluminium ladder, and has been completely boarded out. Not exactly a major hazard.
So I am now back to (almost) square one - awaiting BT to  get back to me and send a specially "loft trained" engineer.
I only hope he is "toilet trained" too!

[#14]

Unbelievable!
If one wrote this in a soap opera it would be decried as unrealistic!  Are you sure it was a real BTOR engineer rather than a sloped shouldered sub-contractor?
One assumes that at sometime in the past, BTOR installed the master socket in the loft.  Not the most sensible of locations, but given the number of comments I've seen on the forums I guess at one time, it must gave been the fashion?
@CRT,
Given the clear problems here and the variety of locations for master sockets, is there merit in adding in the new ordering journey a space for "special notes" in which customers can advise the the master socket is "in the loft" or "in the external box" so that the right resources can be allocated to the job - or is the location of the master socket something BTOR should already know about and should have planned resources accordingly?
Kevin

[#15]

Yes it was a sub-contractor.
(To be fair to him he said that he would do it if it was up to him, but that they weren't supposed to and that a contractor had been sacked for working in a loft - he rang up his boss to check).
BT installed the master it in the loft as it was easier for me to run extension cables around the house  from there without having to pull up floorboards.
I await  a visit from the "loft specialist"  - will he require a hard hard???!