Phone Line/Fibre Order delays... Why so long! :(

[#1]

Would be interesting to know from where your neighbour is getting their information.  From my own experience, BTOR escalations (DSO) are disclosing very little information to plusnet, in spite of the high level of esclations on my case (only impacting me).  That makes me wonder if your neighbour knows someone who works for BTOR in your locality.  BTOR people on the ground will know much more about what is happening than the BTOR problem management teams.

[#2]

Hey Townman,
My neighbour is getting his phoneline/fibre with BT and is getting a daily phonecall from their escalations department to update him, so whenever he hears from them he feeds the info to me.
I'd love that kind of service due to the fact we are waiting for a considerable amount of time now.

[#3]

Quote from: HarryB

The information you've found on roadworks.org seems to match up with our most recent update from our suppliers yesterday as it advises the work will be ongoing until 18/08/15.

Quote from: rtmitchell88

My neighbour is getting his phoneline/fibre with BT and is getting a daily phonecall from their escalations department to update him

@CRT,
This has all the hallmarks of BTOR keeping BT Retail advised of progress on a daily basis, whilst plusnet is getting fobbed off with inadequate weekly deferrals of updates.  Am I guilty of being cynical or is there a ring of truth in these unpalatable observations?
...or is it simply a matter that BT Retail has more staff "wasting time" chasing BTOR service delivery failures than Plusnet has available to do the same?  If only there were some means of making BTOR more accountable, everyone's efforts would be more productive and less stressful.
Kevin

[#4]

Quote from: Townman

This has all the hallmarks of BTOR keeping BT Retail advised of progress on a daily basis, whilst plusnet is getting fobbed off with inadequate weekly deferrals of updates.  Am I guilty of being cynical or is there a ring of truth in these unpalatable observations?

Not really - it's just BT Retail have better systems and processes to keep customers informed. They have exactly the same information any other ISP has. The problem with Plusnet is that if you don't ask, you don't get - you need to press to be kept up-to-date on what is going on.
The delay in the OP getting the line/fibre seems to be down to the fact the delay in the work being done by the developers to a satisfactory standard with it being signed off by Openreach.

[#5]

Hi Andy,
We might guess that anything is possible, but an answer (if permissible) from CRT would be useful.  Harry's comment rather matches my own experience: the information available to PlusNET on protracted BTOR issues only seems to get updated weekly.  The OP somewhat implies that BT Retail has access to daily changes in status, from which they can provide daily reports of progress to their subscribers.
Personally I have given up chasing daily, because BTOR are (as ever) dragging their feet, not moving the issue forward and providing infrequent updates to PlusNET.  Whilst I understand your sentiments about keeping people informed, I equally see operational benefits in not reporting no change in status so that those resources can remain focussed on chasing esclations until there is progress to be reported.
It is a difficult paradigm within which to operate - a single supplier for which there is no alternative, refusing to progress issues in a timely manner, who week after week report "no progress".  PlusNET seem to be worrking with BTOR "next update will be in N days time", advising users of that and then "parking" tickets for review at the appointed BTOR update time.
If BT Retail does have access to additional information which is also available to other iSPs but is not being used by PlusNET, then I would like to know exactly what that information is, which systems it is in, so that PlusNET can be challenged over not using it.  In the meantime, I am not dissuaded from my belief that BTOR is providing a preferential level of service to BT Retail compared to that given to non-LLU retailers.
Cheers,
Kevin

[#6]

I can assure you that every ISP has access to the same information from Openreach (although it's a bit more complicated with BT Wholesale customers as they have to use their backend system for ordering and faults). It would be a major major issue if Openreach were favouring BT Retail.
I've never seen "next update will be in N days time" with Openreach, their KCI ordering system notes usually say something along the lines of 'Please review the order tracker for the update on xx/xx/xxxx".
I also know that BT Retail will automatically update their site and send emails/text messages to customers on updates for delayed orders. I am not so sure Plusnet's systems do this though without human intervention...

[#7]

Quote from: AndyH

I've never seen "next update will be in N days time" with Openreach, their KCI ordering system notes usually say something along the lines of 'Please review the order tracker for the update on xx/xx/xxxx".

Isn't the meaning of those two identical? Possibly changed to the alternative form by a staffer when telling the customer. I note that the "on xx/xx/xx" is used by Plusnet when parking tickets.

[#8]

So tonight my phone line should be connected, and then I'll have to wait two more weeks for an engineer to come out and get my fibre fixed up.
Slowly but surely this will be sorted... fingers crossed in time for FIFA 16 coming out 

[#9]

Hold that - apparently OR are connecting my exchange up tomorrow... Sunday... Fat chance. A few more days extra though.

[#10]

Hello to everyone that has read or has replied to my post over the course of the last month or so.
Just wanted to give a quick update, and maybe a tip for people with new build houses or new connections.
So my process has been a slow and tedious progression however on Monday I recorded a text from plusnet saying "hey give us a call to finally arrange your phone line to be installed". For people who are loving to a new development of your on a main road you normally would get hooked up via a telegraph pole, however if your on a street, your phone line will be pumped through the ducts. This is what happened to me, so I called plusnet and said I don't know why an engineer has to come to my house (in two weeks) when I don't need a physical line from a telegraph installed, and it should be all there anyway. After a few mins of chat i convinced him to call openreach to do a line test to see if I did actually need an engineer and speed up the process of getting my fibre.
They called me back an hour later saying that they ran one and it seems there is a fault with my master socket, so I had to agree to a engineer appointment in a weeks time.
Now here's the interesting part, was a bit flustered about it all because I thought with all this process I'm looking at another month without Internet, which has already been nearly three months now.. So went for a run. Came back and randomly my phone which I had connected up, instead of saying "please check line cord" said it was working?!
So called my mobile number, it worked, did it the other way and worked.. So how has this happened and why was I advised I needed a engineer to sort out my phone line when it's working!
Called back plusnet and as you can imagine, frustrated and confused! The chap I had on was a decent lad and told him everything I had gone through today, which he could see through my notes... And was as confused as I was, and had to call my landline just to make sure I wasn't bluffing haha! He then called OR who did the line test again, literally two hours later than my original one and hey presto it came back working. So I didnt need an engineer after all.
They'll be calling me today to discuss fibre installation dates, so I've saved myself a week or so of anguish, but the tip for anyone is when doing this install a cordless phone in your master socket. You'll see if it's working or not because it tells you. If I hadn't had done so I would have never known that my line was working all along and would have wasted not only my time but also OR's time.
Sorry for the big ol update but thought it might be valuable down the line to people... Always double check things. And if your going down the same line as me you'll probably become an expert in all the mumbo jumbo isp lingo.
Cheers Ross