People need to stop ranting and start doing something about it. Yes, cs at BT can be a bit hit and miss and I am as unhappy about it as anyone else, but talking on forums wont fix it.

The way forward is to email CCEO[AT]bt.com and explain the situation.

Interesting last post - We don't seem to be able to do anything and it seems like BT really don't care anyway. With a multi million pound profite they wouldn't bat an eye lid if you went elsewhere.

The regulator can't do anything because they are not breaking laws just poor. After having spent 3 1/2 on the phone one day, an hour the next and 40 minutes a few days later I understand where all the posts are coming from.

I agree to some exent with the last post we need to do something. I created a blog http://worst-customer-service.blogspot.com/ to try and get a volume of opinion. Maybe even BT will openly defend their position.

If I hear the message "We are extremely busy at the moment" again I will scream. No you are not busy you haven't employed enough staff to cope with the volume of calls. How simple is that? Get it right and people don't need to call back.

Well it appears I am not unique. I have just cancelled my BT Broadband and BT Vision, and I hadn't even got it all set up!!

We cancelled our previous package with Virgin when BT sent out their latest offer and so took up the phone, TV and broadband package. But since then it has been problem after problem after problem.

Firstly the internet phone arrived late, and was completely mangled by Royal mail. We then waited anxiously for the Broadband hub and BT vision box. My wife waiting in, not once, but twice. We rang to complain and got a rebate on our broadband as we had no equipment with which to use it. After complaining again we received the vision box, but no hub. The vision box requiring the hub to work.

When we rang up we were told the hub hadn't been ordered and would be done so by their next day delivery set up. Nothing arrived. We chased again to be told it will be sent out in a few days. Today we chased again to be told it still hadn't been ordered.

Every time you ring up you are passed from pillar to post, each department laying the blame on the other and no one being able to deal with the issue. Their left hand doesn't know what their right hand is doing. My wife spent 25 minutes today trying to sort it, only to get cut off. She then rang back and was passed around for a further 30 minutes before shouting at them and telling them to cancel the lot. Remember this is a new customer who they are trying to entice from a rival!

We will now get a freeview box from the shops and get boradband from 02.

I have just spent the last two or so months at the end of my tether with BT. I have been a customer, with broadband for about two years. The set up was fine and it all worked fine, with no problems what so ever. In fact i was a staunch defender of this so called British company.

At the start of November our home hub was unplugged by mistake. I don't actually think that this should have made any difference to our service but ever since then i have spent approximately about 15hours on the phone trying to sort out the fact that now no computer in the flat can pick up the wireless signal.

Every person in 'technical support' does something different when they go onto my laptop remotely. It works for five minutes and then it's *** again.

What is really gauling about BT's service is that they take money in advance for a very bad service. All you ever hear from India is "i really appreciate what you're saying" and all you ever hear from the UK is "would you like to have £2 off a month and stay with us for one extra year?" or, "yes, can i take your bank details."

arghhhhhh! is all i can say anymore. Tonight I'll be making a decision about whether or not to sack them in and have a break from the internet.

Lucy

Good advice, I've just emailed the address you gave and I've got my fingers crossed.

I was happy with my bt phone, tv and broadband until it all disappeared one day in late August last year never to return. Now they want me to pay for Sep-Nov anyway?! I've emailed to beg them not to get me on some credit black list.

I agree that ranting on a website won't help me, but maybe it'll put a little pressure on BT to get their act together, which might help others in the long run.

P.S. I'm using the PC at work because I still can't get them to get my broadband working - 5 months and counting....

Undoubtedly the very worst customer service I have ever received is from BT. After having paid through the nose for over 18 months for a broadband service that was not available to us (apparently our exchange does not support broadband!), it's taken us from 4 October to now to cancel the cantract - first having to wait until the contract period was up of course. We telephoned every couple of weeks and nothing happened - they still kept taking our money however. We spoke to India who transferred us to the UK when the call got difficult, who transferred us again and cut us off (they obviously can't cope with difficult calls). This happened on EVERY occasion that we called. Finally, after having received a pre-bill for the next three months which was the final straw, and spending hours on the telephone and not giving up threatening small claims court etc etc, they cancelled the contract and sent us confirmation. We have since disconnected all dealings with BT and transferred to another provider all together. We have yet to receive our refund, and wait to see how they will deal with the transfer. This was only dealt with on Friday 20 March after initially calling them on 4 October! I suspect they will continue to take our money as it's early days. We know at least two other people with similar problems and who have suffered anxiety as a result of BT's treatment of them. Hell will freeze over before we ever go back to BT - suffice to say, I truly hope they go bust!

"...When I called I was told a variety of escuses and lies. They kept on suggesting calling back in the daytime to see if it worked then despite the fact I was telling them it worked then! Basically they fobbed me off at every opportunity. They never called me back when they said they would, ever.

In the end I started saying the following to whatever they said: "This is the Xth time I have needed to call BT and you have still not corrected the problem. Every time someone said they would call me back they did not. "

That could be me talking. I have now insisted we only communication via email or their complaints logging, because they don't follow up on the phone calls, and they recall the phone call somewhat differently to how I remember them. I have actualy asked them to listen to recordings of our conversations, but they say they only record 'some' calls.

However, they cannot book an engineer via email nor will they confirm a booking via email: this is a problem for me because twice they have made mistakes over the phone - though of coruse they say they don't make mistakes.

What I really want to do now - any advice appreciated on the best way to do it - is to record conversations I have with them.

I cannot believe how bad BT are; i spent 45 minutes on the phone to India opening a phone line. 5 days later it stillw asn't working, when ic alled them back they could find no trace of it, spent another 45 minutes on the phone to them. At the end of this time they told me it would cost me £50 to open the line as i had failed the credit check (for £12 a month) even though it was fine the previous time. They were rude, lazy and aggresive on the phone. I went through to complaints, they said i had failed creidt check because it was the second application for phone line within a week so standard, and i'd get my money back. Someone phoned me yesterday, she was rude, said there was no complaint, i had failed credit check and no record of my conversation with man who said reason i had failed was because of application x 2 in one week. No apology that they lost my first order and wasted 2 hours of my day, and its cost me £50 so far. I really don't want a phone line with them but are forced to have one if i want Sky tv which is so annoying. I am infuriated.

I think I have figured out the way to get BT to deal with you quickly and that is if you get no joy with the Help Desk/Customer Services, go to Ofcom tel: 0207 981 3040, tel them your woes and you will be given a reference no. and a 'secret' phone no. to the 'BT Higher Escalation Dept'. Lo and behold after a fustrating week and £40.00 in mobile calls to BT (land line disconnected by BT by mistake but refused to acknowledge it was their fault) was rapidly offered help and compensation by a British based call centre who actually phoned me back!! When they then tried to charge me for the engineer who came out to reconnect us, again BT customer services hopeless, infact they accused me of lying about the whole event as had no record on their computers. Phoned Ofcom again, went back through the same procedure and had the reconnection cost immediately cancelled. Our contract is now up for renewal with BT, needless to say we will be changing providers!!