Words really do fail me regarding BT Customer service, recently upgraded from BT Yahoo dial up to BT Broadband....unfortunately for me they decided to charge me for both services in the same month and wont refund the money for dial up as they have now closed the account and refuse to recognise the account number that has been taking money out of my bank account!! Tried phoning, waste of time, have an ongoing email correspondance which is useless as well.

Anybody got any ideas how to take this higher and sort these idiots out?

I totally agree with what you say. BT customer service, what customer service. I have been having trouble with my wireless connection on the homehub since BT updated the software just after Christmas. I lost count of the number of times I have contacted BT on the phone to a call centre in some place where people shout so I can't understand half of what is said and via email which half of them they do not reply.
Last night I sent an email of complaint regarding the sevice I am receiving from BT. Today when I got home from work I had a reply saying that there is a problem with my line and someone would be in contact wihin 48 hours. Half an hour later the phone rang so I had to explain the events of the past month. All he kept saying is that there was a problem with my phone line, how can wireless on the hub be affected by the line it's self. If I use the phone it's find, if I use the net via cable it's fine so how do they come up with that one. Each time I speak to someone they come up with a different problem.
All he wanted to do was use remote assist to look at my settings, which I declined because on the past two occasions they used this on my PC it was left worse than when I started and I had to sort out the problem.
I know the problem is caused by the hub, I asked for a new one only to be told I would have to pay for it. I was discusted. The hub was working fine until they updated it and now I was being asked to pay for another one. I told them I would cancel my contract for boradband and phone and they would have to take me to court to get any more money off me. I asked for a number to log an official complaint 0800 800 150. This put me through to a call centre in the UK, I spoke to a very nice lady called Amanda. After 2 mins of speaking to her she had it sorted and a new hub is now on it's way.
Why dose it have to take over a month and several complaints and a threat to leave BT for them to sort it. She did it for me there and then, after well over a month of being annoyed with BT I feel I am getting somewhere.
BT need to direct ALL calls made to them to UK call centres. Firstly she did not shout so I could hear her, she spoke correct english which I could understand and she was also very polite. I don't suppose the lady who helped me would read this but I thank her for her help. For the past month I have been passed from peron to person getting no where and still being expected to pay for a service I could not use.
I did thank her and told her that she was a real credit to BT, why why why did I have to be messed about for over a month when it was sorted in seconds.
Come on BT get your house in order, the customers pay your wages and make your business what it is. If you keep treating your loyal customers which I am for over 15 years like ***t we will go else where and none of you would have a job.
As you can tell I am so annoyed with the service I received from BT, in 15 years I have never had service from you like this.
I hope this is the end of the matter. Once again thank you to your UK call centre staff they are much more helpful.

I did as above, contacted BT complaints with a recorded delivery letter.... and what do you know.... same level of service! i.e. NONE!

I've requested refund for calls made to BT india as the fault was a BT fault not mine. I requested refund for the phone line which was completely down for 4 days, and i was forced to use my mobile to phone BT India for hours at a time for each of these 4 days.

I requested reasonable compensation too......

I'm guessing BT complaints file all letters under B! For bin!

Fully agree with you BT customer service is nothing more then a shambles, they don't respond. I made a request under the freedom of information act 3 months ago and never heard back from them. Trying to get my services ceased now for 2 months again no further forward and i beleave BT have blacked my credit score as the account is in dispute.

They seem to bully people into parting with money.

Matthew,
BT Dial Up is billed entirely seperately to your phone bill, so when you sign up for broadband the dial up does not show on the advisors system. so you get billed twice. You need to contact bt 150 and ask for UN-ALIGNED BILLING with ref to Yahoo dial up. You can always e-mail BT with a copy of your bank statement showing that you have paid the charges and they will refun you straight away

I have found BT 'service' to be consistently an absolute disgrace at every level. I should have known what it would be like when it took me a week of endless telephone calls just to sign up as a customer when I moved house last year.

After endless broadband problems they finally agreed to cancel the contract - then took a several hundred pound penalty charge from my account by direct debit. After endless further calls I finally got hold of someone who appeared pleasant and competent who assured me the money would be refunded to my account .... what she didn't say was that it would be credited to my 'phone account, not my bank account! I finally got the money back but only when I invoked the direct debit guarantee through my bank.

I could write a book about all the endless hours of 'phone calls, all the being passed around in circles from department to department, the promises of return calls that never, ever, materialised and the inconsistent and contradictory information I got from BT personnel.

Oh, and the formal complaint that was acknowledged but never ever responded to.

I personally think that BT has more in common with a second-hand car dealer than a blue chip company and I can't wait for the day when I can switch my service to a proper company and say good bye to the truly horrible experience that I have had at their hands.

My advice is, if you're thinking of taking up a BT service, ignore all the puff and hype and go somewhere else - anywhere but BT!

I spent a week emailing the " Helpdesk " to get an issue sorted and after many emails back and forth, the helpdesk failed to respond to my question, each time replying with an answer that was one that I had not even asked, they just repeated the same stuff over and over each time. It was clear that no-one was going to help me.

So, in the end I resorted to emailing the CEO to get a response and within two days I recieved a call from a helpful chap who had reviewed my question and was on hand to provide a few suggestions, he went away and promised to try a few things from his end, and to his word, he did but in the end there was nothing that could be done.

So, my point is that emailing / calling the helpdesk is pointless, it gets you no-where, i even resorted to contacting OFCOM, and that didn't seem to do the trick either.

The helpdesk don't seem to read any emails that are sent, I sent in a detailed email explaining that i'd done already and the first email back from them was asking me to carry out the procedures that i'd already done (and explained in the initial email)

i had to go to the top to get an answer.

Mac.

bt delivery services are rubbish. I have been waiting allday for the delivery for bt vision from 9am-7pm no sign of it! I phoned them up and they cant do **** about it! terrible service and needs improving like mad! They also couldnt find my address, buy a sat nav it will take you there directly! Its only £100!
Or bt can provide the delivery guys with a mobile phone which cost £15!
FOR GOD SAKE ITS 2008!
UPGRADE!