The reason for this entry is that it is quite obvious that no-one knows how to report a fault to British Telecom (BT) properly. Throughout this entry there will be hints, marked in bold.

The first thing to remember is that BT is a private company, not a public service, so they exist to make a profit by providing good customer service, not to deliver the world in a crystal bucket to you.

What to do in advance

Check Your Equipment

It is important to check your equipment. The advisor will ask you if you have done it. If you have two telephones on the same line, one faulty one (such as not ringing, or dead) will affect the other one, even though there's nothing wrong with it. They are like cheap Christmas tree lights in that way¹.

Hint: 90% of all faults reported on residential lines are caused by faulty telephones or faulty extensions.

To check your equipment

• Step 1: Unplug all telephones, modems, digital TVs and anything else plugged in to the line. Wait a minimum of 20 minutes then try the telephones one at a time in the main socket.
• Step 2: If this hasn't fixed it, unplug everything again. If your main socket has a horizontal line embossed into it with the socket and two screws below it, you have a linebox². Remove the screws and gently pull the bottom part away. Inside is another socket, called the test socket. Plugging a telephone into it will isolate all extensions in the house. If the line is still faulty, it is a line fault and will need an engineer.

It is worth noting that if your line is ADSL (Broadband) enabled, you must use the micro-filter supplied when trying a telephone in the test socket.

What's Your Is Yours, What's Mine's My Own

Unless the customer has rented extensions from BT, the only equipment BT has in their house is the main socket and the wiring from it leading outside. There may be a few junction points in addition. Any other extention sockets / wiring are most likely the property of the customer and BT cannot fix it for free. There will be a callout charge plus hourly rate.

In short, try to be sure before you call whether the fault is on your main socket or an extension.

Your Rights

Believe it or not, but BT sends you a copy of your rental agreement with every bill. It is printed on page two and contains all the details of the service care provided. To simplify it:

• BT's responsibilities: If your line goes faulty BT will make every effort to repair it as quickly as possible. If BT is unable to repair the line by the end of the next working day, the customer is entitled to compensation.
• The customer's responsibilities: The customer must not do anything to the line that will result in damage³. To put it simply; if the fault is caused by something the customer did to the line, be it accidental damage, sabotage, badly installed extensions or faulty telephone equipment, BT may charge the customer for the engineer visit and repair time as separate items⁴.

Reporting the fault

Call 151 from a BT landline or 0800 800 151 from a non-BT line or mobile⁵.

Hint: If possible, do not call from the faulty line. The reason is that the BT advisor must test your line and cannot do this if you are on it. If you are on the faulty line, the advisor will arrange for a call back which can take between 1 - 2 hours.

ACE - Automatic Customer Interface

Every time you phone BT and hear that female voice asking you to push her buttons, you are talking to ACE. ACE is an automatic, highly customisable interface used by all departments. Remember, if you are suffering, so are the BT people, they have to use it for internal calls as well.

Hint: For those who prefer not to battle through the maze of touchtone menus, there is an option right at the start to queue directly to speak to an advisor.

Type Of Fault

• NDT - No Dial Tone - Line is dead.
• BNR - Bell Not Ringing - Telephone does not ring when called.
• PET - Permanent Engaged Tone - Line acts engaged when it is not.
• NU - Number Unobtainable - All out going calls get "The number you have dialed has not been recognised.
• ESF - Exchange Select service Fault - A select service is not working.
• CO - Cutting Off - Line cuts off during calls.
• NSY - Noisy - Line is noisy.
• BR - Bells Ringing - Bells ring continuously.

There are more types of fault, but those are the most common. Try to identify the main problem you are experiencing. This will avoid confusion and possible delays in repairing the line.

BT will also be glad to accept calls about:

• Street cabling boxes (called PCP cabinets) with doors hanging open.
• Damaged or faulty payphones.
• Decaying or missing manhole covers.
• Damaged, dropped or missing overhead cables.
• Malicious damage.

What To Say To BT

Don't say "I have a faulty line." It's kinda obvious. The dialogue will start like this:

BT: "Good morning you're through to BT faults, my name is Joe. Can I have you phone number please?"

Customer: "01555-555-5555"

BT: "And can you confirm your name and address?"

Give the advisor your name, initial, house number, street name and town/post code. This is the minimum BT will accept as validation. They will then ask how you they can help.

Hint: Don't say "Well you can fix my line for a start." It's not big and it's not clever and it's not the first time the advisor has heard it. It puts their back up and your back up.

Hint: Try to remain calm at all times. BT are being professional and courteous to you. Pay them the same respect.

Describe the fault in your own words and as succinctly as possible. Don't drag the explanation out any more than necessary. Now is the time to mention any engineers seen in the area, lightning storms, dogs chewing the cable or kids messing with your outside wiring.

Things Not To Ask

• Are there any faults in the area?
• I've been away on holiday, how long has my line been dead?
• Why can't BT test every line every day to check for faults?

The advisor will not be able to answer these questions.

Keep It Civil

Do not shout at the advisor. It's not their fault your line is faulty. It's not their fault you have had to wait a long time. It's not their fault you don't like using ACE⁶.

Hint: Do not swear at the advisor. They will terminate the call. Contrary to public opinion, advisors do not have to put up with abusive customers, people who swear, people calling to waste their time or people who will not⁷ describe their fault and evade the question.

Have Realistic Expectations

BT is not going to fix your fault in the next five minutes. The earliest time they will possibly respond is going to be tomorrow.

BT is not like every other utility (electricity, gas, water) because those companies have an obligation to provide service to you. In contrast, you have asked BT to provide service to you. You are BT's customer, not its keeper.

Hint: Don't wait until your line is faulty to tell BT that you have a heart condition, or a panic alarm in the house, or have a terminal illness. By all means tell BT, by calling 150⁸ and asking for the Chronically Sick or Disabled Person (CSDP) registration form to be sent to you. BT cannot take your word for it when you call to report the fault.

Don't tell the BT advisor that your line has been faulty for six days but are only now reporting it. The advisor cannot back date your fault.

Having a burglar alarm attached to the line does not obligate BT to repair your line any faster.

Business Lines and Service Care

Don't tell the advisor you are using a residential line for business use. It won't affect the ERT⁹. If you run a business from home, get a business line, or pay the extra (and it's not that much) to improve the service care. There are three available:

• Standard care - most people have this.
• Prompt care - BT will have an engineer at the fault within the next four hours, only between 0800 - 1600
• Total care - BT will have an engineer at the fault in the next four hours- 24 hours a day

Remember: This means the engineer will get to the fault, not the engineer will fix it. If it is dark, the enginner will not climb poles or open manhole covers.

Taking it further if you are not happy

CSGS - Customer Service Guarantee Scheme AKA Compensation

BT will not pay out hundreds of pounds in compensation for your line being faulty. There are three types of compensation:

• DRR - Daily Rental Rebate
• FRC - Fixed Rate Compensation
• AFL - Actual Financial Loss

DRR is for people who have accepted a divert to another number, like their mobile. It reimburses the line rental for each day the line is faulty plus £1 per day if diverted to a mobile. It only calculates for weekdays and does not include the first 24 working hours.

FRC is for people who did not have a divert. It offers a fixed amount of compensation. One months line rental back if the fault is 1 - 3 days long, two months for 4 - 6 days, up to a maximum of 4 months line rental. FRC and DRR are mutually exclusive. You cannot have both.

AFL is an additional amount that can be claimed in addition to DRR or FRC. It is for people who can prove their fault cost them financially. It is usually only for businesses. There are two things about AFL that are important to remember:

• AFL forms are fairly complex to fill in. Most people who ask for them never return them to BT.
• You cannot claim for business loss if your line is a residential line. The line rental is cheaper for a reason.

None of these forms of compensation will pay out until the line is repaired and back in service. Compensation is not available if the customer cancels the fault report.

Complaints

BT has a set complaints policy. The customer must follow it, and cannot jump up to the most senior manager. The sequence is as follows:

1. Talk to advisor. Still unhappy, talk to manager/supervisor
2. Manager/supervisor. Still unhappy, talk to office manager.
3. Office manager, in charge of all faults managers in the building. Still unhappy, talk to site manager.
4. Site manager, responsible for all personnel in the building or group of buildings. Still unhappy, talk to high level complaints.
5. High level complaints. Special department in BT. Still unhappy, talk to OFTEL.
6. OFTEL. Ombudsman. Still unhappy, talk to OFCOM
7. OFCOM. Highest complaints authority. Deals with complaints not resolved by OFTEL.

There is no point telling the advisor that you will take the matter to OFTEL. The first thing OFTEL will ask is "Have you followed BT's internal complaints procedure?" Once you admit you have not, they will pass you straight back to BT. They cannot deal with the complaint until you have exhausted all of BT's internal proceedures.

Do not threaten a lowly advisor that you will leave BT if the line isn't fixed or your complaint not addressed. The advisor will respond by saying: "That's entirely your prerogative. Of course BT will be sorry to see you go. Shall I transfer you to the appropriate department to arrange cessation of service?" It is not that uncommon for a customer to be so irate that they say yes, and before they know it, they are no longer a BT customer.¹⁰

And Finally...

Remember: Having you phone out of service is not the end of the world. There are many things worse than that in the world.

BT estimates that, on average, a typical customer contacts BT every four years.

Repeat the mantra: 'It's only a phone line, it's only a phone line.'