the joys of bt

Re: the joys of bt

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:21:20 GMT

Can't add anything to getting out of your current contract but if you mean the telephone system if it is not too complex, and are in the London area(ish) I use Executive Communications Address: SKL House, 18, Beresford Avenue, Wembley, HA0 1YP 020 8903 3425, friendly, helpful and will be quick to fix things.

Re: the joys of bt

Rob Loxley — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 18:12:22 GMT

[quote user="Gareth C."]hey have just installed a new system[/quote]

Do you mean phone lines, data, PABX?

Re: the joys of bt

james herriot lied — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 16:42:45 GMT

Can't comment on the technical details, as I literally didn't understand one word in three of what Ian just said. But:

1. My experience of BT, at work and at home, is that you wouldn't do worse with some tin cans and string. One of the few companies who could give Ryanair a run for their money.

2. Contracts can only be enforced through the courts, which means that if you opt out of your current contract, BT would need to decide whether it was worth following up. So if you just decided to abandon their perfectly functional, fault-free system because the company down the road was cheaper, they could chase you for the remaining payments. However, if the system they've supplied really doesn't work, you have plenty of consumer protection. You need to be able to show that a) you have reported the problems to them on several occasions, and they have acknowledged faults; and b) that they've had reasonable opportunity to put right those faults, but have failed to do so. What constitutes reasonable is the reason why lawyers are so rich.

I'd be writing to them to explain that you wish to cancel your contract with more or less immediate effect, without cancellation charges, and ask for their immediate agreement; further that if for any reason they think this is unreasonable, they need to explain, in writing and in detail, why they should continue to take your money for something that isn't working properly (it's not enough to work partially - it has to fulfil the use for which it was intended and bought). Second, if you bought the system over the phone or t'internet, there are issues relating to cancellation periods which BT was legally required to inform you of in writing (a website doesn't count). If they failed to inform you of your rights within the cancellation period, then you can just hand it all back without a cancellation fee; if you're still within the cancellation period, then job's a good 'un. This is all covered by the Distance Selling Regs. In theory.

The main problem is that BT seems to be run largely according to protocols, and it can be hard to get a sensible answer. If you want, though, to go down the silly route and get a quicker response, try posting about your problems on BT community care. Make sure you use lots of capitals and exclamation marks - they generally get back to you quite quickly.

I love BT, me.

Re: the joys of bt

Ian Mostyn — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 15:12:03 GMT

I have installed an Asterisk based system this year and am rolling it out to our second branch literally in the next few days. We have the normal incoming BT PSTN lines but they then terminate at our server (normal basic PC) which in turn controls the whole system. Once at the server, the system becomes a VOIP system over our normal network cabling with Cisco phones. No particular reason for the Cisco phones other than wide availability and good community support but I made sure they were enterprise grade. I also made sure we have a decent enterprise grade hardware echo cancellation as echo can be a major problem in these hybrid VOIP / PSTN systems. Outgoing calls are all by VOIP.

We have all the basic functionality but also a lot of higher level options, as asterisk can be scaled to a full-size call centre. I like the ability to set up voicemail messages for OOH as far in advance as I want. We get unlimited land line calls for £8 per month and a cheap mobile calling package. I can easily save £200 per month over BT call rates. I set up the system myself and it is reasonably reliable but over time I am able to add new features and improve reliability. Asterisk is open source and has plenty of community support but there are plenty of commercial offerings as well. Digium offer Switchvox as there ready to use, commercial system but FreePBX, Trixbox, elastix are just a few others.

Ian