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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Regular Disconnections & Fluctuating Speeds... 6+ phone calls, still not resolved

Hey All,

I moved into this property about two months ago and have had issues with the internet from day 1, from 10+ (sometimes 20+) disconnections a day to massively fluctuating internet speeds going from a 37Mbps connection down to 1Mbps connection randomly

When we moved in we subscribed to the "NowTV Super Fibre" which is supposed to provide average download speeds of 63Mbps. 

Events:

  • Moved in, subscribed to a 63Mbps connection

  • Noticed disconnections & fluctuating speeds.

  • Called NowTV and mentioned the issues, they suggested waiting a few more days as the line profiles were being automatically figured out.

  • Called NowTV and mentioned both the issues + the fact that I was paying for a 63Mbps connection yet only getting 37Mbps which is only fractionally faster than "NowTV Fab Fibre" so I asked to be downgraded. They put in the ticket to downgrade my account/line and then put me through to a different department regarding the connection issues. This new representative claimed that it was because we were mid-downgrade of which is very clearly wrong as I only just asked for it to be downgraded and the issues had been affecting us for many days before asking for that.

  • I suggested that maybe it is the internal wiring because to me the wiring looked very old and outdated, I provided NowTV with pictures of the setup and she agreed that it looked like the likely cause.The lady raised a ticket with BT Openreach to get an engineer sent out.

  • Engineer arrived and asked what the problem was, to which he had a look at the wiring and setup and very quickly suggested replacing all of the wiring because the current wiring looked like it was in very bad condition. After a short while he had finished replacing the wiring and it looks a lot better than it previously did. He ran a line test in the house and was getting 38Mbps however I've actually never got 

  • An hour or so after he left, we had another disconnection... I didn't bother calling up immediately because I hoped it would settle down but after a few days it was still acting the same as it was before which shows it wasn't the internal wiring that was the fault...

  • I called up NowTV again and they again said there were no issues on the line but he could try changing someone on my line (line profile I assume) and that after 24 hours it should be much improved...  He said that he would call back in 24-48 hours time and see how the line is. I never received a call. 
  • I called up 2 after 48 hours to which I was told the line profile changes can take up to 72 hours to process.

  • A few days pass, I call up again and the individual I spoke to claimed again nothing was wrong with my line, so they couldn't really do anything. I obviously argued against this because there very clearly is something wrong. He eventually suggested sending out a new router to which I asked something along the lines of "What's next if the new router doesn't solve the issue" to which he immediately gave me attitude stating that the new router is the next step, I asked again in a different way which he gave me the same reply, I asked again in yet another way and he finally said that it would be raised with the networking team to investigate. I accepted his suggestion of trying a new router even though I was confident it wouldn't fix the issue.

  • The new router arrived, I installed it (I'm not a novice when it comes to things like this), it's the same as how I set it up originally, same as how BT Openreach set it up and same as my previous properties. Didn't take long for disconnections to continue happening which made it clear to me that the router wasn't the issue either.

  • I called up NowTV again, and guess what... they suggested yet again everything was working and nothing could be done, yet when I got them to look into the logs of the line he could see disconnections (Though it wasn't as many as I was actually getting). He wasn't very helpful and I basically had to tell him that an engineer needs to be booked or NowTV/Sky need to investigate further. He agreed to organise an engineer to which I told him that the outside wiring + cabinet/exchange should be next because everything inside the house has been replaced so it surely can't be anything inside the premesis. I was informed that I would receive a text telling me when the engineer had finished but it could take 72+ hours.

  • I waited 7 days, no text, no email, no phone call... I called up to check and found out that the ticket didn't get "picked up" so no engineer was actually sent.

    I checked with this representative what had been done to the lines before they sent a new router as a previous rep said he had changed some settings on the line... he told me that nothing looks like it got changed.

    He ran a line test and there were no issues on the line again. He told me to reset the router to which I replied (while walking towards the router) "We've already tried resetting the rou..." and he interrupted me telling me that "I need you to reset it to continue" or something like that, to which I told me "Yes, I am resetting it. I am just telling you all the things that have been tried".

    I reset it and he said that the line shows we are getting 38Mbps, I replied telling him that sometimes it drops massively down to as low as 1Mbps to which he replied with "That's expected with WiFi" which I had to tell him "No no, on wired too. I've tried it on a wired computer and the same happens".

    He said that he couldn't see anything wrong and then tried to suggest that its because we have 9 devices connected. I told him that 7 of those are lights not computers/phones and he replied with "Yes, but as they're connected they could still be using too much of your lines bandwidth" which is laughable because we all know that 7 lights use basically no bandwidth and this particular router in theory can handle well over 100 devices and they shouldn't be able to cause disconnections only wifi slowdown. Regardless of that I told him "Yes but the issues with the internet have been around before these wifi lights were installed. I added these last week yet the issue has been around for over a month.

    He finally agreed to raising it with a different team, the networking team to have a look into the issue and action the engineer ticket and that he would call me back within 72 hours.

 

27 REPLIES 27
RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous User  

 

Sounds like ‘twisting their pair’ is what whichever Now Broadband rep was telling you porkies deserves 😛

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Right!? Shameful from NowTV/Sky that they would straight up lie to a customer and make up bs rather than actually try and solve the issue correctly.

They might be able to pull the wool over the eyes of some customers, but it makes them look really bad when they are trying it with someone with a fair bit more knowledge than your average joe.

I've got to say the BT Openreach engineers were all amazing, very nice people, wanted to genuinely try and help but they're restricted in what they can do/can advise... etc probably for company financial reasons.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

The exact same issues returned... including the terrible customer service!


February the 20th

On the 20th of February the issues with the internet disconnecting / speed fluctuations returned, I was extremely busy and on the wrong time zone (working nights) to chase NOW to get it resolved so I was hoping it would fix itself but it didn't.


March the 10th

The previous 3 days we had 8 disconnections each day with massive speed fluctuations, where the internet kept going to dial up speeds.

I contacted NowTV on social media & via email because I had COVID and was coughing constantly so couldn't speak to a representative on the phone. Social media clearly didn't read because they told me to DM them and they assumed the issue was with wifi even though I told them and provided logs that the router was disconnecting from their network.



March the 13th

Their email support again tried the same ridiculousness suggesting that there were no line issues and that the likely issue was that I had 16 devices connected. The lady decided to suggest that the router divides the 36mbps equally between all of the 16 devices connected to the router which is just incorrect.

She... again assumed that the issue was on Wifi even with me providing router logs showing that the router was disconnecting from their network.

She also suggested that given the amount of devices connected that I should maybe consider upgrading to the super fibre package which first of all would not solve the issue, but she clearly didn't look into my line because I had already downgraded from their bigger package to this package because my line is only capable of 38Mbit, so it's utterly pointless to be on their bigger package.

I replied breaking down our devices (7 lights, 3 alexas for example are 10 of the 16 devices and they do not use hardly any bandwidth).


March the 14th

No reply, so I chased to get a reply. 


March the 15th

She ran more line tests, which again showed no issues with the line. She passed the case over to the back office network team to run more tests and informed me that it could take 72 hours for a response.


March the 18th

I had to chase again because there was no reply...


March the 19th

She replied telling me that the team investigated, didn't find any issues on the line and that the "issues may line within your home setup".  She asked for pictures of the house setup even though I had already referred her to use the previous complaint ticket as all of the images existed within that ticket and a bunch of more useful information

My Reply: I replied saying how ridiculous it is that the team ran the test and didn't follow it up with the customer, I shouldn't be the one chasing.

I also told her that we're not going through this same bs again with them claiming nothing is wrong over and over when there clearly is an issue. We'd already been through this between October to December of which Openreach disagreed with everything NOW had told me and that NOW were wrong.

I asked her to raise this with someone who knows what they're doing and to reference everything in my other ticket because it contains pictures of the setup, tests, and what has been tried to solve the issue.


March the 23rd

I chased the case because I had no reply...


March the 25th

I chased the case again, because still no reply.

Her Reply: A new supervisor replied the same day because apparently the previous representative had to take time off due to COVID.

This supervisor said she'd read through the case and account history and could see I was having issues with Wifi... That she checked the line and there were no issues and claimed that the network team suggest the issue is wireless.

She then claimed that because I have 16 devices connected that is why I am having speed connection issues...

Claimed there was nothing that they could do to solve the issue and suggested she can wave the early termination charges, to find a different provider to suit my needs and as a gesture of goodwill she would refund one months bill which is an absolute cop out response!

My Reply: 
I clarified again that I never ever mentioned there was an issue with wifi, rather the issue is affecting both wired and wireless because the router is losing connection and it's external to my property.

I reiterated again that it has nothing to do with the amount of devices connected so that is just straight up wrong.

Her Reply: She came back with a reply that really ###### me off, the attitude I was getting was so dismissive and essentially saying that I was wrong.

> Thanks for the reply. Like I've mention previously I have read over all your notes and am well up to date with what you think the issue is.


> Unfortunately we have different views of what is going on and like I said I don't want to bore you going over the same instructions.
>

> The only issue we are picking up is the many devices you have connected.


That's a snippet of the email reply, I didn't bother replying instead I called up as I felt much better from COVID and was no longer coughing


March the 25th - Phone calls

I called up, explained the issue and the lady replied with a questioned, I answered it and she said "Can you hear me?" and then put the phone down.

I called up again, instantly the phone was put down... I assume either NOW or EE (my mobile provider) were having phone issues.

I called up again, explained the issue again and this lady asked if she could call me back because the line was bad. She called back and we went through the same dance of her continiously suggesting/assuming that the problem was with wifi, she ran line tests and said that the line was throwing no faults but she could raise it with the networking team (again) but needed pictures of the home setup. I told her to use the complaint ticket for a copy of the setup to which she went alone the lines of "I need new pictures of the home setup, otherwise I can't raise it with the networking team"

I took some for her even though it's ridiculous that they won't accept the previously submitted images even though I had already told her NOTHING has changed and no one has been near the router since BT Openreach last touched it in December.

She raised it with the networking team and told me that she would call back on Monday if networking team had ran the tests, otherwise she would call me back on Wednesday


March the 30th - Wednesday...

Guess what... no phone call.


March the 31st - Finally a perfect representative!

I called up again, explained that I spoke to someone last week and that I was told that she would call on Wednesday. This lady perfectly said "I assume they didn't call?". She apologised and asked for some more information.

It didn't take me long at all to realise that I'd finally got through to a representative that was competent, a breath of fresh air! She ran a line test and this time the line test did throw one issue up and that was that we were only getting 4Mbit down, however the 2nd time she ran the test it had gone back to normal.

She read the account notes and noticed that NOW had sent out the wrong engineer to me a few times, which I thanked her for noticing! 

I told her that if I was an undercover boss (like the TV show) I would be firing a decent chunk of the other representatives that I had spoken to and that it was nice to have someone know what they're doing for once!

I didn't say this to her, but if I was an undercover boss I would be giving her a promotion and a raise, to get her to supervise/train other representatives because she was a perfect example of a good representative.

She tried to book an engineer however it was having issues, so she spoke to a supervisor and they managed to create a booking with a broadband engineer (correct one for once!)


April the 1st - Openreach Engineer!

The engineer came in the sleet/snow this morning and started investigating the issue...

After less than 5 minutes he told me that I was right to keep trying to get an engineer booked because there is an issue on the line and it looks like it's about 16 meters outside of the house so NOW claiming it was amount of devices, bandwidth being used up... etc is wrong.

He filled out some paperwork and is sending it off to hopefully get them to accept that the fault is within OpenReache's network and get a team to come out to dig up the path and lay new ducting and cables as he suspects that should fix the issue for myself and neighbours who will likely have the same issue.

As per usual this BT Openreach engineer was lovely, helpful, understanding and is genuinely trying to fix the issues with my line!

Anonymous User
Not applicable


April 5th 2022


As per the Openreach engineers advise, I contacted NowTV to chase an update on the 5th, to which I was told that they didn't have an update but they would request an update and would contact me via email to provide me an update on Thursday or Friday as he wasn't working wednesday.

On the 7th of April this representative emailed me with an update which told me that Openreach still doesn't have an update but the ticket suggested that the next update would be on the 10/04 and that he would contact me on the 12th because he wasn't working on the 10th.

The 10th, 11th and 12th came and went with no update from NowTV.


April 13th 2022

I called NowTV again and I explained to this representative that we never received an update from the last representative even though they said they would contact me on the 12th.

This representative apologised and had a look into the openreach ticket, it again apparently had no update available and this lady said that she would contact me either on the 14th or 15th with an update.

The 14th and 15th went without any call or email... 


April 18th 2022

I called NowTV again... explained that the last 2 representatives claimed they would contact me and provide me with an update... but I never received an update.

They apologised again... looked into the ticket again... told me that they had no update again... Guess what next. They said they would contact me in on Tuesday with an update!


April 20th 2022

I called NowTV again because, for the 3rd time I hadn't received any email or call like they promised to provide me with an update. I explained the situation, the repeated issues with a lack of followup and the whole fiasco repeated again!

I was told they would contact me by Friday the 22nd but oh no... that day came and went with no call or email! Absolute joke of a company.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

April 27th 2022

I called NowTV again and he had a look into the case, he came back to me telling me that the problem they have is that they can't see any problem on the line. He told me the only option he can think I have is either we run through some troubleshooting or he can raise it with his manager.


I asked again about what happened with the case with Openreach to which he told me that the case got closed by Openreach on the 23rd of April, I told him that the engineer who came out told me that they would be submitting a request with Openreach to raise a case with the council to get permissions to dig up and replace ducting & cabling.

To which he then said that he would try and speak with his manager right now while I am on the call to find out what can be done. They had a chat and he's raising the issue with the networking team to get the case reopened with Openreach to find out what the status is and also with his team manager to find out what he can do to help resolve this issue. I was again told that he would contact me on Friday to provide me with an update from what he can see on the case.

I've also requested a copy of the details/information that has been shared within the Openreach ticket to find out more details, details that Now aren't providing me.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

If it does need fairly major works to resolve the problem, then Openreach seem loath to do anything with copper if they can avoid it, as it will all be redundant soon. Have you any idea when Fibre is coming to your area? Where and when we're building Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband | Openreach

 

I does seems some ISP's (especially those that are also owned by B.T.) have more pull with Openreach than others.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

What was the outcome of your issue?

Anonymous User
Not applicable

It's 3 posts before yours.

Re: Regular Disconnections & Fluctuating Speeds...... - Page 2 - NOW Community (nowtv.com)

Skip to the TLDR if you don't want to read it all.