Openreach installation cancellations

[Thursday24]

Hi,

Im hoping Im in the right place and will receive some answers and advice on the matter.

Both my self and my husband are extremely frustrated and disappointed, as for the past two months we have been without any wifi due to openreach cancelling on (both by not notifying us or by rearranging our fibre installation five times.

We moved moved house on the 22nd July 2024 and two weeks before we moved spoke to our provider (TalkTalk) into getting fibre installed in our new house. Due to the 'usual' three week time period of booking an installation, we would have to wait a week for the fibre to be installed in our new house.

I booked a day off work and waited for the engineers to come and fit the the fibre. With absolutely no notice, they didnt turn up. After being furious with waiting around all day, and wasting a days leave, I rang TalkTalk, and it was rearranged again.

Same thing happened the next time. Another days leave wasted. Rang our provider TalkTalk again and the installation was arranged AGAIN. The same thing happened a third time. Without being notified.

The appointment was rearranged again for the 19th September and on the 17th September a text message was sent to notify us that our appointment for installation would be rearranged AGAIN for the 9th October, even though speaking to TalkTalk, on their system Openreach should have been arriving on 19th September - so waited in just incase.

We are now having to wait another three weeks without wifi. We are paying for multiple streaming subscriptions (Prime, Netflix and Disney and are not easily able to use these without using our mobile phone data. Due to this we have both had to increase our mobile phone data contract, which we are now locked in to. More money that we are having to fork out for due to Openreach messing us about.

We have also used and WASTED leave to wait in just for Openreach not to turn up. Again unacceptable.

I am now having to also work and commute to the office as I can no longer work from home without wifi, putting more money constraints on ourselves due to being messed about by Openreach.

If anyone could please give us any advice in getting this situation sorted it would be much appreciated. It has been two unbelievably frustrating (and increasing expensive) months of been messed about.

Thank you

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi Thursday24

Sorry for the problems

There is an open complaint for you, so we have to leave it for the complaint manager. 

But it sounds like there may be external work required causing the cancellations/delays.

Sorry again.

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Thursday24, though so many people work from home, Ts&Cs for residential broadband don't reflect this, so if there's no service it's up to your employer to ensure that you can work.

But, as a domestic customer, you should be entitled to automatic compensation for no show without warning, if the engineer just doesn't turn up, complete loss of service  / delay to start of service. These are calculated AFTER resolution of the issue, and take about a month to show as credits in My Account:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/About-your-auto-compensation-credit/ta-p/2326583

Openreach does seem be overstretched - engineers under pressure to keep up the pace of the roll out, and all Talktalk can do is keep booking it in for you.

Definitely not the only case of repeated delay that we have come across on the forum.