Rip-off fibre upgrade

[Labrat]

Since 8th May, as my Fibre 65 package (which sometimes gave me 80Mbps), had come to an end, I have been paying for the upgrade to the replacement package, which I was told should give me about 180Mbps. I received a new router and an Openreach engineer arrived today to install the new line, for which he had to drill holes to install it in a different position on an outer wall. On switching over to the new service I began getting 14Mbps, peaking a bit later at 23Mbps – almost the same as my upload speed. But my troubles had only just started.

I logged into my TalkTalk account, started a line test and carried out a speed test at the same time. The system logged me out automatically before it had finished. After logging back in I looked for a Helpline phone number. There isn't one. Instead, I resorted to the online Chat – an experience that I've learned to dread.
I thought I was being helpful by supplying my name, my address and my account number. Wrong. "Sorry, I don't understand". Eventually the robot gave up and supposedly transferred me to a real person, who insisted I had to download the TalkTalk app. I hate phone apps and in any case, it didn't seem logical, because after all, what could the app do that the tests in My Account couldn't?

After numerous attempts to get it to email me a code I eventually got into the app. Guess what? It's just My Accound, only on your phone, where everything is far more difficult to type ... as I found out when mis-typing my email address, every time it logged me out. This seems to be about every minute.
Meanwhile, while all this was going on the chat had logged out, so I started the entire process again. Eventually, a message came up telling me that as I hadn't responded for a while they were going to end the chat. Liars. I made sure I downloaded the entire transcript of this second chat (the first and longest one has disappeared into the ether). So how do I now send this transcript to Head Office?
Does taking money under false pretences qualify as fraud? How on earth do I resolve the issue of this rubbish fibre line? It seems impossible. TalkTalk are impossible to contact.

Transcript:

Hi there! I’m Sara, your TalkTalk virtual assistant. Tell me what you’re looking for today, and I’ll guide you from here.
I've been trying to complain about my new phone line but you keep logging me out all the time. I was in the middle of a long chat and now it's just disappeared. I musty have logged back in about six times. It times out far too quickly to get anything done.
You – 17:15
Can you please let me know if you're the account holder?
Sara – 17:15
Yes
Yes
You – 17:15
I understand you're trying to make a complaint about your new phone line. Let me direct you to the right place for assistance.
We take all complaints very seriously and we'll do everything we can to fix the issue you're unhappy with as quickly and effectively as possible.
Could you tell me a little bit more about what makes you unhappy?
Sara – 17:15
The new fibre line and router has just been installed. It is giving me a connection speed as low as 14Mbps. I have been paying for it since 8th May, yet on my account I am being invited to upgrade to the package I should already be on.
You – 17:17
Have you already raised a complaint with us?
Sara – 17:17
Yes
You – 17:17
When you raised your complaint with us, we gave you a reference number, this is usually by text message. Please enter the full number below including the dash and 3 letters.
Sara – 17:17
I was in the middle of a complaint when your system threw me out.
You – 17:18
That’s not the reference we are looking for. Please enter your Complaint Number, which starts with ‘CMP’ followed by six digits (e.g., CMP-123456).
Sara – 17:18
I wasn't given one!!! I was in the middle of a very long chat!
You – 17:18
I don’t recognise that one, let me get you through to an expert.
Before I transfer you, I just need to confirm some details with you to pull up your account.
Can I please have your full name?
Sara – 17:18
Peter Sharpe
You – 17:19
Thanks!

And can you tell me your TalkTalk home telephone number or account number?
Sara – 17:19
07867xxxxxx landline 017xxxxxxxx (I've obscured the numbers for posting)
You – 17:19
Alright, transferring you to an expert who'll help with your issue.
Sara – 17:19
A phone number would be nice, so that I can explain things to a living human being. I'm getting seriously sick to death with this.
You – 17:20
Sorry our wait times are longer than expected. You will be connected to an agent shortly. – 17:21
Info – 17:21
I was told to download the app, yet it's exactly the same as My Account on my PC.
You – 17:22
I have been paying for a promised 180Mbps since 8th May, yet this is what is says on My Account:
"Your upgrade window’s open – dive in

Speed up your Wi-Fi from £29.00 per month. No more lag. No more limits.
Let’s go, before the offer expires.

Increasing to £33.00 from April 2027,

then to £37.00 from April 2028.

24 month contract"
You – 17:23
Apr 29
I can't find Bibre 150 VoIP
You – 10:42
Can you please let me know if you're the account holder?
Sara – 10:42
Fibre 150 VoIP
You – 10:42
Sorry, I need you to select one of the below options.
Can you please let me know if you're the account holder?
Sara – 10:42
Yes
You – 10:42
It seems like you might be experiencing an issue with your internet or home phone service. Let me route you to the right place for assistance.
Here's what I can help with.
Sara – 10:42
No - can't find how to switch to Fibre 150 VoIP
You – 10:43
Perhaps you'll find what you're looking for from the options below.
Sara – 10:43
Fibre 150 VoIP
You – 10:43
Request you to select from the below options:
Sara – 10:43
Fibre 150 VoIP
You – 10:43
Looks like we'll need a helping hand with this one.

I'll connect you to an expert who'll help with your enquiry.
Please stay connected.
Sara – 10:44
You are now connected to a TalkTalk expert. They'll review all of the information you've provided so far and will reply to you within 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on this window. – 10:46
Info – 10:46
Where is my option to change to Fibre 150 VoIP?
You – 10:46
Thank you for contacting TalkTalk you’re through to Bilal from Technical Support. How can I assist you today?
Bilal – 10:47
Where is my option to change to Fibre 150 VoIP?
You – 10:47
Sorry but this is useless. I was hoping to avoid phoning.
You – 10:48
I apologise for the inconvenience caused to you.

Please allow me a minute to check your account details.
Bilal – 10:49
Thanks for your patience.

I’ve checked your account and can see that you’re currently on the Fibre 65 package. Could you please let me know if you’d like to upgrade your service to Fibre 150 with VoIP?
Bilal – 10:54
Hope we are still connected.
Bilal – 10:58
We haven’t heard from you, so we will keep hold of your conversation for a while. If you need us, please respond back and we will pick-up from where we left off.
Sara – 10:59
Since we've not heard from you for a while, we'll be closing this chat down soon. But you know where we are if you need us. We’d like to thank you for chatting with us today.
Sara – 11:30
Don't you dare!!!
I don't believe you.
I'm already paying for the upgrade, even though I'm not receiving it.
You – 17:27
How do I complain to your Head Office? I want to send them a transcript of this chat.

[Labrat]

I tend to think that any modern router which struggles to send a signal 7 yards is an extremely poor one. The only obstacle in the way is a totally mechanical exercise bike. I even left all the internal doors wide open, which wouldn't be a good idea in winter. It is almost universally advised to keep the frequency at 2.4Gz, unless you have potential speeds way in excess of that provided here. My conclusion is that although the speed to the router may be a constant 150 megabits, that is pointless if the router isn't capable of distributing it.

p.s. Just for the hell of it I moved the bike out of the way. It made no difference in the kitchen and a speed of 41.6 in the living room. That's a slight improvent, but still way below what I was getting with my old router (and cheaper monthly fee) and inconclusive anyway, given the tendency for fluctuations.

Before I sent the old router back I tried to make a direct comparison, but found that the old router cable is incompatible with the new wall socket. 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Labrat 

Wi-Fi interference (nothing to do with electrical interference) can cause:-

1. Slow speed,
2. intermittent dropouts,
3. breaks in the signal,
4. no signal at all,
5. or no internet access.

This can affect one or more devices. This can also lead to a permanent reduction in the speed of one or more devices. No ISP can be responsible for your local environment; this is mainly a byproduct of the popularity of Wi-Fi.

Generally speaking, the 2.4GHz band suffers far more from Wi-Fi interference than the much faster 5GHz band. However, the 2.4GHz band has a longer range than the 5GHz band and can penetrate walls better. This may very well change depending on your local area.

In other words, I offer a free, impartial analysis of your Wi-Fi network and will try to help you optimise your Wi-Fi connection. The next stage involves my sending out a guide to help you get important diagnostic information for me. I will then analyse these results for you and recommend changes to your router configuration, if required.

I only send this out to people who request it.

[Labrat]

Sorry about the incomplete image. I tried to edit the post but couldn't find any way of doing it.Living Room PC

[Labrat]

These are the results taken this morning.

Holding my phone against the router I get Down 106.2  Up 28.6

Kitchen PC Wi-fi                Down 56.33    Up 29.18 

Kitchen PC Ethernet        Down 144.18   Up 29.18

Living Room Ethernet     Down 135.18   Up 29.11

                         Repeated   Down 151.18    Up 29.11

Living Room Wi-fi            Down 18.48    Up 29.10

                         Repeated  Down   5.50    Up 29.10

                         Repeated  Down 18.48    Up 29.08

So the ethernet, although erratic, is acceptable, but the wi-fi performance is very poor compared to the one it replaced, which gave me a (mainly) consistent connection of 80 Mbps on a supposedly much inferior service. It would be a safety hazard to have long ethernet cables trailing across the floor of the house as well as being unsightly. I should add that at 6 metres from the router to one PC and 7 metres to the other (obviously on the same floor), this is less than the distance across many people's living rooms.

I have included the Speccy reports on the two PCs, hopefully without giving any senLiving Room PCKitchen PCsitive information away. Please delete the images if so.

[Labrat]

I felt sure that the operator described it as being a 180Mbps connection, but perhaps her accent made it unclear.

The problem is that it is extremely erratic. Measured just now it was a misery 54.6Mbps, although on other occasions it has sometimes reached 150Mbps.

I could only achieve acceptable speeds by drilling a gap into the bottom of an internal door, so that I could trail the wires under it to mount the router in a similar position to the previous one. I live in a semi-detached bungalow, but positioning it in the most safe and tidy position (about 10 feet further away than previously), had a drastic negative effect. 

What I did discover was that there is something about the signal being broadcast by my new router which is incompatible with the network adapter on one of my PCs. Even with an ethernet cable I was still getting about 12Mbps, when my old router had been delivering up to 80Mbps. This doesn't seem logical, so I will repeat it tomorrow. A cable trailing over the floor permanently is out of the question. I subsequently improved on this by buying a usb wi-fi adapter, but customers are not warned about these problems.

It is late now so I will follow this up at another time.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Labrat 

Whilst I understand your frustration, such a long post makes this difficult to understand. Please can you confirm a few basics? I assume that you have Full Fibre 150; there is no 180 Mbps service. With Openreach cabling, this should give you 150Mbps down and 30Mbps up, measured with a wired (Ethernet) connection at the ONT (small fibre box inside your property). Which router were you supplied with? Is it the WiFi Hub 3?

You mention speeds of 23Mbps down on a device, which I presume to be connected via WiFi. What device is this (make/model) so that I can look up its WiFi specification to see what is limiting your speed? Where in relation to the ONT is this device located in your property?

Do you have a device with an Ethernet connection that you could connect directly to the ONT in place of the router and do a speed test for me?