topic Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed in Mobile Network discussions

Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Bobdylan55 — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 12:50:39 GMT

Hi,

I recently have had an issue with both mine and my wifes phones where we have no signal. I contacted EE and they tell me there is a mast failure in my area. They cannot tell me how long it is expected to be down for (its been 4 weeks already) - they cant even give me a rough idea i.e. this month or in a years time. Obviously I cant just keep paying for a phone I cant use. Seems absolutely outrageous that they dont have any info on when they are expecting to repair it.

We have missed important calls from gps around our son and all sorts, so now I am at the point of getting another sim just so I can call people, not sure how EE can find that acceptable that I have to pay for multiple sims because they cant fix their own gear?

Is there anyway this can be investigated?

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Schockwave — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:03:46 GMT

Hello @Bobdylan55 ,

Welcome to the community,

It will depend why the mast is down, where it is and whether they have to order parts to fix it. EE may need permission to access the mast, we cannot investigate here, your only way is to ring customer service to see if they can give you an estimate as to when it will be fixed.

You should be able to get compensation if you are unable to use your phones, etc., but if you have a fixed broadband, you should be able to use wifi calling.

You can get updates by registering here and then EE will keep you up to date:

https://coverage.ee.co.uk/coverage/ee/keep-me-posted

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Bobdylan55 — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:12:42 GMT

Hi,

I have already called customer service and they are unable to give me any details other than its down. If they were able to state for example "its this issue and we expect to have the issue resolved in 2 weeks" at least then I know where I stand. What I do not want to do is buy another sim, tell everyone my new number or PAC my number over, and then find the mast repaired in 2 weeks time. If its going to be 6 months tho then I need to change provider.

With regards to compensation, one contract is with Lyca mobile who refuse to acknowledge the issue and so wont compensate me, the other contract is with EE and they have compensated me for one month, but no amount of compensation helps me if I cant use my phone. As for wifi calling, its sketchy at best, and again Lyca dont support it so my second phone which is my wifes isnt useable.

I have registered for updates but I just get repeatedly told it is taking longer than expected.

Surely there is a responsability on EE to repair this issue asap or allow the contract to be cancelled.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Chris_B — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:27:21 GMT

@Bobdylan55 If Wi-Fi calling is sketchy at best then your Wi-Fi connection needs to be looked at. I use Wi-Fi calling every at work without issue in four different buildings passing over from one connection point to another.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

bristolian — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 16:00:08 GMT

I concur with others that WiFi-calling is a very reliable service, and if you're having issues with it - then there will be a cause for this. A logical approach to fault-finding is likely to identify that.

As regards the out-of-service site, the vast majority of service-affecting faults are attended and rectified quite promptly and usually within a couple of days. If there's a delay beyond that, there will often be a reason outwith EE's direct control but these are numerous - there could be a third-party dependency, an access or legal complication - or various others.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Bobdylan55 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 06:58:22 GMT

Wifi seems fine, getting 400mbps down and 60 up, using teams on regular basis without issue for work. Its more the latency issues that arise from wifi calling that I find difficult to work with. Again my lyca account doesnt offer wifi calling so is unuseable entirely unless I stand 2 streets down outside.

As its been over a month I guess there must be some difficulty with the repair, that isnt what frustrates me. What frustrates me is the lack of info from EE in regards to whats wrong, what theyre doing to fix it, when they hope to have it fixed etc. Even basic information would help so I can have some logic behind my choice to wait it out or have them cancel my contract early. It almost seems like theyre deflecting on purpose so I dont leave.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

bristolian — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 08:17:37 GMT

If you compare EE's approach here to that of other networks, they're quite open with outage information. Getting a balance can also be tricky - too much info and it becomes irrelevant for most users who "just want it fixed", or they're criticised when a repair doesn't go to plan. Too little info and perceived lack of honesty is criticised.

I'm not sure what relevance Lyca's functionality has to an EE account, but delays are always frustrating. Local coverage outages are rarely a reason of themselves for early-contract release, the T&C's cover this.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Bobdylan55 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 08:37:40 GMT

I get that sometimes too much info can just make matters more confusing, but surely its not too much to ask for an estimated time of repair? That seems like basics 101. If you took a car to a garage and they said ooh we dont know, cant even hazard a guess or tell you whats wrong, I dont think you would leave your car with them.

Re: lyca, the relevance is that they use EE's network so the fault is identical on my wifes phone but we cant even get compensation. Effectively we are paying £8 a month on that account for nothing.

Regarding local outages not being a reasonable excuse for cancelling a contract early, I might agree with that statement if the phone was to pick up another adequate signal from an alternative cell tower. But it cant, and I was rigorous in testing network speeds and signals before entering the contract to ensure what I was entering into was acceptable. At the time of entering into the contract I could get 60mbps download speeds over 4g, now I cant get a signal.

I personally feel its extremely poor at best to even think that when entering into a contract you should be expected to have foresight that your local mast might get damaged mid contract and might not be repaired for an indefinite period of time.

I would also like to point out that when I spoke to tech support they arranged for a manager to call me back within 2 hours and nobody has (this was 5 days ago now). This just adds insult to the whole issue for me. I have been with EE for over 10 years, as far back as it being called Orange. Normally they are spot on with any issues and resolve asap, but this time its making me seriously question moving to an alternative albeit inferior network.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

bristolian — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:42:31 GMT

Radio sites use carrier-grade equipment and are generally very reliable, but outages happen on all networks and are usually rectified promptly. There is often some degree of site overlap, but this doesn't always apply where site density is lower.

T&Cs reflect all this, and thus no network will guarantee 24/7 uninterrupted service. If you want to discuss an individual fault you should do this with CS, who should have the specific detail of your case available to them. Every fault will have an SLA which is met the vast majority of the time - but unforeseen issues & delays happen.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Bobdylan55 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 11:19:04 GMT

The point stands its been over a month down, and CS cannot give me any details on the repair time estimates. Its fine to say in the vast majority of cases its fixed in a reasonable time frame, but it hasnt been. Unforeseen issues and delay, sure, I get it, but them unforeseen issues or delays must have some form of actionable solution, hence giving an estimated repair date should still be possible (im not saying the date will be accurate or correct, but at least if I have a rough idea then I can make a valid choice on whether to buy another sim for the meantime or just to wait it out etc) . I really dont think thats much to ask...

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Eddy2760 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 12:16:52 GMT

Hey @Bobdylan55,

after reading your comment I feel your frustrations.
unfortunately the EE representatives you have spoke to wouldn’t be able to advise you on when the problem would be fixed or services received as they are not the ones that will be there at the mast to try and fix the issues, they can only advise to the bestest they can with the information they are provided on their systems.
some times as explained by others, services can slip for multiple reasons and delays the process and progression, this is outside of anyone’s control and thus have to wait for it to be resolved in time.
If an advisor where to say… give you a date that the issue maybe resolved and that date comes and nothing… it will only create you more discomfort and make you think that you have been lied to… they also can’t inform you of say access rights to get to the tower if on private land etc due to data protection and other factors etc.

also I have noted that you have said other network providers in your area ain’t the best so I assume you are in a rural area or in an area that’s difficult for signal towers… many circumstance there to list lol 😂

obviously you have consumers rights to leave contract etc due to services not provided but this also has conditions as length of your current contract, you may need to return say mobile device if still paying for the unit and services to date etc.

most phones these days support duel sim where you can add an additional sim from another provider, maybe check that as an option and get a pay as you go sim from another provider, if your phone does support this do check with EE if your phone is unlocked to accept another provider first 👌

EE has provided you with refunds for the service you have not received so they are willing to reimburse your fees while the issues are being looked at, so as long as they are willing to do this I don’t see why you don’t leave your contract running and as stated see if your phone sports duel sim, then when services are restored happy days.

hope this helps

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Bobdylan55 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:16:01 GMT

Just to clarify, I never said other networks in my area "aint the best", I simply stated that EE were the correct decision at the time. As for rural, quite the opposite, I can see the town centre from my house (another reason I cant quite believe theyre letting it go on this long seeing as theres potentially 13k other users in this suburb on the outskirts of a city)

My phone does support dual sim but the issue is rather that I have a known contact number which is used for family emergencies and work purposes and I dont want to have to go handing our a second number to confuse matters (similarly I dont want to pac over and then 2 months down the line have to change it back) , the other issue is that the duel sim function takes my microsd slot and my phones memory is already empty. I have ordered a three sim for the time being and am hoping to set up call forwarding when it arrives but clearly this is a far from ideal setup, especially when my wifes phone will need the same, and then her contract cant actually be compensated because lyca refuse to respond to us (I know this isnt specifically EE's fault but its a direct cause of the mast issue still).

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

bristolian — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:25:05 GMT

@Eddy2760 wrote:

Hey @Bobdylan55,

obviously you have consumers rights to leave contract etc due to services not provide

The T&Cs don't guarantee coverage in any location and have full provision for faults & temporary loss-of-service.

Any user who wants to pursue a disconnection for extended loss of service should do so via CS on 150. There is no general provision for cancellation because of transitory issues that are impossible for telecoms networks to eradicate.

Issues with Lyca's service need to be taken up with Lyca directly - the nature of an MVNO setup is that you don't have a direct relationship with the network operator.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Eddy2760 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:39:45 GMT

They said EE are aware of the mast issues so there is a way for them to terminate after a long period of time and supply competition (services not received, but still subject to unit costs) up until that point of either the issues resolved or contract cancellation but again can involve paying for the handset or return the handset etc if cancelled, depending on length of contract remaining…

basic consumer rights if a service isn’t being provided to a satisfactory result and you give enough chances for the company to resolve then you can exit etc

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

bristolian — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:45:21 GMT

This is now becoming a very general point. For contractual purposes, I strongly suspect - without being a lawyer - that "a service" for the purposes of non-provision is likely to mean a UK-based mobile phone network. That service will never have 100% blanket national provision thus local issues are then dealt with at an individual level.

Protracted outages are always frustrating, especially when a site is the only server for particular areas. Resolution of faults is always preferable!

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Bobdylan55 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:57:20 GMT

To clarify, my contract with EE is sim only 12 months pay monthly, so no complicated phone cost issues.

It is understandable that banket coverage to 100% of the UK is not going to be acheivable especially with outages like this one etc. But, the problem here is that upon taking out the contract the service checker stated that full 4g indoors and outdoors with excellent signal, and 5g. So if that isnt the case then the product was missold. I have been very reasonable and given since the 3rd October to resolve the issue and what I have received in return from EE is broken promises of call backs and complete lack of response in terms of an adequate fix or temporary work around. They didnt even suggest second dual sim, or call forwarding, wifi calling etc, these are all things I have had to work out myself using google or through this forum. Its poor poor customer service at best.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Eddy2760 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:05:07 GMT

It’s basic google search on the consumer rights… no lawyer or solicitor needed to source that information and I have 2 friends that just went through the same issues with o2 and EE so… I just gave advice 👌 they can also speak to and complain to ofcom if needs be.

hope this helps you for future posts 👌

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Eddy2760 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:06:36 GMT

Yeah Ee have been going through a big change recently with a big shift around with BT integration into the EE world, I’m sure it will all smooth out soon

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

bristolian — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:07:27 GMT

Ofcom don't handle individual customer complaints, all providers will have an ADR scheme which handle escalations once the internal complaints process has been exhausted or is deadlocked before 8weeks.

I stand by my advice, but suspect we're not helping the OP anymore here.

Re: Mast failure but cant tell me when it will be fixed

Bobdylan55 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:27:32 GMT

I do appreciate all the responses and advice, its just extremely frustrating to basically be told that the issue is one I have to resolve myself even though I am paying for a service. Sounds like I need to wait for my three sim to turn up and trial the signal quality and the possible have the conversation with EE regarding cancellation of the contract.