Problems Switching from Sky to EE - Order has failed multiple times

[JackieLloyd1969]

We are having a nightmare trying to switch our broadband from Sky to EE as apparently the order is failing when being passed to Openreach.  Since last Thursday we have had multiple phone calls with different EE helpline staff .. we have been told conflicting information each time we have called and whilst the EE staff have always tried to be helpful something is going very wrong with the order process.  This all started when we submitted an online order for broadband and TV last Thursday which appeared to submit ok but then for whatever reason we did not receive the promised confirmation email.  After about an hour we called to query this and was told that no record of the order could be found so they reordered again over the phone. The following day we received an email about a direct debit which quoted a different reference number so we rang again and the agent could immediately see that we now had 2 orders each with their own account numbers.  They said they would cancel the second order that had been placed over the phone as the online order had progressed the furthest with Openreach.  Fast forward to Sunday and another email about the order but quoting the reference that had supposedly been cancelled.  We rang EE again and was told that actually the original Online order had failed and they were therefore proceeding with the phone order which we had been told had been cancelled on Friday.  The agent sent us over an email confirming that order and we were able to set up our Now Tv account and could see that order on our EE online account login.  Yesterday we noticed online when tracking that order that it had been cancelled so we rang yet again.  The agent told us that actually a 3rd order with another account number had also been created but all 3 orders had now failed because OpenReach were not responding to the installation request.  Apparently the case has now been passed to the “Procare” team to try to identify what is causing the order to fail and we have been promised a further update tomorrow.  We are now starting to feel really nervous as up to now 3 separate account numbers have been set up with multiple direct debits and Sky have acknowledged the transfer of service request which is due to happen on 17th June so we are really worried that we are going to end up with no broadband connection which will be a big problem as I work from home.  If there is no solution when we get an update tomorrow then I think we will have no option but to cancel the entire order or orders as we have zero confidence in the entire process.  It was just the price was so much better with EE compared to Sky but maybe you get what you pay for.  Has anybody else experienced similar issues ?

[JimM11]

@XRaySpeX Fair distance from the cabinet then, any fttp available, or fttc not available/sogea.

[XRaySpeX]

No FTTP there.

[Stoneware]

I assumed since it said FTTC unavailable in the table I misunderstood  at the time.

to answer some other points raised

My Sky package is, IIRC, about 18 Mb down and 0.5 Mb up

The plan is to drop the land line and move the number over to VoIP. Edit: after googling I think that's what WBC SOGEA should be? So I should be OK, maybe?

[XRaySpeX]

Yes, SOGEA is BB without landline. 

[JimM11]

@Stoneware With your sky router that you have now, is the phone line connected to the rear of the router, sky were trying to get some customers off standard comms, and onto there voip system that meant you had to connect directly on the router. I resisted the request when it came my way due to all the issues that they had with the VOIP that had so many problems and i could not afford any problems due to elderly parents, they relied on me and getting phone problems was a complete NO NO.

Your upload speed not the greatest, so voip is workable, but you will certainly have to keep a tight rein on everything until full fibre gets to you. good luck and hope you manage to get this resolved.👍

[Stoneware]

Will have to see if it goes through this time then.

Some of the stuff I read did suggest the speed could be worse on the SOGEA line, I thought it was purely a paper exercise and nothing would change about the actual connection other than they stop routing calls to the house.

[JimM11]

@Stoneware FTTC and SOGEA are par for par, slight change is required for the Sky - EE service, nothing major, but it is all down to what equipment is used, more than likely really old in your current OR exchange. If it was me, and depending on the landline would not mess with it, but couple years time it's not going to matter so much when the enforced is put in place.

[Stoneware]

Thanks. Yes, I'd ordinarily just stick with what I've got since it's not really going to be any sort of upgrade but it's a cost incentive to move that I can get a discounted data SIM with EE since we wanted to put in some cameras and a doorbell and needed something with a decent upload speed.

[JimM11]

@Stoneware Cost i can understand, does EE have a good mobile signal were you are, do not trust the mobile map, i have EE everything is great, signal indoors/outdoors, ooh sorry, you must just be on the verge of our signal map, too late your with us now, wish i had staid on O2, have to rely on wifi calling to get any signal, Your upload is not going to get any better with the line that you have, you must be a fair distance away from your street green box, at least 2-3km so you are pushing getting any real time info for those devices, if ring for example, pushed from device up the wifi to there server's then you are notified and can view download etc, they stopped all the local look at it on your PC etc, over a year ago.

[Stoneware]

All valid points, I'm using the data SIM for the camera/doorbell as a separate network for the upload. We have been having a lot of issues with the EE service round here the past few weeks but when it has been up the speeds would be acceptable I think. I should just bite the bullet and look at Starlink but I'm worried that we have too many trees round the house for that to be a good option either.  I think I'm just in a place where there isn't any really easy option.