Came downstairs yesterday morning to discover that my internet was dead. Gone. No more. Disaster – I work from home so my internet is vital, and my daughter’s studying for GCSEs and needs to get online too … never mind that we both live our lives through Facebook and MSN!

Phoned BT’s broadband status line and there were reports of a problem and advice to switch off, unplug, leave, reboot, replug. Did all that – nothing. Phoned tech advice (in India, gah) and after hanging on for 15 mins was told my line had been disconnected and I’d have to call Customer Services to find out why. Then followed an excruciating two hours involving conversations with a dozen people, three different stories, several fabricated facts, one broken phone (when I lobbed it across the room in frustration) and several handfuls of hair pulled out of head. Eventually I phoned my mum for a rant and she got onto the moneysavingexpert.com website for me and found the email for BT’s CEO and the phone number for BT’s head office. So I popped over to her house to use her computer and sent a long and angry email about the situation

And surprise surprise, not long after I sent it I had a call from Chris Williams from Senior Complaints Dept who was very apologetic and promised to get the broadband reinstated as soon as possible, hopefully by today. Amazing what happens when you kick up a fuss, eh?

It took a while – I was out and about this morning and when it wasn’t on at lunchtime I called her and then called again and finally she rang back and said there had been a hold up but she was working on it and it would hopefully be on by tomorrow – and if I could borrow or acquire a mobile dongle she would reimburse me for credit on it in the meantime.

It just so happens I do have one, I bought it on special offer with a view to using it on holiday, but had been reluctant to load it with credit in case everything came back on all of a sudden – as credit only lasts 30 days. So at 4pm I was all set to go into town to pick up a prescription, do some banking and buy some credit, when I glanced at the router and realised all the lights were on …. we have broadband again!!

So BT came good in the end … but it’s disgraceful that it takes calls to the Chairman’s Office and an email to the CEO to get anything done.

But phew …… 32 hours without t’internet. What a nightmare!