Why is BT so bad, I can't even contact them as a new customer?

If you go to the BT website (www.bt.com), you won't find their phone number very easily at all. This is just terrible! British Telecom, and they don't even put a phone number on their website!

When you do find it (it's 0800 800 150) it asks you to type the telephone number you are calling about!

If you are a new customer like me, that wants to speak to someone about phone, broadband, and TV, you won't have a number! Then if you type the wrong number several times, you get the option to press * if you are not an existing customer. Great... but this is 3 minutes later! Then when it takes a further 2 minutes for someone to answer. When they answered, I hung up and decided to stay with my cable TV, phone and broadband provider.

My question is this... how does a company as big as BT get away with being so useless, they even make it difficult for new customers to speak to them?!

TERRAFIRE...

Firstly, don't call me an idiot. You don't know me.

Secondly, I hung up because why should I give my money to a business that prove their incompetence by not publishing a sales telephone number (they are a telecoms provider afterall!).

When the person did answer, they sounded very grumpy, and the first thing she said was 'BT customer service, can I take your BT landline number please?'

That is why I hung up, I'd rather spend my money with a company that actually makes an effort to provide me with their business.

Finally Terrafire... if the question was so misleading, why did everyone else manage to answer it without throwing a tantrum?

Because they still have an effective monopoly. There is very limited choice if you can't get cable. BT is an ex nationalized industry and still functions with a lot of the same inefficiencies.

Also a lot of people are lazy and will just put up with crap service rather than go to the trouble of changing.

And finally, don't forget that a lot of the competition is crap. Just try finding a satisfied talk-talk customer. They are rarer than the white rhino

I find this more and more of a problem especially with premium 0845 0870 numbers keeping you waiting forever.
I use a site called "Say no to 0870" it has direct numbers of many companies in the UK and you can add your own if you come across them..
This this site was reviewed by BBC Radio 2 and The Guardian. search about the above and I'm sure you'll find a direct dial number. http://www.saynoto0870.com/

Terrafire you moron! The title isn't misleading.

I just went to the bt site and couldn't find the phone number anywhere. What a useless bunch of prats BT are!

Oh, and I rang the number you put in your question and after 5 minutes I gave up.

I can't answer your question, just agree with you.

Had similar trouble when I moved to a new flat, the blurb said that if you hear a dialing tone there would probably be no reconnnection charge, as soon as I spoke to BT they said they wanted 拢125 for a new line.
I told them to poke it and I just use my mobile now

It's not difficult to speak to them and why the hell did you hang up when they answered? Oh by the way the title is misleading, you DID contact them.

Stay with your provider i heard BT don't like idiots.

its not just BT,other companys do the same thing,i hate automated answering when the option you want doesnt exist.