BT_Broadband_Problem ?

[Clunkclick]

The broadband data usage recorded by BT over the last two months seems to shot up without reason.

 

I'm on infinity 1 and the speed and data cap were increased by BT about 2 months ago (At an increase

d charge of an extra £3 a month), even though I didn't request it. I was told that the data rate was increased to 52Mbps (It was 38Mbps), although my BT account page shows its still 38Mbps and the data cap was raised from 40Gb per month to 45.

 

Since then, I seem to have had problems.

 

My normal data usuage is about 20-30 GB a month. 

 

Since the beginning of August this has shot up !

 

BT are claiming that I have used £100 of broadband above the new cap. This is charged at £1.80 per GB. Thatwould indic ate that in less than two months I have had excess use of 55GB !!!!!

 

Earlier this week I downloaded the anniversary update of Windows 10 (About 3 GB ? ) and BT on-line record in my BT account showed that I'd used 11GB !!!!

 

To try and see what was happening, I took a look at the data download record page on my Home Hub router. Within 30 minutes of me switching on the router this morning (Its switched off overnight), the router page was showing 50Mb of download. And I had only looked at two web pages.

 

I accessed Amazon's lead page and the router showed more than 6Mb of data had been downloaded just to access this page.

 

On the face of it, it would seem that BT are overrecording data usage by a factor of 3-3.5.

 

I'm going to raise this with them  and won't be paying the excess until it is resolved.

 

I notice that there's quite a bit of reporting on the web about BT doing this.

 

Anybody else having similar trouble ?

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Nick

Edited 22 September, 2016 by Clunkclick

[cheezemonkhai]

PICNIC...

 

55GB from over 45GB, at 1.80 per GB is £18.00 not £100

 

Also a 3GB file download can take more than 3GB, as you have protocol overheads, it may be doing it via P2P from other windows machines etc etc.

[Clunkclick]

PICNIC...

 

55GB from over 45GB, at 1.80 per GB is £18.00 not £100

 

Also a 3GB file download can take more than 3GB, as you have protocol overheads, it may be doing it via P2P from other windows machines etc etc.

You've misunderstood.

 

Let's put this simply . . 

My BT account states that my broadband over-usuage since 10/08/2016 is £100. Now divide £100 by £1.80. What figure does that give you ?

 

Quite expensive, for a bit of fun, eh ?

 

Advice to me when using the Government internet  when there was a 10Mb limit on E-Mail attachments (About 10 years ago !), was that files, when downloaded i"Increased" in size, due to system overheads, by something in the order of 1.5 to 2 - the BT figure is 3.5 - 4.

 

Nick

Edited 22 September, 2016 by Clunkclick

[Aspman]

Or your PC is p0wned and acting as a Torrent node.

 

Something like Bitmeter might help https://codebox.net/pages/bitmeter2

[Damian@DPM]

The broadband data usage recorded by BT over the last two months seems to shot up without reason.

 

I'm on infinity 1 and the speed and data cap were increased by BT about 2 months ago (At an increase

d charge of an extra £3 a month), even though I didn't request it. I was told that the data rate was increased to 52Mbps (It was 38Mbps), although my BT account page shows its still 38Mbps and the data cap was raised from 40Gb per month to 45.

 

Since then, I seem to have had problems.

 

My normal data usuage is about 20-30 GB a month. 

 

Since the beginning of August this has shot up !

 

BT are claiming that I have used £100 of broadband above the new cap. This is charged at £1.80 per GB. Thatwould indic ate that in less than two months I have had excess use of 55GB !!!!!

 

Earlier this week I downloaded the anniversary update of Windows 10 (About 3 GB ? ) and BT on-line record in my BT account showed that I'd used 11GB !!!!

 

To try and see what was happening, I took a look at the data download record page on my Home Hub router. Within 30 minutes of me switching on the router this morning (Its switched off overnight), the router page was showing 50Mb of download. And I had only looked at two web pages.

 

I accessed Amazon's lead page and the router showed more than 6Mb of data had been downloaded just to access this page.

 

On the face of it, it would seem that BT are overrecording data usage by a factor of 3-3.5.

 

I'm going to raise this with them  and won't be paying the excess until it is resolved.

 

I notice that there's quite a bit of reporting on the web about BT doing this.

 

Anybody else having similar trouble ?

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Nick

 

Not me personally but my Dad has experienced a very similar thing. He's never went over his 50GB for the past year or longer and previously to that he had a limit of 10GB. In August he went over and again this month he has had an email saying he's went over.

 

Damian @ DPM Performance 

[Clunkclick]

Or your PC is p0wned and acting as a Torrent node.hat 

 

Something like Bitmeter might help https://codebox.net/pages/bitmeter2

That's a possibility.  I downloaded the TBB monitor, but can't get it to work. I'll try bitmeter.

 

I've just streamed 2 minutes of 360p video from You Tube and the router says that's only used 20Mb !

 

I think I may try turning off the wireless  and go wired for a while - somebody may be getting in through the FON facility, although knowing the disposition of some of the contemporary locals, they are probably tapped in to the roadside box.

 

Nick

 

I'll raise it with BT

 

Nick

[Clunkclick]

Not me personally but my Dad has experienced a very similar thing. He's never went over his 50GB for the past year or longer and previously to that he had a limit of 10GB. In August he went over and again this month he has had an email saying he's went over.

 

Damian @ DPM Performance 

Same deal here.

 

We are not alone:

 

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/broadband/2016/08/bt-broadband-customers-overcharged-after-glitch

 

Mr Patterson falling short of his profit target ?

 

http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=ceo-9591&k=57e3c3e7&c=BT%20Group%20Chief%20Executive

 

 

A bit out of kilter with Chairman May's present public stance on "Fat cats". N'est-ce pas ?

 

Nick

Edited 22 September, 2016 by Clunkclick

[octyal]

Also check your upload and backup settings, especially with Win10. I had a similar issue with my windows phone when I got the win10 pre release updates, it turned on auto backup of everything to onedrive, which guzzled 4gb of mobile data in about 3 days! Since then I have changed the settings so it only backs up on wifi (unlimited BB at home). It may be that the update has decided to backup everything on your PC to onedrive, and we all know how big photos can be when hi res

[Clunkclick]

Also check your upload and backup settings, especially with Win10. I had a similar issue with my windows phone when I got the win10 pre release updates, it turned on auto backup of everything to onedrive, which guzzled 4gb of mobile data in about 3 days! Since then I have changed the settings so it only backs up on wifi (unlimited BB at home). It may be that the update has decided to backup everything on your PC to onedrive, and we all know how big photos can be when hi res

Funny you should say that, I took a look at CCleaner's "Tools/duplicates` section and found a couple of hundred Mbs worth of duplicates, especially dlls, and most of them outside the Windows "Old" folder. A couple of files had 5 or 6 duplicates. 

 

Truly the "Toy" operating system.

 

Nick

[GentleGiant]

Submitted at 1:20 on 22/09; as the mods are taking better than 12 hours to "vet" my posts, I thought I'd better mention that, as this may be completely out of date by the time it is made public.

 

All of the above is possible, including the pwnage, but BT have a history of inaccurate data logging, and occasionally bundling FON data used, with personal data used (the FON data is not supposed to be used against your cap).

 

Remember also, that uploads as well as downloads count, and Win10 is constantly sending data back to M$.

 

I spent YEARS complaining about the dodgy data usage recording at BT, it was showing GB's being used when the router was switched off!!!

 

The easiest solution is to dump them and go with someone who knows how to operate complex electronic systems - because clearly, no one at BT has a clue.

[john999boy]

Submitted at 1:20 on 22/09; as the mods are taking better than 12 hours to "vet" my posts, I thought I'd better mention that, as this may be completely out of date by the time it is made public.

 

Maybe if the reminder to follow 'Path A' had been heeded instead of following 'Path B' then you'd still be able to freely post?

 

As always though, your posts will be viewed and actioned as quickly as possible.

[john999boy]

Have you got the option of moving to another supplier (such as Sky) which offers unlimited usage. That would offer one way out of the dilemma but maybe not get to the root of the problem.

[GentleGiant]

Maybe if the reminder to follow 'Path A' had been heeded instead of following 'Path B' then you'd still be able to freely post?

 

As always though, your posts will be viewed and actioned as quickly as possible.

 

<Content removed - nothing to do with my quote and attempting to rekindle the flames>

Edited 22 September, 2016 by john999boy
You can surely understand why your reply was removed!

[Clunkclick]

Submitted at 1:20 on 22/09; as the mods are taking better than 12 hours to "vet" my posts, I thought I'd better mention that, as this may be completely out of date by the time it is made public.

 

All of the above is possible, including the pwnage, but BT have a history of inaccurate data logging, and occasionally bundling FON data used, with personal data used (the FON data is not supposed to be used against your cap).

 

Remember also, that uploads as well as downloads count, and Win10 is constantly sending data back to M$.

 

I spent YEARS complaining about the dodgy data usage recording at BT, it was showing GB's being used when the router was switched off!!!

 

The easiest solution is to dump them and go with someone who knows how to operate complex electronic systems - because clearly, no one at BT has a clue.

I have had bitmeter running on the tablet since lunchtime and its showing 1.2 GB (Download + Upload.).

 

And that figure includes 600MB of Microsoft Maps which I downloaded PM (So that i could operate the Microsoft Maps app off-line)

 

Discounting that exceptional download and extrapolating the remainder to  one day's use, I think I can safely say that daily usuage would be less than 1.00 GB, making 30 day monthly usuage about 30Gb - as stated above.

 

Today i got this E-mail from BT:-

 

In August, you used 84GB against your monthly allowance of 45GB

Hello,

We emailed you during the month to let you know you were getting close to going over your broadband allowance. Now that you've gone over, you'll need to pay £1.80 for every extra GB used. So we'll be adding £63 to your next bill.

Why not go unlimited?

From July 2016, you'll get between 12% and 25% more allowance, depending on your package. But, if you think this might not be enough and you want to stop worrying about how much broadband you're using, or extra charges you might have to pay, you should think about moving to an unlimited package.

 

Upgrade now

 

 

Keep track of what you're using

If you don't want to go unlimited, it's easy to check how much broadband you're using, helping you steer clear of extra charges. You can do it in one of two ways:

• with the My BT app (all you need is an Apple or Android phone, and your BT ID)
• logging in to our broadband usage monitor.

We reset your monthly allowance at the start of a new month. Find out more about your allowance here.

Not sure what to do next?

If you'd like to find out more about upgrading, call us on 0800 707 6044 (we're open 8am-9pm weekdays, 8am-8pm on Saturdays and 9am-6pm on Sundays).

Thanks,

Libby Barr

Managing Director, Customer Care

Please don't 'reply'

Sorry, we don't check this mailbox. Please see the 'Contact us' link below if you need to get in touch.

Think before you click

If you think you've been sent a 'phishing' or scam email, please don't click any of the links. You can always check your account details by logging in at bt.com/mybt To learn more about phishing and other email scams, and what to look out for, go to bt.com/phishing

 

 

This is really what's its all about forcing me to take the unlimited service for an extra £6 a month. 

 

I've been getting similar advice from them for the past few months, prior to this over usuage, and have ignored the E_mails. Why would I want the unlimited service when the capped service offers 45GB a month and I've only been using on average 20-30GB a month ? Non-sensical

 

Clearly this is being driven by marketeers for the extra revenue.

 

Mr Patterson is going to get both barrels in his ear hole in the letter I will be sending and I'll change supplier and refuse to pay the extra charge. And perhaps a referral to Trading Standards.

 

This is the second time that they have done this to me. And Pateron's  predecessor (The one who became a Minister in Dave's government  after he allowed the previous Digital economy bill to get through Parliament without a serious mawling from the Comms companies) also got a steamer from me.

 

I'm going to take freeze-frame images from Bit meter and the data download display in Home Hub 5 over the next 5 days to conclusively prove that the data usage recorded in my on-line account is way off the mark.

 

its quite obvious to me that this "Over usuage" only occurred after BT unilaterally changed my download data rate to 50mbps back in june. If I didn't know better, I'd say there is a malfunction at the engineering/accounting interface - conveniently in BT's favour - no fraud you understand.

 

I'm  just watching the "Brexit: A very British coup"  progrmme on BBC 2 and getting a similar nauseaus feeling in the pit of my stomach watching a similar collection fat Tory and City ****ers who really could do with putting-up against a wall and shooting. 

 

 

Nick

Edited 22 September, 2016 by Clunkclick

[Dr Zoidberg]

Maybe if the reminder to follow 'Path A' had been heeded instead of following 'Path B' then you'd still be able to freely post?

 

As always though, your posts will be viewed and actioned as quickly as possible.

Is GG on the naughty step?

Oh dear!

Anyway, I'd look carefully at what devices are connected to your network, and change the wifi keys if you can see anything odd.

Now look at the devices you have, and check them carefully for any malware that could be using bandwidth.

[GentleGiant]

.

.

.

.

 

You need to get BT to supply the hourly stats on data usage, and then match them up with your own readings. I suggest you use SEVERAL different data loggers at the same time, so BT cannot claim the error is with the one you are using. I seem to remember the ThinkBroadBand (TBB) meter is/was highly regarded.

 

You will need to log data for a whole month, starting and finishing at the same times the BT data covers; and dont expect them to cooperate, even when you have proof; with me, they denied the error right to the end; another reason I will never go back to using them, even for line rental.

 

The "End" was them sending my phone bill, a "Red Letter" and a Disconnection notice in consecutive days; by the time I returned from 10 days abroad, my phone had been cut off - 5 working days after the first bill hit the floor. I refused to pay a reconnection charge and went up through the complaints line for 18 months before finally they just had the outstanding bill.

 

By that time, their incompetence had paid me handsomely; although they had cut off voice calls, they had forgotten to cut the internet connection, so I had 18 months free internet and line rental.

 

Now, was The "End" deliberate after my continued complaints about data logging errors??

Edited 23 September, 2016 by Gizmo68
stop digging yourself deeper

[gac]

This has bugged me for a long time - what's with the topics all_having_underscores_and_not_spaces?

 

Your space bar clearly works because you use it in your post, why make the titles so ridiculous?

[gac]

 

Why would I want the unlimited service when the capped service offers 45GB a month and I've only been using on average 20-30GB a month ? Non-sensical

 

And in an effort to be helpful, my response to this particular sentence would be that it's an "insurance policy" of sorts.

 

My mortgage is a fixed rate mortgage, it's more important to me that I know what I'm paying for X years, than knocking a bit of money off for a while and then being hit with a rise I can't afford

My car insurance is comprehensive - I haven't had any kind of incident in 11 years now, but I'm OK with paying a bit extra to know that I won't be massively out of pocket if something does happen (still a bit out of pocket, but not as badly as repairing/replacing my car myself)

My broadband is unlimited, because in the grand scheme of things it's reasonably cheap and I can't guarantee that I'll stay under the limit every month, particularly if something changes in my usage patterns, or there's a change in software, or my daughter starts streaming YouTube in 1080p instead of SD

 

Clearly in your circumstances something has changed. BT aren't the best company by a long shot, but there is no reason that their previously-accurate accounting system would suddenly become less accurate. Windows 10 does peer to peer update delivery by default, have you disabled that? Bitmeter records usage from one device only, how many devices are in your household? 6MB for a website seems a bit big, but the web is much "richer" these days, particularly with adverts, so even the amount of data you use loading webpages you've always used such as Briskoda is increasing with time. All good reasons why I would either be looking to increase the cap considerably, or remove the limit altogether.

[Aspman]

This has bugged me for a long time - what's with the topics all_having_underscores_and_not_spaces?

 

Your space bar clearly works because you use it in your post, why make the titles so ridiculous?

 

31337 h4x0r natch

 

[giandougl]

Just wait until this other company takes over from Openreach, then the fun will really start..I just can't wait for the implosion.!!!

[Coops]

Thought all Infinity deals were unlimited but clearly not. Having checked the difference it's £7 a month, for new customers.

If you can afford it, id think about moving to an unlimited package.

[@Lee]

IIRC Nick I've told you before how to access the router and see the download/ upload stats.

[Clunkclick]

This is exactly the way BT behaved, about 7 years ago when they forced me from the 2Mb ADSL service onto Infinity 1 and then cocked the transition up -. Suddenly, over period of two months I had repeated, unexplained loss of the 2mb service. That too resulted in a formal complaint by me to the CEO.

 

Undoubtedly, its the 

 

As far as I was

 

If they want people to move services why not just tell people that they will no longer be offering the capped service after date X ? Why all this cloak-and-dagger overcharging bull**** ? Suggests to me that this is initiated by some junior sales kittenwit trying it on for a bit of extra commission.

 

It just intimidation by unbelievably arrogant, if not criminally motivated marketeers at BT,  trying to force me (and others) onto a substantually more expensive service to increase their revenue.  They  really have got the customer handling skills of Ken Livingstone's concentration camp guards and are obviously using the banks business model - "If in doubt, rob and steal".

 

The average monthly download  for UK households on Infinity now is 80-90GB. Where as I only consume 25-35 GB tops. And I don't have their TV service - because i don't want it and, even if I did, I can't afford it.

 

So I am a below threshold cashflow fly-in-the-ointment as far  as the local  viability of  the Infinity FTTC service is concerned - the viability of their investment was predicated on the principle that most people would take up the streamed TV service. 

 

As a starter, I've put in a complaint via the resolver service on the MoneySavingExpert Site. I understand, that if there's no joy there  next stop is the Ombudsman. BBC Watchdog can be roped-in if necessary.

 

If the worst comes to the worst, I'll insist that that I only want an ADSL service now and get the Ombudsman to enforce my intent.- chew on those Monkey Nuts revenue wise !

 

 

Nick

[gadgetman]

Or just change ISP. Plenty of cheaper providers than BT

[@Lee]

Not surprised you don't have time to watch TV what with all those strongly worded letters to various companies you have to compile.