Landlane and internet down

[Silverjan]

Broadband and landline went down 8 days ago. Engineer visited and said fault outside and needs digging up by Openreach. Internet up spontaneously for 24 hours then down again. Chatbot says engineer booked but should I be waiting this long? No way to find out from Openreach when it's scheduled. Have had to up mobile (not with Sky) data to cope. Concerning as medical services only have landline as contact - (household 77 and 87 year old)

[Mark39]

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@Silverjan wrote:

Broadband and landline went down 8 days ago. Engineer visited and said fault outside and needs digging up by Openreach. Internet up spontaneously for 24 hours then down again. Chatbot says engineer booked but should I be waiting this long?

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Unfortunately,  probably yes, if digging work is required. Openreach will subcontract the digging and if it involves the public highway or footpath, permission from your local authority will need to be obtained before it goes ahead.

[Daniel0210]

@Silverjan 

Openreach are responsible for repairs and digging up the road or pavement is a long process as they have to arrange a crew to do this as well as seeking permission from the local council to dig. Only Sky can give you updates and that's dependent on Openreach updating Sky. 

The below link explains the Ofcom regulated auto compensation scheme which Sky operates for when there is a TOTAL loss of Sky Broadband or Sky Talk.
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/auto-compensation

If you have a total loss of service and it isn’t fixed after two full WORKING days from when you first report the fault to Sky, you will become eligible for it. It’s applied 30 days after the fault has been repaired and will come in the form of a credit appearing on your account.

So you should get compensation for the first period it was down, and potentially the second time as well if it's not fixed promptly. 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Silverjan wrote:

Chatbot says engineer booked but should I be waiting this long?

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Unfortunately once a dig is required there are multiple reasons it might be delayed, from workforce and equipment availability to the need for traffic control orders and other local authority or utility company permissions.

It may be worth making it known to Sky that you should be listed as 'vulnerable' (in Ofcom terminology) as that might have a bearing on Openreach target times.