THOUSANDS of BT customers found themselves unable to access their emails due to an outage this afternoon.
Over 3,800 customers registered complaints on the Downdetector website, a platform that tracks service outages.
BT has gone down for thousands of customers this afternoon[/caption]
The majority of users reported issues with their email services, while 21% say encountered problems with broadband connectivity.
The disruption began shortly after 12pm, prompting dozens of frustrated customers to voice their concerns on social media.
One customers said on X (formerly Twitter): “BT have you got issues again with email getting same error as a few days ago?”
Another said: “BT email down again…”
A third said: “Glad it’s not just me!”
Those visiting email.bt.com are getting the following message: “This site can’t be reached.
“Check if there is a typo in email.bt.com.
“If spelling is correct, try running windows network diagnostics.”
This isn’t the first BT email outage in recent days.
On February 15, the service experienced a disruption affecting over 5,000 customers.
BT had resolved the issue by 1.30pm.
The outage comes with BT, which also owns EE and Plusnet, set to hike mobile and broadband tariffs by up to £3 a month from March.
The pounds and pence rise will apply to contracts taken out from April 10, 2024.
For those who took out a deal before this, a 6.4% rise will apply (3.9% and January’s inflation rate, which was 2.5%).
Plusnet will also increase its broadband price by £3 per month from the end of March for contracts taken out after July 11, 2024.
How can I check if my broadband or emails are down?
MOST broadband and mobile phone providers have dedicated pages where you can check the level of service on offer in your area.
For example, BT has its own page here – bt.com/help/check-service-status.
Plus, you can check websites such as Down Detector, which will tell you whether other people are experiencing problems with a particular company online.
How can I contact BT and am I entitled to compensation?
You can get in touch with BT by phone, post or online by visiting bt.com/help/contact-bt.
You can also speak to BT via its live chat service.
If you’re a broadband customer and the outage has left you without service, you may be entitled to compensation.
Contact BT to find out what they can offer you.
You may also have the right to leave if you’re without service for a sustained period of time.
If your problem is still unresolved after eight weeks, you can complain to an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.
We have asked if BT is offering any compensation following the outage and will update this story when we have heard back.
The BT outage comes just weeks after Barclays suffered a major outage with some customers unable to access their accounts on payday.
