Mind you, it's not just BT.
In the same new office mentioned above, there's a working electricity supply. We've been using it since moving in.
After a lot of research we managed to find out that the supplier to the previous tenant was Eon. So we rang them to say we had taken over the premises, needed a supplier, what's your price?
"Ah" they said, "you've got to open an account, then we'll tell you the price".
They also said that we would be using the power under a "deemed contract" paying 30% above the normal rate until an account was opened. "What's the cost of that?" we said. "See the reply above" they said, or words to that effect.
Now I understand that if we're using electricity we have to pay for it. So we gave them the details to open an account, and asked them for a price. No reply.
Then we got a call from a firm of consultants, associated with Eon. "We can arrange it all for you," they said, "don't worry about a thing."
"What's Eon's price", we said. "Ah" they said, "we'll tell you the best supplier for you, no need to worry about prices".
And so we contacted another supplier. Then the consultants rang again. This time we got some sense including Eon's price, and a cheaper offer fixed for 4 years. Now, we can be cynical about the reality of that fix if wholesale prices shoot up, but at least they're trying. So we might well go with that, if the supplier we contacted can't beat the offer.
Still and all, who laughs last laughs longest. This pantomime has gone on for nearly 2 months, while we have a perfectly good supply. OK, we're paying the emergency rate, but only for units registered by the meter since we moved in and got the reading taken and signed by the building manager.
Only thing is, the meter's not going round. And we have mentioned that, in one or two of the phone calls (recorded). The muppets we are talking to don't seem to understand such technicalities.