With this sort of thing going on in the UK I can't believe that you haven't either risen up and stormed the BT tower, with ceremonial guillotining of the chief executive and/or his secretaries, or all committed suicide. As an (expat) Brit it really does surprise me what my countrymen put up with.
Over here in my part of Europe, the local provider is UPC who are not great either, but everyone you speak to is local, and you can even go to their office across town and yell at them in person (did that once, they gave me a brand new modem for free)
