BT Internet blocking emails from Companies House

16/04/08
It has come to light that BT Internet have recently started to treat eFiling response emails from Companies House as Spam/Junk mail and are deleting these responses at source.  If the email mailbox that you use for the purposes of eFiling is hosted by BT, then you may find that BT's actions have resulted in responses from Companies House not arriving and the status of recent eFiling instructions remaining as "Submitted - Awaiting Response".
 
We have spoken to Companies House, who are aware of the problem and we understand that users have also reported this to BT.  If you are being affected by this issue, you should immediately contact BT to complain at complaints@btbroadoffice.com, informing them that emails from "ef@ef.companies-house.gov.uk" are being incorrectly blocked.  You should also report the problem to Companies House eFiling department so that they are aware of the extent of the issue. Companies House main telephone number is 0870 33 33 636.

 

16/04/08: Email to Companies House
Further to our telephone conversation, it has come to light that BT Internet have recently started to treat response emails from Companies House as Spam/Junk mail and are deleting these responses at source. If the email mailbox used by users of our Company Secretarial software for the purposes of eFiling is hosted by BT, then BT's actions will result in responses from Companies House not arriving and the status of recent eFiling instructions remaining as "Submitted - Awaiting Response".

During our telephone conversation earlier you confirmed that you were already aware of the problem which appears to have started about a week ago. This is a most serious issue that will undoubtedly affect many users and I should be obliged if you would kindly confirm that Companies House is actively taking all necessary steps to resolve this with BT.

 

16/04/08: Email Reply from Companies House
Thank you for the information below.
 
I can confirm that since this was recently brought to our attention we have spoken to a number of people at BT in an effort to find the person with responsibility for this area of operations. To date unfortunately we have been unsuccessful but we do appreciate the importance of this to our electronic filing customers and will continue to try to resolve this issue with BT.

 

06/05/08: Email from Companies House

At present the matter remains unresolved. BT have provided us with an email address to which users can complain if they are affected -  complaints@btbroadbandoffice.com (originally was complaints@btbroadoffice.com)

BT Broadband have now confirmed that this is a recognised issue for a number of customers, caused by a new 'intelligent messaging filter' they have recently introduced. Our Contract Manager has escalated the matter within CH and BT - they are due to hold a meeting tomorrow with BT with the aim of resolving the matter as soon as possible.

To strengthen our case for a quick resolution, we have been seeking example cases of customers who are affected. As such, if you have any clients who are affected by the problem, could you ask them to ether register a complaint at the BT address above, or if they are happy to do so, provide me with their email address.

I will forward the details to the contract manager dealing with the matter. I will get back to you with an update on the situation in due course.

 

09/05/08: Email from Companies House

BT have advised us that the e-mail address we have previously provided to customers wishing to complain about non delivery of e-mails is incorrect.
 
The correct address is complaints@btbroadbandoffice.com
 
However, they have also recommended phoning tel no. 0845 600 7020 in the first instance, which is a direct line into the technical help desk which is dealing with the complaints as they come in.
 
BT are operating a manual process to release any CH mails that have been caught in their filtering tool and delivering them to their end user customers.  This process happens each morning.
 
We have a commitment from them that they will continue to do this until a permanent solution to the problem is implemented.

 

14/05/08: Email from Companies House
By way of an update on the situation relating to problems with the BT email delivery.
 
BT have tested a permanent fix for the mail delivery problem. It's scheduled for implementation on Saturday 24th May.
 
We will keep you informed of any issues.