BT..Act of God?

Icewytch

Belnahua, I`m pretty sure the Master Socket was what got taken out! Everything else was protected with anti surge but it`s impossible to protect that wee box, as BT don`t provide anti surge protection and there is no way for the user to add any.
So that`s my point...lightning is out of my control yet they can`t or won`t provide protection against it....if my anti surge hadn`t been in place I`d have lost a lot of equipment.
So I do think it`s unfair to be landed with that bill in that case.
Re God...even if we pin it down, don`t hold out any hopes of reparation

(source, Annanova)

Bid to sue God fails
A US politician's bid to sue God has been thrown out after a judge ruled the suit could not be served because the Almighty has an unlisted address.

Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers sought an injunction ordering God to stop causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorisation of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants".
It listed examples of God's wrath including "fearsome floods, horrendous hurricanes, earthquakes, plagues, famine, genocidal wars, birth defects, terrifying tornadoes and the like".
It identified the defendant, said to be "also known by various aliases, titles, names, designations" as "present in all places at the same time".
Mr Chambers said he filed the lawsuit to make the point that everyone should have access to the courts in response to proposals to prohibit the filing of frivolous lawsuits.
"The Constitution requires that the courthouse doors be open, so you cannot prohibit the filing of suits," he said.
"Anyone can sue anyone they choose, even God." He also argued that because of God's omnipresence, "the defendant" was personally present in Douglas County (Nebraska)."
But Marlon Polk, Douglas County district court judge, ruled that a plaintiff must have access to the defendant and be able to serve papers on him or her for a lawsuit to go ahead.
"Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice," the judge wrote.
Mr Chambers, 71, Nebraska's longest serving state senator, has 30 days to decide whether to appeal.

Old_Git

ask BT to forward the bill to god

withabix

BT lines cannot be protected against lightning strike, other than by burying (which you would have to pay for). Probably not practical on Orkney Islands.

Also, they didn't cause the lighting, so why should they pay for the repair?

Get some house and business insurance before you get another thunder storm - what would you do if your house was struck and burned down?

If you are in a high risk area like the Orkney Islands and rely on your phone line for your business, then lack of insurance is a false economy. You should be able to get bespoke insurance for lightning strikes - you will need to contact a specialist insurance broker. Cost of business insurance would be deductible from your business taxes as an expense.

Icewytch

Also, they didn't cause the lighting, so why should they pay for the repair?

Neither did I. Yet I pay BT for line rental service which, if their equipment isn`t working, I don`t receive. You see?
`Get house insurance`.....hmmm...well let`s see, right now I can`t afford a postage stamp, and given the way things are going, may not have a business to insure in a wee while. Any realistic ideas?:)
Lack of insurance isn`t a false economy...insurance is, for me, an impossibility right now, given that I need every penny to eat and heat my home (without central heating )

notbritishgas

Icewytch, It is very unlikely that the box in your house was actually struck by lightning, if it was you would have had considerable damage to your property.
What would have happened is that the overhead line was struck some distance from your property, (even miles). The huge surge of power then travels along the line to your box and bingo. It has been known that circuits without surge protection have allowed the telephone to explode.
If you really want to fight your corner ask them to explain why a strike some distance from your house is your responsibility.

John_Pierpoint

I thought there was indeed a fuse in the master socket, so your neighbour cannot feed mains voltage into your wire and literally "fry your ear"?
But nothing can prevent the power of a lightening strike from blasting a conductor out of existence, I've had the overground electricity supply zapped at the local transformer.

The real scandal is BT's scale of charges. Can anyone post a list? I don't think they will write out the engineers ticket for less than something well over 100 GBP?
As the master socket is their property and they have a MONOPOLY in repairing it, they should pay.

John.

Perhaps the muppet at the call centre was quoting the clause that protects BT from consequential loss claims when you try to claim for days of lost service? (which is fair enough).
Let us know how you get on.

Icewytch

If you really want to fight your corner ask them to explain why a strike some distance from your house is your responsibility.

Thanks, I will.
Either way, my gripe is at the fact that although it wasn`t there fault, neither was it mine and I simply don`t have almost £200 to pay for the repair, and given I DO pay line rental charges for their service, don`t see why I should pay it.
The last lightning strike took out my modem. (after that I learned about anti surge protection) and to replace it cost me £30 which they tacked onto my bill.
There`s a big difference between £30 and £200, and I watched the engineers at work, it took five minutes if that. I don`t see how those costs are justified.

Belnahua

Just a quick question icewyth, did you ask BT to look at anything inside the house past the Master Socket? If you did, then that's probably how they've billed you.

I made sure they stopped once the master socket was working again, and said I'd sort out any internal problems myself.

I saw the last bolt strike the pole at the back of the garden, and instantly smelled burning all round the house - 2 phones, 1 surge protector and modem all gone. Fortunately I leave the Sky Box unplugged all the time now, as it took out 6 Sky boxes in my street too!

Other than that, then no you shouldn't pay a penny to get the line working again; but it's a point to note incase they've changed their policy!

I'll just say it's stopped working next time, and deny all knowledge of a storm!

Icewytch

No, I didn`t ask them to check anything else at all, and they didn`t.
And yup, others have advised me too, if it happens again, to just say I have no idea what happened. I AM going to fight this, simply because I believe if I pay line rental for the phone service then it`s up to them to provide that service, and not to charge me for anything that isn`t my fault, happening with their equipment.

twins4384

BT are responsible for everything up to and including the Master Socket and so anything damaged in that lot should be sorted free of charge. This is why you pay BT a line rental charge.