BT connection on a ceased line

korky69

hi,
im moving home in 3 weeks and contacted BT to have the other house re-connected.
they said the line is now ceased, though there is what looks like a new-ish master socket fitted.
they want £125 to switch it back on!
i can understand this if it needs a complete new set up, but what if its just a case of flicking a switch or whatever they do.
i really need the phone as i need sky to fit my boxes, i also have multiroom and talk & BB with sky.
i called sky to see if they would connect it and i'd start paying them the line rental instead of BT but they cant or wont do it.
read a few stories of sky refunding the cost over a period, how many have done this?
if i threaten to cut my multiroom, sky broadband, sky talk and reduce my subs until ive saved the £125 up do you reckon i'm in with a shout?
i they dont, there's already a dish and wire fitted so i will just connect 1 sky box myself and not bother connecting the phone,
another problem that would occur is that although ive been with sky for years and well passed the contract that way,
ive only had their broadband 6 months so got 6 months left, but its only the £5er deal so stand to lose £25 there.
but if i havn't got a line can they force me to see out the 12 months?
after all, they'll automatically cut the multiroom sub because of this.
all in all, i reckon they stand to lose more than me.

iceburn

few things, downgrade your internet connection to base option if can and than when you cancel it, it will be free. Maybe the new thing from OFTEL or OFCOM (whatever it was) will help there. You no longer need a phone line for sky, cost I think it is £25 to setup it up, but sky agents at shopping centres, advertise that quite often. They say only they can offer it through :-(.

They should install the line in and you pay them, they can and have done, they doing it for my dad, and other ppl I know, probably getting a lazy operator.

Are you living on your own or do you have a better half? Since one option you have it cancel your account and get better half to sign up as a new customer at the new place, where they will install it for free the line, (it is even in the T&C that) free line rental for 3 months, and broadband if sign up to max, sky+, etc.. Actually wonder if it is in T&C for home mover option about the line connection as well, since as you say you need the line connected.

Other option you have is actually forget first level customer support, call and say you want to cancel, the person will ask why, "I am moving to a house that does not have a working BT/Virgin telephone line and I dont want to pay £125 just so I can still watch sky. I would miss it, like I normally watch Sky 1, MTV one, Trouble, Sky Sports, etc.. But at the end of the day I can now get TOP-UPTV which will give me quite a variety of programmes, and freeview for the second box. Plus I can get a Vodafone mobile dongle 3GB for £4.72 a month, or 1GB but no monthly charge until it is used up for £15 (see http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1433877 to how to get the £4.72 a month.)

Or if you live in a Virgin media area use their service to why you want to disconnect, ie they will offer free install, offer similar broadband speed, telephone package, tv etc for near similar monthly charge. You will get passed to customer disconnection team who job is to keep you with Sky and they can offer you the free connection. Maybe not directly but in other ways like give you all the tv packages that cost £40 a month for free for the next three months, if you keep it at new address with a new 12 months contract. So in summary yes call up and say you want to cancel the whole service due to the BT connection thingy and go from there.

korky69

hard work, and need a breather!
cancelled my sky package, told them im not paying the £130 line fee and £60 moving fee,
i told them my o/h would be ordering it as a new customer to save them trying to get me to stay, see http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1422843 and they cancelled my current acc even though ive 5 months left.

o/h phoned to order, asked for the tv/talk/bb package with free line install,
guy took the order for the tv first and said thanks,
we asked what about dates for the phone line and tv install and derrrrr,
gave me 2 numbers to call??

so when it's all ordered & fitted, instead of costing me £185,
we get 3 mths free line rental and bb worth £60
a free line worth £105 and £100 M&S vouchers because i recommened my o/h

korky69

well sky cocked it right up, moved in last sat, phone was supposed to be on on monday, nothing!
called them up and nothing got ordered though they the orders were pending!
they blamed the rep for not arranging the installation,
in the end we told em to stuff the lot and went back with bt and paid the £30 install.
we'll go with orange now for the net, just as cheap.
very very poor communication from sky, no offer of anything to compensate for being on the mobile for 1 hr 15!

Sirbendy

I always argue with BT...the last 3 properties I've been in have had ceased lines. Property 1 dragged on for a month before I got an enginner out who said "oh! You DO have a socket..and a line...", and reconnected it free.

Property 2 was ceased, non-BT apparently. I found a backdoor engineers code into the exchange system and pulled a "circuit identifier" out of it for the line which I gave them - free reconnection again, plus a free line move and number migration from Property 1.

We moved into Property 3 last friday..I called BT, I said "I have 3 line boxes, all BT NTE5 offical ones, all in good nick, all wiring intact, no dialtone."

They scheduled my line cease/number and service change to here for 10am on the day we got the keys. By 10.15am, we had phone here.

Shame Plus.net cocked up the simultaneous move...I bawled them out 2 days ago..I was told "it'll be on next thursday". Came back from work today to find an engineer up the phone pole outside my window twiddling with my line!

Made him a cuppa, gave him a biscuit..10 minutes later I have 8mb broadband. Heh. I think BT must like me.