Dont' pay £122 connection if you don't have to

stilernin

Thank you, thank you MSE...................

I spoke to BT this morning re moving to an empty house and was told it would cost me £122.33 to reconnect. After being told about other providers through Openreach I said I would call back.

Then I spent just 2 or 3 mins searching and reading here and found out that the phone might just be 'stopped' which would cost nothing to start again.

Went back to BT and guess what???? Yes it was just stopped and could be started within 2 days rather than the 'up to 10 working days' quoted for reconnection.

Do you think there is anything in the operator's training about not mentioning 'restarting' rather than 'reconnection'?

Thank you, thank you again to everyone who contributes here.

dundeemania

stilernin wrote: »

Thank you, thank you MSE...................

I spoke to BT this morning re moving to an empty house and was told it would cost me £122.33 to reconnect. After being told about other providers through Openreach I said I would call back.

Then I spent just 2 or 3 mins searching and reading here and found out that the phone might just be 'stopped' which would cost nothing to start again.

Went back to BT and guess what???? Yes it was just stopped and could be started within 2 days rather than the 'up to 10 working days' quoted for reconnection.

Do you think there is anything in the operator's training about not mentioning 'restarting' rather than 'reconnection'?

Thank you, thank you again to everyone who contributes here.

No i do not think so, when they search the address, they look at Openreach's records, if there is a line in the property then they do advise the truth as there is not another way to put your order through for the connection charge if it is not meant to be paid :rotfl::j

topherxp

What probably has happened when you called the second time is that the advisor used the old customer system, that is being phased out but will still be used by Openreach, to check the line status.

Once the old system is no longer used, BT Retail will have no access to that information. The 1st advisor you spoke to probably doesn't use the old system. If they were employed in the last 18 months, unless they have been trained for broadband which is still almost completely on the old system, they will only use the new IT system.

wantmemoney

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/nov/10/moneysupplement.internetphonesbroadband
10 November 2007

New occupiers are automatically charged the £125 fee, regardless of who used to supply the phone service. However, BT said this week that the charge should not be payable if the previous occupier was with BT. This has been refuted by readers' experiences.
[]
A spokesman for BT says the current position regarding the £125 fee is "not ideal" and that it is looking at how it can be changed. "Where a working line exists, our intention is that reconnection should be free
[]
Ofcom says it is aware of the situation and that it is working with the Office of the Telecoms Adjudicator (OTA) to rectify this problem. "The matter should be resolved by next spring," says a spokeswoman

one or two times you can put down to incompetence but..........

stilernin

topherxp wrote: »

What probably has happened when you called the second time is that the advisor used the old customer system, that is being phased out but will still be used by Openreach, to check the line status.

Once the old system is no longer used, BT Retail will have no access to that information. The 1st advisor you spoke to probably doesn't use the old system. If they were employed in the last 18 months, unless they have been trained for broadband which is still almost completely on the old system, they will only use the new IT system.

Perhaps, but...... could it be that when I called the second time, saying I was moving to a house that had had a BT line and could they check to see if I had just been 'stopped', I sounded as if I knew what I was talking about?

Whereas the first time I called I said that I needed the line to be 'reconnected', which is a term I would imagine that most lay-people would use.

I wonder how much income BT makes from these innocent mistakes?

iceburn

If they connect you for free cause it has been just "STOPPED" do you still need to sign upto a 12 month contract?

normanmark

iceburn wrote: »

If they connect you for free cause it has been just "STOPPED" do you still need to sign upto a 12 month contract?

Yes, you'd still need to take out their line rental for their standard term.

topherxp

stilernin wrote: »

Perhaps, but...... could it be that when I called the second time, saying I was moving to a house that had had a BT line and could they check to see if I had just been 'stopped', I sounded as if I knew what I was talking about?

Whereas the first time I called I said that I needed the line to be 'reconnected', which is a term I would imagine that most lay-people would use.

I wonder how much income BT makes from these innocent mistakes?

No, because when placing the order it is the system that adds the connection charge, not the advisor, and if it picks up stopped it doesn't add it. So they would need to have the charge removed.

Quentin

iceburn wrote: »

If they connect you for free cause it has been just "STOPPED" do you still need to sign upto a 12 month contract?

If BT restart the stopped line you will have to enter a minimum 12 month contract with them, but you don't need to use BT to do this.

You can use any of the others who provide this service (Post Office, Phone Co-op, Madasafish etc)

eg. Use Post Office and there is no minimum contract.