BT Connection Charges (merged threads)

dc

BritBrat wrote: »

I guess if you were a BT enginner in the past maybe you could fix the line (Ilegaly) DIY and then ring them up. Or if you know a friendly enginner see if they could do it on the side. With BT now charging so much, more and more people will be doing it themselfs.

I would have re-connected the line myself but they took the wire away before I could. I am suspicious that the next door neighbour told them the wire was down, because they asked me if we had anything stolen as "the burglars had cut the phone wire" :rolleyes2 . I doubt if a passing BT "engineer" would have done so without asking.

Will let you know what happens but I will not pay the fee . Might try an insurance claim.

Ironically I re-connected the other neighbours line when he cut through it trimming his ivy, and lo and behold another builder cut through the NTL line last week. Seems someone is out to get me.

Thanks for your prompt replies, still moneysaving is foremost.;)

mightymagoo

Gotta say i agree £125 is reasonable considering the true cost to Bt but as the buyer of a new build i also gotta say that to use the argument "you can afford a new build so you can afford the fee" is a bit childish

billsavings

alanrichardson wrote: »

I've a funny feeling this bill will not be paid until this is resolved. DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a funny feeling you have not bothered to read this thread before posting.:D

mil070

hello ,I have the same proble about the bt line, I have the cable and only one of socket was fail to work ,so call bt customer service and repair them ,but when the bill coming ,they charge me 184 pound for damage ,but in my house everthing is ok ,just connect the socket and 5mins work for the engineer 160pounds ,it is unfair.

DonnyDave

mil070 wrote: »

hello ,I have the same proble about the bt line, I have the cable and only one of socket was fail to work ,so call bt customer service and repair them ,but when the bill coming ,they charge me 184 pound for damage ,but in my house everthing is ok ,just connect the socket and 5mins work for the engineer 160pounds ,it is unfair.

Internal sockets aren't BT's responsibility. You should of either done it yourself or got someone in, either a friend or professional electrician/phone installer.

OneWord

Very informative thread here which I found through Google. I have read all the 15 pages and have a question regarding avoiding the £125 activation charge for an existing BT line (no dial tone, existing sockets in walls) in a flat rented by two tenants.

BT want £125 to activate the line, and it is clear to see from the discussions that BT have the option to charge for activating the line. However it has been mentioned that Madasafish will activate the line for free (As stated on their website) so long as you take out their call package, which is a viable option. However there is discussion of the fact madasafish don't allow you to 'cps your calls and use 18185' - what does this mean? Would it matter as the tenants only want an active BT line so that they can get internet in the property. The phone line will probably only have calls coming in.

Madasafish look like a decent ISP as well so hopefully there should be no clear reason why this isn't a solution for avoiding the £125 activation fee just so that the tenants can get internet.

Heinz

OneWord wrote: »

However there is discussion of the fact madasafish don't allow you to 'cps your calls and use 18185' - what does this mean? Would it matter as the tenants only want an active BT line so that they can get internet in the property. The phone line will probably only have calls coming in.

Madasafish look like a decent ISP as well so hopefully there should be no clear reason why this isn't a solution for avoiding the £125 activation fee just so that the tenants can get internet.

Welcome to the MSE forums OneWord.

Since Ofcom insisted on the separation of the 'provisions' part of BT from its retail arm, Openreach handles all such matters - for whichever company wants to operate the line (Talk Talk, Madasafish, BT, etc.). That means that, if Openreach says the connection will be a chargeable one, someone has to pay. BT passes the full cost on, Talk Talk just refuses to have anything to do with the system and insists subscribers have an operational BT line before they'll take on a subscriber and Madasafish swallows some (or all?) of the cost.

However, only BT has to allow a subscriber to CPS* their calls (it just isn't possible when line rental is paid to any other company). Similarly, only BT has to allow access to all call providers - including the likes of 1899, 18185 etc. Not unreasonably, barring access to other providers is becoming the norm, for obvious reasons.

Sorry, I had to laugh at that "The phone line will probably only have calls coming in" sentence - yeah right is the expression which sprang to mind when I read it.

* CPS is the acronym for Carrier PreSelect - please see THIS example.

BritBrat

If you are only having incoming calls use a PAYG mobile.

No monthly costs or line rental.

OneWord

The land line will only be used so that the flat can have internet as it isn't in a cable enabled area. Yes calls may be made in & out using land line, but the point is it won't be used excessively nor will it be used to call any special rate lines other than land lines - so I wanted to check to see whether there's any reason Madasafish's land line wouldn't allow this which is now cleared up thanks.

In terms of avoiding the £125 activation fee the Madasafish talk package looks like a good solution. However I have read that Madasafish will charge £80 to move their ADSL service if transferred within the first 12 months. So I wondered is it possible to use a different ADSL provider on a Madasafish land line or will it be restricted to only madasafish products? If not then the tenants could go with an ISP that doesn't charge for moving.

Polorky

Hi, I actually work for BT so thought I would try to clarify when connection charges apply. Firstly there is no sliding scale the connection charge is now always £124.99 as that is what Openreach charge us. There are four different line status, these are:

New: This means there has been no previous service at the property and so be there sockets or none there will be a connection charge. Note lines that have not been used for a long time (>5 years) may drop off the system completely leading to a new line status. New lines will always cost £124.99 and need an engineer appointment (current lead times are fairly good, between 1 to 2 weeks).

Stopped lines: If a line has been used recently but the previous owners have cancelled their account the line will be in a stopped status. These lines will always have a dial tone but you won't be able to make calls. There is NO connection charge for these lines. Note if there is a dial tone but the advisor quotes £124.99 it maybe the address has been entered incorrectly (it happens fairly often) even if they don't find the line and send an engineer out I should think you should be able to argue your way out of the charge as absolutely no work is actually required for these lines.

Ceased lines: After a period of inactivity (usually a year or more) the line is disconnected from the exchange and goes into a ceased status. There will be no dial tone. These lines used to only carry the charge if the engineer had to do any work to the physical line. Unfortunately due to a new system BT is now running (enforced by Ofcom) these lines will now nearly always carry the connection cost of £124.99 and an engineer appointment.

Working lines: If the previous owner hasn't cancelled their account the line will still be working. To transfer these lines to the new owners takes 10 working days unless the account is cancelled within that time in which case the new account will take over straight away. There is no connection charge for these lines.

Exceptions
Other company line: If the other company used BT Wholesale the above should still apply. However if the line was or is local loop unbundled (LLU) there will always be £124.99 to bring it back to BT as the line has been rerouted through the other companies equipment.

If the line was previously a business line it will carry the charge if you want a residential line unless it is still working; if it is your line and still working you can get it converted for nothing, the same, I believe, is true if its somebody else's line.

Also at the moment, also due to the new system, every order for phone service will generate a new number unless its a homemove order. So don't forget to pay your bill else you might find yourself with a new number.

These are the facts I'll leave it to others to comment on the fairness of them. Hope that helps.