BT Connection Charges (merged threads)

concernedmamma

we have a simular problem but our annoyance is that we are having an extension built(as we cant afford to move) and there are two other houses connected to BT across our property which have to be moved and that BT are saying we will have to pay for. Our argument is that the lines were put across our property by BT and even though they are not our lines we have to pay to move them. Paying for our own line is one thing but paying for someone elses is another. any-one got any suggestions?

LauraMaryBennett

Am moving into a rented flat this weekend, only a couple of years old. After three goes of getting through to bt (about an hour of being on hold in total) was told I have to pay 130something pound to get an engineer out to get to the line set up. There are three phone points already set up in the flat - i assumed it was all connect up and they would just have to flick a switch at the exchange. Why so much money?

dc

concernedmamma wrote: »

we have a simular problem but our annoyance is that we are having an extension built(as we cant afford to move) and there are two other houses connected to BT across our property which have to be moved and that BT are saying we will have to pay for. Our argument is that the lines were put across our property by BT and even though they are not our lines we have to pay to move them. Paying for our own line is one thing but paying for someone elses is another. any-one got any suggestions?

Moraly BT are in the wrong, if it were up to me I would remove the BT "property" from my premises and carry on building the extension.
My annswer may not be the legal way, but if the lines were damaged in a storm who would pay to restore ?, certainly not you.
Plus IMHO you should be able to charge them rent for the use of your facility if you have not used their services.

Heinz

LauraMaryBennett wrote: »

Am moving into a rented flat this weekend, only a couple of years old. After three goes of getting through to bt (about an hour of being on hold in total) was told I have to pay 130something pound to get an engineer out to get to the line set up. There are three phone points already set up in the flat - i assumed it was all connect up and they would just have to flick a switch at the exchange. Why so much money?

Welcome to the MSE forums LauraMaryBennett.

It sounds like you'll be the first to have a BT line in the flat and the fact that the builder installed internal wiring as part of the build and BT paid to install a master socket and the necessary wiring to the premises doesn't mean you'll get connected for nothing.

As the earlier posts in this thread will show you, the cost of installation has to be taken into account, not merely what may or may not have to be done when, finally, someone decides they want a BT line.

gt94sss2

concernedmamma wrote: »

we have a simular problem but our annoyance is that we are having an extension built(as we cant afford to move) and there are two other houses connected to BT across our property which have to be moved and that BT are saying we will have to pay for. Our argument is that the lines were put across our property by BT and even though they are not our lines we have to pay to move them. Paying for our own line is one thing but paying for someone elses is another. any-one got any suggestions?

BT's pricing for shifting bits of its network are described here

You may not think that its very fair but BT are right in that you would have to pay for all the lines affected to be moved, as the reason for them being moved is due to you (i.e. building an extension) and would not occur otherwise.

You also can't charge BT rent if the wires don't touch 'the ground' in your property (as you say is the case in your other post)

Finally, please don't be tempted to 'remove the BT "property" from my premises' as thats a stupid idea, would lead to a much bigger bill and potentially criminal charges..

Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear..

Regards
Sunil

LauraMaryBennett

Good news - have managed to negociate with the landlord to split the cost 50/50 on getting the BT Line connected up. As his next tenants will benefit from the cost we are paying out, seems fair to share the initial outlay. Sixty something pounds isn't quite so bad. Lets see how long it takes to get an engineer to sort it out!

dc

Thanks Sunil, I had assumed the BT wires were attached to concerned's house. You seem to have more information than moi and imply they just aerially cross the property.

Well in that case £99 seems a fair charge and is insignificant when compared to the cost of an extension.
OR you could just build the extension around the wire .

DonnyDave

Polorky wrote: »

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.

Thanks for the useful information Polorky. Does this mean that if any work is needed anywhere between the customer's premises and the exchange, that they will be charged?

dc wrote: »

What is achieved by seperating different sections of a business into companies that provide the same previously in-house services, but now at a profit and with the extra expense of selling the services to each other and proving it.

A product the nonsense this country is being wrapped up in, by a bunch of Confident Incompetants and are spreading like a cancer.

Indeed. With the railways it cost life.

Liz_Tillson

Polorky wrote: »

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:


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.

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

I beg to differ on your definition of a ceased line. I temporarily moved out of my home less than 6 months ago and I have today been informed by BT that my line has been ceased and if I want to have it reconnected I will have to pay the £125 connection fee. Whats more I explained to the operator that I spoke to in February when I originally cancelled the service that it was only temporary and that I would be re-instating the service in 6 months time and asked if I would incur any charges by doing so and was not informed of the reconnection charge. If I had been notified I would have kept the line going as it would have been cheaper to pay 6 months line rental than a reconnection charge. I am disgusted with BT and if I had a choice believe me I would move from them.

dc

I would complain in writing, as a lot of CS operators can be ignorant of policy and express personally held views unwittingly. There is little or no work involved in re-connecting a line that is physically in place. I the "good old days" it involved a technician employed there all day, just replacing a bay fuse. AFAIK in the days of un-manned exchanges it involves someone just typing the change into a computer. Hardly £125 of effort.

http://bt.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/bt.cfg/php/enduser/cci/bt_afdpage.php?p_afd_id=8730&p_sid=k9YZLKHi&p_last_afd=8705&cat_lvl1=770&cat_lvl2=982&p_cv=2.982&p_cats=770,982&p_param=p_afd_subject=BT.Com%20website&p_afd_inc_router=Kana&p_afd_kana_target=webmaster@bt.com&p_afd_form_id=contactus_send_btcom_complaint&p_afd_customer_classification=complaint&p_afd_customer_category=BT.Com%20Site&p_afd_cat_lvl1=&p_afd_cat_lvl2=&p_afd_cat_lvl3=&p_source=helpandsupport