BT Connection Charges (merged threads)

Edinburghlass_2

Heinz wrote:

Edinburghlass - another one for merging with http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=211879 please.

While you're at it, can you make that a sticky?

Done and sticky (for a bit anyway)

burgers3

assuming its been payed for ever heard of social housing :-)

patwa_2

Hi. Hopefully I can be of some help here.

In my opinion, and this is one shared by BT, the whole system of connection sharges for new lines is a postcode lottery.

I was due to pay £110 for my new line. I had it reduced to £70. I told the operator that I was not going to pay £40 more than a guy in Oxford who had a line put in for £70, simply because my postcode starts with a different letter or because I have a different area code.

I can understand what people have said here about the price of copper, BT's time, the effort that goes into laying down a phone line, and the overall cost in comparison to that of a new house. And ys, £125 compared to over a thousand times that much seems a trifle. However, I can also understand you wanting to save as much as you can.

If you have not already had the line installed, phone up BT and ask them about it. You can even tell them that quite clearly different people are being charged different prices. And NO, it does not depend on the lengthof cables that have to be laid inside your house, or how much work has to be done on the exchange end. I had to have an entire length of cable 'borrowed' from someone else's house and changed to my house, then cabling laid across two floors, and an old cable removed. It took two visits, as underground work had to be done within my own house, as well as that dne above the ground, as the usual white BT box that they connect the wires to did not exist, and the access was beneath the floor.

I told BT that if they really wanted I could give thm names, numbers and customer details of the guys that paid only £70 for their lines, guys tht paid £90 for their line and a girl that paid only £99,99 for their line. Needless to say, they quickly assured me that was not necessary. They also very kindly extended my payment period for the setup fee, and gave me two months to pay it.

Yes, I too agree that BT can be very helpful. As said above, I had to have two engineers work on my line, during two seperate visits. The second time, I had gone for an exam, and when I came back, the engineer was already working away outside, and was in fact waiting for me to get back so he could finish up inside. He aso called back two days later to check everything was OK, got my line registered for broadband activation (not with BT) right away, and also called before he was coming so that I could be in on the first visit (which not all engineers do).

Hope this has helped. As has been said before, it's likely you won't see any reduction in price, but then again, the saying goes that if you don't try, you won't know.

BTW, I was being genuine when I said I could name names and details of the other people who had cheaper line setup fees. Of course, you may get away with just a bluff, but I did have their permission to tell BT this. You never know when they will actually take it upon themselves to check out your story.

Hussein.

hammy_the_hammer

sorry patwa but your postcode or area code has zero relevance to the charges that you pay to bt

deefadog

I guess after a year or to you would re-coupe the cost of the connection charge using the CPS's!

ahrimaniac

Patwa, I'm afraid your entire point is amiss. There is no sliding scale of connection charges at BT. You either pay £124.99 or nothing.

ooo000ooo

ahrimaniac wrote:

Patwa, I'm afraid your entire point is amiss. There is no sliding scale of connection charges at BT. You either pay £124.99 or nothing.

Patwa may be partially right, in the past there were reduced connection fees for people getting second lines in which was £69 IIRC?

ahrimaniac

Perhaps, but not new lines - I would hate to think the poster would be calling BT kicking off abuot sliding charges. It'd be entirely fruitless.

normanmark

ahrimaniac wrote:

Patwa, I'm afraid your entire point is amiss. There is no sliding scale of connection charges at BT. You either pay £124.99 or nothing.

isnt it.

and the 'drop' second line connection charge is there most likely as a majority of the equipment/resource is there at the address already, so you're paying for labour etc

Edinburghlass_2

As the latest price increase came into effect on 1 June 2006 it could also be that these other people who had new lines installed for a lesser amount were pre 1 June.