BT Connection Charges (merged threads)

missk249

funtimefrankiec wrote: »

Get them to check to make sure the line is dead and they dont just have it down as being dead. If they test it and it is still active (dial tone at there end) then you should get back to bt for free.

Cheers for that.




Also, I am with Virgin at the moment, but they suck, so thats why I m wanting to move.

pcharles46

Hi Guys,

Just been reading this popular tread and had no idea so many people got charged this massive fee.

I am due to move into a new build and was shocked that they (BT) are going to charge me £124.98 to make the line live and to boot they are going to tie me into another 12 months contract even though I have been with them 4 years perviosly.

What I dont understand, they also want to charge me £50 per extension, fine I could understand if it was a new extension but this is existing ones. Apparently they have to do something with the cables to make extensions live. Can someone may please explain this and it seems crazy to me!

Thanks in advance.

espresso

pcharles46 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Just been reading this popular tread and had no idea so many people got charged this massive fee.

I am due to move into a new build and was shocked that they (BT) are going to charge me £124.98 to make the line live and to boot they are going to tie me into another 12 months contract even though I have been with them 4 years perviosly.

What I dont understand, they also want to charge me £50 per extension, fine I could understand if it was a new extension but this is existing ones. Apparently they have to do something with the cables to make extensions live. Can someone may please explain this and it seems crazy to me!

Thanks in advance.

There is nothing that you can do about the BT installation charge on a new build but get someone else to look into connecting your extensions, as adding £50 per extension is just adding insult to injury. Anyone can connect the extensions to the master socket quite easily and as the wiring is already in place, it should only take a couple of minutes!

Metermaid

So can I do anything about the fact that the engineer and a BT operator both told me, after the re-connection, that there would be zero charge - but now BT have added it to my bill and are refusing to remove it!?

dc

missk249 wrote: »

Also, I am with Virgin at the moment, but they suck, so thats why I m wanting to move.

The words Frying Pan and Fire come to mind, seems that BT are upping the milk-it bit, ( £125 to move, 12 month lock-in instead of 3 ), as Virgin have lost the plot or are now staffed with ex-BT managers.;)

BT have a long history of high charges. Remember 0870 and 0845 were their standard phone charges for ALL calls a number of years ago.

hammy_the_hammer

Metermaid wrote: »

So can I do anything about the fact that the engineer and a BT operator both told me, after the re-connection, that there would be zero charge - but now BT have added it to my bill and are refusing to remove it!?

the openreach engineer can't advise you as an end-user that zero charges apply

hogweed

I’m very very sad to say so, because I’m old enough to remember when things were different, but… the fact is, under this government, you have no redress whatever against BT, Virgin, anybody you like. They are free to lie brazenly to you to get your business, then ignore any complaints you make. Don’t kid yourself that you have the slightest bit of power to do anything about it, or demand fair play – nobody will support you.

You’re on your own matey – if you don’t like it, go somewhere else – it’ll be just the same. And they’ll probably take you to Court for breach of contract if you do. I got to the point where I had got my MP to write several times to Virgin – they ignored him too.

But that wasn’t the sad part – the really bad bit was that HE was part of the government who is supposed to be running our country, yet although he agreed with me that the situation was awful, he just shrugged his shoulders and said “That’s the way it is” and did no more for me.

Metermaid

hammy_the_hammer wrote: »

the openreach engineer can't advise you as an end-user that zero charges apply

No, I understand that - but as I said, he advised me to ring BT and the operator there told me, after the installation,that I would not be charged!!, that's what I'm really upset about

espresso

Metermaid wrote: »

So can I do anything about the fact that the engineer and a BT operator both told me, after the re-connection, that there would be zero charge - but now BT have added it to my bill and are refusing to remove it!?

Try telling them about their own published price list here which states:

Take-over of service where no changes to internal or external wiring are required - £0.00

tyronestfc

I've been having problems with BT's connection charges as well recently.

We moved into a flat that is fairly new, and were told by BT that there was no line there. There was when we moved in, it was a business line and I used it to contact them on.

It then took BT ages to sort themselves out, and cancel the line. They then said an engineer didn't need to come, then that one did need to came, he didn't turn up, changed the story to we didn't need an engineer, and then back again.

After 6 weeks they sent an engineer, who sorted a problem at the exchange, and got the residential line working.

Two months later we've had a £125 bill for a connection charge, and BT were insisting it was the first time a line had been installed at the flat, clearly it was not. After arguing with them over the phone they changed their story to the charge being for converting line to residential. Seems to me they're making it up as they go along.

Anyone had similar problems?