BT Connection Charges (merged threads)

GoodOlAl

I'm about to rent a new-build flat & BT want £125 to connect me.
I'm disgusted, both with BT & with those who support their extortion on this of all sites.
Being on a massive new estate I'd guess the developer has helped amortise the costs. If he didn't, he should have.
Incidentally, as a tenant I have security of tenure for 6 months only.
How much do Gas, Electricity & Water suppliers charge renters of new-builds to connect their services?

Edinburghlass_2

£6,000 per house was the last quote we had to get gas, that was about three years ago. It makes £125 seem pretty reasonable

ahrimaniac

Don't buy a BT line then. Get one from someone else, then pay the £125 anyway in higher costs and crap customer services.

ahrimaniac

Or perhaps you want a BT line for the benefits of having a line you can take elsewhere and save on calls, but you don't feel like you should pay BT for it? What is a reasonable price to you to have an engineer sort your line out at the exchange?

hyposmurf

I find it quite odd yes BT want to retrieve their costs for the work but can you imagine your gas or electricity supplier holding you to ransom over such a charge.If you dont pay our fee we wont turn your gas/electricity on.Its just a strange way they work.Why on earth are these costs not passed onto the developer, just like the rest of the services serving the property you buy.Yes copper may have gone up in price but I think its also due to BT wanting to claw back some costs for the customers who just get a connection and go elsewhere for their packages.

ahrimaniac

'but I think its also due to BT wanting to claw back some costs for the customers who just get a connection and go elsewhere for their packages.'

Why shouldn't they? Why should people have a god-given right to a BT line?

If you want the benefits of a BT line, then pay for it. If you don't want to pay for it, go to someone who'll put the line in for free - then screw you over for the call charges and no-CPS's.

hyposmurf

I think one of the main problems behind is that BT had such a monopoly before.If there were many more providers who had their own lines like NTL then Im sure we'd see BT drop their connection charges.At the moment they probably feel that most people will need to be connected to a BT line so they'll keep the charges high.

ahrimaniac

'At the moment they probably feel that most people will need to be connected to a BT line so they'll keep the charges high.'

£125 for a line is not high, I'm sorry.

jhp

It amazes me that people are quite happy to pay all the other fees associated with moving,Solicitors,Estate Agents etc etc.But harp on about the cost of providing a new BT line,which is not a cheap business.

hyposmurf

It is if you're a first time buyer.With the high property costs,you furniture costs etc its just a costb that shouldve been passed onto the developer.