Home phone faults - help

eeyore2ok

Can anyone offer advice please?
Since moving into our house 7 years ago we've had continuous problems with the home phone not working. When we moved in, the line was dead, a line fault, took a week for it to be fixed.
Since then the same has happened 9 times, the caller displays flashes as though we are making a call, the phone is dead, anyone trying to ring us gets the engaged tone. We report it (we are with post office), it's a line fault, and it takes between 5 and 8 days to fix.
Last night at 10pm the same happened again, the phone was fine at 6.30pm, dead at 10pm, I have just reported it, possible line fault - and here we go again. Is there anything I can do or anyone I can contact? It's an ongoing issue, none of our neighbours have these problems (their phones go off the odd time, but it's always ours), is there anything I can do?

Mark_In_Hampshire

Do the Post Office offer compensation for each day the line is down?

It you begin to take advantage of that on each occasion, perhaps a more permanent resolution can be found.

A letter to the Post Office indicating the dates and times of the faults explaining it isn't good enough might get a response, however the lines are maintained by a privatised monopoly - part of the BT Group - so nobody can actually force them to do anything.

eeyore2ok

Yes, we've had compensation from the PO each time, I'd just rather have the phone working on a more permanent basis

spike7451

Try removing the NTE5 faceplate,& plug the phone into the test socket behind,see if it is still faulty.If it it,it's either the external drop cable or in the exchange.If you're broadband's working OK,That suggestsc to me it's in the exchange,most possibly a fault with the Tie Pairs or the line card.

eeyore2ok

spike7451 wrote: »

Try removing the NTE5 faceplate,& plug the phone into the test socket behind,see if it is still faulty.If it it,it's either the external drop cable or in the exchange.If you're broadband's working OK,That suggestsc to me it's in the exchange,most possibly a fault with the Tie Pairs or the line card.

Broadband is working fine, I will get hubby to try that later, we did the usual, took all phones/Sky etc out and plugged one into the main socket but no joy.

Last time it was because BT cut a cable while fixing our neighbours phone, every other time it's been an exchange fault, it's just so bloomin annoying!

spike7451

eeyore2ok wrote: »

Broadband is working fine, I will get hubby to try that later, we did the usual, took all phones/Sky etc out and plugged one into the main socket but no joy.

Last time it was because BT cut a cable while fixing our neighbours phone, every other time it's been an exchange fault, it's just so bloomin annoying!

If they cut the cable....Mmm...your fault sounds like an off hook fault (when it's engaged) & is ring tripping (when it rings once or twice & cuts out)
Normally this is caused by damaged internal or external wireing...
Tricky one as you need to see the fault in order to solve it if you know what I mean.
Where did BT cut the cable?

eeyore2ok

They cut the cable in the path in the street outside, they reconnected one neighbour and cut two of us off

They attributed other faults to the exchange, poor wiring, the need for a new box in the street (which we now have) not once have they needed access to our house or said it's our fault, they've always just sorted it and then PO have compensated us, but it's getting so annoying now Phone works at 6.30pm, by 9.50pm it's not working