We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

BT drop wire - whose responsibility?

Options
swagman
swagman Posts: 220 Forumite
Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
My incoming line travels from the BT pole to a junction box near the house eaves. From that the drop wire passes on the outside of the house and through the window frame to the master socket.

After it has taken almost a month to fix a phone fault, BT has declined any refund of line rental claiming that the drop wire is 'my equipment', their responsibility ending at the junction box on the eaves.

I thought that everything from master socket to pole was BTs. What is correct?

Comments

  • spike7451
    spike7451 Posts: 6,944 Forumite
    Anything up to & including the Master Socket is BT's responsibility.However they move the goalposts when it suits them,BT Openreach who looked at your drop cable passed the charge onto BT wholesale who are trying to pass the charge onto you.
    Do I have to pay for a fault repair?

    We can repair many line faults at the exchange or on the network. Others require a visit by a BT engineer. There is no charge for these repairs. We will only charge you when one of our engineers visits your property and finds that the fault could have been fixed by you. For example, if your phone is broken or has been left unplugged.

    https://www2.bt.com/static/i/microsite/help_and_tips/faults/faq/faults_faq2.html
  • cajef
    cajef Posts: 6,283 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    swagman wrote: »
    My incoming line travels from the BT pole to a junction box near the house eaves. From that the drop wire passes on the outside of the house and through the window frame to the master socket.

    Is it one of the new external NTE boxes, in which case anything after is the owners responsibility.

    http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/network/developingournetwork/downloads/external_NTE.doc
  • swagman
    swagman Posts: 220 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    cajef wrote: »
    Is it one of the new external NTE boxes, in which case anything after is the owners responsibility.

    No - this an old installation - the junction on the outside wall has been there over 20 years! The wire from that terminates inside the window at an antique looking connector with strips of metal between the contacts. From that internal wiring goes to a master socket.

    The engineer who fitted the new drop wire checked for signal at this inside terminal, then at the junction on the eaves and thus isolted the problem to the drop wire.
  • cajef
    cajef Posts: 6,283 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    swagman wrote: »
    No - this an old installation - the junction on the outside wall has been there over 20 years!

    In that case you are correct :-
    swagman wrote: »
    I thought that everything from master socket to pole was BTs.

    They certainly cannot charge you for the repair, as far as line rental refund goes I would argue it is their cable that was faulty so a refund should be given.
  • brewerdave
    brewerdave Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 28 July 2011 at 7:24AM
    As I understand it, the work is chargeable if the cable has been damaged as a result of house owner "negligence" - eg passing thru untrimmed bushes or trees -is that what the engineer could have claimed on his report of the fault??
    If so, be ready for a charge of £130 for the engineer call out!
  • swagman
    swagman Posts: 220 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    To clarify - I emailed the complaints team to request a refund of line rental for the period 18 June - 14 July. I was phoned by someone with a Northern Ireland accent (is that where the complaints team is?) who explained, in effect, that because there is a connector box on the house eaves, that part of the drop wire from that connector to the house is my responsibility. Thus no refund of line rental.

    He also told me that, as yet, there is no charge listed on the account for a £130 repair fee.

    All the wiring outside the house is 25+ years old, hence I feel sure that the connector box on the eaves is not an NTE as fitted to some newer houses. The engineer who replaced the drop wire showed me a scorch/shorting mark in the insulation at a point part way down the outside of a window frame. Nothing has been anywhere near this wire at that point in years, so I don't think I can have been responsible for that.

    Furthermore, when booking the engineer I told the call centre person that I had connected a different phone to the test socket and found the same fault persisted. He then assured me that the fault was in BTs part of the installation.

    None of this cut any ice with the complaints team person, who simply reiterated that their systm shows the fault was in the customers property.

    So have I got a case and where do I go from here?
  • brewerdave
    brewerdave Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 30 July 2011 at 9:51AM
    swagman wrote: »
    Thus no refund of line rental.

    He also told me that, as yet, there is no charge listed on the account for a £130 repair fee.

    None of this cut any ice with the complaints team person, who simply reiterated that their systm shows the fault was in the customers property.

    So have I got a case and where do I go from here?

    Very inconsistent of BT -If the fault is "in the customers property" -WHY NO ENGINEER CHARGE??
    Personally I would write off the compensation claim as there is a very real risk that BT will look at the case and raise the engineer call out charge.
    However, if you still want to pursue try a complaint to the top
    [EMAIL="Ian.Livingstom@bt.com"]Ian.Livingston@bt.com[/EMAIL]
    Some people have reported success via this route as apparently complaints to the Chief Exec get passed on to a high level complaints team
  • BT_company_representative
    BT_company_representative Posts: 1,861 Organisation Representative
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi swagman

    I can look into this for you, if you check out my profile section you will find my contact details, just send over your details.

    Regards David
    Official Company Representative
    I am the official company representative of BT. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"
  • swagman
    swagman Posts: 220 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Hi swagman

    I can look into this for you, if you check out my profile section you will find my contact details, just send over your details.

    Regards David

    Many thanks. I did send an email to you and got the ref: 110728-010281.
    Shall I send again?
    Cheers
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.7K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.7K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.8K Life & Family
  • 256.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.