New BT Phone Line - Advice Please

kaney

I have recently moved into a converted maisonette which now contains two flats. Because of this there is no phone connection to the flat I now own.

I recently ordered sky talk and broadband and today was the day they were supposed to send a BT Open Reach engineer out to connect me to the network.

The engineer arrived at about 9am this morning and immediately installed the white box in the flat, however the phone pole he was instructed to connect us to was not in the vicinity and as a result he could not connect us but said he would return later in the day having spoken to BT for a new pole number.

Anyway, he comes back at about midday and says there is no pole that we can connect to at the moment, so we need either an overhead line or a 'box' to connect our phone line to. There is a box on the property next door, which we were all set to connect to until the neighbour changed their mind and refused the engineer permission to run a cable from the box.

This meant the engineer was unable to do anything today, but advised he would send a report to BT. He then said that BT would have to dig a trench in the road to connect us to the main line although understandably was not able to give a timescale or confirmation that this would be done.

Has anyone had a similar problem, and if so how was it resolved?

Also, are BT obliged to connect us as they are the only provider of UK phone lines?

Thanks in advance.

Mark_In_Hampshire

This does happen from time to time and to be fair, it isn't really Openreach's fault who seem to have kept you updated quite well and are progressing this. I fear it may not be that quick especially if planning permission is needed.

BT are not obliged to connect you, no. They will pay the first £x amount of the installation charges, but should the figure be higher than the maximum they'll go to (I seem to recall a number in the region of £3k but could be wrong on that) then you'll be asked for the difference if you want service.

Can you get cable? There might already be a duct leading to the building that can be used.

kaney

Thanks Mark.

I wasn't knocking the Open Reach engineer, I think they've been very helpful and but for the unreasonable neighbour i'd now have an active connection.

I guess what i'm unsure about is who my point of contact is?

I imagine Sky will become aware of the situation, however if I don't make a call will anything be done about it?

As for cable, i'm not sure exactly what you mean or how this would be different?

macman

Your point of contact is Sky-OR do not deal with the retail side.
Cable = Virgin Media cable service-is it available in your area?

kwikbreaks

As you ordered a Sky package deal it may be advisable to call and tell them the situation just to make sure they know there is no phone line so they can't just start billing you. BT should have reported back to them but I wouldn't rely on that.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Cable is entirely different. If the building has had cable installed in the past, there may already be a duct or trench up the drive coming into the building so that can be used pretty well immediately. Alternatively, even it hasn't ever had cable installed, it may well run past the property so doesn't involve getting planning permission to run the extra 30 feet (or whatever) to the property.

The ducts and physical wiring of cable has nothing to do with those of BT-based phone service, so it may be available to you immediately (or as quickly as they can come out and wire it in); to see if it's available go to the Virgin Media website and put your postcode in, and you're looking for the "Great!" You're in a fibre optic area" result or similar. If it just says "You're not in a fibre optic area..." then they would have precisely the same issue servicing your property as Sky presently do.

bigd68

Needed a new phone line installed for broadband so contacted BT who said the charge would be £130. Went into local Post Office grabbed a leaflet rang their call centre (0800 092 0514)and quoted the branch code on back of leaflet (0047023). To my surprise they are charging only £60 for the same BT line to be installed. In fact it is the BT engineer who came to install. Why would anyone pay an extra £70 for the same service. As for the line rental costs it is still over £2 cheaper than BT per month.

kaney

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

Cable is entirely different. If the building has had cable installed in the past, there may already be a duct or trench up the drive coming into the building so that can be used pretty well immediately. Alternatively, even it hasn't ever had cable installed, it may well run past the property so doesn't involve getting planning permission to run the extra 30 feet (or whatever) to the property.

The ducts and physical wiring of cable has nothing to do with those of BT-based phone service, so it may be available to you immediately (or as quickly as they can come out and wire it in); to see if it's available go to the Virgin Media website and put your postcode in, and you're looking for the "Great!" You're in a fibre optic area" result or similar. If it just says "You're not in a fibre optic area..." then they would have precisely the same issue servicing your property as Sky presently do.

Thanks again, Mark,

I've just checked my post code on the Virgin Media site and it says;

"You're in a Virgin Media fibre optic cable areaso you can enjoy:

Broadband: Superfast, reliable broadband up to 50Mb
TV: Crystal-clear digital TV, with all your favourite channels – including Sky - and packages to suit you
Phone: A choice of great-value plans to suit the way you like to chat"

Does this suggest that they could connect me almost immediately?

Thanks again.

Mark_In_Hampshire

"Suggest" is the right word, your next step should be to call them and verify - and ask what installation date they can do.

Believe their database knows whether the property or e.g. a neighbour has had cable installed before and so they can be more certain than "the postcode supports it". it's a good sign if after having put the postcode in the exact correct property address comes up in a drop down list.

There remains a faint possibility that they may send someone out and the process will be the same as you have with Sky - some duct needs to be laid; it needs to cross a street somewhere etc. but they should be able to advise. I've never had a problem with it before but some others have had a similar scenario to the one you have with the phone line.

Then separately you could ask Sky for an update and anticipated installation date and make your decision.

InsideInsurance

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

BT are not obliged to connect you, no. They will pay the first £x amount of the installation charges, but should the figure be higher than the maximum they'll go to (I seem to recall a number in the region of £3k but could be wrong on that) then you'll be asked for the difference if you want service.

When did this change? It certainly used to be the case, circa 10 years ago, that BT had to connect you for the £100 (or what ever it was) irrespective of the cost to them due to their prior monopoly