How long does it take to get a phone line? BT taking the mickey...

ohcarolina2001

I recently moved into a new flat. The previous residents asked BT to close their account but not disconnect the line completely, so that I could open my own account as soon as I moved in.

On moving in I found that there was no working line in the property. I signed up with PlusNet internet on 3rd October and they organised for BT to make a new line on 25th October, saying they were not allowed to get their own engineers to do the job and had to wait for BT, which is a long wait.

I have now been told the installation date will actually be 4th November - over a month to install a BT line!!! Are BT customers who get both a phone line and BT internet being prioritised over customers using other internet service providers? I think this is all quite unfair and anti-competitive. If BT can't provide a line within a reasonable time frame - say 72 hours, other companies should be allowed to compete and put their own line in for paying customers.

Does anyone have any tips for speeding this process along?

Gordon_Hose

2 - 4 weeks

A month sounds about right if there isn't a working line connected. You can't expedite the process unfortunately.

They may well prioritise BT customers above other ISP's, but they'd never admit it. I had to wait nearly 3 weeks for an Openreach engineer to come and install my line in my new build flat. I guess it just depends on how busy they are.

macman

3 week as is quite normal, 4 weeks is not unusual.
I remember the bad old days of BT monopoly when the waiting list was up to 6 months.

iniltous

Plusnet is a BT Group business, plus they order lines on exactlly the same basis as every other CP, there is no advantage to BT Retail...if the line exists at the address but has no dialtone it has to be assumed that a visit may be required, so your date is the first available date that was available when Plusnet entered your order, and would have been the same regardless of the CP you used , presuming you would have called at the same time and the CP progressed the order at the time you called them.....as far as 'if BT cannot install within 72 hours other companys should be allowed' ??, what ? allowed access to BT/OR's network, exchanges, manholes, poles etc...would these people be trained to do this,and who would train them, would they have keys to get in BT's buildings ? , what if they disturbed other peoples working lines, what if they install incorrectky and cause a fault that surfaces a short while after they installed the line ( who would be responsible for sorting their mess and who would foot the bill)...Im afraid as an idea its a non starter

ChiefGrasscutter

It can happen that all the spares available are duds.
It can also happen that the old disconnected line for the flat was taken off and used to repair someone else's faulty line.
So in the above circumstances to put a new phone line in requires a total new cable. That would cost anything up to £30K and require a 'lot' of work.

Not all are at this extreme obviously.
Nor are they often as simple as reconnecting an existing good line back to the exchange.

Its more complicated that one might think

simonferrigno

I'm having a similar delay for the second time in less than 2 years! We are moving soon, and I notified my provider, the phonecoop on october 16. They contacted me back and said there was a cease order on the line, so I contacted the sellers to ask them to change this, so the line would not be closed. But, it seems, as they are moving their number, a new line still needs to be installed. Bt openreach have told phone coop the line installation will be on december 12th, 2 months after I asked for the transfer! This is ridiculous, but there is no recourse, even though I work from home and desperately need a working phone and broadband. How come Bt are allowed to maintain such a monopoly on the phone network?

diamonds

Because apparently dividing the BT company into companies meant they did not have to give up network ownership or retail customers, again thank that ever so useful regulatory body Ofcom.