New Flat, New Phoneline...

David333

I've just moved into a new flat where the previous occupants had Virgin. They were paying a lot of money to get something like 2megs each and have told us that they really wouldn't recommend it for the money. I've used O2 in the past and have always been happy with them so the plan is to change providers.

Anyway, I will need a phoneline first. In the flat there is a small BT box with a little T on it (I assume it's a BT box). I have plugged a phone in and there's no dial tone. Is this normal...?

I assume I need to contact someone (I've heard the Post Office is cheapest for installation and also don't do long term contracts which would be good) and pay for them to check the line, etc. Is this right...?

Mark_In_Hampshire

If it's cabled the (BT based) phone line might not have been used for a decade, so this can well be normal.

You could choose your broadband supplier first. Then see if they do line rental and setup too (bundles can be cheaper and it can be put in as a simultaneous provide, which would be much quicker, plus, the setup fee is sometimes less when you take both together)

Many though probably not most providers can install the line for you and the installation cost is from £0 to £150 depending on who you go with, what you take, and how long the contract is. Believe O2 is £85 to set up the line. Also check contract lengths especially if renting - most are 12 months+ which doesn't work well with a 6 month tenancy. Some are month to month.

David333

Thanks very much. O2 unfortunately only seem to do twelve month contracts for phone lines (although month by month for broadband). The Post Office do month by month contracts for line rental which is why I was intending to go with them, along with their half price line installation this week.

Is it likely that they'll have to send round an engineer and do any actual work (I'm renting a flat so don't know if I should check that with the landlord)? or is it more a case of them switching it on at their end? If the latter, would I still have to pay them the installation fee...?

Mark_In_Hampshire

The imposition of the setup fee and the actual amount of work required, and whether that involves a visit, aren't necessarily related;

The PO is a good option especially if it's half price and month to month;

An engineer may or may not turn up at the property, in the past, when I've moved into a property and had cable, the installers have come round and found the cable phone line wired into the BT box or a BT line wired into the cable box, so one strips out the other's wiring and puts their wiring in. (That should not happen, but it does, occasionally); you'll probably be expected to be at home on install day just in case access is required whether it turns out to be the case or not;

Landlords cannot impose restrictions on what utilities you use. It's up to you to leave the property in the condition in which you found it (less wear and tear) so strictly speaking, if they were anal about it, they could demand you remove the installed equipment. But since it has a master socket anyway, you will be leaving it in the condition you found it in, so this is not relevant.

macman

If there's no dial tone then yes, activation is required and this is chargeable. You will need to be in on the day that's done, access isn't normally required by OR for a reconnection, but you have to be there in case it is.

David333

Thanks for all of your replies; Post Office are saying six weeks. Seems a long time to me.

macman

For a reconnection, it is. Normal new line provision lead time is 4-6 weeks.
But I would imagine that lead times go out as the bad weather results in more faults being reported.

dave_dph

David333 wrote: »

I've just moved into a new flat where the previous occupants had Virgin. They were paying a lot of money to get something like 2megs each and have told us that they really wouldn't recommend it for the money. I've used O2 in the past and have always been happy with them so the plan is to change providers.

If it's a Virgin cable connection then the minimum speed you would get as a new customer is 10Mb. As a stand alone product (no phone line needed), this speed costs £16 per month for three months, increasing to £21 after that. If you route your online order through Topcashback they currently pay £62.36 cash back to new customers.

If you need / want a home phone service you can use a voip service over the broadband connection, much cheaper than paying phoneline rental.

macman

I thought all VM cable connections were upgraded to a minimum 10Mbps over a year ago now? The only way they would still be on 2 megs is if they were using an ancient USB cable modem.