re-main phone bt socket

joe134

rmg1 wrote: »

TT were a pain, insisting I must have a test socket somewhere (good luck finding one).
I'm now with Plusnet and I'm wondering if it's worth getting them to fit one?

UPDATE::::
Hi Guys, just an update on my situation,.
BT OR came bang on 8 am as promised.
Tested everything, said it was reading ok, but decided to change NTE5, renew cable from outside box to NTE5,approx 30 metres of solid outside cable, new outside box,and a new double, filtered, bottom plate. ( I routed the cable for him in the loft, as I knew the loft well, and HSE said he shouldn,t go in the loft.
Cost;;;2 cups of coffee;
Time.2 hours;
All in all, a very nice guy;
So ,well done open reach.
TT leave a lot to be desired, but they got me there in the end;
Pleasant surprise EH;;;
Cheers all, and thanks for all your advice, greatfully received.:beer:
Mind you, he used to live opposite me 7 years ago.:rotfl:

callistris

Does this mean that you're sorted now, with everything working ok?

robmar0se

rmg1 wrote: »

TT were a pain, insisting I must have a test socket somewhere (good luck finding one).
I'm now with Plusnet and I'm wondering if it's worth getting them to fit one?

Shhhh, I know its not supposed to be done, but it does sort a lot of hassle if there is a nte5 master socket. They are readily available ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BT-MASTER-PHONE-SOCKET-NTE5-BELL-WIRE-FILTER-BACK-BOX-/280833111651?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4162f53663 ), and are simple to fit. So when Openreach come, just say its always been there, before you bought the house etc blah blah........ Can save you a lot of money!

joe134

callistris wrote: »

Does this mean that you're sorted now, with everything working ok?

Hi callistris, I,m frightened to say the Y word for fear of tempting fate, BUT Y.
Turned updates off my Hp printer. I,m sure it,s to try and validate I,m using genuine HP cartridges, and flog me more. That,s all that comes up:beer:

rmg1

robmar0se wrote: »

Shhhh, I know its not supposed to be done, but it does sort a lot of hassle if there is a nte5 master socket. They are readily available ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BT-MASTER-PHONE-SOCKET-NTE5-BELL-WIRE-FILTER-BACK-BOX-/280833111651?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4162f53663 ), and are simple to fit. So when Openreach come, just say its always been there, before you bought the house etc blah blah........ Can save you a lot of money!

But if the socket belongs to BT (and I know that's debatable), won't they fit it and renew any cable (it looks a bit battered if you know what I mean)?

joe134

rmg1 wrote: »

But if the socket belongs to BT (and I know that's debatable), won't they fit it and renew any cable (it looks a bit battered if you know what I mean)?

Hi, YES, the BT OR engineer, that came here, said , they are responsible for the NTE5,(bt box) and wiring, from there, to the exchange, no matter, what condition, or who,s fault, that,s why he renewed all mine.You, don,t mess with it, as it will negate your line contract;whoever isp, you are with, BT own all the network still, and are responsible for it,s upkeep.
Do as I did, Play dumb, for me, that,s easy:rotfl:
Actually, I knew that, the previous owner of my house, extended, the wiring, moved the BT box, into kitchen, hence 30 meter cable renewal,and I found the old BT junction box, when I ran the cable for him, in the loft.So, he must have also put the NTE5 in himself, he was/is a sparky anyway.didn,t tell the engineer, but he told me there was a joint somewhere in the wiring, his test,s showed it up.
my old wiring was tatty, and he knew I had taken NTE5 off, because,I ran new Ethernet cable to router, alongside old bt wiring.stick in there, nowt to loose;thanks to the guys on here, they are ace;:beer:

.

robmar0se

rmg1 wrote: »

But if the socket belongs to BT (and I know that's debatable), won't they fit it and renew any cable (it looks a bit battered if you know what I mean)?

I'm not sure if you can just ask for this without being charged, others might know. The advantage of having one as you may already know, is that the test socket allows you to eliminate internal systems as being the problem, ie if you did have a problem with yr line you can determine if the problem is inside or out, thus be sure if the cost is yours or theirs to fix, and at £140+VAT see at as an insurance policy!

rmg1

robmar0se wrote: »

I'm not sure if you can just ask for this without being charged, others might know. The advantage of having one as you may already know, is that the test socket allows you to eliminate internal systems as being the problem, ie if you did have a problem with yr line you can determine if the problem is inside or out, thus be sure if the cost is yours or theirs to fix, and at £140+VAT see at as an insurance policy!

joe134 wrote: »

Hi, YES, the BT OR engineer, that came here, said , they are responsible for the NTE5,(bt box) and wiring, from there, to the exchange, no matter, what condition, or who,s fault, that,s why he renewed all mine.You, don,t mess with it, as it will negate your line contract;whoever isp, you are with, BT own all the network still, and are responsible for it,s upkeep.
Do as I did, Play dumb, for me, that,s easy:rotfl:
Actually, I knew that, the previous owner of my house, extended, the wiring, moved the BT box, into kitchen, hence 30 meter cable renewal,and I found the old BT junction box, when I ran the cable for him, in the loft.So, he must have also put the NTE5 in himself, he was/is a sparky anyway.didn,t tell the engineer, but he told me there was a joint somewhere in the wiring, his test,s showed it up.
my old wiring was tatty, and he knew I had taken NTE5 off, because,I ran new Ethernet cable to router, alongside old bt wiring.stick in there, nowt to loose;thanks to the guys on here, they are ace;:beer:

.

Thanks guys
I'll get on to Plusnet and see what they can do.
I'm good at playing stupid with things like this.

phoneguy

elektra wrote: »

That's what I thought but still got charged £130 for them changing a 25-30 year old socket - turned out it was damp corrosion.

I phoned to complain about the charge but they insisted socket was my responsibility. Now wish I had put a complaint in writing too.

Let's clear this one up.

The NTE5 (also referred to as the demarcation point) *is* the sole responsibility of BT Openreach. They maintain it. They replace it. You can, however, change the faceplate for the plethora of filters and accelerators that appear as aftermarket parts like those offered by ADSL Nation.

Now, for the caveat. *You* are responsible for any damage to that NTE5. It could be kids sticking things in it, it could be because your house has a damp problem and often they will even charge you if you have a local lightning strike that blows the protector on the back.

In my mind it is justified to charge for deliberate or accidental damage. I don't particularly agree with charging for damp as the site of the NTE5 would have been chosen by BT/GPO at the time of the installation - in many cases long before damp problems came to light.

During the noughties BT adopted the attitude 'tell them to claim it on their home insurance, why should we fix it for free?' to which I always felt 'because you charge them a rental fee for the linebox?'.

You can try a written complaint and if you do it right you will get the charge waived. If you get no joy with the London head office don't give up. Keep arguing it, and if it fails or you get brick walled play the trump card; send a written complaint using a signed for service direct to the home address of Sir Michael Rake. I won't list his address here - but it is only a google away. I find this extremely effective.

elektra

phoneguy wrote: »

Let's clear this one up.

The NTE5 (also referred to as the demarcation point) *is* the sole responsibility of BT Openreach. They maintain it. They replace it. You can, however, change the faceplate for the plethora of filters and accelerators that appear as aftermarket parts like those offered by ADSL Nation.

Now, for the caveat. *You* are responsible for any damage to that NTE5. It could be kids sticking things in it, it could be because your house has a damp problem and often they will even charge you if you have a local lightning strike that blows the protector on the back.

In my mind it is justified to charge for deliberate or accidental damage. I don't particularly agree with charging for damp as the site of the NTE5 would have been chosen by BT/GPO at the time of the installation - in many cases long before damp problems came to light.

During the noughties BT adopted the attitude 'tell them to claim it on their home insurance, why should we fix it for free?' to which I always felt 'because you charge them a rental fee for the linebox?'.

You can try a written complaint and if you do it right you will get the charge waived. If you get no joy with the London head office don't give up. Keep arguing it, and if it fails or you get brick walled play the trump card; send a written complaint using a signed for service direct to the home address of Sir Michael Rake. I won't list his address here - but it is only a google away. I find this extremely effective.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I didn't think it was right to charge, how long do they expect a socket to last ?

The problem with my complaining to BT by phone was that they just act on invoice sent to them by Openreach. The bill was a shock a couple of months later as the engineer at the time didn't say it was to be charged ( Yes, I know when you book a visit it states you will charged if it turns out to be a fault with your equipment ).

This incident happened a year ago so maybe too late to complain, but may be worth a try as will not cost me anything.

phoneguy wrote: »

In my mind it is justified to charge for deliberate or accidental damage. I don't particularly agree with charging for damp as the site of the NTE5 would have been chosen by BT/GPO at the time of the installation - in many cases long before damp problems came to light.

The irony is that the engineer just placed the new socket 6 inches further along the wall so could be in this situation again in a year or so (Unfortunately I can't tackle the damp problem as the house is not mine, I'm not the resident , just a relative). In this case I would probably replace socket myself.