BT engineer call out charge - clarification needed please

pawlala

Hello,

I lodged a fault with BT the other day because the master socket wasn't giving out a dialing tone. Did the test socket as well and that was the same. The other sockets in my house were all working ok. An engineer was called and found that when he pulled it out, the master socket was not even connected to any wiring. I can pinpoint this to a previous engineer visit who clearly had not wired it back in properly before leaving. The socket was working prior to this visit.

The latest engineer said I would be charged for the work in rectifying the socket and I obviously said I would not be happy paying a charge resulting from previous engineer incompetence and I was told that I should fight the charge. He made the socket live and left. I have not received the next bill yet but if and when I get a callout charge will I have a case in trying to waive it? Where do their responsibilities on the line end and mine begin?

Thankyou

penrhyn

If the master socket was not connected how were your extensions working.
They should have been wired to the back of the master socket faceplate.
If this was not the case you would have no lightning protection on the line.
BT are responsible up to and including the mater socket.
Can you prove that it was BT and not a third party that illegally wired your extensions before the master.

cajef

If the master socket was not connected how were the other sockets working, had the first engineer by-passed the terminals and joined the wires somehow.

BT/Openreach are responsible for wiring up to the master socket if that has not been wired correctly then there should be no charge, however as it was not they may claim someone had tampered with it and try to charge you.

Quentin

If you have all the details of the previous visit from Openreach, then maybe better to fire off a complaint now (before the bill is raised) that it has transpired the engineer left without making the master socket live! (Why was he touching the extensions anyway??)

pawlala

I live in a new build and had three sockets around the house, none of them had a master socket face plate (the one that seperates into two?). He turned one into a master but didn't connect it before leaving.

Quentin wrote: »

(Why was he touching the extensions anyway??)

I think because my original fault went through my ISP because I was having broadband problems, he went round testing all the sockets. Of course when he asked me where my master socket was I didn't have a clue which one was the master because they all looked the same.

spike7451

Read this,it's from BT's own website....

https://www2.bt.com/static/i/microsite/help_and_tips/faults/faq/faults_faq2.html

Do I have to pay for a fault repair?

Residential Customers

You will have to pay £99 including VAT if our engineer finds the problem is with:
Your home wiring past the main socket for example your extensions, or
The way you've connected your equipment, or
Interference from something else in your home, like your phone, alarm system, micro filter or broadband router

You'll also have to pay if our network has been damaged either inside or outside your home, within the boundary of your property, for example from building work, damage by trees or pets, or damage to sockets.

Now the above has been changed slightly from this;

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.

Using the argument within,Skintlass was able to get the charge thrownout.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2855286

pawlala

I rang the Time Related Charges team and they told me that they can't do anything about this issue until it appears on my bill. Correct or not?

Buzby

Yes. They cannot credit something thaty has not been charged.