£129.99 BT charge

4348

Hello people I'm just going to jump into to it.
New years eve we had thunder and lightning 2 min before midnight all our power went off for a few seconds and we heard a bang from our main BT socket on the wall so i checked the phone and phone was dead but the Internet was working so i done all the checks it says to do eg face plate of for other phone socket and still nothing so i called bT went through it with them he said he can send someone out but a possible charge if the box is damaged or water damage so i went on to ask if the box is damaged inside i can not see that but the box its like new on the outside as only been fitted 2 years ago when i moved into the house so i said if their is a possibility do not send anyone as i can get the part and do it myself for £8 went through the possible charges and should not be charged as it was due to lightning the man come out on the 10 Jan changed the phone bit on the box 20 mins in and out he said to my partner looks like it was done by lightning now Feb bill comes in they charged me £129.99 so i call them and the man has told them it was a broken box so i refuse to pay so they contact him and now he says corrosion in the box 9 weeks ago mind some memory he got so i ask how can corrosion happen within 2 years of being their they cant answer now they are going back to him again for more info and this is the final time so they say if they feel i have to pay that's it.
why should i be charged for it ?
Please help me on info what i can do

VisionMan

A few paragraphs would help.

trollopscarletwoman

4348 wrote: »

Hello people I'm just going to jump into to it.
New years eve we had thunder and lightning 2 min before midnight all our power went off for a few seconds and we heard a bang from our main BT socket on the wall so i checked the phone and phone was dead but the Internet was working so i done all the checks it says to do eg face plate of for other phone socket and still nothing so i called bT went through it with them he said he can send someone out but a possible charge if the box is damaged or water damage so i went on to ask if the box is damaged inside i can not see that but the box its like new on the outside as only been fitted 2 years ago when i moved into the house so i said if their is a possibility do not send anyone as i can get the part and do it myself for £8 went through the possible charges and should not be charged as it was due to lightning the man come out on the 10 Jan changed the phone bit on the box 20 mins in and out he said to my partner looks like it was done by lightning now Feb bill comes in they charged me £129.99 so i call them and the man has told them it was a broken box so i refuse to pay so they contact him and now he says corrosion in the box 9 weeks ago mind some memory he got so i ask how can corrosion happen within 2 years of being their they cant answer now they are going back to him again for more info and this is the final time so they say if they feel i have to pay that's it.
why should i be charged for it ?
Please help me on info what i can do

They'll probably tell you that there is damp in the wall.

Could be-probably won't be.

Been through all this myself.

Are the terminals green inside the socket?

4348

Hi ya no it was all clean as new its on an internal wall to

Heinz

4348 wrote: »

.........why should i be charged for it?

BT could ask a similar question (damage - probably to the internal capacitor - caused by a nearby lightning strike is something covered by household insurance).

Ask BT for a bill stating that and then claim from your insurance company.

Buzby

Household insurance? For an Act of God? Which insurer do you use? BT have always repaired their own sockets as a strike is not seen as customer abuse. What they don't pay for is your connected equipment (Router, TAM etc).

They've usually fitted heavy duty lighting arresters - I've heard nothing about the customer being liable. The OP's response is if BT don't use u/g cables, the overhead network is prone to hits, so he's not liable for BT's decision to not to use a U/g cable route.

boatman

https://community.bt.com/t5/Phones/BT-Dispute-Power-surge-caused-damage-to-the-Front-Plate/td-p/699462

Openreach is responsible for any lightning damage to its network and overhead or underground cabling. It is not liable for any compensation or the repair/replacement costs for End User owned wiring or apparatus damaged by lightning.
If there is lightning damage to the external network, dropwire, aerial cable routes, poles or exchanges then Openreach will not charge for the replacement of the NTE or Master Socket. The NTE can be damaged as a result of inductive lightning; this is where a strike takes place within proximity of the Openreach Network causing an induced current surge damaging the NTE and / or End User Apparatus, but with no other signs of damage to the Network. There should still be NO charge for the NTE replacement.
Where there is damage to the End User owned wiring and/or apparatus with no damage to the Openreach network i.e. confirmation of a good test result with equipment unplugged, then a visit charge should be raised.
Where there is lightning and power surge damage to the End User owned wiring and Openreach has been authorised to carry out a repair then this work will be chargeable under TRC for time and materials. A visit charge will not be raised if the engineer is required carry out any repair to the Openreach network on the premises due to lightning damage on the same visit.

https://community.bt.com/t5/Phones/Master-Socket-and-Lightning-who-pays/td-p/1166926

Try and get hold of openreach and the guy who did the work.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?17173-Can-BT-Do-This........

The NTE socket belongs to BT in fact its a criminal offence to tamper with it once installed. The liability lies with BT to ensure that their equipment functions and if they didn't have the foresight to protect the equipment from lightning damage then you could argue that they were negligent.

http://www.britishtelephones.com/lightng.htm
The BPO decided in the 60's that lightning protection could be dispensed with as the cost involved in replacing protection was greater than the damage to apparatus.
This being the case it is their fault for not providing their socket with protection!! They must pay to repair it, they know this which is why they said it was damaged, the blame is then passed on to you.

Buzby

I was with you all the way until you said it was a 'criminal offence' to tamper with an NTE5. Which law would this be?

There are certainly laws preventing interception of communications, but a customer trying to get his installation working again? Not a chance, even if it was remotely true.

I can just see the CPS looking at complaints from BT and being told to take a hike.

boatman

It would appear this case was sorted by complaining in the BT forum and twitter which is great, but to me shows that they are trying it on in the hope you do not complain.

https://community.bt.com/t5/Phones/Master-Socket-and-Lightning-who-pays/td-p/1166926