Damaged via BT telegraph pole

JBK44

For the second time this year my house has been subject to electrical damage during a lightning storm. It transpires that on both occasions the lightning stuck the village telegraph pole ( which does not have lightening conductors) traveled down the line into the electrical circuit of our home damaging any item plugged into the phone line, electrical circuit or TV aerial.
The question is therefore is BT liable for any of the damage given that the pole does not have lightening conductors? And if so how can this be raised with BT?
I am not a direct customer of BT and purchase my broadband and TV through a separate service provider.
Thanks John

Keep_pedalling

BT poles are not generally fitted with lightening protection, but even if they were it would not prevent of a power surge to both the exchange and the customer.

There is some protection on the master socket, but that may not prevent damage to anything connected directly to it. Your supplier may arrange a replacement router and get BT Openreach to repair a damaged master socket, but I don't see how lightening would also damage devices via the mains ot TV arial, without something being wrong your end, so I think you have little hope there.

JBK44

I could understand that if it was only my home but it has been seen throughout the village, 20 or more homes.

cajef

How does it manage to jump from the phone line which is a separate circuit to the electrical circuit of the home and TV aerial?

Damage to the items plugged into the electrical circuits is more likely to be caused by a power cut and/or surge.

JBK44

Hi,
I understand telephone line to router or home phone transferred into electric circuit and various devices including TV booster which transfers into TV aerial.
Current list of damaged items,not working, includes 2 TV boosters, 2 tvs, 2 telephones, hard drive naz, broadband router, electric doorbell and combined boiler.

Keep_pedalling

JBK44 wrote: »

Hi,
I understand telephone line to router or home phone transferred into electric circuit and various devices including TV booster which transfers into TV aerial.
Current list of damaged items,not working, includes 2 TV boosters, 2 tvs, 2 telephones, hard drive naz, broadband router, electric doorbell and combined boiler.

That should not be possible unless your router had a fault that would allow a surge to pass to the mains, but even then I would expect the fuse on that device to blow first.

To be honest this sounds like the surge actually came though mains rather than the phone line. I would be calling in an electrician to get to the bottom of what has happened here. Time to call your contents insurer I think.

JBK44

OK thanks for your comments.

iniltous

Are you sure it's even a BT/Openreach pole ?, if it's a village setting, it's possible it's a power company pole , that has attachments that belong to BT,( a joint user pole ) is your house power delivered overhead or underground, if it's overhead it will be a power company pole

JBK44

Hi it's just a telecom pole