Is this a scam? "Phoneline fault"

bill_the_diggerman

I think BT tried to scam me for £415.95 on a non-existent "line fault". In early July, I had complaints that my phone was`nt ringing so went on BT online for a diagnosis which reported a line fault in the BT network although my phone and broadband worked perfectly otherwise. They offered me a free call divert to my mobile which I accepted. I checked online three times in the following week and the "fault" remained.
Then I got a call saying an engineer wanted to check in the house. He duly came, "tested" the line and said the wire between my front wall and the first box needed replacement which he then did. It took him about 45 minutes and he pronounced the job a success so I switched off the call divert. That night I had another complaint that my phone was`nt ringing but the following day, it was alright.

When I got my bill, they had added £354 plus VAT for the repair. I sent two complaints from the BT website and got only automated responses. I called them twice and got cut off on both occasions so I deducted the £415.95 from the bill and paid the rest before they cut me off.
I then got a reminder about the outstanding amount and finally managed to speak to someone about it with the following response;
Repairs have been subcontracted out and BT only passed on the contractors bills.
Any repairs done inside the customer`s property is chargeable with a callout fee of £99 plus £85 per hour. The engineer charged me for three hours!
My argument went as follows.
Nobody told me there would be any charge.
The online diagnosis always indicated a fault in the BT network.
The wire he replaced was just a two wire connection and I argued that if there had been anything wrong with either wire, my phone would not work at all.(Which is true.)
I told them I`d paid for my calls and my line rental and package was paid for in advance so if they cut me off, they would be acting illegally and I`d sue them.
I also said I would not pay the amount without a court order to the effect and I would defend.

I said I believed the "fault" had been deliberately engineered in order to generate business and would be reporting the matter to trading standards.

Result? After speaking to the supervisor, the £415.95 was deducted from the bill.

Conclusions.
BT engineers are extremely expensive, don`t let them in your house!
If anyone has a similar experience, I`d like to hear from you.
Regards.
Bill.

BritBrat

Welcome to MSE Bill,

As you have found out you have to be careful now with a BT repair.

Best way is to remove the front cover of the NTE box and buy a new cheap phone to keep for testing purposes, then plug that phone into the internal phone socket.

Then you can not have a fault that is not BT's property.

Never admit anything and watch what they do, I think I would keep notes and take photos.

And yes they are trying it on.

MothballsWallet

They tried the same with me a few years ago for 50-60 quid. Luckily, my parents were visiting us, and both my mum and Mrs Mothballs were present when the engineer came and told me that he didn't do much other than look at the master socket.

So, I fired off a letter to politely explain this to them, and they agreed to refund the charge as a credit on my next bill.

I fixed the problem myself by rewiring the extension as per the normal recommendation of using the plug-in adapter, and it was sorted after all.

david29dpo

I came across this about 25 years ago, BT man claiming the line after the master was at fault at my parents house stopping the phone ringing. He got his mate to "ring" the line, of course it didn't but unknown to him i had a mobile the size of a suitcase and my parents phone rang! They looked at one another and left.

FannyHill

BT are starting to charge a large fee now for callouts.I believe the rates went up earlier this year. It's a case of we have checked our lines and they are OK so you're equipment is without question at fault even though we haven't checked it.
They send bills to ISP's for BB related problems and they take it from the customers bank account although they should email first before taking payment.
Then the customer has the hassle of trying to get it back.

BritBrat

My father has just had a fault, I went over and removed the NTE box front cover and tried 3 different phones in the socket and none worked.

Phoned BT back as I had reported the fault the day before and now confirmed the fault was not internal so could he have an engineer out.

They were really good came and fixed it same day, I was not able to be there when the engineer came but my sister was and I made sure she took note of what they did, they did not touch any internal wiring and made repair to external box where there was corrosion.

Now I am waiting to see if they try and charge him.

If they do I will report it to the police.

FannyHill

Would this be a police matter though ?

markw5

BritBrat wrote: »

Welcome to MSE Bill,

As you have found out you have to be careful now with a BT repair.

Best way is to remove the front cover of the NTE box and buy a new cheap phone to keep for testing purposes, then plug that phone into the internal phone socket.

Then you can not have a fault that is not BT's property.

Never admit anything and watch what they do, I think I would keep notes and take photos.

And yes they are trying it on.

Sorry for my ignorance - What is the NTE box? Does every household have one when using BT? All the wires to our house are underground (not cable)

Thanks

BritBrat

Would this be a police matter though ?

I think so, playing on the older people in the community and the not so old but not aware. Others may not have people who look out for them and just pay up. I think it's a crime if they try and charge for work not done. Don't you?

Sorry for my ignorance - What is the NTE box? Does every household have one when using BT? All the wires to our house are underground (not cable)

Thanks

Not everyone has one, if it's a new system it will, by new I mean in the last 10 years or so. You can tell if it is as it has two screws in the front and if you remove them and the part you are now holding has a sort of BT phone plug protruding out the back then it is.

normanmark

FannyHill wrote: »

Would this be a police matter though ?

No it wouldn't, it would be a trading standards matter

BritBrat

No it wouldn't, it would be a trading standards matter

Maybe you are right but if they try and charge him I will still involve the police, so we may find out what is right or wrong.

I see it as deception.