I dont want BT, do I have to have them?? :(

rossw

Hi all

I have just moved into a new house that has apparently all the wiring for a telephone but has been disconnected at the exchange end!

BT want to charge me about £130 for reconnection, which I thought was a lot but was willing to pay UNTIL they also insisted I subscribe to their 12 month contract @ £10.50 per month which I DIDN'T WANT!

I want Orange Home MAX that provides phone + DSL much cheaper BUT I have to have a active BT line for them to take ownership of

My question is really this.

Are BT allowed to stop me having a telephone service from a company of my choosing by insisting I am contractually bound to them for the first year??

Surely this is a monopoly ?? or am I just being DIM (wouldnt be the first time )

Any idea who I can contact ??

Many Thanks

Ross

Drunkstar

*sigh*

If you want Orange then tell them to start the line, they are allowed to after all, it just they have chosen not to. If you expect BT to do the work then of course they will expect to make some money out of it.

Heinz

Please see the 'HERE' link in my signature below.

You'd only be contracted to BT for the line rental (BT Together Option 1) for the 12 months.

You could sign up for a CPS and/or the likes of 1899, 18185 and 18866 for your calls immediately.

For most people, BT line rental and those sort options are best (i.e. work out cheapest in the long run).

geralddlp

I think this is really harsh,

I have read threads before, where BT are charging a lot to wire up new buildings, and fair enough, they have to make a living. But in this case, why did bt disconnect the line at the exchange ? Normally if you move in somewhere you just call up and they'll reconnect you. Has the line been disconnected a long time ?

It seems very harsh to say we disconnected the line at this end now you have to pay for reconnecting it. I have had this kind of problem with business lines where they charge you a lot to reconnect them and then you're tied in for years (depending on what you agree to re initial fee).
In our case it was a managed office that had recently been vacated, so if they had disconnected it at the exchange in a way that was expensive to undo, perhaps they shouldn't have?

G

Badger_Lady

Are you sure they definitely want to charge that full amount? When I looked into it, they by default say "It will be up to £125 depending on the condition of your line", but in reality they will only charge that much if they have to replace all the wiring into your property.

If your wires are in place and intact, the actual charge will be much, much lower than that.

They normally do a check at their end that helps them to provide an indication of how much work is needed, then they call you back to let you know and you can decide to continue or not.

sicker

Just out of interest, if BT had not pre-wired the new build how much do you think it would cost to provide all the wiring. I believe in the long run they have probably saved you money.

rossw

Hi again Everybody,

Thanks for your responses, much to think about.

After some snuffling I have found Plusnet to be the best for me

Line install fee of £105

Broadband activation of £40.00 (or free if you dont mind signing up to a 12 month contract)

Then £25.00 p/m for phone and internet (basically BT option 2 and reasonable broadband)

http://www.plus.net/residential/bundles.shtml

Hope this helps somebody

Thanks Again

Ross

savagevixen

Drunkstar wrote: »

*sigh*

If you want Orange then tell them to start the line, they are allowed to after all, it just they have chosen not to. If you expect BT to do the work then of course they will expect to make some money out of it.

I stumbled across this thread as I am moving tomorrow and have just been on the phone to BT. I have been informed the same info as the OP. I am a regular MSE user, but have never been on the phone boards before. I am bewildered by the *sigh*. What is that all about? It seems pretty rude when someone is a newbie to the particular discussion to be so patronising.

Remember be nice to all MSE users.

rossw

thanks vixen,

gotta admit i was a little crestfallen when i read it but after many years of screaming RTFM at people i suppose I cant complain when some one does it back

Ross

espresso

savagevixen wrote: »

I stumbled across this thread as I am moving tomorrow and have just been on the phone to BT. I have been informed the same info as the OP. I am a regular MSE user, but have never been on the phone boards before. I am bewildered by the *sigh*. What is that all about? It seems pretty rude when someone is a newbie to the particular discussion to be so patronising.

:rotfl:

*sigh*

The *sigh* is because the OP and yourself, obviously do not understand the situation regarding so called telecom companies like TalkTalk , Orange etc!

The OP was having a go at BT when it should be Orange that Ross should be moaning about. These companies insist that you must have a working BT line before they will take over your telecom service - why? They do it because they are only offering half a service and they could easily take you on as a customer and then arrange that your line is provisioned by BT wholesale just like BT does. It's obviously easier for them to simply insist that you do the necessary installation work, at cost and then and only then are they interested in your custom!

:rolleyes:

rossw

OK, so now we are all at the same point of enlightenment. I have an aside

Is it worth me going throug all this with the endless barrage of script reading drones that orange seem to throw at me ??

Can they relent on an individual customer basis if they make enough noise or is this a matter they will have to agree with OpenReach across the board and therefore make my efforts futile.

Should I keep nagging Orange or just go with someone like PlusNet and save all the pain

Ross