Fibre reconnection fee rip-off after being with Virgin

mr-b

Hi

I've had multiple phone line fibre broadband contracts over several years and have never had any real issue switching, so when Virgin Media offered a good deal last year I took it. However now when I look at other phone line fibre deals, they all want a "spare pair" OpenReach (re)connection fee of around £60, despite advertising no setup costs! This is because after I went with VM, even though they have a completely separate network, my previous fibre "connection" has apparently been used for someone else. This was somewhat of a shock since I'd not seen anything warning me of it.

After going via a referral site, the target SP would not let me click Continue without specifying an "extra line". On the phone they offered me half price connection fee, but then of course I'd be going direct and would lose out on the referral offer (more than the connection fee discount).

Is there any way of getting round this, or does anyone know where it should be documented that leaving fibre BB may/will result in a substantial reconnection fee?

JJ_Egan

Its probably the connections in the cabinet .

No need to warn you its not Your connection Its belonging to OpenReach just as VM cabling belongs to VM .

<documented that leaving fibre BB may/will result in a substantial reconnection fee?>

Plenty of such warnings on this forum .

mr-b

Tx, I'm not sure which cabinet you are referring to - in the street or the exchange?

As I see it, I've paid once to connect to VDSL fibre and then later I decide to use an alternative network that is completely separate. Then when I decide to go back to VDSL fibre I'm being asked to pay again to reconnect.

Also I'd not seen any such warnings about such reconnection charges despite searching, and it is not flagged as a potential extra charge in any of the comparison sites. After doing some more searching of providers I've found that NOW TV will waive the reconnection fee so I've gone with them.

onomatopoeia99

You ceased your old connection, there is no guarantee that the line to your house is still connected to anything in the green box.  The reconnection fee covers an Openreach technician going to the cabinet, remaking (if required) and checking the physical connection and re-provisioning the the circuit as live.  The line card in the exchange may also need attention.  If you hadn't ceased the circuit, you wouldn't need any of this or the charge.

No idea who is supposed to warn you about this charge.  The old ISP that you were leaving doesn't care, VM don't care and your new ISP has been presented with a property on which the Openreach line is already ceased.

A_Nice_Englishman

mr-b said:

Tx, I'm not sure which cabinet you are referring to - in the street or the exchange?

As I see it, I've paid once to connect to VDSL fibre and then later I decide to use an alternative network that is completely separate. Then when I decide to go back to VDSL fibre I'm being asked to pay again to reconnect.

Also I'd not seen any such warnings about such reconnection charges despite searching, and it is not flagged as a potential extra charge in any of the comparison sites. After doing some more searching of providers I've found that NOW TV will waive the reconnection fee so I've gone with them.

The piece of equipment in the street cabinet your line was connected to will have been reused for another customer. Possibly also the wires from the cabinet to the exchange.

Openreach will need to send someone to alter the wiring to reconnect you and will charge the ISP for the work. It's then up to the ISP how they recoup the charge. Some will charge the new customer, though as you have found others don't.

iniltous

If you look on the Openreach price list, these things actually cost very little, and many providers just amortise the cost over the minimum term anyway, if a provider bases it’s sales pitch on having an extremely competitive (cheap) monthly amount, then it’s no surprise that they load the one off costs ( router delivery, connection fee , activation, whatever) as with most of these things , if price above all is the most important thing to a particular punter they would be best adding the total costs togetherness and dividing by the number of months in the term, rather than just looking at the monthly headline costs, I recon some will happily pay a £50 one off fee,  because the product is £2/month cheaper on a 24 month term , and not see the issue.
What a provider charges for activation has nothing to do with the wholesale cost they are charged by Openreach, if OR charge £10 ( for example ) there is nothing stopping the provider saying £60, or ‘free’ its entirely their decision 

mr-b

Yes it was only after a fair bit of sign-up labour on several ISPs that the reconnection fees (or lack of) became apparent. And that the comparison sites i've seen do not list them (unlike other costs e.g. router delivery etc.) so it's an opportunity to ensnare the unsuspecting.

bill888

fwiw, BT Retail don't charge new line connection fee if you take line rental and broadband with them.  But they are not the cheapest.  Others like Sky charge appear to charge as little as £20.  (Doesn't say how much NOW subsidiary charges)
https://www.choose.co.uk/guide/new-phone-line-installation-for-free.html