Vodafone charged me 60£ for line installation and won't refund me

jacoscar

I don't fully understand what happens inside an exchange; if I move for example from BT to Vodafone, does my phone line get physically disconnected from BT equipment and connected to Vodafone equipment inside the exchange?

iniltous

In basic terms yes, company’s that have full LLU (MPF) have a presence in the exchange , and the MDF connection ( main distribution frame ) connects the LLU providers kit to the Openreach cable pair, ( it actually goes through a test access matrix , TAMS,  but that is inactive normally , just a pass through , only switching in during  line testing ) 
BT , and providers that don’t use LLU MPF , the MDF is connected from the ‘BT’ telephony equipment ( that provides dialtone) through ‘BT’ or other providers ADSL kit to the OR cable pair.
This is SMPF ( shared metallic path ) and this interconnect jumpering is sometimes called ‘Ties’, if the customer broadband is FTTC rather than ADSL, the telephony equipment is connected directly to the OR cable pair and broadband is introduced at the fibre cab not the exchange.

If Vodafone  have their own LLU MPF or have a wholesale deal with TT or Sky , then a move from BT to Vodafone would require your connection being rejumpered  in the exchange

macman

BT OR charge the same for a new line provision as for a reconnection. It's up to the provider as to how much they discount the £120 fee, but £50 is fairly average. This is chargeable regardless of whether the work done is at the exchange, street cab, or in the home. But I wouldn't expect a Voda call centre drone to know that.

jacoscar

After filing a complaint, I just got a call from Vodafone and they told me that they will credit the 60£ back into my account

iniltous

Conversion prices are not the same as provision, it’s all available on the OR price list, OR ( no such thing as BT OR ) don’t charge the same for conversions as provides ( typically it’s £20-30 ) not £120