Who do I get to fix copper telephone wires? Affecting telephone line and broadband.

nappy501

Just to explain, I am with Utility Warehouse and have been having problems with my landline and broadband, which has got worse and worse.  Now, my broadband drops every few minutes and some telephone call are affected.  I have contacted Utility Warehouse about this on many occasions.  They have said I have copper wires which they don't own and suggest I upgrade to fibre optic.  Last week I was contacted by an engineer who said that it hadn't dropped out for two days, but agreed that it had been dropping out frequently before that.  It is still doing it.  He also suggested that I upgrade to fibre optic.

Now my understanding is they rent the lines from BT, so can't they get BT to fix it?  I feel like they are just pushing for me to upgrade.  I don't feel I need fibre optic.  How do I get someone to fix the copper wires?  If it is best that I upgrade to fibre optic, I will not be doing it with Utility Warehouse.

Thank you for your help in advance.

Neil_Jones

The lines are rented from Openreach, not BT.  OpenReach is BT, but run at arms length.

If you have issues with the line or the broadband that are caused by the physical lines, you phone your provider.  Who speak to Outreach, who go and fix/repair/replace things on the network to rectify the fault.

Upgrading to Fibre (FTTC) does not change the basic fact you're still using the same connections you're having issues with now.  FTTP may but this may be more expensive.

Browntoa

Utility warehouse need to open a fault with openreach , the fault is likely to be between you and the green cab , or poor jumpered connection in the cab itself.

UW should not be fobbing you off with " we don't own the copper wires . 

nappy501

Neil_Jones said:

The lines are rented from Openreach, not BT.  OpenReach is BT, but run at arms length.

If you have issues with the line or the broadband that are caused by the physical lines, you phone your provider.  Who speak to Outreach, who go and fix/repair/replace things on the network to rectify the fault.

Upgrading to Fibre (FTTC) does not change the basic fact you're still using the same connections you're having issues with now.  FTTP may but this may be more expensive.

Thank you.  What is FTTP?  I didn't think it was the same connections.  I remember them installing the fibre optic on the pavement, I thought it was all new?  So you are saying there will be no improvement, apart from when it is connected it will be faster?  Which I don't really need.

JJ_Egan

FTTP is the new rollout of Open Reach optical fibre direct to the premises  circa speeds up to 1000 meg.

I don't believe your current ISP is signed up to FTTP .

J_B

nappy501 said:

   What is FTTP? 

FTTP = Fibre To The Property

FTTC = Fibre To The Cabinet (then copper wire from cabinet to your house)

pbartlett

The way fault reporting works is this: You have a problem - you call your provider (Utility Warehouse). They are supposed to do whatever tests they can do and if they determine it is a wire problem they put in a fault report to Openreach. The customer cannot contact Openreach themselves they don't allow it. Go back to UW and ask them to raise a fault on your line.

I believe if faults are not fixed in a timely manner you are due some compensation for each day?? Or I may be wrong on that.

[Deleted User]

Have you checked that it's not the wire in your own home that's at fault (which is your responsibility)? I have a long standing problem with an intermittently noisy line, but every time I report it, they say they've fixed it and then it starts playing up again a month or so later. Intermittent faults can be a pig to fix.

Flash32

Assuming you have a standard BT-pattern master socket (unless you are with Virgin you should have one of these).  If you carefully remove the front plate from your master socket, you should find a standard phone socket inside the master socket - this is used for testing the incoming line.  Take care not to disturb the thin wires when removing the front plate.  This socket is wired upstream of any connections in your home and removing the front plate should disconnect the house installation.  Plug any standard phone into this socket, then try to make a call to see if you have the same noise on the line.  If you still have the same noise, the fault is with the line - in this case, your provider must contact Openreach and you can insist that they do.  If the noise has gone, the fault is in your installation.  Be careful if the latter is the case as OpenReach will charge a hefty premium if they come out to find a fault in your installation.

If UW does not raise the matter with Openreach in a reasonable time (say 7 working days), make a formal complaint in writing to them (not Openreach).  If this is not resolved in 8 weeks, go to Ofcom.  As previously posted, don't try to contact Openreach yourself - this can only be done through your provider.

Farway

Flash32 said:

Assuming you have a standard BT-pattern master socket (unless you are with Virgin you should have one of these).  If you carefully remove the front plate from your master socket, you should find a standard phone socket inside the master socket - this is used for testing the incoming line.  Take care not to disturb the thin wires when removing the front plate.  This socket is wired upstream of any connections in your home and removing the front plate should disconnect the house installation.  Plug any standard phone into this socket, then try to make a call to see if you have the same noise on the line.  If you still have the same noise, the fault is with the line - in this case, your provider must contact Openreach and you can insist that they do.  If the noise has gone, the fault is in your installation.  Be careful if the latter is the case as OpenReach will charge a hefty premium if they come out to find a fault in your installation.

If UW does not raise the matter with Openreach in a reasonable time (say 7 working days), make a formal complaint in writing to them (not Openreach).  If this is not resolved in 8 weeks, go to Ofcom.  As previously posted, don't try to contact Openreach yourself - this can only be done through your provider.

In bold, details of preforming a quite line test are here, just make sure you use a corded phone, and report it as a phone fault to provider, not a broadband fault

https://support.zen.co.uk/kb/Knowledgebase/Performing-a-Quiet-Line-Test