New Customer Woes

Hi,

(Posted in BT's own forums as well)

I have taken out a phone broadband & TV package with BT, this was all activated on Friday (22nd). Because of BTTV & Infinity 2 I had to have an engineer visit

Prior to the engineers visit I had a fully working phone line.

The OR engineer came out and fitted a new faceplate, and a VDSL socket next to my existing equipment, to do this he had to make some modifications to my internal wiring...

All seemed good, TV worked, internet was blisteringly fast and the phone appeared to work, he called the number and it rang...

However.....

Later in the day when I tried to call I had a dial tone but numbers wouldn�t dial, I reported this on line a fault was found and later it came back as fixed. I still cannot dial out though, when I dial the line goes silent and then after a short while I get a tone as if someone has hung up.

I tried the phone in different sockets but it�s still the same.

I reported the fault this morning on live chat and this is where the problem starts, because there is no apparent fault, I have been asked to accept that I may be charged £129.99 if the engineer finds a fault with the internal wiring or if it�s something I should have fixed.

I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told in no uncertain terms if I want the fault fixed I have to accept the conditions.

I have, because I need the line fixed accepted this however I find it totally unacceptable, the OR engineer is the only person to have touched my wiring or equipment since the house was built, the phone was working prior to his visit so why should I have to expose myself to £130, the CS assistant assured me it was unlikely that I would have to pay but would not rule it out and would not authorise and engineer without me accepting the potential charge...

I know I�ve not actually been charged yet, but the thought of £130 hanging over my head is NOT nice, and really galling considering the circumstances. Where do I stand here ?

So far not a great introduction into the world of BT.....

Edited by deleted (Wed 27-Jan-16 10:10:37)

It would unfortunately be the same with pretty much any of the ISPs that use the BT infrastructure. BT retail get the same chance of being charged for faults as any other provider using BT Openreach for the underlying technology.

Have you tried another phone handset? Have you tried with the handset plugged in to the "test socket" behind the new front plate? If you have done both of these then chances of being charged are very low.

Unfortunately BT Openreach do this because they don't have control of the full end to end any more and faults in a customers premises related to things other than the line could cost them a lot and therefore they pass this charge on.

Edited by ian72 (Wed 27-Jan-16 12:10:50)

Hi,

Thanks Ian.

I've been a bit lazy to be honest and not tried the master socket, simply because the phone was working Thursday but not Friday after the OR visit, it would not surprise me if the fault was in my wiring, as I said the OR engineer had a right old root about and it's this that is bothering me. If a new engineer comes by and says it's internal I then get lumbered for £130 to fix the issue that they created !

Edited by deleted (Wed 27-Jan-16 12:48:22)

Have you done any diagnostics yourself such as disconnecting the modern cable from the socket and trying to dial out, or plugging your phone directly into the rest socket?

Hi,

Like I said below, I've been a bit lazy on that front, I will tonight though..

The way I see it, OR were playing with my wiring, it's not working now so they should come fix for free, regardless of whether it's internal or external....

Personally I like to fix things myself rather than wait for around for someone that may not even show up.
Make sure your phone is set to tone dialling and not pulse.

If it is in your wiring they will charge.

However, if it is in your wiring then it could have been caused by the BT engineer in the first place - so in an ideal world they would fix it and compensate you for them breaking it in the first place - unfortunately I don't think it is an ideal world and fighting BT may be a struggle you don't want to take on.

EDIT : I agree with Ribble - do the tests so that you at least have more info if nothing else.

Edited by ian72 (Wed 27-Jan-16 13:03:32)

I will have a play tonight....

So, the OR guy comes in, takes off internal extension plates pulls wires out, breaks something and I have to pay to fix that ? Like I said the evening before, all was working fine....

True, irks me though I should have to fix their mess.

Phone is as it was with Sky, so nothing different there....

In reply to a post by madmart:

So, the OR guy comes in, takes off internal extension plates pulls wires out, breaks something and I have to pay to fix that ? Like I said the evening before, all was working fine....

You shouldn't have to - but it comes down to proving that it was caused by the engineer. BT have more clout to fight than us mere mortals. By doing the test you may show that it is NOT your wiring and therefore give more ammunition to avoiding the charge. And if it is the internal wiring then it could be temporarily fixed by using the test socket whilst you fight BT over their workmanship. It may even be a very easy fix that you could do yourself and guarantee you not getting charged.