FTTP -> "Please pay £3500"

So, FTTP became available in early November. We're about 50m from the exchange ("ESLIM") on an EO line. Yay, down with ADSL1! ADSLChecker says "WBC FTTP, 330/30". Choices for FTP provider were Zen & BT, since I wasn't a Plusnet subscriber. Went with Zen.

OpenReach guy came out in late November. Poked some blue string down the ducting from the house, then declared that the street box didn't have ducting connecting to the other street box with the fibre in it (buried armoured cable). Said someone would arrive to do some digging and duct it then he'd come back and hook it up. Spraypainted lines everywhere to mark it out.

Couple of days before Christmas an OpenReach contracted surveyor turned up. Said exactly the same thing. Diggers would chuck some new ducting down, and we're done. The proposed duct will run past other neighbours who are also ordering fibre too.

Last week I get an email saying installation would be completed by the 22nd.

Today I get an email saying:

Following your most recent site survey, additional charges have been identified due to the need for added installation tasks required to install fibre to (and into) your site.

The charges are as follows:

Survey 1 = 245.14
Duct Soft Surface (7M) = 201.53
Duct Carriageway (36M) = 4033.80
Total Cost: 4480.47

Openreach cover the first £1000, therefore the amount payable from yourself would be: £3480.47

Not sure where the distances came from but I'll check. Think it's more like 30m total, but whatever. None of it is on my property.

Feels like if my phone line failed between the street boxes they'd have to replace it? (in fact, they added ducting between my house & the street box in June because the existing armoured cable had given up). I can kind of understand paying for between my house and the street, but not between one bit of the street and another, all on their network. First person who orders pays for it all?!

I found a thread from 2014 discussing similar stuff, but I suspect the state of play may have changed since then?

Anyone encountered similar issues, and is there anything I can do about it? I have better things to do with £3K than give it to OpenReach to fix their network.

Edited by rcoup (Fri 12-Jan-18 16:45:40)

In reply to a post by rcoup:

Anyone encountered similar issues, and is there anything I can do about it? I have better things to do with £3K than give it to OpenReach to fix their network.

Their network is not broken. You are asking them to upgrade it just for you.

Cancel the order and wait till someone else has forked out.

A better idea might be to get a group letter or email sent to the CEO of Openreach, asking for the ducting costs to be spread. If everyone says no, tell them you are ducking out then as I suggested above, and then see what the others say.

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 12-Jan-18 16:55:44)

Long shot but try again with BT Consumer, there is rumour of them swallowing the excess construction charges

Or if the neighbours are also directly buried and all wanting to order then group together and point out your £1,000 that Openreach will pay add up to cover the cost of putting in ducting.

Yeah, I know there are at least 2x others directly buried who have ordered, and the surveyor mentioned "the whole street is like this, seems like someone missed it when they were planning".

But considering you can't even _talk_ to OpenReach, how do I coordinate this sort of "I have 5x orders, so we're up to £5K" logic?

I certainly didn't put armoured cable down the street. And I certainly didn't decide to offer FTTP instead of putting a cabinet at the exchange and doing FTTC.

Presumably they've already taken the additional Scottish Govt funding for providing broadband to EO lines, even though in reality we're being asked to pay for it.

Openreach CEO contact details. Don't forget to read the Hints and Tips at the bottom.

Which should work, or failing that me [email protected] and will pester away

Though CEO should be the best bet if it gets noticed

4 grand for 36 metres?

How much do you think it should cost?

Digging up the road and burying ducting at 450-600mm is not a cheap process.