So who is responsible....

..... For the filtered face plate on a new BT NTE5 fitted by a BT engineer ? Friend of mine recently had some work done to his phone line which resulted in the fitting of a new NTE5 with the filtered faceplate.

Recently he lost his internet, having spoken to his ISP, he removed the faceplate plugged in a filter reconnected the router and all worked fine.

The ISP has told him the filter is his problem as it's classed as the customers equipment, and they have refused to take any responsibility.

Are they within their rights?

I don't think that is a new filtered faceplate fitted by a BT engineer. I believe they fit interstitial ones aka the FTTC VDSL2 ones these days.

But wherever it came from a simple warranty claim against the supplier of it seems appropriate.

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 30-Aug-13 22:59:39)

I thought that was the case. However my friend swears this is what the BT Engineer fitted. I suggested he buy another they're cheap enough.

I was more interested in the, "It's the customers equipment." statement. Thanks Bob.

Edited by wingco1 (Fri 30-Aug-13 23:13:22)

Is that an exact match picture wise?

Openreach use different designs
The right hand one in http://www.thinkbroadband.com/images/iplate/bt-adsl-...
And
http://www.coolwebhome.co.uk/faceplate/

The ISP needs a wake-up call. If we accept it was fitted by Openreach, it will still have a warranty and have to be of merchantable quality.

If it is the same type as they fit on VDSL (FTTC) installs then it should have a 12mth warranty,As the faceplate forms part of the NTE then it should be BTOR's part of the ship to at least supply a replacement faceplate should it fail in that 12mths period,
As for contacting the manufacturer good luck on that one, as you didn't buy it from them BTOR did any contract as such would lie with the ISP , as it is they who have a contract with BTOR for supplying the BB, So they should

1, contact BT openreach and inform them of the faulty filtered faceplate, asking them to replace it, or report it to OR as a fault any reasonable engineer shouldn't make out a report that would lead to the isp being charged

2 Send out a replacement filter themselves to the customer ,or offer to re emburse the cost to of the customer buying a replacement, but this could give rise to further issues requiring an engineers visit,(should customer not be able to complete the task properly)

Edited by tommy45 (Fri 30-Aug-13 23:34:45)

Back to your OP.

If the faceplate was fitted by an engineer acting on behalf of the line rental CP, not the broadband ISP, then it is the line rental company's problem. Not the ISP's.

In reply to a post by wingco1:

The ISP has told him the filter is his problem as it's classed as the customers equipment, and they have refused to take any responsibility.

If it was the ISP who called out the BT OR eng, then it the ISP that that is responsible as your contract is with them and they supplied, via a subcontractor, a faulty part.

As for it being customer's equipment, it is no diff from buying a phone handset, customer's equipment, from BT and finding it faulty when first used.

You have no contract or contact with BT OR, so no point in trying to contact them.

Anyway, you don't really need a filtered faceplate, except cosmetically. Just use a dangly filter, as I have been doing since an eng, unnecessarily called out by ISP, fitted unasked a hissy BT V1.0 filtered faceplate.

Edited by XRaySpeX (Sat 31-Aug-13 03:20:03)

In theory I have to agree.

However - the practical steps to try to get it replaced (time spent on the phone, phone call costs, possible engineer visit to wait for etc.) are really not going to be worth jumping through. It would cost less and take less time to just order a new one online. Several places sell the genuine BT xDSL faceplate online.

Indeed . I was explaining why, unless the engineer who fitted it was sent by the ISP, the user has nothing grumble about regarding the ISP.

Two things to consider.

Has the customer proved that the fault is with the faceplate and not on any internal extension wiring or equipment connected to the faceplate?

Is the customer on TalkTalk? They use their own contractors to do visits if they think that the fault is on the customers own equipment or wiring. This may explain a non BT faceplate fitted by an engineer.

It's the adsl V1.0

If the faceplate was fitted by an engineer acting on behalf of the line rental CP, not the broadband ISP, then it is the line rental company's problem. Not the ISP's.

Phone line and ADSL with same company. He did say which one, but I can't remember because I'd never heard of them.

He said they were insistent that it was his problem, as the faceplate was the customers property.

Has the customer proved that the fault is with the faceplate and not on any internal extension wiring or equipment connected to the faceplate?

Yes. when the face plate was removed and replaced with a standard filter, both phone and ADSL worked again.

Is the customer on TalkTalk?

No.

When did they fit it? IIRC you said recently. In which case there is legally an expectation that it works for a reasonable time, or gets replaced.

I assume he/she/you is/are happy to fit it if they send one out, so no engineer needed. But they can't fit something like that, that breaks, and just walk away.

As others have said, the easiest thing to do is replace it by one of the many reputable ones on the market, (not a real cheapo as the filter may be rubbish). I would then walk away from that provider as soon as possible. Which I would do even if they get talked into posting one out free.

In reply to a post by wingco1:

..... For the filtered face plate on a new BT NTE5 fitted by a BT engineer ? Friend of mine recently had some work done to his phone line which resulted in the fitting of a new NTE5 with the filtered faceplate.

Hang on! A new NTE5, but was it an existing filtered faceplate, not a new one? That would alter the discussion completely.

Yes, subtle diff! Ne'er the word 'new' in front of 'faceplate', only before 'NTE5'.

The engineer fitted a new NTE5, which included the filtered faceplate, sorry for the confusion. Apparently his previous NTE5 was damaged beyond repair and it cost him £100 for the replacement.

Just to add, Openreach don't raise charges against the end users, the charges Openreach raises are to the CP, as it's them that they are working on behalf of.
If the CP wishes to pass those charges in part, or fully, on to their customer, then that's between them.

AIUI there will be a 3 or 12-month Openreach warranty on the whole assembly then.

Yep I agree, BUT his phone line provider/ISP tell him it's not their responsibility as the faceplate is classed as the customers responsibility and nothing to do with them or BT.

If his phone line provider/ISP haven't got the cash to send him a new faceplate in the interests of good customer relations maybe he should think about taking his trade elsewhere.

In reply to a post by wingco1:

nothing to do with them

Nothing? But they supplied it!

Your kettle is your responsibility, but if it fails in the first year it is the retailer's responsibility. End of!

If he wants to get awkward, he could demand an engineer to fit a replacement faceplate. If he wants to be conciliatory, he demands one is posted to him for free.

If he wants to save his blood pressure, he buys one somewhere, as several of us have advised. Plus a cheap IDC/Krone tool if there are any extensions wired to it. (He'll need one of those anyway if there are extensions and they do send a faceplate).

His ISP have no chance in law. They are simply wrong.