Removal of Telephone Junction Box

Ok, first of all I hope this is the right place to be asking this.

Second, although I am a savvy kind of fella, I'm by no means an expert. So take it easy with me.

Thirdly, I posting from work, so pictures etc are out of the question at the present time.

The problem:

My broadband connection drops. Literally. Every 30 minutes or so. In the last 24 period it dropped in excess of 40 times. There is an issue with noise on the line - there always has been. However this issue only started 4 weeks ago. Up until then it's been stable.

I've been on to 02, who whilst being extremely helpful have now escallated it to the stage where a BT engineer comes out.

Whilst i was on to 02 last night they suggested removing the junction box.

I have one telephone socket in the whole house and next to that is a junction box. Can i remove it? What are the implications? If any? Is it a simple job?

The phone soket is an old style - there is no "test socket" and the whole fascia comes off after removing a couple of screws.

In theory, and im also sure the guywont be too happy about it when he arrives. BT field engineers or customer service engineers or whatever they are now called "should" replace the old outdated hardware with new.

You could in theory ask him to replace the nte when he arrives.

If it is causing any problems though, i can not answer that.

Thanks for the reply Mitch.

I guess the question i also related to whether or not the engineer will want to charge me for such work. I could take the socket and junction out and fit a master socket myself....

And get a bill from BT for tampering with their equipment. Be nice to the engineer and he should replace your master socket.

rockh is correct, the guy who comes round could raise a charge. The reason they are supposed to replace the ageing hardware, it's just to keep their network up to date.

Still, i guess it depends on who turns up that day.

edited - used wrong username

Edited by Mitchy_mitch (Thu 22-Apr-10 18:00:09)

If there is noise on the line to the extent you hear crackling on a call even with just a phone and no other stuff connected, you report it to BT as a voice fault without reference to broadband, as BT would undertake to fix voise faults and that is not supposed to be charged unless you have caused it e.g. wired up extensions badly.

Make sure to try/borrow another phone(s) with a known good one which is clear on a good line.

Once the line has been stabilsed for voice calls your broadband problems may disappear.

Edited by prlzx (Thu 22-Apr-10 23:30:03)

Sorry to correct you prlzx, but BT will charge if the fault is found to the point of entry in the property, i.e. if the socket is replaced you would still get a bill as BT will say it is past the point of entry to the house (the point of entry is behind the socket).

I thought BT were responsible for everything up to and including into the master socket (A and B wires) - as long as the householder had not tampered with BT's stuff,

and that a line which works without crackling on voice was what the line rental already pays for - householders ought not to be charged for fixing BT's stuff.

However if this is not the case I am happy to stand corrected.

Can second this. There are documented cases of customers being charged for bringing their telephone wiring into this century just because the obsolete kit happened to be inside the house but even so is entirely BT's responsibility.

It sounds like you have no demarcation point as such (no master socket) and so whether you'll be charged or not is vague at best.

On the other hand, since it's not your equipment you can't do it yourself. Our house is like this - phone line to black (voltage amplifier?) box, then GPO box, then GPO box, then split two ways and running round the house, etc. - I never could clarify whether I'd get a bill of hundreds of pounds to remove all this 50 (?) year old BT stuff and put in something which would hike the broadband speed beyond 1.7Mbps presuming that, as BT like to state, internal wiring is the cause of many a slow connection.

Whether or not you're charged is supposed to rest on whether the equipment being replaced is yours or BT's. BT can simply argue it was your equipment and the bill stands. The ISP does not know who is telling the truth. Take some photos and keep them so you can prove what was replaced.