Old GPO junction box problem

My girlfriend and I moved into our ~1970 house this time last year, we've got the landline with TalkTalk (ugh) and LLU broadband from O2 (yay). However the internal phone wiring up to the master socket is a bit of a bodge and I'm looking for some advice about whether we'll get hit with a fee by Openreach to get it sorted out.

The BT cable comes in from the pole outside through the frame of the old front door (the previous owners built a porch) and there's a rather elderly cream GPO type 52A junction box (this type) behind the door right down at floor level. A thin cable runs from there right round the front door, up the side of the stairs then down into the cupboard underneath, where it's connected into a modern BT-logoed mini junction box underneath the fusebox, a cable then runs from that through the partition wall which closes in the side of the stairs to the LJU master socket on the other side. I've uploaded a set of photos to Flickr to make all of that clear.

The cover on the GPO junction box has come off a number of times (and has done so continually since we moved in) as the screw thread no longer appears to hold it in place properly, and it's full of dust and muck with it being right down by the floor. I've had the occasional bit of crackling on the phone which is probably due to the old contacts and accumulated cr@p inside the box. Also as we have a LJU master and not a proper NTE5 then there is no test socket for me to try and narrow down the problem.

Now, finally, the question for you all: what do you think are my chances of convincing TalkTalk to get an Openreach engineer to come and sort out the ancient cr@ppy wiring that is in place here? Namely removing that GPO box which is pretty much past it, and hopefully installing a proper NTE5 master socket instead of the LJU? The lack of a test socket means that I can't go through the usual scripted rigmarole they ask you to when calling to report a fault, would that automatically trigger an engineer to come and fit an NTE5 for free or would I have to pay a call-out charge? Frankly I don't see why I should have to as the existing wiring situation is originally of BT's making, but from other posts here I've got the impression that OR seem to be more reluctant to automatically fit a new NTE5 as standard on a call-out these days.

Any advice gratefully received!

Your best bet would be to complain of noise on the line (best done when there actually is noise on the line).

Not sure about Talk talk (or BT that much anymore to be honest, I haven't worked for them in some time) but if there is noise on the line I believe an engineers visit to fix it is free. If you're nice to the engineer he may even put you in a nice shiny NTE5 (I believe they are meant to do this when repairing old wiring that has become faulty)

So complain to talk talk about the crackling line, and get some tea, coffee, and chocolate biscuits in. (not that I condone bribery)

The junction box at the door doesn't look too bad, and while they look messy with spare pairs in them, so long as incoming is using a twisted pair, and outgoing then generally fine, no real sign of damp.

The key to whether it is worth bothering chasing TalkTalk to arrange an NTE5 install (a simple arrive put NTE5 in place) at £25+VAT (what openreach charge). Doing the other bits like new junction box and maybe cables would be charged for.

So the key is to look at existing router stats and see if they are normal for the attenuation.

If noise is an issue, my main worry would be the proximity to mains and running parallel in a few places, and risk that the wiring may not be using a single twisted pair.

Looking at 007 and 006. They appear to contravene the electricity supply regulations and the junction box is fitted to the electricity supply backboard and it should not be. Also, running that close and parallel with mains and close to the consumer unit could be a major source of noise.

If you have a noise problem with the line and possibly loss of signal with a dodgy/loose connection in the 52A then you need a visit. If BT attend get a new NTE fitted at an appropriate place inside the house and a new cable from outside to in, bypassing the 52A - with the right amount of bribery they will be very reasonable about where to locate it.

I also have an Old GPO junction box in my property, it is situated in the loft, I recently had a BT Openreach Engineer inspect a fault on my line and he removed the cables from the Old GPO Box and did several tests but he did not change the old box, after he reconnected up the cable, therefore I would presume if you want to change the Old Box you would be charged for it.