New BT Master Socket?

[kr0ne]

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this question but since the reason I need a BT line is to get another ISP, here goes...

Does anyone know what the Openreach engineers are supposed to do when they come to do a phoneline hookup and are presented with a 40 year old junction box instead of a master socket?

I recently moved to a new property and had to pay the full £125 install fee to BT to have my phoneline connected as, although there was already a BT line in the property, the previous owner had had it unbundled and taken over by TalkTalk at the exchange.

Fair enough I thought (well, not really but that's another post), I'll take the hit and stump up the £125 if that's what it's going to take, at least I'll have a clean new master socket instead of this 40 year old junction box still marked "Property of GPO"...

Imagine my surprise when I returned from work (better half let the engineer in) to find that nothing at all had been touched in my house and that my phoneline still consisted of 3 incorrectly wired DIY sockets hooked into an ancient (cracked) junction box half way up the wall.

Now I fully understand that the internal extension sockets are my responsibility and although a little surprised at the engineer leaving them hooked up the way that they are I do understand his reluctance to get involved with them.

The thing is, I did expect the crumbling GPO junction box to be replaced with a master socket from which to run my other extensions. Am I being unrealistic to expect this to be done as standard on a full £125 install?

[papa smurf]

your socket should have been replaced with an NTE5A[ or similar master socket] so that extensions can be isolated easily from the incomming line , allso what you have is totally incompatible with current wireing technology which is basicly plug n play , bottom line complain it no good

[kr0ne]

Thanks Papa Smurf - do you know if that is what the engineers are supposed to do or is it at their discretion?

I've tried calling BT back about it but after the obligatory hours worth of being passed around the call centres all they seem to be willing to say on the matter is that the engineer would know best and if the wiring was "satisfactory" when he visited the property there is no obligation to fit a new master socket...

[papa smurf]

its the industry standard not at engineers descression

[dragon]

Originally Posted by kr0ne

Thanks Papa Smurf - do you know if that is what the engineers are supposed to do or is it at their discretion?

I've tried calling BT back about it but after the obligatory hours worth of being passed around the call centres all they seem to be willing to say on the matter is that the engineer would know best and if the wiring was "satisfactory" when he visited the property there is no obligation to fit a new master socket...

Check you Pm's

[greencreeper]

I'd have hit the roof - £125 for nothing! Phone BT to sort it out. Shocking. I know exactly what you mean though - can still remember the one my parent's had. Small grey box. The great thing with the new NTEs is that you can replace the front part with a snazzy ADSL one, as I've done with my parents (or will do when I remember the tools I need to wire the extension they want) or have a fiddle and wire up extensions. I'd imagine you'd have problems with ADSL, if you want to use the line for that - due to the ancient/dodgy wiring.

[piggy]

Originally Posted by kr0ne

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this question but since the reason I need a BT line is to get another ISP, here goes...

Does anyone know what the Openreach engineers are supposed to do when they come to do a phoneline hookup and are presented with a 40 year old junction box instead of a master socket?

I recently moved to a new property and had to pay the full £125 install fee to BT to have my phoneline connected as, although there was already a BT line in the property, the previous owner had had it unbundled and taken over by TalkTalk at the exchange.

Fair enough I thought (well, not really but that's another post), I'll take the hit and stump up the £125 if that's what it's going to take, at least I'll have a clean new master socket instead of this 40 year old junction box still marked "Property of GPO"...

Imagine my surprise when I returned from work (better half let the engineer in) to find that nothing at all had been touched in my house and that my phoneline still consisted of 3 incorrectly wired DIY sockets hooked into an ancient (cracked) junction box half way up the wall.

Now I fully understand that the internal extension sockets are my responsibility and although a little surprised at the engineer leaving them hooked up the way that they are I do understand his reluctance to get involved with them.

The thing is, I did expect the crumbling GPO junction box to be replaced with a master socket from which to run my other extensions. Am I being unrealistic to expect this to be done as standard on a full £125 install?

are you saying they left you without a master??
if so what do you plug your phone into, also the £125 is now payable on all unbundled lines that go back to bt as bt are losing line rental when the 3rd party take the line over.

[dragon]

Originally Posted by piggy

are you saying they left you without a master??
if so what do you plug your phone into, also the £125 is now payable on all unbundled lines that go back to bt as bt are losing line rental when the 3rd party take the line over.

Actually its more to do with openreach being separate entity to Bt retail / Bt operate and the new equality of access rules mean the have to charge the same fee to everyone

[bw41101]

Ah I see that BT still continue their campaign of rip off the customer. Believe me (when I say) it was with great satisfaction that I told them (politely) exactly where they could stick their service when I had cable installed. That was years ago and I still get a warm feeling when I think about it.

My commiserations KrOne for your issue with same.

Si thee

[RUSTY]

Ah I see that BT still continue their campaign of rip off the customer. Believe me (when I say) it was with great satisfaction that I told them (politely) exactly where they could stick their service when I had cable installed. That was years ago and I still get a warm feeling when I think about it.

My commiserations KrOne for your issue with same.

Si thee

my feelings as well, 40 years + with BT as a customer, super service to crap at management level.

[themelon]

Report them to Watchdog this clueless company need to be shown for what they really are.

Spent 2 hours on the phone trying to help my girlfriends very elderly grandmother get her line reconnected after it had been cut off. She spent about 2 weeks trying to get through them.

[kr0ne]

OK... finally, it might be getting redone next week... I do not envy anone else trying to get through this with a CS department over the phone.

Piggy, you're right - obviously I have a master socket in so far as there is one socket attached to the junction box and another two connected up to this but the thing is that all 3 of the sockets are DIY jobs that have been (incorrectly) hooked up by a previous occupant and the only actual bit of genuine BT wiring appears to stop at this battered old junction box marked "GPO", which tells you how old that must be.

I have to say the £125 charge, while a little excessive, is understandable in a climate where a componany is forced to allow competitors to use it's infrastructure to offer competing products and services.

Fair enough the infrastructure was originally paid for by us, the people, and BT were essentially handed a monopoly when privatisation began but it is not cheap to maintain such an investment and you kind of have to accept that any company, when faced with such a situation, is going to adopt a pricing model like this that grabs every penny they can while maintaining compliance to the letter of all applicable legislation.

The thing I find really neat about the little Local Loop Unbundling game they have going on at the moment is that if your line is unbundled and taken over by one of BTs competitor's (they physically connect it to the competiors kit kept in rented space at the exchange) you will have to pay BT another £125 to have it taken back before you can move to another competitor.

Yes, I understand BTs need to do this and I'm sure, faced with the same situation, I would do the same but I doubt this was what OfCom originally envisaged when they thought "hey, this isn't very fair, lets let everyone else in to the last mile as well".

Still, it let's me get BE internet - so I'm kind of happy I suppose.

[dragon]

Originally Posted by kr0ne

OK... finally, it might be getting redone next week... I do not envy anone else trying to get through this with a CS department over the phone.

Piggy, you're right - obviously I have a master socket in so far as there is one socket attached to the junction box and another two connected up to this but the thing is that all 3 of the sockets are DIY jobs that have been (incorrectly) hooked up by a previous occupant and the only actual bit of genuine BT wiring appears to stop at this battered old junction box marked "GPO", which tells you how old that must be.

I have to say the £125 charge, while a little excessive, is understandable in a climate where a componany is forced to allow competitors to use it's infrastructure to offer competing products and services.

Fair enough the infrastructure was originally paid for by us, the people, and BT were essentially handed a monopoly when privatisation began but it is not cheap to maintain such an investment and you kind of have to accept that any company, when faced with such a situation, is going to adopt a pricing model like this that grabs every penny they can while maintaining compliance to the letter of all applicable legislation.

The thing I find really neat about the little Local Loop Unbundling game they have going on at the moment is that if your line is unbundled and taken over by one of BTs competitor's (they physically connect it to the competiors kit kept in rented space at the exchange) you will have to pay BT another £125 to have it taken back before you can move to another competitor.

Yes, I understand BTs need to do this and I'm sure, faced with the same situation, I would do the same but I doubt this was what OfCom originally envisaged when they thought "hey, this isn't very fair, lets let everyone else in to the last mile as well".

Still, it let's me get BE internet - so I'm kind of happy I suppose.

Openreach have to charge BT retail the same as everyone else.

[Windoze9t8]

Originally Posted by kr0ne

The thing I find really neat about the little Local Loop Unbundling game they have going on at the moment is that if your line is unbundled and taken over by one of BTs competitor's (they physically connect it to the competiors kit kept in rented space at the exchange) you will have to pay BT another £125 to have it taken back before you can move to another competitor.

I learn something new every day

Still won't stop me calling BE next Thursday after the line is installed-providing my number is updated on the database the same day.

[Windoze9t8]

Originally Posted by kr0ne

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this question but since the reason I need a BT line is to get another ISP, here goes...

I recently moved to a new property and had to pay the full £125 install fee to BT to have my phoneline connected as, although there was already a BT line in the property.

Am I being unrealistic to expect this to be done as standard on a full £125 install?

I too had to pay the full sum for installation but dispite me waiting in all day the Eng did not turn up so I am stuck with a painted box on the windowsil which is no way near a plug socket for my modem...

I call and they said the Job is compelte and the eng did not need to call round. I suggested that a new line means to me a box where i want it, but BT disagree. I will refuse to pay them anything.

Can I do this....