is there an alternative to BTs connection engineer fee of £125?

whitewash

whitewash

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ok wondering if anyone can help me with this, we are moving home and therefore moving all our bills etc across to the new house.

and bt have told me that i will have to pay a £125 connection fee to have a line installed (i bet there's one there already!). is there any alternative to paying this as i begrudge paying £125 for the decency of remaining a BT customer.:shrug:

the main erk we have is that we have broadband with sky which is mid contract, otherwise id probably just go to virgin for everything (broadband, tv, phone) but thats not really an option, is there any other 3rd party lines that sky can operate through or am i stuck with BritishTwattypants ?

anyone? (does this even make sense?)
 
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it appears after a bit of digging that i can get sky to install one, but i dont know what the installation fee is of yet, which i shall get later,

second question...

will having a line installed through someone other that BT effect me if i want to change broadband suppliers in the future?
 
Not too sure

When we moved had the same issue with BT
Got Virgin to do the phone line(kept same number) and SKY then used the Virgin line, had no issues in that respect

Not sure if that helps.

Edit, sorry forgot the you had sky broadband and therefore need a BT line
 
i spotted that who? the main problem is that because i use sky broadband im tied to sky 'freetime' call package so i couldnt very easily make the 10 calls required (im not sure i even make 10 calls a month on the phone anyway!) shame really!
 
I'd read the t&c.

If needed then once a month make ten 1 sec calls to your office or something? Hassle I suppose but how much do you want to save £120?

Have you checked your exchange details to see what services are available?

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php

I know that says broadband, but I think it also gives the details of what phone suppliers you can use. But anything other than bt or cable and you are really limited about which internet suppliers you can use.

If your exchange has sky llu then you're away. otherwise...
 
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If theres a line there it should be free as a customer moving home or a slight charge of £25 to change number or keep existing one I cant remember.....anyway if you have virgin in the area just tell BT not to bother as you are switching and I bet you get all installations free and some expensive package thrown in
 
Dangermouse1964 said:
If theres a line there it should be free as a customer moving home or a slight charge of £25 to change number or keep existing one I cant remember.....anyway if you have virgin in the area just tell BT not to bother as you are switching and I bet you get all installations free and some expensive package thrown in
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I tried that when I moved,BT could not trace a line ever being put in the house and were going to charge a lot, Virgin had a record and did the whole thing for the offer that was on at the time.
I think I was told that BT only keep records going back for 6 or 10 years so I'm not sure at what point mine was transfered from BT but they certainly did not care that I was going elsewhere and there were no offers forthcoming even when I told them Virgin had a record of the line being there :(
 
susie said:
I tried that when I moved,BT could not trace a line ever being put in the house and were going to charge a lot, Virgin had a record and did the whole thing for the offer that was on at the time.
I think I was told that BT only keep records going back for 6 or 10 years so I'm not sure at what point mine was transfered from BT but they certainly did not care that I was going elsewhere and there were no offers forthcoming even when I told them Virgin had a record of the line being there :(
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i said that i would look at taking my business elsewhere when on the phone, she offered to cancel my line, i get the feeling that as a customer i have no bargaining power with bt whatsoever over this fee.

im going to wait until we move into the house (on friday) and see what line is there and whether it has a dial tone. because originally the bt customer service person said that there was a line in that house, and there would be no setup fees, then after disappearing on hold for a few mins came back saying that they had no record of a line at that address and it would cost me £125 so i think they might be trying to do a fast one. if i can get into the property and investigate before calling back then i might be able to get get somewhere. the only problem is that it will probably cost me money to call them on my mobile!
 
I know when I had a phone line installed (patched in at the exchange) by BT, after a few calls to the customer care team the fee was reduced to £65 and was put over the XX months contract with BT.
 
susie said:
I tried that when I moved,BT could not trace a line ever being put in the house and were going to charge a lot,(
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same here , i wanted to restart with bt and sky instead of virgin , when i first got the house there was no cable tv , i had a BT line , BT were hell bent i never had one even though the cable could be seen going through the wall :cautious:
 
Dad's recently moved and was quoted the £125 reconnection charge when he first enquired. When he finally decided that a phone really should be installed (new place was unoccupied for a while but had a builder working there - out of mobile signal!), BT had forgotten all about the fee and just reconnected him at no charge.
 
We had a fault on our line last year they said if the fault turned out to be inside the house we would have to pay £125.00 hr rate.
So I told them to turn my phone off.
There is no problems now I think they where trying it on with me.
 
It's amazing how old habits die hard. BT have to pay for the line to be reconnected (because Openreach control that bit) so why on earth would they not pass on the charge to you, the customer???
It's no longer 1970 folks, and BT no longer has complete control. They are regulated on some things, and not on others. They have costs to cover, and I don't understand why you would think they would just give you a freebie because you don't want to pay. Get a grip...

Whitewash, PM me your new address and I'll see what I can find out for you if you want. I work for BT, but on the business side, and within IP Networking so I'm not sure how much access I'll have to the residential system but happy to have a look and let you know. I'm not back in till Wed but will see what I can find out then.
 
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Neo, put your fingers in your ears and don't listen to this bit because you may not like it. BT are a bunch of useless incompetent walkers (or something spelt similar).

When I moved in to my house which had been unoccupied for years they quoted me £125 to install a new line. I refused to pay it and said I'd rather go without a phone than pay an extortionate fee for just flicking a switch at the exchange to switch me on. They then offered to do it for half price and I reluctantly agreed. Once they installed the line they put £125 on my bill. I complained, they denied all knowledge of ever agreeing to do it for half price, I complained again, they tried to justify their charges, I did a Google search and found the phone number for their Director of Customer Services, spoke to him and got the installation fee refunded immediately and an apology letter sent within a week.

BT then set up a Direct Debit on my account to pay the £11 a month line rental. After 4 months they hadn't taken a penny from my account so they disconnected my line. I complained, they reconnected me and promised to actually use the Direct Debit they set up and take my money. Another 2 months later they still hadn't taken any money and I was disconnected again. Another call to the Director of Customer Services and another apology, the first 6 months line rental written off, an apology. Since then everything has been fine but I saved myself £191 but making my complaints in the correct way and to the correct people.

If I didn't have to have one for my internet connection then I'd happily live without a home landline.
 
neo2810 said:
It's amazing how old habits die hard. BT have to pay for the line to be reconnected (because Openreach control that bit) so why on earth would they not pass on the charge to you, the customer???
It's no longer 1970 folks, and BT no longer has complete control. They are regulated on some things, and not on others. They have costs to cover, and I don't understand why you would think they would just give you a freebie because you don't want to pay. Get a grip...

Whitewash, PM me your new address and I'll see what I can find out for you if you want. I work for BT, but on the business side, and within IP Networking so I'm not sure how much access I'll have to the residential system but happy to have a look and let you know. I'm not back in till Wed but will see what I can find out then.
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pmed

cheers
 
neo2810 said:
It's amazing how old habits die hard. BT have to pay for the line to be reconnected (because Openreach control that bit) so why on earth would they not pass on the charge to you, the customer???
It's no longer 1970 folks, and BT no longer has complete control. They are regulated on some things, and not on others. They have costs to cover, and I don't understand why you would think they would just give you a freebie because you don't want to pay. Get a grip...

Whitewash, PM me your new address and I'll see what I can find out for you if you want. I work for BT, but on the business side, and within IP Networking so I'm not sure how much access I'll have to the residential system but happy to have a look and let you know. I'm not back in till Wed but will see what I can find out then.
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Tut Tut, you know and I know you shouldn't be doing that:nono::nono:
 
marko said:
We had a fault on our line last year they said if the fault turned out to be inside the house we would have to pay £125.00 hr rate.
So I told them to turn my phone off.
There is no problems now I think they where trying it on with me.
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my parents had someone come round one sunday afternoon about a month back from openreach, aparently a fault had been reported (we still dont know who reported it) was a friendly chap did all his checks (there was indeed a fault with the line) and found that one of the internal extention leads was to blame and would therefore have to charge us, he then said that to charge us was a bit unfair as we hadnt reported the fault so wrote 'no one home/line couldnt be checked' on his report and went off.
everything in my parents house is now wireless (it was like dragging them kicking and screaming into the 21st century, it was ugly!)
 
If the wiring is still into your house then a reconnection fee should be waived, they don't need to send an engineer, they can liven it remotely from the control room.
Plug in a phone and see if you have any blow (blow into the mouthpiece and see if you can hear it in the earpiece, this will signify voltage on the line)
 
-Rob- said:
Neo, put your fingers in your ears and don't listen to this bit because you may not like it. BT are a bunch of useless incompetent walkers (or something spelt similar).

When I moved in to my house which had been unoccupied for years they quoted me £125 to install a new line. I refused to pay it and said I'd rather go without a phone than pay an extortionate fee for just flicking a switch at the exchange to switch me on. They then offered to do it for half price and I reluctantly agreed. Once they installed the line they put £125 on my bill. I complained, they denied all knowledge of ever agreeing to do it for half price, I complained again, they tried to justify their charges, I did a Google search and found the phone number for their Director of Customer Services, spoke to him and got the installation fee refunded immediately and an apology letter sent within a week.

BT then set up a Direct Debit on my account to pay the £11 a month line rental. After 4 months they hadn't taken a penny from my account so they disconnected my line. I complained, they reconnected me and promised to actually use the Direct Debit they set up and take my money. Another 2 months later they still hadn't taken any money and I was disconnected again. Another call to the Director of Customer Services and another apology, the first 6 months line rental written off, an apology. Since then everything has been fine but I saved myself £191 but making my complaints in the correct way and to the correct people.

If I didn't have to have one for my internet connection then I'd happily live without a home landline.
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chris_f said:
If the wiring is still into your house then a reconnection fee should be waived, they don't need to send an engineer, they can liven it remotely from the control room.
Plug in a phone and see if you have any blow (blow into the mouthpiece and see if you can hear it in the earpiece, this will signify voltage on the line)
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As a BT engineer, i can tell you both, these statements are completely incorrect. Even if there is a line to your house it not as simple as "Flicking a switch in the exchange", and a line that has been ceased half away along the length can still contain voltage. The blow test, will only signify the fact that your phone works, because all you are hearing is an echo.

It amazes me how many "Experts" there are on here, who know sod all:cautious:
 
Its interesting that about 12 months ago i applied to BT and was told about the £125 connection fee becausev of openreach,as soon as I told them I was moving from Virgin suddenly no fee.They want you as a customer but once they have you its treat you like crap tiime,however its the same the other way I moved from Virgin because they treated my complaints about the modem with disdain as soon as I said I was moving to BT they almost got as far as offering to send Bransons daughter round to massage me with baby oil
 
newyorkaddict said:
As a BT engineer, i can tell you both, these statements are completely incorrect.
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I'm obviously not a BT engineer so I don't know the technical ins and outs of switching the line on but I know that when BT did come round to 'connect the line' he came to the house to have a quick look then disappeared off to the exchange to do some work there. He was back at our house in just over 10 minutes and the phone was working. The exchange is about 2 miles away so I find it hard to believe he had time to do much more than just flick a switch. And for that they wanted to charge me £125 on top of the £11 a month for the next however many years to rent the line from them.

In the 18 months I've lived in that house I've probably used the phone less than 10 times. It's only there for the internet. I'll never understand why you have to pay for the capability to make voice calls just so you can use the line for internet data.
 
We do NOT just flick a switch. The exchange work is done a couple of days beforehand by an exchange engineer. This way the line is live for the engineer to work on. We then visit the cabinet and prove the line is working to this point. The we go to the DP, usually close to your house and again prove the line. If the line is connected through here it is safe to assume it will be proved into your house, the engineer who comes to your house, does so as the last resort, so he has usually been working for around two hours before you see him. This is why BT charge £125, the engineer has to do a lot of foot work to get you your line. People think it is an easy job, but you try proving a line in a DP that it is in the middle of a busy footpath where no-one wants to let you open the box because they have to be somewhere, or a DP that is in a box in the middle of a road, where you risk being run over.

People allways want something for nothing, BT is not an essential service, it is a business. Do you expect Tesco to deliver your groceries for free?? No, they charge you a fiver for the pleasure, even though you may have just spent £100 on your food.

People need to stop moaning about how they feel ripped off. Even if the network in your area has been there for a long time, it still took a lot of work to get it there, and it takes a hell of a lot of work to maintain it. And the maintaining part is being done by far too few engineers. We are stretched to the point of breaking, and BT is now threatening us with new work pattersn or we lose our jobs.

I am sorry if i sound rude or aggressive, but listening to you lot whinge about your phone line is getting on my nerves. If you don't want to pay the fee's, DON'T get a landline, get mobile internet, and pay your £35 a month fee's for it, plus mobile phone costs which are far higher than landline costs. Hey if you go on Talk Talk mobile internet, it saves me having to come to your houses and listen to you bitching about how you should get a line for free, while i am working my backside off to get you that bloody line.:bang::bang:
 
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ok well i phoned up today, ive had to pay my 125 fee to get it sorted. when i was on the phone to BT they wanted to take £40 off me per month as 'estimated call usage' i pretty much told her that wasnt on (she doesnt need to estimate my call usage as they have 5years+ off bills to prove that i dont use it very often at all, eventually she managed to get that off the bill.


im just annoyed that a company seems to have no leway for customers, if i was a new customer to BT then id happily pay the connection fee, HOWEVER i have had a BT telephone line in my own name for the past 10 years. i just dont see why they cant budge on the fee (or even reduce it at all) for existing customers. it seems that they (like many companys) couldnt give a crap about retaining their current customers by offering them anything to stay, whereas if your a new customer people are crawling over themselves to give you deals and incentives.

and i would go with another provider, if sky didnt require a BT line and the fact i want fixed broadband in my house so i can use more than 1 computer at a time then i would look at mobile broadband, sadly for alot of things BT have quite a monopoly and they know it....
 
whitewash said:
and i would go with another provider, if sky didnt require a BT line and the fact i want fixed broadband in my house so i can use more than 1 computer at a time then i would look at mobile broadband, sadly for alot of things BT have quite a monopoly and they know it....
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I've got Virgin for everthing although I have been a Sky customer. A few weeks ago I had a young lady come to my door from Sky to try and pursade me to change back(No chance) I commented on the fact I would rather use smoke signals than go to BT ever again and she said Sky no longer required a BT line.
 
newyorkaddict said:
Tut Tut, you know and I know you shouldn't be doing that:nono::nono:
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Sorry chap, you know nothing about the area I work in, the clearance I have. You'll be Openreach now...

This is a customer service issue, so not something I get involved in but I have a good working relationship with the woman who heads up Retail CS (who I'll not name for obvious reasons on here). She appreciates "real" feedback from the other side and she's always happy to pass issues like this onto her team for me.

I don't have Annex 2 clearance though, so WE should not really be speaking about work :LOL:
 
newyorkaddict said:
We do NOT just flick a switch. The exchange work is done a couple of days beforehand by an exchange engineer. This way the line is live for the engineer to work on. We then visit the cabinet and prove the line is working to this point. The we go to the DP, usually close to your house and again prove the line. If the line is connected through here it is safe to assume it will be proved into your house, the engineer who comes to your house, does so as the last resort, so he has usually been working for around two hours before you see him. This is why BT charge £125, the engineer has to do a lot of foot work to get you your line. People think it is an easy job, but you try proving a line in a DP that it is in the middle of a busy footpath where no-one wants to let you open the box because they have to be somewhere, or a DP that is in a box in the middle of a road, where you risk being run over.

People allways want something for nothing, BT is not an essential service, it is a business. Do you expect Tesco to deliver your groceries for free?? No, they charge you a fiver for the pleasure, even though you may have just spent £100 on your food.

People need to stop moaning about how they feel ripped off. Even if the network in your area has been there for a long time, it still took a lot of work to get it there, and it takes a hell of a lot of work to maintain it. And the maintaining part is being done by far too few engineers. We are stretched to the point of breaking, and BT is now threatening us with new work pattersn or we lose our jobs.

I am sorry if i sound rude or aggressive, but listening to you lot whinge about your phone line is getting on my nerves. If you don't want to pay the fee's, DON'T get a landline, get mobile internet, and pay your £35 a month fee's for it, plus mobile phone costs which are far higher than landline costs. Hey if you go on Talk Talk mobile internet, it saves me having to come to your houses and listen to you bitching about how you should get a line for free, while i am working my backside off to get you that bloody line.:bang::bang:
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Wow, you are a credit to BT if this is how you treat your potential future customers. All you do is moan about the customers, to the customers. I'm sure BT are proud to have you a long. People want the best deal out there, and they won't pay the £125 if they feel it isn't the best deal out there available, but will try their hardest to get a good deal, it's called haggling.

But if your tip is to not go with you, then I'm sure BT would fully agree, and would love you throwing away business for them.
 
Well I AM an expert and I have been working in Comms for over 10 years, not on a gravy train at BT either, at a reseller of PABX equipment.
As for not flicking a switch, you're right, its clicking a button unless some minor jumpering has to be done. And only then will that need doing if some other BT clot has unjumpered your line to use elsewhwere.
Unless the line has been dis for a long time, the jumpering is all still in place and the line should come back on when enabled at the exchange.
If that were the case, then maybe the BT engineer would have to do a bit of toning out, yeah thats worth 125 quid.
 
chris_f said:
lol at working my backside off, BT gravy train strikes again....
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I do work hard for your info. With expected clears of at least 3 jobs per day, plus travel to jobs in the area i cover, which can include anywhere from the top of Bude over to Minehead, and as far across as Lynton right over to Buckland St.Mary (have a look if you think it's a small patch). This means most days i don't get a lunch break as i am driving to another job, i start at 7.30am and supposedly finish at 17.10pm, this never happens, most nights i don't get home until 7pm. If you work harder than that, then good on you, but don't criticise my work ethics until you have stood in my shoes.
 
Less of the digs at each other please. If you want to help the OP, fair enough, but acting like bitchy schoolgirls is boring to read ;)
 
chris_f said:
Yup, you're right on the ball there

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article6289809.ece
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Yawn.... old news....

Only BT Global Services suffered out of the 4 major BT entities and that was more due to a serious issue with reporting to the city over the last 3 years. The exercise which saw the huge loss last year was due to drawing a line in the books and coming clean to even things up. The other 3 entities were still well up on profits and BT profitable on a whole.

15000 cuts included mostly contractors (who should have been shifted years ago) and voluntary redundancies. Not one person was forced to leave (which is something no-one else who had to make cost cuts can brag). Everyone whose role was terminated got the option of taking Newstart (VR) or moving into the relocation centre to be redeployed into an area of the business where personel were required. Personally, I see it as a very clever move to streamline the business and make it far more efficient.

Since then, BT's share price has doubled and still rising. BTGS also recorded very successful figures this last quarter to demonstrate they are back on the mend.

Probably best if you research fully rather than googling the first bad press you can find. :nono:

Marcel, this is not sniping, it's healthy debate. And via PM I've sorted the OP. (y)
 
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