Cut neighbours phone line

Hi
I have just had new fascia boards fitted.
On the boards was an old cable which looked about 40 years old.
After speaking to my neighbour who has lived here for about this time he said it was an old ntl line, which he also had on his fascia and my other neighbours. He said it was now disused and could be cut down.
So I cut I all down on my property and one of my neighbours.
Our other neighbour then came out saying her phone line was not working and the cable was the phone line.
She said she was going to to call BT to repair it at £114 per hour to repair.
She is an elderly lady who also has a police line connected for safety.
I cannot afford to pay for this repair to be carried out.
She called them out today and they said we had a very old shared line, each house these days is normally single served by BT. This means they have now got to dig the pathway up and install a single line to her property. They are not sure if she will be charged.
Surely if there is an old setup in place and this now needs updating to the current methods of installation this should be done by BT?
Can anyone advise?

valks1 wrote:
Yes but this was a genuine mistake, we thought it was an old ntl line. If we knew it was a bt line then we would have left it alone. I cannot afford to pay thousands of pounds for the path to be dug up a d neither can my elderly neighbour.
You may be able to make a claim on your household insurance, if it was an accident.
Its not unusual for a number of properties to be served by a multi-pair cable terminated on a distribution block.
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

Similar Messages

Moving neighbours phone line due to an extension t...

I contacted BT to move neighbours phone line due to an extension to my house. Asurvey was done and the estimate given to move it a few feet from where it currently is. My neighbour does not want the telephone line to be moved to the proposed new location and wants it elsewhere. Obviously this will cost me more money. Should I be footing the bill for this extra cost to move it to a place of my neighbour's choice.?

Can you expand on your question, are you asking if your neighbour should foot the rest of the bill or should BT or Openreach?
If you are expecting BT or Openreach to pay the additional charge for your neighbour wanting it elsewhere that isn't going to happen.
If you feel your neighbour should foot the rest of the bill then that is really something you are going to have to come to some sort of an agreement on with your neighbour but at the end of the day you are the one who wants their line moving for your benefit.
Also can I just ask, are you paying BT Retail to do a Lift and Shift or are you paying Openreach to do a Line Plant Rearrangement, I am guessing a Line Plant Rearrangement as you did mention a survey being done and the only thing you can normally order through BT Retail is a Lift and Shift of the NTP inside your neighbours property.

Phone line and Internet cut off overnight

Please can this be looked into immediately.
Our phone line and internet have both been cut off at 03:00am this morning,
I obviously cannot phone you guys to sort this so posting on here is my only resort.
The hub is still showing a blue light and the phone says 'check phone line'
But neither are actually working,
I need ASAP with this.

Welcome to this forum.
This is a customer to customer forum only,
This is where customers help each other get the most out of BT products & services.
Anything you post here does not go to BT. Although the forum is moderated by BT, not all posts are read.
If you need direct help from BT or have an urgent problem please use this linkContact Us.
This is a public forum which can be viewed worldwide, so please do not post any personal information, especially phone numbers, account numbers, fault numbers, address information or email addresses, as this could be used to impersonate you.
Thanks
You can ring 0800 800 150 to report faults.
Also visit https://www.bt.com/consumerFaultTracking/public/faults/tracking.do?pageId=31
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

Looking to cut cable costs - drop extra phone line...

Is it possible to use Nokia 920 mobile phone as connected phone line connectoin for a standard fax machine at home? Have Ricoh Aficio MP-C2000 commerical copier at home that has great fax machine setup. Would like to drop current dedicated comcast phone line if possible to just plug in nokia 920 mobile phone to phone jack on existing copier for the one off fax send or receive capability I would like to retain. Much like tethering with my laptop I would love to use the 920 to send/receive faxes from standard fax machine. If possible would think I would need to source a cable for hookup...
Have never used this forum before so not even sure how to check for responses... yes I am a nubie but love this phone!

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BT turn up = phone line disapears. Help!

Hi all
Just registered to the forum and seeking help to resolve a BT phone line fault at our home. I rely on forums these days almost more than the so called customer service lines. So any help would be very much appreciated.
On the 28th Feb I was working from home and noticed a BT Openreach van a few doors down. I was using the phone and Broadband almost constantly that day. After about an hour the BT van was still in our road. At this point I must stress that we have had absolutely no issues with our phone or Broadband since being at our house. Whilst online and making calls to and from work, friends and family I noticed all of a sudden that our line had gone and internet grinded to a halt. I carried out the normal checks which I am very familiar with, and noticed there was a complete cut to our line and service. At this point I looked out of the window and noticed two BT vans now in our road which at that point left in rather a hurry! Coincidence BT, I don't think so!
I immediately reported the fault online via a friends PC, I also called from a mobile (costing a fortune) and followed the usual long wait times and menu options to finally be informed that there was a fault on the BT line on the outside network.
We were informed that there was a major cable fault in our area which needed repair. We were told service should resume in 5 days on 5-3-13. We made some enquiries with neighbours and the local BT service status, nobody else seems to be affected. Coincidence that this major line fault and repair is only affecting us, again I don't think so BT.
Basically we have now been completely cut off for well over a week, using expensive mobile data and phone calls (most to BT to desperately follow up to find out what is happening). We have limited signal at home so now have to sit in a car down the road to connect to the internet via 3g or to make some calls, these days you just don't realise how much you rely on these things until they go wrong. BT customer service is shockingly poor, we have been fobbed off over and over again and I believe lied to about this fault and mis-led about the reason and progress which keeps being put back by days. Being an electrical engineer I have regular dealings with BT engineers and other communications engineers on my travels and know that it is not uncommon for mistakes to be made where lines are moved or disconnected when making adjustments in cabinets or exchanges, or even the incorrect lines being pulled due to a disconnection order, in fact it is far more common than most people are aware.
Having been a BT customer for many years and recommending BT to our customers for business (some which spend huge amounts with BT each year) I feel disappointed and disgusted at the attitude and lack of speedy response to faults (not just ours). We are getting told that the demand is too high and 'we are trying our best to resolve the issue', this is not good enough, the very least BT could do is be honest about what has or is happening. If I dealt with customers like BT does I would be out of business pretty quickly, the fact is BT holds all the strings and is too big to cope or to care (with the exception of a very few excellent engineers and staff) unfortunately there is no real alternative (yet). I just hope that someone has the ability to take responsibility for our fault (I know there are some good people at BT its just finding them).
Anybody please help and restore some faith.

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Dodgy Phone Line

I have been having problems with my phone line for sometime and initially thought it was mainly intermittent problems with broadband connection, but the problems using my landline has got worse, especially in very windy weather. People phoning can either not get through or it rings a couple of times then cuts off. If they do get through or I phone out the line is very crackly.
I have tested the line and it says it is ok, when I last phoned BT to report it I don't think they found anything and closed the case. I am convinced the problem lies with my line being swallowed up by a tree in a garden a few houses away. The line I can see is at very strange angles but have to say most of the line is engulfed by branches. Does anyone know if this could be the reason for my problems?
I have said to the person who owns the tree about my line going through and that the branches are now weighing the line down in various parts, he said he would do something but he hasn't and my line is getting worse. As I say it is definitly worse in bad weather so something is affecting it.
Any suggestions on what I should do would be great.

Hi Elmoo2U,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting. It sounds like the branches are hitting the line when it’s windy which would certainly affect the connection. The only way to get it sorted would be to go back to your neighbour and see if he’ll get the branches trimmed back. As the tree is on his property it would be his responsibility to get it sorted.
Cheers
David
BTCare Community Mod
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Phone line dead, over 2 week wait for possible rep...

Hi there
I'm posting on behalf of my Mum who cannot post in the forum as her phone line/broadband are currently down.
On Friday 4th January 2013 she noticed the phone was dead, and also that the Internet had stopped working. She rang the usual number BT provides and was told by an Indian chap that there is a fault but there won't be anybody available to look at it until 21st January 2013! She was not provided with any reference numbers to track the case or anything which didn't help.
Bear in mind my Mum is in her late 60's and relies on the phone to keep in contact with relatives, and this is especially important since my Dad died.
I am aware that Openreach are busy yadda yadda, but it is simply not acceptable for her to wait over 2 weeks for someone to at least have a look at it! She has spoken to her neighbours and they were having problems originally which now appear to have been sorted.
I am worried that not only will she have to wait but that she will charged a ridiculous fee for any repairs, even though the fault is not anything that she has caused. Also I am not happy that BT are going to charge for zero service for a two week period, surely this is essentially robbery?
Is there anyway I can get this escalated, and is there anyway I can get the charges she will receive refunded?
I have already contacted someone in the forum via e-mail but I don't think it worked as I was using my brother's mobile at the time.
Thanks in advance
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Tootsie wrote:
You're welcome. Also, I understand that your mum can have al her calls diverted to an alternative number and there is some form of compensation available for loss of service....I'll see if I can find the details.....I've seen them somewhere
BT will not pay you compensation they will only refund your line and BB rental if your phone has not been repaired after the end of the 3rd working day also if you have your line diverted you are not entitled to this refund.
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How long does a new phone line take to fit? Patien...

I ordered a new phone line in April and was given a date of 1st May 2013 for the engineer to call.
Having booked a day off work for the 1st May I got a text the evening before to advise that extra work was required on the lines outside my home and that they would be in touch soon. On 17th May I got another text to advise that my order for telephone and broadband had been CANCELLED. I phoned and a new order was placed (with a half-hearted apologies for the incorrect cancellation).
Text: 20th May. Apologies for the delay in booking an appointment.
Text 21st May: BT here. Your phone service is ready for you. You can find a phone's number by calling 17070 from it.
I did not not have a phione line.
Text: 30th May. To advise a new number.
Text: 30th May: Apologies for the delay in booking an appointment. Due to necessary additional engineering work. Next update will be 6th June.
Text: 5th June: BT here. Just to confirm you've set up online billing with BT, If you didn't please let us know at ... I didn't set anything up as far as I know.
6th June: Apologies for the delay in providing your service. No updates. Escalated the lack of infpormation and hope to have more news tomorrow.
7th June: Apologies for the delay on your order. I can confirm that we are awaiting the outcome of our escalation with our suppliers and are confident of haveing (sp) and (sp) update for you on 11/6.
Now, I am quite a patient person but I need a landline. I live 60 metres or so from a Post Office and even less from a main road. I can see a telephone pole from my back garden just 50 metres away. My neighbours have landlines. Why can't I have one?
S

Hi
I am sorry to see you are having problems
I suggest you contact the forum mods they should be able to get this problem sorted for you this is a link to them http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact_email/c/4951
They normally reply by email or phone directly to you within 3 working days they will take personal ownership of your problem until resolved and will keep you informed of progress
They are a UK based BT specialist team who have a good record at getting problems solved
This is a customer to customer self help forum the only BT presence here are the forum moderators
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Loss of phone line, no dial tone but broadband sti...

I have looged a fault with bt for this issue VOL012-*********, but no engineer turned up yesterday to look at it. I have tested 2 different phones in the master test socket and still have the same problem, no dial tone but broadband is working ok. How do BT get away with treating its customers like this?

@Scardy, this is exactly what happened to our phone line last September! The phone line was just mush, there was no dial tone, but we were able (just) to send email and look at certain web pages, but it was painfully slow. I tried everything, like you, no improvement. I got in touch with BT, they said there was a fault on the line, I said 'it's been fine for years why now?' BT sent an OR engineer, he turned up on time, it was a very enlightening time for me to be sure! He showed me the 'drop cable' that the phone signal came into our property on - 50 years old! Rubber outer, two strands of copper cable with cardboard insulation between them! I also found a big cut in the cable on the wall of our place, for the life of me that looked like vandalism. He arranged for a new armoured cable to be put in across our front lawn, and hey presto, all was well! With the confidence I had in that, we've got Infinity now, a new master socket and there's no going back. I hope this helps & it all gets sorted out out quickly for you.

14 weeks to get a phone line installed - £10 compe...

I moved house on 28/07 and after a huge amount of problems with Orange and after managing to cancel my account with them I ordered BT Broadband and Evening & Weekend Calls on 07/08/12.
I get 3 emails confirming my order, thanking me for choosing paperless billing etc.
My initial engineer appointment was on 14/09/12 which is 5 weeks and a long time. To quote BT: “It usually takes 15 working days from when you order. It can take longer but this is very rare.” (http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8317/~/how-long-will-it-take-to-install-a-new-line%3F)
I get a text and an email on 12/07 to remind me of my appointment between 1pm and 6pm. So far so good.
The router gets delivered at 12.30am. This is promising.
The engineer comes at 13.30pm, installs the BT Open Reach box in my flat and then asks me if I can open the electronic gate next door as he needs access to my neighbour’s pathway to activate the distribution point. I tell him I cannot as it’s not my building. We try the trades button on the door system. It doesn’t work. We try pressing random house numbers on the door system (there’s no flat numbers on the building) to see if someone’s home. Nothing works. I phone my landlord who tells me this is a council building. No one is coming in and out of the building/gate. After about 30 minutes of trying and waiting I tell him just to use his ladder and climb over the gate (it’s about 6 foot) and activate the distribution point. I’ll take the blame if someone complains. It shouldn’t be a problem as I live next door, I’ve got a BT Open Reach engineer with me and we have a perfectly valid reason to do it. He tells me he can’t do that because of health and safety riles and trespassing laws. Fair enough.
The engineer leaves but before he does he tells me that when I’ve got access to the pathway BT would be able to send an engineer within 24 hours to activate the distribution point. He also tells me there is no need for me to be there the next time as all the work inside is completed and the only thing that needs to happen is for someone to activate the distribution point which is located on a wall on my neighbours building accessible from the pathway. He points it out to me and there is indeed a black box on the wall which can be reached using a ladder in the pathway.
I phone BT to see if anyone can find out how to get access to the pathway as I assume that if BT has installed a distribution point there they must have a way for them to get access to it. Especially as the engineer told me there are 3 lines in my building so this must have happened before. I was wrong. I have to argue with the customer service person with a very poor command of the English language for 30 minutes. He doesn’t know what “the council” is and doesn’t understand whatsoever why I –and I quote- “Can’t just ask the neighbour to let the engineer in when the next appointment has been made”. I try to explain to him there is an electronic metal gate with a call system and I am unable to call anyone as there are no flat numbers on the outside of the building and asked if he was suggesting that I wait all evening after work until someone comes out and that even then, surely I can’t ask my neighbour to stay home to let a BT engineer onto his pathway because I am trying to get a phone line installed. He then presented me with another option: “We can install a new line from the road but this is chargeable by £350”. After 30 minutes of this and asking to speak to a manager several times –which was refused- I had enough and hung up.
Determined to get the problem resolved I rang again and got someone else on the phone. She was quite sympathetic and advised me to phone the council and see if they can help. She confirmed that I didn’t need to be there for the next appointment if someone could give the engineer access to the distribution point as all the work apart from the distribution point activation was complete. By this time it was 4pm on a Friday and she promised to call back at 4pm on Monday.
I called the council right away but they said the caretakers had gone home as it was late on a Friday and advised me to ring back on Monday.
I get a text from BT: sorry we missed you appointment etc.
BT calls me on Monday morning 10.30am asking if I’ve sorted it. I tell the person I was expecting a call from them at 4pm and therefore I hadn’t rang the council yet. He promises to ring me back on Wednesday at 10.30am.
I call the council later that day; they’re not very helpful and advise me to call them again on Tuesday.
On Tuesday they log the call and lo and behold. Wednesday at 8.30am, the caretaker calls me, gives me his mobile number, tells me the trades button on the call system will work before 9.30am and they can give them access remotely. If they’re coming after 9.30am, the engineer needs to ring him an hour in advance and he’ll come to open the gate. We’re getting somewhere.
I don’t get a call on Wednesday 10.30am.
I call them myself that afternoon and explain the above. The guy says he’s written it all down, everything will get sorted and I’ll get a text with the new time and date.
Someone with a very poor command of the English language phones me on Thursday. I asked why she is ringing me. She says it’s to makes an engineer appointment. I tell her she doesn’t need to ring me as I don’t need to be in the property and they should all the information needed as I called them the day before. She doesn’t have a clue what I’m on about. I tell her to read out what she has on her screen under the notes as I now don’t trust that the person the day before has written it down properly. She once again doesn’t have a clue what I’m on about. I ask to speak to her manager. She says he’ll call me back. 5 minutes later he does. His English is excellent and he seems to have found the notes and knows exactly what’s going on. This is encouraging. He says the first appointment they have is 03/10 (it is now 20/09) but he’ll make sure they get it earlier and he’ll ring me back. The first person that hardly speaks English calls back. She says the appointment will be on 03/10 between 8am and 1pm. I tell her that her manager told me he was going to make sure it was going to be earlier and ask her why he lied to me. She doesn’t understand what I’m saying. I try to explain to her that trades button on the call system will work before 9.30am and they can give them access remotely but if they’re coming after 9.30am, the engineer needs to ring him an hour in advance and he’ll come to open the gate. She doesn’t understand what I’m saying. I ask her to get her manager to ring me back as he speaks English. She says he’ll call within 15 minutes. I get a text 5 minutes later confirming my appointment for 03/10 between 8am and 1pm.
On 02/10 I phone the caretaker in the morning to let him know they’re coming on 03/10 between 8am and 1pm. I also called BT once again to check everything was clear, confirming they have the correct mobile number of the caretaker etc. They say they have all the information needed and promise that the work will be done.
I phone on the afternoon of the 3rd to check the work had been done and I am told that it hasn’t as the engineer needs access to a flat roof and the caretaker can’t provide him with that. I explain that the original engineer had been on the flat roof already and told me they only needed to get through the gate to activate the distribution point so I don’t understand why they now need to get back on the roof. The roof can be accessed with a ladder (which they all standard have with them) from the pavement anyway so why do I need to be there? They tell me that the engineer has tried to call me but my phone was switched off. I am 100% sure that my phone has been on all day and I haven’t received any missed calls. Also, after all of the above, I wouldn’t switch my phone off on the crucial day. The engineer is lying. After being on the line for 15 minutes (as it takes at least 5 minutes to go through the automated menu every single time you call them and it literally takes a minute for the information to come up on their screen every time they need to access a file) that I don’t have time to discuss this right now as I have an important teleconference with an overseas client and ask for someone to call me back that evening to discuss this as I am busy at work all day.
I receive a text 10 minutes later saying the next engineer appointment is 12/11 between 1pm and 6pm.
This is 14 (!!!) weeks after ordering the service. I phone back when I have a short break at work to discuss this and request a call back. Someone calls me back 5 minutes later and asked for my account information which I don’t have handy so I ask to hold on while I’m looking it up. She hangs up on me.
I stay late at work to write an email on the email form on the website with a watered down version of all of the above and I get a confirmation email that it’s arrived.
I get another text that evening at 8.40pm as well as an email saying -once again- that the next engineer appointment is 12/11 between 1pm and 6pm.
Someone calls me at 8.50pm saying that the next engineer appointment is 12/11. I tell him I know this as they’ve sent me 2 texts and an email already and that this date is unacceptable and ask to speak to his manager. He tells me I need to call the Order Management Department. I ask him what the number is. You’ve guessed it: 0800 0800 150.
Someone called Chris XXXXX calls me the morning after to discuss the email I’ve written the day before. He gives me the usual “Open Reach controls the engineers” story and tells me the appointment will not be earlier than 12/11. I tell him this is unacceptable and if the appointment can’t be moved forward I want some compensation for all the expense and inconvenience caused. He tells me that since I haven’t been billed yet I’m not eligible for any compensation but as a gesture of good will he will give me £10 which I’m normally not eligible for as this is only given to people whose engineer didn’t come on time. I try to explain that if the engineer would have called me as he said he’s done (and not lied like he’s done) I could have explained where the distribution point was and I probably even would have rushed home from work to finally get it sorted. We argue a bit about compensation in which he tells me he’s already doing me a favour by giving me £10. I stop the argument to discuss more practical issues and ask him if I now need to be home on 12/11. He says I do. I now need to take another day off work it seems. I ask him if the caretaker needs to be there as well. He says he does. I ask him if I should invite anyone else and provide tea and biscuits for everyone. I don’t think he gets the joke. We argue a bit more about compensation, we get nowhere. I’m now getting upset. He says he’ll call me back at 1.30pm.
He does and immediately I ask him for his direct phone number. He says he doesn’t have one. I ask him for his email address. He says he doesn’t have one. I ask how to get in touch with him. He says through the 0800 call centre or the form on the website. Now the line gets really bad and gets disconnected. There is nothing wrong with my mobile or signal, I have 5 bars and 3G showing but I can’t hear him and the line gets disconnected. This happens 2 more times. I get him back on the phone and I ask him to call me back on my work landline. He does and a number shows up on the phone (not the 0800 one that showed up when he called my mobile). I immediately write it down and tell him he just lied to me about not having a direct line. He says it’s a desk used by many people. I tell him that if I ring that number and he’s around there’s chance I could get to speak to him surely. He says it’s only used for outgoing calls. I haven’t tried to ring it and can’t be bothered to be honest. I stop this argument and bring the conversation back to compensation. I ask if he can at least give me a few extra months free or upgrade my account for free for a few months maybe by throwing in some telly or something. He says he can’t do that and they can review compensation once the line has been installed. I tell him that’s not good enough and that this whole story is going online and hang up.
Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced and it seems that I’m stuck with it because I’ve already got an appointment and cancelling and going with another provider will result in an even longer wait.
I’ve been offered £10 compensation for taking 2 days of work, hours on the phone, massive mobile phone bills, a lot of stress and 14 weeks without a landline or internet. Truly unbelievable.

Hi
I am sorry to see you are having problems with your BT Service
I suggest you contact the forum mods they should be able to get this problem sorted for you this is a link to them http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact_email/c/4951
They normally reply by email or phone directly to you within 3 working days they will take personal ownership of your problem until resolved and will keep you informed of progress
They are a UK based BT specialist team who have a good record at getting problems solved
This is a customer to customer self help forum the only BT presence here are the forum moderators
If you want to say thanks for a helpful answer,please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side If the reply answers your question then please mark as ’Mark as Accepted Solution’

Phone line and broadband dead, tearing my hair out...

Can a mod help here please. My phone line went dead yesterday, just as my neighbour had a fault fixed. This is not the first time this has happened. Spoke to 3 different people in India on 3 separate occasions last night, but unable to get any sense out of them. One promised to call back but never did. Another insisted on changing my BT Internet password for some reason. Completely and utterly useless. I eventually spoke to someone who described himself as a senior supervisor who promised to look into the matter of speeding up an engineers visit (been told Tuesday which is just redicuous) and said he would call immediately after he arrived for work at 11.00 am UK time. Still waiting!

'An update to my previous message. Just as I pressed post, the promised call came through. They are trying to contact the local exchange, so at least something seems to be happening.'
Mate, I used to work in the Call Centre for BT (Repair) then out in the field as an Engineer for some time.
What they told you is basically **bleep**, they're fobbing you off. For a start the majority of Exchanges aren't manned. Engineers just come/go when they need to run a frames jumper or change/alter the switching.
Even then the exchanges that are manned are certainly not by anyone who can prioritise your fault repair.

Ongoing and Unresolved phone line and broadband pr...

I am trying to help my elderly neighbours resolve an ongoing phone line problem. We both keep reporting the issue but keep being passed from pillar to post. We are fairly certain its a line problem outside of the house (we have checked everything we can for them)
The problem is causing terrible crackling on the phone line to the point where they cannot hear people on the phone and their new quality laptop just cannot run. They struggle to get out and rely on their phone and were hoping to order shopping online etc.
So they are are paying £13 a month for no service and they are finding this whole experience very upsetting. We are disappointed with Bts service so far
Can anybody help please ?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

you should be able to report your phoneline fault to 151 but no mention of broadband.
I would just check that the phone is connected to the filter in the master socket to make sure problem is outwith the home and not internal. internal fault could cost you the callout fee
If you like a post, or want to say thanks for a helpful answer, please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side of the post.
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New phone line and broadband, massive noise margin...

Hi, being a long time DSL stalwart a recent move to a new property has meant I've needed to switch over to ADSL instead and thus far it's proving to be a bit of a mare!
I waited a month for the initial installation engineer who promptly never showed anyway, no bother I thought, the hub turned up and I installed it myself and it promptly didn't work It soon became pretty apparent that the phone line was completely dead even from the test socket. A few phone calls later and the phone line is working much to my delight. The broadband is another story though, initially it still couldn't connect but later in the day it managed to get going. However it's excruciatingly slow with an average of 20 to 30kps throughput and substantial packetloss. Also worth noting is that in this new property, only the master socket actually works, this place has 4 other sockets dotted around all of which appear to be dead, could these be part of the issue? Does using the test socket completely cut these out and rule out bad wiring? Just to add, at 13 hours connected the adsl status is pretty much the same and I couldn't notice anything on the BT line noise test number.
I'm not familar with the workings on ADSL lines but I'm guessing the root of the problem is down to a wildly varying noise margin both up and down. Down fluctuates between ~2 and 20 within a matter of seconds and up gives some numbers that defy belief. Now the line was originally activated on Wednesday, actually kicked into life sometime on Friday and the router has been connected for 13 hours now, whilst it's still early days and things should bed in more, I assume I'm right in thinking I should be alarmed at how bad a line I'm starting out with? And should I be directing my ire at the builders or BT?
Any help and suggestions will be hugely appreciated!
Cheers!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

as it is a newbuild is the master socket inside your home or outside like this
connecting to the test socket will eliminate all your extension sockets and should be your best connection. if you are not in the test socket could you try it and post new stats please
with your attenuation I would expect a connection speed of about 18mb when you get this fiixed
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No phone line for nearly a month with no human con...

Our home phone line went dead on 23rd December and whilst I will accept that we've had Christmas and some bad weather (although not particularly bad in this area) we still don't have a phone line. We have spent many hours talking to call centres whose only response has been "Someone will call you back" and no on human ever does.
We have been led to believe that this is a fault which is affecting many people yet none of our neighbours has any problems whatsoever so we feel like we've been 'spun a line' to get rid of us.
I am sure BT will hide behind Outreach saying that they are the company who repair faults but all we want is an explanation rather than a text every few days saying we need more time. WHY do you you need more time is what we want to know.
For a Company whose main business is communication it defies belief.

Hi peterrowlands,
Welcome and thanks for posting. I'm sorry you're having problems with the line. I can look into this for you if you wish. Drop me an email with the details. You'll find the "contact us" form in the about me section of my profile. Once I have the details we'll take it from there.
Cheers
David
BTCare Community Mod
If we have asked you to email us with your details, please make sure you are logged in to the forum, otherwise you will not be able to see our ‘Contact Us’ link within our profiles.
We are sorry but we are unable to deal with service/account queries via the private message(PM) function so please don't PM your account info, we need to deal with this via our email account :-)

BT Phone Line Order – 9 months of total failure – ...

I've been trying to get a phone line and internet connection from BT installed into a London flat since the 07th of January 2012.
This email/letter does not contain every contact with BT in the last 9 months – as I have not kept records of all the dozens and dozens and dozens of calls, texts, and emails but it is a good enough list to show the general theme of total failure from BT in all aspects of both technical and customer service.
(I have re-written this and removed my 5 or so BT account numbers, the various fault numbers, the dozens of VOL numbers and removed any surnames of people in it in the hope that this will get posted.)
07 Jan 2012
Place first order for phone and internet. BT.com reference: <removed for forum post>.
You can only do Mon to Fri installs. My next day available day off work is 19 Mar 2012 so the line engineer’s appointment is made. 8am to 1pm. I am self-employed and it is not easy to take time off work. In fact it costs me money every time I have to take time off work.
19 Mar 2012
The phone line engineer is late. Arrives after 1pm. He looks at job and says he can't do anything. It needs a new line installed even though there is already a line installed? New line involves a cherry picker and another visit by the line engineer. More time off work. New phone is line installed into flat.
27th Mar 2012
I am informed that the new phone line does not work. Order is cancelled? I get no details on what the problem is and why I can't get a line or what to do next. I have no phone at home so I’ve not tried to use the line; yet BT has already cancelled my Order.
I called ‘BT help; somebody tells me the line is connected to the wrong exchange. I spend lots of time and many calls talking to people in India and I think other parts of the UK. People tell me they are going to call me back and don't. I tried to speak to supervisors in India but nobody returns calls. I’m getting nowhere for weeks and weeks. I give up; it all seems too hard…
7th June, 2012:
Over the internet I place a new order with BT for phone line and internet:
Your order number is: <removed for forum post>. Phone number: <removed for forum post>
6th July:
BT infinity engineer appointment. 8am to 1pm. He is late. After 1pm. He arrives, looks at job and says he can't do anything. He says the phone line does not work.
I inform him the order I placed with BT is for a phone line and internet. He says there is nothing he can do as he does not ‘do’ phone lines. Another day off work. Lost wages, lost time.
No phone & no internet.
Fault is raised:
Date closed: 6 July 2012
Fault/VOL number: VOL012-<removed for forum post>
Open Product affected: Phone fault
Telephone number: <removed for forum post>
Lots of calls to BT. But getting nowhere at all. They tell me there is no fault on the line but will send an engineer that I might have to pay for.
8th July:
Phone line engineer arrives 8am to 1pm. He is on time. He informs me all the existing work is incorrect. They have connected all the equipment to the wrong exchange. It should be the Putney exchange but they have attempted to hook me into the Wandsworth exchange - which won't ever work. Still no phone & no internet. He raises a fault number: LS6 W80 <removed for forum post>
10th July:
9am call from Open Reach engineer. This is not a scheduled appointment. I've had no contact from BT. I am at work. He does not know the problem or the fault number. I give him the fault number and call him back 90 min later. He confirms that I have been connected to the incorrect exchange and cabinet? He can't do anything to fix the problem.
I want somebody to call me with a solution.
I don't want to talk with more people in India who can't help me or even understand the problem. How can this be such a failure?
I use website to email in a letter with the entire listing of existing fault details/number, order numbers etc.
Thank you for your enquiry. We will respond to your enquiry as soon as possible. Please make a note of your enquiry reference number and use it in further correspondence.
Your enquiry reference number: 120710-<removed for forum post>"
One of the issues I am finding is that BT does not link previous faults with new ones, or previous Orders with new ones, or previous Customer Numbers with new ones. Every time I speak to somebody they cannot find any details of the history of these problems so far. BT keep on cancelling my Orders and placing new ones; raising new faults etc. But nothing is linked and when I speak to people for help they can’t see any of the history of the line, faults, address, etc.
19th July, 2012:
I get an email from BT. They have cancelled their own Order again.
Order cancelled. Your order number is: BTCAA6<removed for forum post>
Dear Mr HUNTER, We confirm your broadband order's now cancelled.
23rd July, 2012:
Email from BT as they re-raise a new Order:
Your order number is: VOL012-<removed for forum post>
Check out your account and more about your service
Phone line starts(SL-N)
Phone number: <removed for forum post>
24 Jul 2012 before midnight
Track your order - you'll need order number VOL012-<removed for forum post>.
24 July, 2012:
Email from BT as they re-raise a new Order:
Good news Your order number is: VOL012-<removed for forum post>
Dear Mr. HUNTER, Your phone service is ready for you.
BUT IT IS STILL NOT WORKING..
Sometime around this date BT Priority Help gets involved and lots more phone calls ensue.
27th July, 2012:
After I talk to priority help line and say please don’t waste our time anymore with line engineers that come around and say ‘we can’t do anything’.
BT Priority Help book another engineer visit & we need more time off work again.
The next line engineers visits and he says it is the same problem. He says he can’t do anything. He says it is connected to the wrong exchange. And leaves.
He says his manager will call me. Fault Number: LS6 WPE <removed for forum post>
28th July, 2012:
Call from somebody from BT asking about my street address.
They say the address might not be correct.
29th July, 2012:
Next day call from Franz’s, fault line engineer manager.
He says:
A new order is going in.
Equipment might not be installed in correct place. Correct place should be CAB7 PCB 7 Putney.
Some part of the equipment might still be pointing to Wandsworth.
A new order to the exchange is being place to do it all again.
The address BT has for this flat will not be the problem as it is a new line installed by BT.
I need to wait till Tuesday and see if it works.
A New Order is booked; again.
Monday 30th July, 2012:
I call the priority help line and COMPLAIN again that BT are getting nowhere.
I explain that whatever you have been doing since MARCH 2012 to get this line working HAS NOT WORKED. I repeated what one line engineer told me that it might need to be connected to another exchange. Not WANDSWORTH & NOT PUTNEY but one called PUTNEY/CHISWICK???
I explain to somebody from BT Priority Help Care the days and days and days I have lost trying to get a phone line and internet installed into this flat…
I get a call back 30 min later.
Lady on the phone tells me that all the previous 5 orders have been placed with Wandsworth phone numbers. She has created a new Order, Order number 6, and it is an Order with a PUTNEY EXCHANGE phone number because all the other orders have been for a mix of the wrong exchange and all have used WANDSWORTH EXCHANGE phone numbers – which would stop this working even if the line and equipment was connected to the correct PUTNEY exchange…
1st Aug, 2012:
Text message from BT saying they are having "systems issues trying to correct and update data in the background, and exchange problems".
Monday 6th Aug, 2012:
Voice mail from BT priority care team: Informed "Problems with Engineering and Exchange. They will call back on the 08th of Aug."
14th Aug 201:
Emails arriving saying that your new line is now working.
But it is not.
6pm - ish I am called from BT Sunderland priority help care. Lady does not know the details of the case. She tells me the line should now be working.
I explain there isn’t a dial tone.
She tells me there is an address problem. Probably.
I explain the 8 months of issues I have been having.
She tells me to not get upset. She doesn’t know anything about this case.
She tells me “It can actually take up to 12 months to get a phone connected in London”.
She tells me “that it can be very complex to get a phone connected”.
She tells me there is a long winded email attached to my case. I tell her that the ‘long winded’ email she is reading was written by me in an attempt to show all the problems in the last 8 months IN ONE PLACE – something BT seem incapable of doing.
She tells me I have to wait 10 days until the address team finish their address checking.
I explain to her that the line engineers have told me it is not an address problem.
She tells me there is nothing she can do.
28th Aug
BT priority Care called me. Told me that they are still waiting for results from the Address Team.
29th Aug
BT priority Care called me.
Told me that it is connected to the incorrect exchange now. Wandsworth… The same thing I was told last March.
I got ‘annoyed’ and tried, again, to explain the entire story to the lady on the phone.
She told me she cannot see any records of my orders back to January.
She told me that she didn’t understand what the problem is, and that the records they have shown the line was working in Aug...
I asked her to get her manager to call me.
No manager called me; instead I get a call back from the same lady later in the day. She is trying to help but we are still getting nowhere. BT Priority Care are just trying to do the same things again, that have failed multiple times in the past. They have no solution because they do not know what the problem is?
30th Aug 2012
BT priority Care called me; lady might have been called Sharon? Another lady anyway.
She tells me a new order is going to be placed to get the line connected back to Putney.
I ask to speak to her manager. She says she will call me back.
She calls me back and tells me that her manager Kelly W<removed for forum post> a BT Priority Care Manager Sunderland(maybe?) is going to call me before 6pm. This is the 3rd time I’ve asked to speak to a manager at BT Priority Care. Nobody calls me back.
All I get from BT since March are people trying the same failed thing, again and again.
Now they want to check with the address team. Again.
Now 6 months later after getting it connected to the Putney exchange, they want to put it back to the Wandsworth exchange, where it was originally – and never worked? I question this decision? I ask why this is going to fix the problem if it is the opposite advice to what every line engineer (5 of them) has ever said. I get told that nobody can answer that question.
Friday 31/08/2012
Another set of emails and text tell me I have a new line that is working.
But of course it does not. The phone line is dead. No dial tone.
Phone number is: <removed for forum post>
VOL012-<removed for forum post>
Monday 03/09/2012
All the BT priority care line numbers with the PIN numbers I was given have stopped working.
I can’t make a call to get through to the BT Priority Care Team anymore.
So I phone the normal BT help number…
An automated system tells my phone number is on exchange that is having a high level of faults for the last 2 hours and then it automatically disconnects my help call.
I phone back again and I have to NOT give my phone number for about 4 levels of automated systems to get to speak to a person. This time get through to a person. In India.
I ask for help trying to get put through to the Priority Help Care Centre in the UK. I am informed by somebody in India that all BT Priority Help Centres in the UK have been closed for good – since last Friday. I have to explain, again, the now nine months of trying to get a line connected – to the Indian help desk. I told to wait while she speaks to her supervisor.
I get put through to a different BT Priority Help Centre in the UK. Not Sunderland.
I speak to a man. He says he will email the Sunderland Help Centre and Kelly W<removed for forum post> and get somebody to phone me.
I ask him for advice on what I should do to try to get a phone line connected – after 9 months of trying. He says he will try and escalate it but he does not want to step on other peoples toes?
I ask him to CC in the CEO of BT to the email he is going to send to Kelly W<removed for forum post>. He thinks I am joking….
It is Wednesday night of the 04th of September 2012
Still no call back from Kelly or anybody from the Help care team. This is the 4th time I’ve requested a call back.
And now my PIN numbers for the priority call number have been disabled so I can’t call them.
Of course; why would you expect anything less?
LETTERS OF LATE PAYMENT:
In the last 6 months I’ve got multiple letters from BT telling me I am late in paying for my line service. I get ‘account overdue’ letters even though I prepaid the 12 months line service in advance for a line that has never worked.
SADLY:
There are phone lines in the flats below me, either side of me, and all down this entire street.
There are phone lines all over London. There are phone lines all over the UK.
But sadly not one that works in my flat. I’ve been without a phone or an internet connection since I moved in. 9 months ago.
MARS:
The Americans have flown a Mars Rover, which weighs a ton, from the Earth to Mars, landed it, and driven it around a bit – all on another planet - in the same time BT has failed to install a working phone line into a flat in central London? I wish it was this funny..
GIVEN UP:
So now I give up. My endless frustration at BT’s total lack of anything even close to coordinated fault tracking or anything like co-ordinated customer care service isn’t worth the time or stress any longer. 9 months of stress, lost wages while I’ve waited at home for engineers, and countless hours and hours of my time wasted on hold or speaking to people that can’t help.
YOU SUCK:
BT you are the total pits.
I don’t think you could suck more.
Some of my account numbers have been GB 1084 <removed for forum post>, GB 1099 <removed for forum post>, GB 1038 <removed for forum post>, GB 1105 <removed for forum post>
Dozens of other reference numbers: <removed for forum post>

Further onwards (actually downwards or backwards):
I did respond (last week) to the request to contact the forum moderators directly and was told that that they could not help because this is now being referred to Ombudsman.
Thanks for the offer of help anyway.
Two days ago I did receive another letter from BT. Dated after I was told that I would never get another letter from BT asking for payment for something that was never done. "You will never get another bill". I get another bill.
So more, painful, calls to BT in India. Have to explain the entire 9 month situation again. More wasted timed.
Asked to wait while supervisor is contacted.
Told she can't help but I should call this number: 0800 169 4109.
Which I did. But of course that number requires a number and a pin. And they don't give you a pin number. So they have effectively just cut me off.
So I have to start the entire 'call for help about this bill' processes again.
(Don't forget I've been talking to BT now since January 2012. 9 months, coming up to 10 months and I still can't get a working phone line and I still can't stop getting bills for something that has never worked).
Additioanlly on top of getting sent another late payment letter I’ve see no letter regarding the ‘Deadlock’ process between BT and I – as ‘promised’ by BT. I was told, verbally, the letter would go out last Monday. It is still not here. I want to know if the process has began. So I try to get help with that on BT Help Chat.
My goal in the chat below was to:
1. Get help with the Ombudsman process. I wanted to know why I had not received a letter from BT as I was told I was going to on the date I was expecting.
2. Get a phone number to speak to somebody about the Ombudsman process that BT had started.
3. Find out why I am still getting late payment changes for a line that has never worked - in the 9 months since the initial line order was created.
I was not given a number to call for help. Claire, the Help Chat lady, would not give me the number.
I was told I was going to be 'called back,' which I was not happy with as I know from 9 months of past experiences with BT that I will not be called back.
Sadly I was getting very frustrated by the end of the ‘Help Chat’. 9.5 months of tryign to get a phone line working in Central London has left me a little stressed...
Please note that today is the day after the chat transcript below. While Claire was trying to be helpful:
I was not called back. I received no help regarding getting details on what stage the Ombudsman process is at and what I have to do next.
9.5 months now. No phone line. No solution. Lots and lost of endless frustration.
Days and days and days of stress and my own time and hence money wasted.

Cut neighbours phone line

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