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Old 23-08-2013, 18:25
Peachy Keen
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I have been away for a few days. When l returned home this afternoon, l decided to call 1471 but there was no dialling tone therefore l rang BT Customer Service on my mobile about the problem only to be told by an automatic service message that l wasn't a BT customer (although l been with them for nearly 20 years) and was promptly cut off!

I decided to check with my broadband provider to see if there was anything wrong with their service. I got the all-clear and the assistant very kindly transferred me to the BT call centre in India. The BT assistant suggested that l should take the cable(s) out and then put it back in again but this did solve the problem so she booked an engineer to come and visit me next week and added that if it's not BT's fault, l have to pay them £99 to put it right!

I can't believe its not a BT problem as the landline was working fine before l went away.

I tried calling 1471 again and now l get a crackly sound, then dialling, then a further bout of crackly sound!

Does anyone know what the problem is?

One further thing is than an engineer was seen working on the green box outside where l live during the week, maybe this is the cause of the problem?
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Old 24-08-2013, 23:04
iniltous
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You should really check it's not your own equipment and or wiring before committing to a engineer visit, if you have a modern NTE5 type master socket, you remove two screws and the bottom section of the socket to reveal a test socket, you then plug a know working phone into this test socket, if the problem remains you know the problem is on the line and it's an Openreach problem to fix, if everything is ok when plugged into this test socket it means the line is ok and you will be charged for calling OR out on a problem that's yours and not theirs to fix
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Old 24-08-2013, 23:23
laserline
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My line went down twice over the past year and a half.
Each time this happened an engineer was working on a green box just opposite my house.
I think he may have disconnected a wire
Second time this happened.
I informed the call centre about this and they tried to say there was no work on the box.
So I said I can supply van registration number and photographic evidence of work taking place.
An engineer appeared next morning at 9 am and my line was working before 10 am.
Now I had no photographic evidence or van number but there was an engineer working at the box
Next time i see work taking place i will have evidence and i may even talk to engineer to ask what he is doing.
Have you ever seen the number of wires in them boxes. Thousands of wires, so it does not surprie me if they miss the odd one.
Laserline
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Old 27-08-2013, 12:21
Peachy Keen
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Thanks for the replies.

Believe it or not, my phone is now working again after at least 3 days out of action!

Yesterday l noticed that the light on the stand on which my phone rest was off. Thinking l had pulled the phone stand plug out by mistake instead of the router plug, l checked but it was still in the socket so l push the plug in to make sure and the light came on. I picked up the phone and heard the dialling tone so l called 1471 and could hear the last number which rang me!

I have no idea why the landline is working again as l had done the necessary checks without success.

I have cancelled the BT engineer for tomorrow and, fingers crossed, everything will be ok from now on.
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Old 27-08-2013, 12:34
chrisjr
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Was it the phone line plug you pushed in? It should lock into place so you can't pull it out with a gentle tug on the cord. If you were able to pull it out by tugging the cord then either the little locking tab lever on the side of the plug is broken or the plug wasn't pushed in properly.

If the locking tab on the plug is broken then the plug doesn't lock into place and can partially pull out. It may look as though it's plugged in but the electrical contacts may not be touching, hence no dial tone etc. If it's just on the edge of making electrical contact then you can get noise and crackles as the connection comes and goes.

Might be worth checking the plug to make sure the locking tab lever is intact and securing the plug in the socket. Just so we are singing from the same hymn sheet as it were , the tab lever can be seen at the top of this image

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._connector.jpg
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Old 27-08-2013, 15:11
Peachy Keen
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Was it the phone line plug you pushed in? It should lock into place so you can't pull it out with a gentle tug on the cord. If you were able to pull it out by tugging the cord then either the little locking tab lever on the side of the plug is broken or the plug wasn't pushed in properly.

If the locking tab on the plug is broken then the plug doesn't lock into place and can partially pull out. It may look as though it's plugged in but the electrical contacts may not be touching, hence no dial tone etc. If it's just on the edge of making electrical contact then you can get noise and crackles as the connection comes and goes.

Might be worth checking the plug to make sure the locking tab lever is intact and securing the plug in the socket. Just so we are singing from the same hymn sheet as it were , the tab lever can be seen at the top of this image

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._connector.jpg
I did pull the phone line plug out and then inserted it in again as instructed by the BT assistant but with no luck.

I meant the stand which the receiver is placed on. I haven't touch the phone line plug since Friday.
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Old 27-08-2013, 15:20
JSemple3
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Same thing happened to my parents line on friday. Been working for god knows how many years without fail and all of a sudden on friday it stopped working. Had to phone BT and report a fault (engineer was due today actually) would have cost us 99 quid if there was no fault. As soon as I arranged an appointment and got off phone to them? it started working ha!
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Old 27-08-2013, 15:39
chrisjr
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I did pull the phone line plug out and then inserted it in again as instructed by the BT assistant but with no luck.

I meant the stand which the receiver is placed on. I haven't touch the phone line plug since Friday.
So just to clarify what exactly is this "phone stand" plug you pushed in then?

Is it something associated with the phone like a DECT cordless phone base or what?
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Old 27-08-2013, 16:34
Adam_Jones2
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It's quite funny how many of you seem to be getting excited over a landline fault lol

Who has landlines these day's - get with it people
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Old 27-08-2013, 16:54
Steven L Hunter
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It's quite funny how many of you seem to be getting excited over a landline fault lol

Who has landlines these day's - get with it people
Mobiles can never be as good as landlines I prefer speaking over a landline
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Old 27-08-2013, 17:18
SteveMcK
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It's quite funny how many of you seem to be getting excited over a landline fault lol

Who has landlines these day's - get with it people
Landlines are far more reliable than mobiles. They don't die on power cuts, don't need to be charged, aren't subject to overload/no signal problems.

They are also often cheaper to call from abroad than mobiles are, which matters to some people.

Mobiles are great for convenience, but if you really need 99.9999% availability of a phone, then a landline is the only viable option. We have three mobiles, and a broadband link, but I still have the landline.
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Old 30-08-2013, 22:51
Peachy Keen
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So just to clarify what exactly is this "phone stand" plug you pushed in then?

Is it something associated with the phone like a DECT cordless phone base or what?
Yes, it's a phone base with an answering machine in it. The base light was not on so l pushed the mains plug in and, hey presto, the dialling tone was working.
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Old 30-08-2013, 23:48
chrisjr
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Yes, it's a phone base with an answering machine in it. The base light was not on so l pushed the mains plug in and, hey presto, the dialling tone was working.
Well that explains the problem then. No power to the base so no phone. No line fault. Probably just as well you cancelled the engineer visit as it would have cost you 99 quid for him to plug the phone back in!
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Old 31-08-2013, 00:06
Peachy Keen
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Well that explains the problem then. No power to the base so no phone. No line fault. Probably just as well you cancelled the engineer visit as it would have cost you 99 quid for him to plug the phone back in!
Not exactly. The red light on the base was on when l first noticed there was no dialling tone so there was definitely power in the first instance!
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