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Phone line fault - what am I liable for?


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Old 14-05-2014, 11:46
Zenith
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My phone is currently completely dead (although thankfully my internet is just about working).

I reported the fault yesterday & I have received an email saying that the fault is probably outside my home, but it ended with this sentence:-

"The visit will be completely free – unless the engineer finds our network has been damaged inside or outside your home but within the boundary of your property. If that happens the visit will cost £129.99 ."

I always thought that BT were responsible for all outside wiring. The pole is right outside my garden fence. So if any part of the wire from the pole to my wall is damaged, then I need to pay?

Or am I reading it wrong?

I thought that I was only liable for faults that occured after the master socket?
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Old 14-05-2014, 13:20
Dan Sette
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The phone line, rather like water pipes become your responsibility as soon as they cross the boundary onto your property.

There will be proviso's of course, but generally its to protect BT from people either over zealously digging up their cables, or if suspended cable from interfering / damaging with the cable while decorating or doing building work.
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Old 14-05-2014, 13:38
chrisjr
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I would imagine you would only be liable for damage you could reasonably have control over, for example, a tree growing up under an overhead cable or digging the foundations for an extension and chopping through an underground cable.
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Old 14-05-2014, 15:03
Gerry1
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The phone line, rather like water pipes become your responsibility as soon as they cross the boundary onto your property.
Wrong !

The dropwire crosses the boundary of my property as soon as it leaves the telegraph pole. But I'm not responsible for the dropwire, nor for the cable clipped to the wall of my house. The boundary is the Network Termination Point (e.g..master socket / linebox), i.e. everything downstream of the NTP is your problem but the master socket / linebox and everything upstream is theirs.

If a known good telephone doesn't work when plugged into the test socket of a linebox, then it's Openreach's problem, ditto for a master socket with all downstream wiring and apparatus unplugged.

When I had a crackly line, Openreach replaced the wiring from the ceramic 'flowerpot' insulator to the master socket in the kitchen, replacing it with a linebox.

If the wiring upstream from the linebox had been damaged by the householder it might be debatable, but the chances of that happening are fairly slim, and unlikely in your case considering your broadband is still working.
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Old 14-05-2014, 15:59
BKM
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The dropwire crosses the boundary of my property as soon as it leaves the telegraph pole. But I'm not responsible for the dropwire, nor for the cable clipped to the wall of my house.
If any of your trees grow and damage the drop wire, for example, then you will find it IS your responsibility from the point that it enters your property!
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Old 14-05-2014, 16:15
anthony david
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Connect your phone to the master, if it still doesn't work it's their problem, if it now does it's probably yours.
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Old 14-05-2014, 19:57
Gerry1
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If any of your trees grow and damage the drop wire, for example, then you will find it IS your responsibility from the point that it enters your property!
No, the dropwire is still BT's responsibility: it's part of their network so I can't climb the pole and change it. However, they might well charge me if I damage it.

Trees are more of a grey area. A relative and her neighbours had lines that always went down for several days whenever high winds brought down the overhead lines in the woods. In the end, BT dug up the driveway and undergrounded them at no charge.
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Old 14-05-2014, 23:05
iniltous
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My phone is currently completely dead (although thankfully my internet is just about working).

I reported the fault yesterday & I have received an email saying that the fault is probably outside my home, but it ended with this sentence:-

"The visit will be completely free – unless the engineer finds our network has been damaged inside or outside your home but within the boundary of your property. If that happens the visit will cost £129.99 ."

I always thought that BT were responsible for all outside wiring. The pole is right outside my garden fence. So if any part of the wire from the pole to my wall is damaged, then I need to pay?

Or am I reading it wrong?

I thought that I was only liable for faults that occured after the master socket?
In most cases if there is no dialtone at the master socket test point, then the problem is not chargeable, the exception is if there is damage on the line within the boundary of your property that isn't considered fair wear and tear, like window fitters damaging an overhead cable as it enters your house, or landscape gardeners damaging an underground feed..tree branches damaging a drop wire to your house would be chargeable if the tree was inside your property boundary
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Old 15-05-2014, 10:20
Zenith
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Thanks for the replies.

When I had a fault many years ago, I don't remember reading anywhere about being responsible for damage caused to the network "inside or outside your home but within the boundary of your property".

It's a bit vague & I assume that it only covers damage that I may have caused myself (or through a tradesman), although it doesn't say that.

It should be made a lot clearer about what the customer is responsible for.

btw...there are no trees in the way, & no one has been anywhere near the drop wire. I did try the test socket & the phone was still completely dead. They say that it might not be fixed until Monday
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Old 15-05-2014, 10:34
Zenith
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Talk about coincidence. Just as I had finished typing the above post, I got a text to say that the fault had been cleared!

Don't know where the fault was, as no one came near the telegraph pole.
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