When calling my home number I get an intermittant fault whereby it might ring once then a click then silence.
If answered it appears to work normally, and outgoing calls can be made.Sometimes it works alright first thing in the morning and as the day goes on gets worse( 2 rings,then 1 ring then just a click) BT put us on call divert (monday) until the engineer came, but as luck would have it, it was working when he came and tested it (yesterday).
When I first reported the fault I disconnected everything including filters and the fault still remained, the operator even tested the line and agreed with me that she could only hear a click then nothing.
I phoned BT today to tell them the fault was back,and was told the engineer left the phones working without finding a fault, which is true, but that subject to the engineers discretion there might be a charge (approx £100.00) and the same would apply if he comes out again.
At the moment the phones aren't ringing,and unless we are psychic , we can't answer the phone.
It is an intermittant fault, but 7 out of 10 calls aren't ringing today.
I think it might have something to do with the heavy rain we are having, (it was dry yesterday) but of course the engineer is not interested in theories, does anyone have any usefull suggestions?

your problem is known as ring trip in the trade and is
usually caused by a battery contact on this line, battery
contacts often caused by water ingress (bad weather)
the problem is as the weather/cable drys out the fault can disappear...
it can also be caused by faulty end user equipment
hence the warning about charges if problem turns out
to be on something that isnt covered by bt openreach
best way to be sure is to plug a known working corded
phone into the test jack behind the lower cover on your
nte5, if problem remains its openreaches problem to
solve.....
Last edited by iniltous : 13-11-2008 at 19:02

Many thanks for your reply.
Unfortunately the BT socket is an old type which doesn't have a test jack.
Is there another way to test?
Also where would the battery contact be?
Thanks again
Ray

for starters, the previous engineer should have changed your lju to a NTE5, if they didn't and get audited their feet won't touch the floor(then BT will only need to find 9999 employees to get rid off). unfortunately all you can try is with a phone that works(neighbours?).
A battery fault usually exists(residential) externally somewhere between the pole and the exchange.
this type of fault could also be a rectified loop or even a earth contact(both of which could exist inside the premises). if you can see if any of your internal cables run under carpets(across freq walkways(i.e doorways)) possibly inspect them for any visual sign of damage.
your only option i'm afraid is to contact your service provider to get us out again(ask them to put on the notes for the engineer to install a NTE5 "THIS TIME"(managers and coaches look at most jobs and their notes that come our way, and nothing pleases them more to be able to chastise an engineer). with it being a repeat fault the engineer should do something atleast (i.e change the cable from the pole to the house(if through trees), change the d/e side(link from pole to cabinet/ cabinet to exchange), if the fault isn't present when they attend.
and last but not least, the bad news i'm afraid, the chances are you would have been charged for the visit.

I haven't tried a different phone but I did disconnect the phone,broadband and filters, leaving nothing connected.
Would that be enough?
Many thanks
Ray

that will be fine, when you ring the faults department, state that you do not have a NTE5 and unable to perform all the tests. hopefully when they test the line it will show the rec loop, earth, and or battery, and then they can pass it on to us.

Many thanks for the help.
I also had the phones ringing during the night (last night) about every 15 minutes, when I answered there was no one on the line, this was after midnight, I dialled 1471 to be told the last call was at 10.13 pm. This is also the same problem I had a month ago and was advised it was my cordless phones that was causing the problem,which I have just replaced, and still have the problem
Thanks
Ray

in that case it's almost definately a battery fault(which 9.9 times out of 10 is outside). have you got any buzzing/humming on the line? dial 17070 opt 2 for quiet line test.

Many thanks openreachpeep.
The engineer has just finished, and the problem was outside and caused by rain. Just hope I don't get a bill.
I wasn't at home but he didn't change our box to a NTE5,is it too late to request one?
Thanks again
Ray.

I wonder if BT will now compensate you for the new cordless phones you bought after they wrongly blamed your old ones for the fault last month?

only if they have access to the premises should they have to fit a NTE5. you could try requesting one but chances are your service provider may want to charge you for it.

if they have cleared the fault outside then they will not raise charges, but chances are you were charged on the first visit(for a right when tested), if you do get charged contest it straight away as the fault wasn't fixed first time round, and as heinz said ask for money back for having to buy new phones cause thats what they said was faulty, you never know.

Many thanks for all your help.
If I had changed my line rental from BT to let's say Sky,
how would I have got my problem sorted out?
Thanks again
Ray.

I am having the same problem.
I have had my line tested already through the socket inside the cover of the master box and they didn't find a problem, so I thought it must be a problem on my side somewhere. However I am getting the thing with the phones keep ringing when no-one is calling and bad cracking on the line, but it is only during and for some time after rain, I have noticed.
I've had to turn off the digital phones to get some peace at night! Also people who are trying to call me aren't getting through and going straight to BT answer.
I only have one phone plugged into the master socket, the rest of my extensions (new too, bought after the problem first started!), are digital.
After reading this thread I will get back onto them in the morning and suggest the battery fault.
Thank you

the same way, all faults have to go through your service provider and then they pass it onto us.