Are You Some Kind Of Telephone Engineer?

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OK. We have moved into a new place (again). The previous resident had a BT line with Talk Talk services. We have attempted top transfet our BT line (number) to the new address. It has not worked. BT claim it is "internal" which means our fault. It cannot be our fault, blah blah blah. What might be wrong with it? Might the Talk Talk mice have chewed through a wire? According to BT it is perfectly OK when they assess it remotely. The problem is, if the engineer comes and it *is* internal, we will be charged a ludicrous amount of money, which we won't pay and we will go to debtor's prison and my daughter will have to become a chimney sweep two years before planned.

Thanks in advance.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 07:43 (twenty years ago)

I'm not one, but we had a similar problem with our internet line which kept disconnecting. The engineer came around, found no problems, also checked our internals, still found no probs, summarised it was unproven, therefore internal. But they waived the charge anyway. (After that, the line never failed until we cancelled it a year or so later)

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 21 October 2005 07:53 (twenty years ago)

That sounds vaguely reassuring. Thank you, Mark.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:01 (twenty years ago)

If you try a phone you know to definitely work (try it around someone else's house) and then plug it into the "master socket" - where the phone line comes into the house - and it doesn't work, it is not internal. I had to get several BT engineer's out to fix our ADSL line problem until someone found the problem and fixed it, but we weren't charged any of these times.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:20 (twenty years ago)

You see, BT told us the opposite, that if the master socket doesn't work, then it's internal. I think BT are bad people.We have ADSL problems too.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:24 (twenty years ago)

The important thing to do with the master socket - at least if it's a modern one - is to unscrew the front of it, pull the front off, and try plugging a phone into the second socket that lurks inside. If it doesn't work then, the fault is definitely Not Your Problem.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:28 (twenty years ago)

Yes, this is what we have done. If what you say is true, and I have no doubt it is, BT have been telling us lies. I wonder why.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:31 (twenty years ago)

BT are bastards like that. We had DSL problems earlier in the year, we get our DSL from OneTel which is BT DSL rebranded, so if there are any problems I have to phone OneTel who then have to phone BT to get it fixed. Every time it went down, BT would deny there was a problem, but immediately after they checked it, it would start working again. OneTel ISP basically said BT just lie about it when they fuck up.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:50 (twenty years ago)

BT's telecom side are rubbish. I have to qualify that because my good lady's dad works on their research side, and that part seems very good.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:57 (twenty years ago)

very time it went down, BT would deny there was a problem, but immediately after they checked it, it would start working again.

That's been standard BT procedure for years, I think.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 21 October 2005 10:04 (twenty years ago)

tHIS IS ALL QUITE REASSURING, IN A WAY.

Sorry, caps lock.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 10:15 (twenty years ago)

BT are a cancer.

― dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 21 October 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)

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