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derbyshiredowser

Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 980
Location: derbyshire

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 10 1:49 pm Post subject:

The main problem is as a result of using contractors for the UG work .We happily ran in house Ditchwitch,thrustboring and moleplough teams and put in miles of duct and cable at a resonable cost thus allowing people in country areas to have service at normal costs. With the city requiring catastrophic job losses to keep the BT share price up peoples right to high quality communication at reasonable cost has gone out of the window.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 10 2:22 pm Post subject:
OK most of it I get the gist of, but I have to ask, Ditchwitch?

derbyshiredowser

Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 980
Location: derbyshire

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 10 4:57 pm Post subject:
See https://www.ditchwitch.co.uk these are amazing machines ours had a VW 1.9 turbo diesel engine but in the states suprise suprise they put huge engines in them and the trenching rate is phenominal

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 10 6:12 pm Post subject:
Ah, I see I dare say, given the rate they lay land drains with the bigger versions. For �3.5k though I'd dig the trench myself with a spade!

derbyshiredowser

Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 980
Location: derbyshire

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 10 8:21 pm Post subject:

Hi I obviously don't know the lay out of the area your in or land ownerships etc but we used to supply duct and cable for the customer to lay at nil cost to BT we would then just do the connections. However sako says things have tightened up at BT over the last 2 years financially but it might be worth contacting the planner again and seeing if there is an alternative way to get your feed with you contributing your labour?

Mrs R

Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 7202

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 10 9:06 pm Post subject:
We tried that as we have various tractors and diggers and people kicking around but they laughed and basically said 'no way'. Part of it does have to go over the public lane fair enough, and I spose they have to make full use of the approved contractors they're working with so everyone gets their pockets filled at our expense

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Aug 26, 10 10:28 pm Post subject:

I signed up with Primus in the end and paid �69 - not got the line yet but BT have now slashed their price to �29-99 (Presumably that's before the 3.5K you have to pay)

BT wrote:

One-off connection charge

* Connection charge only applies in some cases � most of our new customers find they don't need to pay this charge.
* If you do need to connect a new BT line, the charges are (incl. VAT):

* �0 when you take either a TV, Broadband & Calls package or a Broadband & Calls package � reduced from �127.99
* �29.99 when you take a BT line only (with no broadband or TV) � reduced from �127.99

sako

Joined: 11 Oct 2009
Posts: 37

Posted: Fri Aug 27, 10 10:03 pm Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

I signed up with Primus in the end and paid �69 - not got the line yet but BT have now slashed their price to �29-99 (Presumably that's before the 3.5K you have to pay)

BT wrote:

Always subject to survey, at any time during the order being progressed until the line is fully installed.
In other words they will assume that because the end user has not mentioned there could be a problem installing a line they will quote the standard charge, with the above clause.
Regards
Richard

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Fri Aug 27, 10 10:48 pm Post subject:
I was expecting to get a call from BT when we got Primus sorted, trying to get us back to them but nothing as yet, Shame, I was looking forward to that conversation!

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 11 5:40 pm Post subject:

As an update, I'm back to this again - I've ordered a line with calls and broadband this time, after seeing a free installation offer on their website and everything seems to be progressing and I haven't had the call about the excess, yet.

However I have been in touch with another company who have told me that this address has had a BT line in the past, so I've done a little digging and found the pole stump and a cable connection. Thinking about it I seem to recall a phone wire in the original caravan too.

I've also managed to find the BT price list that they use for new connections, and an OFCOM review of the USO from 2005. With all this information, and having taken measurements, I worked out a plan that doesn't exceed the �3400 limit. Even the most expensive one works out at �22-50 more for me to pay.

However I have just one question - can a wire come down a pole and straight down a duct? as opposed to entering a footway box at the base of the pole. There is a box 28m away where the duct enters the building. An extra footway box seems to be an easy way for them to add another �750 on but as I'm still waiting to hear their response to my request for the details, I thought I'd do my homework beforehand.

Having seen the OFCOM review I now realise that they are obliged to offer the chance for the customer to do work on their own land to bring the price down and they must consider the cheapest option. I now realise they've done neither of these things and I should have a good case for getting it installed under the USO. Chances are, after doing all this research, they'll just install it and not request the excess, but at least I'll have a line then.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46212
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 11 6:56 pm Post subject:
,daft in it ?

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 11 4:12 am Post subject:

Companies are just as cuckoo over here. All service from the street to our house is underground - electric, telephone, propane. TV is satellite with dish on the roof.

Our Internet has, over the last 15 years, wandered around from telephone (very slow), satellite (goes out when snow loads up on the dish or when there are heavy rainstorms.) Kept trying to get FIOS but "you're too far from the switching station."

Anyhow - finally got connection through cable TV. Quick uploads for my web site / blog, fast downloads. Can even watch Youtube video without hiccup start and stop.

BUT - it took literally weeks and weeks plus endless telephone calls to get the underground lines marked out before cable could be buried. For example: Telephone company - "no one in your area has underground connection so we didn't send anyone out to find it." Well yes, we do have an underground line which you'd see if you sent someone here.

None of the companies actually do the marking you see, it is all subcontracted through New Jersey One Call. Frequent advertisements on TV etc - call before you dig! Only they don't deal with home owners, only contractors. Not that NJ One Call does the actually mark out. Paul talked to people in Florida, in Minnesota, all over the map as he'd get referred to yet another department. Each service - propane, telephone, etc was marked out by a different crew.

So I can really sympathize with the aggravation you have had to deal with. Each time my husband would call he'd get another blithering idiot, work his way up to supervisors, ask for department that actually does the work rather than "customer service" - should be customer lack-of-service.

I'm showing my age but - remember when you'd call a company and it would be answered by a real human being, one who would absolutely try to help?

paul1963

Joined: 15 Nov 2010
Posts: 2161
Location: No longer active on the forum

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 11 12:50 pm Post subject:
Unhappy with their service or charges? Contact Ofcom, they will sort it out for you. www.ofcom.org.uk/

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 11 1:54 pm Post subject:

Sadly my response from Ofcom was that there is nothing they can do, I have to put it back to BT with my revised figures. The trouble being that BT aren't very good at communicating, so I'm giving them one more chance, then Ian Livingstone is getting an e-mail.

The government Department for Business were fairly helpful and pointed me in the direction of the relevant Ofcom documents. It seems Ofcom have given BT this �3400 limit but they have no power to verify that the quotes BT give are accurate, it is up to me to prove that and then submit a complaint based upon BT not fulfilling their obligation.

I'm not sure whether it is good or not to know that it's not just Britain that has these problems.

paul1963

Joined: 15 Nov 2010
Posts: 2161
Location: No longer active on the forum

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 11 7:09 pm Post subject:
Crikey, that's a bit poor. I'd have hoped you would have had more success with them

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