Telephone

[llamekuf]

Is the cable from the telephone which goes into the white box on the wall (not the power source) connected to the fusebox circuit in any way, or is it completely separate from the house electrical wiring.

[paul1763]

it is completely separate but it still runs on (i think) 50 volts from the exchange so dont poke it with a screwdriver

[llamekuf]

Thanks PAUL1763.
They were hoping it was the fusebox.
Power is reaching the telephone (and been checked in another house so it is not the phone) as it lights up. BT are asking £129.00 to come and repair whatever the fault is.

[kjn2]

I think I am right in saying that BT are responsible for the line into your house up to the phone and repairs up to this point should be made free of charge. IF there is a problem with the phone/extension socket etc then the cost will have to be met by you. Hope this helps.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

What lights up ?

[carrust]

Try somebody else's phone in your house to double check

[paul1763]

are you using any extentsion cables?i've had a few of these pack in.also have you tried another phone in your main socket?also if you unscrew the front of the box and remove it you will find another socket which apparently bt use as a test socket (i've been asked to do this by person on bt helpline when i had a fault)

[Buenchico]

>>>BT are asking £129.00 to come and repair whatever the fault is

No they're not. To avoid being called out when a fault is within a subscriber's home (rather than within the phone network) OpenReach levy a charge of £129 when they attend such faults. To be fair to BT/OpenReach, they go to considerable trouble (both on their website and when you phone them) to tell people about the charge, so that they then take great care to check that the fault really is on BT's side, rather than with their own equipment.

So, if OpenReach's automated line-checking system doesn't detect a fault, it's almost impossible to convince BT's system that someone should be sent out. (Every time you try to do it online you get a warning that it might cost £129). However if you're fully confident that the phone works on another line (and preferably also that another phone doesn't work on the faulty line), OpenReach will attend and fix the fault free of charge.

All of the above is written from recent personal experience!

[alavahalf]

What is lighting up ?

[woofgang]

What Chris said, also from recent personal experience. The only exception would be if the box had been damaged by the householder eg allowed their dog to chew it or had run a vacuum cleaner into it or similar.
i wonder if we had the same fault? the front socket of my infinity box didn't work so I had internet but no phone but when you (I) too the front plate and socket off, the inner phone socket would work, also there was no fault on the line. The nice man who came out and fixed it said that they had had a lot of the same fault, they thought due to the recent stormy weather and many episodes of lighning.

[Peter Pedant]

Yeah if the leccy cut you off,
the phones still work dont they ?

[Dodger666]

It would help if you actually said what was "lighting up".

If it's a phone with a digital display then it's perfectly normal for it to "light up" otherwise you couldn't read the display. The display is normally powered from separate batteries in the base of the phone.

BT are only responsible for faults on the phone if it is BT a rented phone.

[llamekuf]

The ' lighting up ' on the phone is a small window which shows that the phone is on.
There is no dialling tone.

[llamekuf]

The phone from the house where it is not working works in another home and a phone which was working does not work when it was tried in the home where the fault is.

[bhg481]

It looks like your phone line is at fault then and shouldn't cost you anything for a repair.

[Old_Geezer]

It is the problem with the privatisation of nationalised industries problem. Now the commercially aware company doesn't feel service is the priority, and simply comes out to sort things for you: it has an eye on their bottom line and puts you off getting things fixed by threatening you with large charges if your fault turns out to be outside their domain. Before privatisation it was all their domain from telephone to telephone.

The customer has the problem of poor service due to a fault, and yet they are the ones who have to take the risk that it really is a BT fault, even though they can never be 100% sure. It is a bad system.

[Old_Geezer]

It could still be a fault in your home. I think I am correct in saying that BT only cover up to your main junction box. That should be openable and allow you to plug a phone in directly, ensuring you skip any extension wiring etc..

[llamekuf]

Passing on the thanks to everyone who has contributed to this post.
Much appreciated.

[Lie-in King]

They will almost certainly ask you to unscrew the cover of the box & try plugging the phone into the "test socket" on the right-hand side. If you try this before you call, you can tell them the results & save time.

I don't know which type of socket you have but - hopefully - the following link will help -

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9812/~/fixing-bt-phone-line-faults

I had broadband problems a few years ago & it turned out to be the direct link to the telegraph pole had come loose! Don't pay anything until you're sure that there's no other option.