New line installation or Starting stopped line?
I signed the lease for my new rental property on the 4th/11/2011 and got my keys then too. I actually pre-emptively signed up to Plusnet on the 01/11/2011 so as to get my phone/broadband set-up as quickly as possible.
There are a couple of things I can't understand. I know previous tenants and they had their broadband and phone through SKY. They cancelled their phone/broadband with SKY shortly before moving out. The property is a modern building with phone sockets etc. all installed properly and phone line/broadband was working fine right up until previous tenants cancelled just before moving out. Now why do I have to get a new phone line installed? when clearly the phone line was working fine just days before I placed my order. Surely it is simply a case of starting the stopped line? See Plusnets phone line FAQs below:
9. I don't have a telephone line, how long will it take to get one and how much will it cost?
To find out, please call our Sales Team.
Type of installation ------------------ How long will it take?
Installing a brand new line --------------- Depends on engineer appointment times
Starting a stopped phone line ----------- Within 2-4 working days
So it seems starting a stopped line is far far quicker than installing a new line, why wasn't I given this option?
Upon sign-up I was told next available date for installation was 18/11/2011 then on 4/11/2011 I got a text/email saying the date would be 22/11/2011 4 days further back still
Now it is going to be about the 27th before I have broadband up and running, and I can't move into the new place until broadband is set-up as I require access for my business. So I've lost the best part of 1 months rent really.
The other thing is I understand that I should be available at my property on the installation date as the engineer may need access to my property. This is very difficult for me as it means taking time off work. I know there are perfectly functioning telephone sockets at the property (the modern 2 socket ADSL ones) & broadband and telephone line was working fine until it was stopped by previous tentants, so is there any reason why the engineer would actually need access?
£49.99 seems a steep price to pay to start a stopped line and 22 days also seems like a ridiculously long time to start a stopped line
There are a couple of things I can't understand. I know previous tenants and they had their broadband and phone through SKY. They cancelled their phone/broadband with SKY shortly before moving out. The property is a modern building with phone sockets etc. all installed properly and phone line/broadband was working fine right up until previous tenants cancelled just before moving out. Now why do I have to get a new phone line installed? when clearly the phone line was working fine just days before I placed my order. Surely it is simply a case of starting the stopped line? See Plusnets phone line FAQs below:
9. I don't have a telephone line, how long will it take to get one and how much will it cost?
To find out, please call our Sales Team.
Type of installation ------------------ How long will it take?
Installing a brand new line --------------- Depends on engineer appointment times
Starting a stopped phone line ----------- Within 2-4 working days
So it seems starting a stopped line is far far quicker than installing a new line, why wasn't I given this option?
Upon sign-up I was told next available date for installation was 18/11/2011 then on 4/11/2011 I got a text/email saying the date would be 22/11/2011 4 days further back still
Now it is going to be about the 27th before I have broadband up and running, and I can't move into the new place until broadband is set-up as I require access for my business. So I've lost the best part of 1 months rent really.The other thing is I understand that I should be available at my property on the installation date as the engineer may need access to my property. This is very difficult for me as it means taking time off work. I know there are perfectly functioning telephone sockets at the property (the modern 2 socket ADSL ones) & broadband and telephone line was working fine until it was stopped by previous tentants, so is there any reason why the engineer would actually need access?
£49.99 seems a steep price to pay to start a stopped line and 22 days also seems like a ridiculously long time to start a stopped line
Hi hpares,
it very much sounds like a start of a stopped line couple be applicable. However it does depend on if the previous service has been ceased as opposed to stopped and that can often be the case with Sky services.
However I will look into this with a member of our provisioning team and will get back to you with an update ASAP.
it very much sounds like a start of a stopped line couple be applicable. However it does depend on if the previous service has been ceased as opposed to stopped and that can often be the case with Sky services.
However I will look into this with a member of our provisioning team and will get back to you with an update ASAP.
I've just been through this with a fine tooth comb along with one of my colleagues. When we run checks against your address we can see that there are no stopped lines present at your property, be it a BT line or MPF (the type of line Sky tend to use) this means that any previous lines will have been ceased meaning that a new installation is needed and that necessitates the £49.99 fee I'm afraid.
I hope that clarifies things at least a bit for you, let me know if you have any further questions.
I hope that clarifies things at least a bit for you, let me know if you have any further questions.
Quote from: hpares The other thing is I understand that I should be available at my property on the installation date as the engineer may need access to my property. This is very difficult for me as it means taking time off work. I know there are perfectly functioning telephone sockets at the property (the modern 2 socket ADSL ones) & broadband and telephone line was working fine until it was stopped by previous tentants, so is there any reason why the engineer would actually need access?
Any good engineer would presumably like to test that the line was working
Hi hpares,
The difference between a stopped and a ceased line is that when a line has been on the BT network and is disconnected it is just stopped. If this is started again it is done by a robot and is free of charge. Once a line has been stopped for a while it will then be disconnected (ceased) I imagine to make way for other lines. In the latter case that is when the engineer is needed, or when there has never been a line there.
If there is a BT socket there, it has been known that an engineer is not always needed, but if the line doesn't work, for some reason, when connected remotely then the engineer would need access to finish the job. Also, even if the line seems ok from the outside the engineer will often come to the premises to make sure is all working correctly both ways. In your case, it will definitely need an engineer to be booked, and you can't really take the chance that it will be ok, because if it isn't you'll have to pay the £49.99 again because of a missed appointment.
Jojo
The difference between a stopped and a ceased line is that when a line has been on the BT network and is disconnected it is just stopped. If this is started again it is done by a robot and is free of charge. Once a line has been stopped for a while it will then be disconnected (ceased) I imagine to make way for other lines. In the latter case that is when the engineer is needed, or when there has never been a line there.
If there is a BT socket there, it has been known that an engineer is not always needed, but if the line doesn't work, for some reason, when connected remotely then the engineer would need access to finish the job. Also, even if the line seems ok from the outside the engineer will often come to the premises to make sure is all working correctly both ways. In your case, it will definitely need an engineer to be booked, and you can't really take the chance that it will be ok, because if it isn't you'll have to pay the £49.99 again because of a missed appointment.
Jojo
Well just to update...
BT engineers came yesterday (there was 2 of them together). They called at the property first, plugged in a little box thing into the phone socket then said: "Oh your line is already working... there is nothing we need to do" and that was that.
So I'm a little confused as to what went on, to me it looks like the phone line was never ceased, and actually seems like the engineers weren't even needed after all? So I took a day off work and drove 1.5hrs to get to the property and in reality it seems like it was completely pointless. Not to mention a £49.99 installation charge when the engineers didn't actually do anything. Oh and the icing on the cake is Plusnet are trying to charge me twice for the installtion fee (see topic here: http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,100236.0.html for full details).
I'm not exactly a happy bunny!
BT engineers came yesterday (there was 2 of them together). They called at the property first, plugged in a little box thing into the phone socket then said: "Oh your line is already working... there is nothing we need to do" and that was that.
So I'm a little confused as to what went on, to me it looks like the phone line was never ceased, and actually seems like the engineers weren't even needed after all? So I took a day off work and drove 1.5hrs to get to the property and in reality it seems like it was completely pointless. Not to mention a £49.99 installation charge when the engineers didn't actually do anything. Oh and the icing on the cake is Plusnet are trying to charge me twice for the installtion fee (see topic here: http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,100236.0.html for full details).
I'm not exactly a happy bunny!
@hpares
I'm sorry for any confusion here. I'll need to gain what info I can with regards to your order but I will make sure the second direct debit for the install fee gets stopped. I'll get back to you with regards to the first fee that was charged.
Adam.
I'm sorry for any confusion here. I'll need to gain what info I can with regards to your order but I will make sure the second direct debit for the install fee gets stopped. I'll get back to you with regards to the first fee that was charged.
Adam.
I'm sorry to say that I'm not able to stop the second direct debit going through I'm afraid. I will make sure you get refunded as soon as it clears (this may take around 7-10 days).
With regards to the original install fee I can't see anything to support this being a start of a stopped line rather than an install. However in light of the doubt surrounding this and the duplicate fee that we should refund this too. That should be back in your account within the next 10 working days.
With regards to the original install fee I can't see anything to support this being a start of a stopped line rather than an install. However in light of the doubt surrounding this and the duplicate fee that we should refund this too. That should be back in your account within the next 10 working days.
Quote from: _Adam_Walker_ I'm sorry to say that I'm not able to stop the second direct debit going through I'm afraid. I will make sure you get refunded as soon as it clears (this may take around 7-10 days).
With regards to the original install fee I can't see anything to support this being a start of a stopped line rather than an install. However in light of the doubt surrounding this and the duplicate fee that we should refund this too. That should be back in your account within the next 10 working days.
That's a nuisance that the second debit cannot be stopped... but waiving the original fee certainly makes me happier about the whole affair. Thank you for your help Adam, you have been very informative and helpful