Unexpected Bill from BT Openeach

[#1]

Hi
I moved home back in September, I paid Plusnet £65 for transferring  my existing residential landline and broadband to my new address.  Unfortunately the line was dead and an engineer visit was arranged.  I was not told by Plusnet or BT that there would be a charge for any work, but I have been landed a bill from BT  Openreach  entitled "Claim for Damage to BT Plant"  for £211.28 Now unless BT has snuck in to my property and planted a sneaky tree or two...  joking aside, the amount they are charging is anything but funny. 
I was not in the house at the time of the visit, but the engineer told me over the phone that he could probably fix the problem without needing to gain access to the house. He told me that some of the line was worn and needed replacing. 
Should  Plusnet not have at least warned me that  BT Openreach may land me with a bill of this size? if I had been given any indication it was going to cost me this amount, I would not have bothered moving the line.
The bill also identifies the property as being a hotel, this is not the case and the line is residential.

Is there anything you can do to help me out with this bill?
The BT Claim number on the bill is 1411559/NW
Thanks for your help
John 

[#2]

Hi Dx7,
This is something you'd need to query with Openreach directly.
They would only issue such a bill if they suspect or can prove that you've caused some damage to their network in some way (lines, cabinets, telegraphs etc) so it's likely to have been issued in error if that isn't the case.

[#3]

Thanks Adam.
I will query it with them.
John

[#4]

Quote from: Dx7

Hi I moved home back in September, I paid Plusnet £65 for transferring  my existing residential landline and broadband to my new address.  Unfortunately the line was dead and an engineer visit was arranged.  I was not told by Plusnet or BT that there would be a charge for any work, but I have been landed a bill from BT  Openreach  entitled "Claim for Damage to BT Plant"  for £211.28 Now unless BT has snuck in to my property and planted a sneaky tree or two...  joking aside, the amount they are charging is anything but funny.  I was not in the house at the time of the visit, but the engineer told me over the phone that he could probably fix the problem without needing to gain access to the house. He told me that some of the line was worn and needed replacing.  Should  Plusnet not have at least warned me that  BT Openreach may land me with a bill of this size? if I had been given any indication it was going to cost me this amount, I would not have bothered moving the line. The bill also identifies the property as being a hotel, this is not the case and the line is residential. Is there anything you can do to help me out with this bill? The BT Claim number on the bill is 1411559/NW Thanks for your help John

May well be off the target, but isn't it possible that the previous occupier was responsible for the damage? The ID as a hotel is odd, could it have been something like a HMO with folk doing things they shouldn't?

[#5]

Hi lucerne
It used to be a hotel but it's not anymore.  There were workers doing work on the drains that day, BT are saying it was them that damaged the line.  1 That line has had no dial tone for months but at the time it was not needed, BT should be able to tell when it was last used.  2  there are three separate  lines that all follow the same path and they all terminate in the same panel, the other two lines worked perfectly,  so why were the other two lines not affected?  The BT guy was working on the line up a telegraph pole, nowhere near the drains, BT say that someone  damaged an underground cable???  The BT guy told my wife (and she was watching him work ) that it was wear and tear, why tell her that and why not tell us that someone working on the drains  damaged it and it would cost me for him to fix it?  I am waiting for BT to reply to my questions. 

[#6]

How you could have damaged the equipment before legal ownership is something wondrous!
Just thinking, if it is possible, knowing the great improvements in record keeping in this digital age, if the premises' description of hotel may be hanging over, and the charge would stand were the line not so classified.
Best of luck!

[#7]

I think the question here is simply - what proof does BT have to make such a claim?  I for one would like to see it.