Openreach - argh

[#1]

Every time I have had to have involvement with openreach it's been a nightmare. To have a monopoly and no interaction or interest in their customers is a recipe for disaster.

Anyway, this interaction. I need a phone cable to the house and activation. Bought a house that was empty. It had a phone line as it's in a village but the line came down in a storm a few years ago and the tenants never reported/replaced it. Waited 2 weeks for OR to turn up but they never did as their satnav said the road was closed. It wasn't and even if it was, there's still safe easy access via a different road (2 minute diversion). They just plugged in the address saw the satnav and cancelled the appointment without any further interaction.

So now I'm stuck in limbo waiting on another OR appointment and without a line/Internet and thus unable to work.

To make matters worse I suspect OR will need to do more than just string a cable to connect it back but because you can't communicate with them and they blindly follow process I know there are going to be more delays and issues. It's so frustrating

[#2]

@oscaracosta 

"Anyway, this interaction. I need a phone cable to the house and activation"

A landline phone line? Good luck with that!

AFAIK You are just a little too late with that request - haven't you heard? PSTN lines are for the chop this year, they haven't been available to order since 5th September 2023.

Openreach withdrawal of copper lines | End of BT copper telephone lines | Digital telephone lines (s...

[#3]

Have you contacted anyone to rearrange a connection? As you apparently don't have a connection, you don't have an ISP, so why pick on Plusnet? If they are not your ISP, they cannot do anything - you need to liaise with Openreach directly.

[#4]

...The first question to answer is: Is full fibre available to order at the premises concerned?

[#5]

@oscaracosta 

Can you use the Address version of the following to see what's available to the property. Attach a screen image (use the paper clip) of the results after hiding details. Include the narrative below the window.

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

While it may be a bit late, there is an OR page for reporting damage. You could try that.

Brian

[#6]

@bmc 

"While it may be a bit late, there is an OR page for reporting damage. You could try that."

Repair of an old, deactivated, copper(?), phone landline for a new SOGEA service? It would be interesting to learn if this is a 'thing'. 

It could of course be the OP is one of those "I have a problem with 'what I like to call my Wi-FI' (but isn't Wi-Fi)..." Type queries. 😊

[#7]

If FTTC is the best service available, I don't see why not, but if FTTP is available, that is all they will supply.

[#8]

@jab1 

EDIT: Posting interrupted by phone call!

We need to know the unspoken context here: Is this an existing Plusnet user in the process of a house move provision?  If yes, then the issue being raised here is very appropriate.

Is the locality Fibre Priority / is FTTP available without ECCs?

If not the only game in town which Plusnet can offer is SoGEA (if there is a near enough green cabinet) then a "landline" (without voice) will be required.

The real dire possibility is that there is neither SoGEA or FTTP available ... in which case unless there is an ALtNet in the area, the only player in town is BT Retail who do offer SOTAP.

@oscaracosta This is a matter for your chosen ISP to address, not one to be taken up direct with BT Openreach.  Given the description of your experience, I would suspect that you "encountered" one of their sub-contractors.

[#9]

Fair enough, @Townman . Unless the OP can provide more detail, I think we are guessing. I'll leave it to you, though - I'm out for a longish while.

[#10]

Hi John,

Just a general observation, not a poke.  Sometimes we (I) make the wrong conclusions from half stated scenarios.  It is all too easy to do so, where contributors clearly do not know the normal processes for engaging with the supply of service and only share part of the narrative.

It is apparent that the party acting as or on behalf of Openreach did not try hard enough - something which is not atypical of one of the main subcontractors.  Whatever, the appropriate course is to chase this with the supplying ISP (if there is one), not direct with BT Openreach which is only going to result in frustration ... unless DSO escalation becomes appropriate.

[#11]

@pvmb 

The OP stated in their post that the line had come down in a storm. To me, that's damage.

Brian

[#12]

@bmc 

"The OP stated in their post that the line had come down in a storm. To me, that's damage."

Unfortunately we don't know what type of "line". Plus it was some time ago - unspecified. And is being described as a "phone line", which needs "activation", which suggests it was inactive - which is confusing.

[#13]

@bmc 

But not within their occupancy of the property nor their service provision.  I would doubt that the line is active (has a gold key) and therefore will not considered to be a broken service.

Yes some form of physical connection is required, but that is for the supplying ISP / CP to lead on ... just as it would for a live service.  Reconnection of a silver key address is very much subject to the stop-sell status for the property.  Chasing the reinstatement of a long dead copper circuit might not deliver any benefit from the excretion at all!

If Plusnet is the gaining suppler then the right course of action is to contact Plusnet support and raise a failed appointment / delayed installation status ... which also starts the automatic compensation clocks!

[#14]

Oh boy

OK, by line I just mean a phone cable, probably copper, no idea, don't care.

I need a new line for the Internet, no phone number. It's fibre74 whatever that is

I have been speaking to PN, PN can only message OR.
I am waiting on a new appointment then PN say they will raise a dispute to get it speeded up. PN are doing their best, the issue is OR and their lack of accountability and refusal to communicate except by messages

[#15]

@oscaracosta 

"I need a new line for the Internet, no phone number. It's fibre74 whatever that is"

So it's a full fibre GPON install, not a "phone cable"! Got there in the end... 😂

Yes, Plusnet can only message Openreach on your behalf. Except for particular circumstances, Openreach don't speak with ordinary people, they speak to their 'customers', who are CPs (e.g. Plusnet).