Phone master socket in the house-your responsibility or not?

[mart]

It is common for most phone providers to advise customers that faults inside the house will be charged for. Also, that if the fault is on the outside, there will be no charge.

But what about the master socket? Providing that this has not been tampered with, my understanding is that this is the responsibility of open reach, not the customer. Am I right?

The reason for asking is that my relative's phone, which is plugged in to the master socket keeps cutting off /disconnecting the call. He has tried several phones and the same thing happens.

 

[mtt.tr]

Master socket is thiers you own everything past that point

You can unclip the first front to remove all faults passed that point as the slaves (extensions) are not wired into the back of the master socket rather the removable first front panel.


**Edited for extra information**

 

[mart]

Thank you for that.

 

[cheb]

Take the front off the master socket and plug into the connection inside the box with a simple phone, one that doesn't need a mains power supply to work. If you still have problems then it's a company problem.

It can annoy the call centre worker if you do this as they can't fob you off as quickly. Sometimes you need to persevere with them.

 

[qwakers]

Thank you for that.

Master socket is thiers you own everything past that point

You can unclip the first front to remove all faults passed that point as the slaves (extensions) are not wired into the back of the master socket rather the removable first front panel.


**Edited for extra information**

this^^^

if the fault still exists once you've pulled the front of the nte (assuming you have a nte5 a or c, if you have a non standard or mini master, then youre a bit ******** technically as you are not allowed to mess with it..... however no ones going to know if you pull the extension wiring out of the terminals) any fault that still exists is your ISP's problem.

 

[qwakers]

Take the front off the master socket and plug into the connection inside the box with a simple phone, one that doesn't need a mains power supply to work. If you still have problems then it's a company problem.

It can annoy the call centre worker if you do this as they can't fob you off as quickly. Sometimes you need to persevere with them.

it also annoys the call center if you are both the account holder AND one of their engineers... DAMHIK.....

 

[mart]

If the phone works fine after plugging in to the socket behind the front plate, does that mean the fault is the customer's responsibility?

PS: There are no extention cables hard wired in.

 

[mtt.tr]

this^^^

if the fault still exists once you've pulled the front of the nte (assuming you have a nte5 a or c, if you have a non standard or mini master, then youre a bit ******** technically as you are not allowed to mess with it..... however no ones going to know if you pull the extension wiring out of the terminals) any fault that still exists is your ISP's problem.

I might have dabbled, actually dad worked for bt for about 35 years. Amazing work history with them labs to outside broadcast

 

[julianf]

If the phone works fine after plugging in to the socket behind the front plate, does that mean the fault is the customer's responsibility?

PS: There are no extention cables hard wired in.

Yes.

Or rather it may not be worth fighting for the sake of a new cover plate.

 

[mart]

Yes.

Or rather it may not be worth fighting for the sake of a new cover plate.

Ok. Thanks I'll relay all the information to my relative.

 

[Migmac]

I find if you have a fault give the engineer a mug of coffee/tea and biscuits and the fault is always outside the house. Never paid for anything in the last 18 years

 

[mart]

@MIG mac
Top tip.

 

[julianf]

I find if you have a fault give the engineer a mug of coffee/tea and biscuits and the fault is always outside the house. Never paid for anything in the last 18 years

This also.

But to go back to the case in question -

Most phone sockets are out of sight anyhow. Why not just leave the phone plugged into the master socket and leave it at that?

Ours was like that for years until the engineer came over for some other reason, and fitted some shiny new plate anyway.

 

[Domdom]

I just replaced my master socket for this reason. Phone calls and broadband dropping out. Openreach won't come out at present if it involved going into the house so I got a box off Amazon, replaced it myself and now it's all good. Guesswork faultfinding though.

 

[addjunkie]

I find if you have a fault give the engineer a mug of coffee/tea and biscuits and the fault is always outside the house. Never paid for anything in the last 18 years

Yes but your engineer will be like our , fairly local. My neighbour stuck a digger through the phone line. He rang local bt man, new waterproff cable joint fitted in just under two hours on a sunday!

 

[rtcosic]

Yes but your engineer will be like our , fairly local. My neighbour stuck a digger through the phone line. He rang local bt man, new waterproff cable joint fitted in just under two hours on a sunday!

The advantage of smaller, stable communities.
Last time the OpenReach technician came out he left me with his work mobile number.

 

[hotponyshoes]

I find if you have a fault give the engineer a mug of coffee/tea and biscuits and the fault is always outside the house. Never paid for anything in the last 18 years

This /\

When I first moved into my current place there was a electric pole in the garden, the stay wire was intruding into the driveway, left enough room for her car but I could not get my van in there.
Not long after moving in 3 lads were in the field next door doing something with a transformer on a pole, it was hammering with rain and freezing cold. They could not get the van into the field. I took a folding table down and popped it up in one of the empty stables and gave them a big thermos of coffee and a vat of stew with some of those part-baked rolls freshly baked and a load of dog towels to dry off with. They were all pretty happy and we had a good laugh for half an hour or so.
I then said I had to go to work and they could just leave everything where it was and I would clear it up later. They asked what i did and i managed to slip the post stay into the conversation when i mentioned i worked from my van and it got in my way slightly.
Came home from work that night to find all the stuff rinsed off and stacked neatly by the back door and the pole stay about a meter further north than it was previously!!

Roll on 10 years and had a letter through the door to say all the local poles were due for replacement, I stocked up on bacon hoping to get the replacement pole moved to the edge of the garden rather than the middle.
Unfortunately on the day in question I ran late, my missus got back first, was not happy that they had let themselves into the garden and started work and had a moan at them because there was mud all up the walls of the house.
By the time i got back they had gone. New pole in the same place and the stay reinstated to it's original place. Copy of a plan stuffed through the letterbox with the original location of the stay circled in red pen and underlined a few times...

 

[Migmac]

Yes but your engineer will be like our , fairly local. My neighbour stuck a digger through the phone line. He rang local bt man, new waterproff cable joint fitted in just under two hours on a sunday!

Last two engineers were from the Midlands, others have been from Dundee, Aberdeen and I think one was from Kent. We have local ones too

 

[mart]

@hotponyshoes
That is an interesting story about your kindness to the guys working in the rain etc.

This demostrates emotional intellegence at it's best. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Ashley Burton]

@Migmac I offered the guy who came round on a Sunday a brew & after some perseverance he found the problem!

A couple of corroded wires repaired & guess what? My internet was working exactly as it should!