It's never Virgin's fault

[Stuart Noble]

Having waited 5 days for a Virgin phone engineer, he checks the indoor master socket, then our outside box, and gets no dial tone on his speaker phone. Goes off to the box 50 yards down the road. Comes back and pronounces that the master socket is now working, but faulty wiring in our bedroom socket had caused the original no dial tone fault on the master socket. How likely is that I wonder? More likely it's the usual VM policy of converting their c*ck-ups into your need for support but, to be on the safe side, I won't use the extension socket (which strangely appears to be working just fine) again until I get some response on here. Sounds like I might short out the entire street if I get it wrong :-)

[Andy Cap]

It's rubbish. IF the fault had been internal, he would have had no need to go back outside would he ? How's he going to explain to his bosses, why he wasted their time and money I wonder.

Andy C

[Graham.]

socket, then our outside box, and gets no dial tone

and pronounces that the master socket is now working,

fault on the master socket. How likely is that I

need for support but, to be on the safe side, I won't

again until I get some response on here. Sounds like I

In a sense it is your fault for ignoring rule #1 which states. Never allow a VM (and certainly not an Openreach) engineer into your home without first removing the faceplate from the NTE5 and letting it just dangle, and demonstrating that the hidden socket thereby exposed is dead.

I don't think (BICBW) that VM will charge you in these circumstances. Openreach will do so if the engineer records the cause as customer-owned wiring, so maybe only your pride has been hurt.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You can get master sockets with a user removable plate which reveals a standard phone socket behind - this one straight across the line. Any extensions are disconnected when the faceplate is removed. Makes DIY testing of your internal wiring - or altering it etc easy. Mine has a built in filter for broadband too, since my router is mounted close to it.

[Stuart Noble]

socket, then our outside box, and gets no dial tone

and pronounces that the master socket is now working,

fault on the master socket. How likely is that I

need for support but, to be on the safe side, I won't

again until I get some response on here. Sounds like I

But then they could say I'd interfered with the connection to the master socket, which I guess belongs to them

I told him not to try and swing this one on me. Said they'd do the "rewiring" for £90 if required but wouldn't charge otherwise. It just seems that keeping an eye out for scams from banks, utilty companies etc is becoming a full time job.

[Graham.]

On a "cable" installation one would have been fitted at installation.

VM don't have the same sort of historic baggage as BT

[Dave Osborne]

No, the "first" faceplate is specifically there for the consumer to connect his/her own extensions whilst having a convenient method of disconnecting from the line. That is why the "first" faceplate plugs into the underlying NTE5. If you report a fault, then BT will often ask you if you have tried disconnecting your secondary extensions by removing the "first" faceplate on the NTE5. It's the "second" faceplate and the rest of the NTE5 (and the cable between there and the street) you shouldn't mess with.

[Graham.]

master socket, then our outside box, and gets no dial

back and pronounces that the master socket is now

dial tone fault on the master socket. How likely is

need for support but, to be on the safe side, I

fine) again until I get some response on here. Sounds

socket, which I guess belongs to them

NTE5 master socket, which is the same size as a single-gang mains outlet or light-switch, and has a joint half way up so you can remove the two screws and withdraw the lower half (faceplate) If it is one of those, you are allowed to connect wiring to your extensions to the back of the faceplate. Is that how your bedroom extension is wired?

[Dave Liquorice]

letting it

exposed

That would be really clutching at straws. The NTE should be a larger than a normal single electrical accessory with a join across the front and two screws in the lower half. You are allowed to remove this lower half to connect in your wiring. Removal of this lower half exposes a test socket which is where the VM enginner should have tested the line, thus disconnecting any of your wiring.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Engineers (BT and others) are under heavy pressure to make the subscriber bear the cost of repairs.

You might want to read through this...

[Stuart Noble]

master socket, then our outside box, and gets no dial

Comes back and pronounces that the master socket is now

dial tone fault on the master socket. How likely is

need for support but, to be on the safe side, I

fine) again until I get some response on here. Sounds

socket, which I guess belongs to them

the two screws

No, it doesn't have a removable bit.

[Andy Cap]

[Dave Liquorice]

Not had that from any BT engineers that I've had dealings with. Now the fault reporting sales droids is another matter, I report via the website now it's far less hassle or don't bother at all and find the man in the hole just down the road who has broken my line whilst fixing another (don't you just love ali cable...).

[Stuart Noble]

Thinking about it, I suppose the VM bloke can't report "engineer incompetence" as the cause, so he has to dream up something for the statistics that exonerates him and his mates but doesn't give the customer the idea that they have a claim against VM, and also doesn't generate a bill for the customer. The way we live now!

[Graham.]

master socket, then our outside box, and gets no dial

Comes back and pronounces that the master socket is now

no dial tone fault on the master socket. How likely

your need for support but, to be on the safe side, I

fine) again until I get some response on here.

socket, which I guess belongs to them

the two screws

So much for my theory then.

By the way, what was the cable co called at the time the phone line was installed?

[Peter Andrews]

They do when they connect their line (illegally) to the existing BT internal wiring though!

Peter

[Stuart Noble]

master socket, then our outside box, and gets no dial

Comes back and pronounces that the master socket is now

no dial tone fault on the master socket. How likely

your need for support but, to be on the safe side, I

just fine) again until I get some response on here.

socket, which I guess belongs to them

the two screws

Nynex