New phone connection (breach of contract)

[Monkeybusiness]

I’d be interested to hear the thoughts of the bods on here of a situation that has arisen at my place.
I recently built a new outbuilding at my home - it is a few hundred meters away from the house but is next to the road and immediately adjacent (within 5m) of a United Utilities building (a pumped well that has a phone line connection coming in from underground).
I spoke to a company called Bionic who are a utility provider ‘middleman’ with regards setting me up with a new electricity supplier (they are essentially a commercial rate price-comparison outfit) - whilst on to them they asked if I wanted a phoneline (it hadn’t really been on my radar but I thought it worth investigating). I was very clear as to the type and location of the building (brand new steel-framed outbuilding nowhere near the house) and they quoted and signed me up to a 36 month contract with a provider called Focus for £19.99 a month with free install (screenshot attached)

This was 16th Nov last year - a router was delivered within a couple of days and Openreach were due to attend to install the new line...

After 4 Openreach visits (on each occasion I have had to be in or would be charged £20 to reschedule) where ‘engineers’ turned up (or didn’t even appear in one case, without having the courtesy to let me know they weren’t coming...) and instantly stated they couldn’t do anything they finally (after wasting 3 months of my time) handed it over to one of their surveyors.
Long story short - they now want £4500 plus vat off me for the connection (even though there is an Openreach phoneline going into the neighbouring building 5m from my building’s wall)...

Obviously that’s a non-starter. My question is does anyone here reckon I have any way of insisting upon the utility-provider shysters upholding their end of the contract (they signed me up to their 3 year plan with the promise of a free install)?
No money has yet changed hands.
Cheers!

 

[Mogman]

I had this (sort of) Wanted a price on a phone connection, so rang openreach got a clown on giving me a great deal and wouldn’t let me get a word in edge ways, bla bla bla sending me a router out everything when he had finished I managed to tell him that I actually wanted a phone line installed as didn’t even have a wire going to the yard...........everything went quiet.........then to be told he can’t help until a wire had been installed sorry and could I send the router back that he had sent out while he was talking to me
I have a bt pole and manhole 4 meters away it cost me £1,600 +VAT I dug a hole to find the ducts that actually ran .5 meter from my boundary then back filled with sand so when the gang came to install the cable would de easy digging the wankers still came and dug up my new hedge (just planted) with a mini digger

So in conclusion I think you was speaking to the wrong department and they’ll wriggle out of it

 

[Left hooker]

The duct, joint box built in ground and pulling cable through duct can you do your self or is it in the highway ?
As that's there price per meter for there contractor to dig in

 

[TiltyShaun]

The problem you have is under Openreach rules they only have to provide a £100 install to a new dwelling. Unfortunately unless the premises is residential you are doomed!! I would guess in the small print you are stuffed!!

 

[Monkeybusiness]

The duct, joint box built in ground and pulling cable through duct can you do your self or is it in the highway ?
As that's there price per meter for there contractor to dig in

It looks to me as it is their price to put it down the road. I spoke to the surveyor on the phone and told him I could install a duct through the common land to wherever his cable lies in the verge (where I assume they are allowing for the joint box) and he told me he would explore all of the options and quote for the cheapest...
There is also the option of planting a new pole on the common and stringing it overhead (total distance less than 100m to existing overhead line which would ultimately feed me either way) - I can’t see how that could come anywhere near £4500 but what do I know?!...

 

[Left hooker]

It looks to me as it is their price to put it down the road. I spoke to the surveyor on the phone and told him I could install a duct through the common land to wherever his cable lies in the verge (where I assume they are allowing for the joint box) and he told me he would explore all of the options and quote for the cheapest...
There is also the option of planting a new pole on the common and stringing it overhead (total distance less than 100m to existing overhead line which would ultimately feed me either way) - I can’t see how that could come anywhere near £4500 but what do I know?!...

The expensive bits is what their contractor charges a set price per meter to dig lay build box and pull cable but with out seeing job so could be piss easy or very awkward then openreach will just come along and join ends so if you can do any of it to their spec to cut costs the rest of the costs are about 300 ish to connect and wayleaves

 

[Left hooker]

Did a new build year before last got services to edge of road ready for utility firm's to take in to road on a road closure water was keir and electric was a local firm doing it for western power bt had not even done a site survey by this point and because I new the guys doing the elec to the pole had them drop a bt duct in as well as it was on same pole so is ready to go when needed still don't think bt have been out for a survey

 

[Left hooker]

A mate of mine does sewers for a living so has all the gear
Western power wanted 7k to drop some cables underground and new connection to his cottage he was renovating and extending he said he will do the donkey work the bill came back at 500 quid for connections

 

[Monkeybusiness]

The laughable thing is that Scottish Power moved a pole mounted transformer and put an underground connection into the building for £650...
Openreach are beyond terrible, but my issue is with the company who I have the contract with who sold me a free connection. If I was in breach of contract I’m sure they wouldn’t just say ‘Don’t worry, let’s just forget the whole thing!’.
Is there a way I can insist on them supplying what they agreed to?

 

[Mark]

Open reach are a shower of wanker they want 50k to run a fibre cable to our yard distance is less that 1.5 mile. We’re stuck with 1mb down load speed and 0.2 upload. There will be mud huts in Africa with better internet speed than that.

 

[TiltyShaun]

Open reach are a shower of wanker they want 50k to run a fibre cable to our yard distance is less that 1.5 mile. We’re stuck with 1mb down load speed and 0.2 upload. There will be mud huts in Africa with better internet speed than that.

We did have a £45k quote for a second line. Fortunately we have been lucky that Gigaclear have now provided us with fibre and fantastic internet!!

 

[Stubota86]

The laughable thing is that Scottish Power moved a pole mounted transformer and put an underground connection into the building for £650...
Openreach are beyond terrible, but my issue is with the company who I have the contract with who sold me a free connection. If I was in breach of contract I’m sure they wouldn’t just say ‘Don’t worry, let’s just forget the whole thing!’.
Is there a way I can insist on them supplying what they agreed to?

I’ve got a a load of their grey rigid ducting if you want it 2 inch roughly

 

[Monkeybusiness]

I’ve got a a load of their grey rigid ducting if you want it 2 inch roughly

I’ll explore further but might take you up on it depending on how things pan out, thank you!

 

[GazCro]

I’ll explore further but might take you up on it depending on how things pan out, thank you!

If you're gonna sort digging it in yourself they usually supply the duct foc.

 

[Monkeybusiness]

If you're gonna sort digging it in yourself they usually supply the duct foc.

Their surveyor told me they charge big money for it...

 

[GazCro]

Their surveyor told me they charge big money for it...

I guess because it's a business connection, domestic likely get the freebies. Get a caravan beside you're building claim it's for that.
Not a big cost if you've to buy it yourself mind

 

[fred]

order an additional line for your house, its standard charge. once its in extend it yourself to the outbuilding.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Did 100m of duct for a school, all openreach had to do was 1 manhole in road and Tee in,charged £10k.
Sick of openreach/BT crap, no prospect of us ever getting more than 10mb...
Only way I've found of getting a response when our over head is down is to "modify it" then call their emergency line saying it's across the road and dangerous.
Jealous of the villages further up on their own broadband network, install it themselves no openreach shite and cheap as chips.

 

[Monkeybusiness]

order an additional line for your house, its standard charge. once its in extend it yourself to the outbuilding.

That might yet happen tbh - it’s about 200m from the house though. As opposed to 5m from an existing line ffs!

 

[V8Druid]

openreach are a bunch of to**ers ... binned them off and went to SSE for our BB ... have been excellent ... still have to deal with openreach, as it's their infrastructure, but through SSE and they are relentless in their pursuit of service ... have managed to up our BB to 4.3mb .... from 1.4mb by continuously pursuing BT ... 13 engineers later and loads of individual faults sorted
our BB is 2 quid a month, unlimited, but still get hit for the £19 a month line rental .... Our BB has never been better

Know several of the openreach engineers and got told by one ages ago that the likes of independents (like SSE) get priority of service over BT's own customers .. faults are now 24hrs max., instead of 2-3 weeks when with BT.
Don't know how you'd fare with them for new installs, but worth an ask

maaaaaaany years ago the leccy co.s were going to set up BB over their leccy distribution networks ... got binned off when BT complained it was going to be unfair competition ... figure that one ... BT'd be a thing of the past if it'd happened