peak4   261 #25 Posted January 6, 2012 Well, I've booked the engineer, with BT still insisting the line is OK, in spite of loud crackling when there's a dialling tone at all, and threatening a £130 call-out charge. I'm so stressed now that I feel like abandoning the land line all together!  Thanks for all the help and advice.  Try and chill out; when you get a proper engineer on site, rather than dealing with a call centre, I'm sure all will be fine. They will be able to hear the noise for themselves and should act accordingly. It did take a couple of goes to sort mine out as the replacement pair of wires to the street cabinet went faulty as well shortly after they were changed over, but all was rectified in the end. Just don't forget to offer your new visitor a brew and a nice cake. It's cold and windy out there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
mediumfast   10 #26 Posted January 7, 2012 Big lead going off out of Beauchief, different exchange but many reports coming in all same symptoms ( batt & earth ) , different exchange I know but just goes to show it's not always what you CAL monkeys diagnose at first glance is it .  How wrong can you be,never been a cal monkey and dont tell me about the lead going off in Beauchief have been dealing with three different ones since early December:suspect: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Chop   10 #27 Posted January 7, 2012 How wrong can you be,never been a cal monkey and dont tell me about the lead going off in Beauchief have been dealing with three different ones since early December:suspect:  Should've taken more care on that frames compression job last year then, that leads volatile stuff you know....  PS. Sorry for accusing you of being CAL .  . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
lenny60   10 #28 Posted January 7, 2012 You could always ask an indepedant telephone engineer to take a look at the fault. £130 is excessive for a BT engineer to scratch his head and leave you with a bill and the fault. They do have a vested interest - shares in the company. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
peak4   261 #29 Posted January 7, 2012 You could always ask an indepedant telephone engineer to take a look at the fault. £130 is excessive for a BT engineer to scratch his head and leave you with a bill and the fault. They do have a vested interest - shares in the company.  Sorry Lenny I think you either misunderstand (or seek to mislead?). There should be no charge if an engineer comes out to look at a fault and finds that it is within the BT network; that is from the exchange to the master socket in the customer's premises. They may well levy a charge, if when the engineer gets to site, they find that the fault is on equipment belonging to the customer; that includes the customer's own phone, or wiring that they have installed themselves. The exception to that might be if the customer, or their agent, had damaged the external wiring themselves. e.g. if the drop wire was ripped down when moving a set of ladders.  BT, or any other telephone provider, can hardly be expected to mend something which doesn't belong to them. This is why it was suggested that the OP use a known good phone, plugged into the master socket, with nothing else connected within the premises. If the fault is still evident, in this case a noisy line, then the likelihood is that the fault is within the BT network.  It's a bit like taking a car back under warranty; Ford will mend your car, but not the caravan you're towing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Goddess   10 #30 Posted January 7, 2012 Got similar problem at Charnock. Broadband works intermittently but phone line is totally down. We have no dialling tone at all and just crackling or load screeching (a bit like when you phone a fax line). It was reported yesterday morning but I'm guessing it must be a problem with the Beauchief exchange then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
mediumfast   10 #31 Posted January 7, 2012 Got similar problem at Charnock. Broadband works intermittently but phone line is totally down. We have no dialling tone at all and just crackling or load screeching (a bit like when you phone a fax line). It was reported yesterday morning but I'm guessing it must be a problem with the Beauchief exchange then?  Charnock is off Intake exch not Beauchief. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
annesthreads   10 #32 Posted January 8, 2012 Well, I can't fault BT's response this morning. Of course, sod's law, the phone was fine today - no crackling for the engineer to listen to. But we ended up with 4 engineers, 2 vans and an access platform, as they replaced all the wiring from the telegraph pole to the house. I won't know till tomorrow whether it's fixed the problem, as it seems to have been more of an issue during the week than at weekend. Perhaps ominously, broadband speed is still only 0.3mpbs. But maybe it needs time to settle down - let's see what tomorrow brings! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
mediumfast   10 #33 Posted January 8, 2012 Well, I can't fault BT's response this morning. Of course, sod's law, the phone was fine today - no crackling for the engineer to listen to. But we ended up with 4 engineers, 2 vans and an access platform, as they replaced all the wiring from the telegraph pole to the house. I won't know till tomorrow whether it's fixed the problem, as it seems to have been more of an issue during the week than at weekend. Perhaps ominously, broadband speed is still only 0.3mpbs. But maybe it needs time to settle down - let's see what tomorrow brings!  I thought it would be the dropwire. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
annesthreads   10 #34 Posted January 8, 2012 I thought it would be the dropwire.  I thought of your post as the engineer looked up at the house and said "Dropwire"! I'd never heard of a dropwire till a few days ago... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
mediumfast   10 #35 Posted January 8, 2012 I thought of your post as the engineer looked up at the house and said "Dropwire"! I'd never heard of a dropwire till a few days ago...  He wasn't a bearded chap was he? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
annesthreads   10 #36 Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) He wasn't a bearded chap was he?  I just said no, but in fact I think, yes, one of the 4 did have a beard. (My powers of observation are so brilliant...!)  Broadband is still at 0.3mbps - but I'ved just thought that maybe I should have switched off the router and restarted it. I'll be holding my breath when I pick the phone up tomorrow morning, to see if the crackling is still there. But as the engineer also took all the extension wiring out of the master socket, as I now have cordless phones, hopefully if there are still problems they're unlikely to be in the house. We shall see! Edited January 8, 2012 by annesthreads Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
