This.
OP - just phone up and see what they can do.
If you make enough noise and are maybe taking a decent package they may be willing to waiver it.
If you don't try you don't get.
BT Reconnection Fee - Who pays?
- Thread starter box
- Start date
This.
OP - just phone up and see what they can do.
If you make enough noise and are maybe taking a decent package they may be willing to waiver it.
If you don't try you don't get.
Different situation to the OP, the lines in new builds have been installed at expense by BT in the hope that you will then request a line connection from them. I agree that when they're installing hundreds of lines at a time yours won't have taken the time to justify the cost, but that's how it works. You are not paying for the 5 mins an engineer spent connecting you, but the time it took to actually install the line in the first place.
I see where you are coming from, but it's not that dissimilar. The OP is in a house that previously had a BT landline, so again it doesn't involve much for them to reconnect it, it's not the case of an engineer physically having to lay cable.
But they have had to physically lay the cable, speculatively. You're paying for that work with a new build. In the OP's situation I think and always have thought it's disgusting for BT to charge the connection fee for "re-connections" when usually the most they have to do is put in a new master socket.
No, I haven't.
Like I said, when I actually wanted connecting to BT, I still had to pay the full price for a BT installation when I phoned them up. The only reason I didn't was because through Sky, the offered a significant reduction of the BT installation fee if you went through them.
The OP has a line already in place, it just needs connecting, so it's EXACTLY the same situation.
On a separate note, having a phone line in place is pretty much standard practice for any development now and I'd say it's pretty rare to find many houses for sale/rent that don't have the actual phone line already laid.
Not sure how you don't get it, you're in a new flat, nobody has ever paid for the line to be installed, BT have basically been allowed to install it so that a future resident can use it. You are therefore paying for an installation that has already been done. No future residents of that flat will ever have to pay it (as long as it's not moved away from BT, even if it is like the OP then I think it's more arguable).
The OP's house has a physical BT line, that's where the similarity ends, it has previously been an active BT line so someone has already paid the initial installation cost.
The fact that BT sees it as the same does not mean you're in the same situation, you could get discount by sky paying it or agreeing a longer contract with BT but it will get paid. The OP will be paying a connection fee someone has already paid for.
Op should call and enquire. I don't believe there will be a fee. my line was with sky when I moved in, switching to bt was simply a phone call. Although I don't recommend bt. as I said give 02 a call.
That said, I have know bt charge connection when they shouldn't. Depends if you speak to someone who knows what they are doing, which with bt can be tricky.
That said, I have know bt charge connection when they shouldn't. Depends if you speak to someone who knows what they are doing, which with bt can be tricky.
Last edited:
There used to be times where you had to pay no connection fees, £100 or even £150 connection fee from BT is a joke, you still have to sign to a minimum 12 or 18 months contract with this as well.
EDIT: It doesn't matter if you have the cables installed or not, it'll still cost you the same money, even if BT has to press 1 button only on their computer they will still charge you £100 or whatever they are charging atm.
EDIT: It doesn't matter if you have the cables installed or not, it'll still cost you the same money, even if BT has to press 1 button only on their computer they will still charge you £100 or whatever they are charging atm.
Sometimes you can get other companies to pay for it i.e. if you go with Tiscali they may pay the charge for you or reduce it to something like £30
In an old house me and my partner were told we would have to pay it... We said no, shopped around and Tiscali did it for free/£30 cant quite remember... Then get internet through BT and calls through Tiscali
In an old house me and my partner were told we would have to pay it... We said no, shopped around and Tiscali did it for free/£30 cant quite remember... Then get internet through BT and calls through Tiscali
This, just mention it and bingo. (cheeky sods wont tell you about it though, I even asked over the phone if there was ANY way to avoid the charge via different contract type and they said no, found out about the 18month thing from here and bam 'of course sir you dont have to pay the fee'.)
It may be an 18 month contract but even if you leave at 12 months (heck even after 8 like I had to) and you have to pay the early termination fee you're still saving a fair bit.
EDIT: last year I spoke to sky to see what they were offering and at the time they said they were about to be trialling some phone line connection fee malarky, may be a good idea to speak to them.
Last edited:
Take out the 18 month contract with Sky, get the free reconnection. Once the line has been connected, ring up O2 and get the line transferred from Sky to O2. As long as this happens within 14 days of the line being connected, your still within your cooling off period with Sky and wont incurr an early termination fee, and be connected with your preferred provider O2 
Still happens, I didn't pay for my BT line to be installed, just phoned up, they quoted some ridiculous price and I told them if they couldn't do it for free then I'd go to VM instead, suddenly they could do it for free.
In your original post to me, you already stated that I'd paid for the installation already in the cost of buying my flat, thus you are contradicting yourself now.
Fact is, if I cancel my phone contract and sell this place, whoever then moves in will have to pay a connection fee as well, so it's again the same situation for anyone who has the need for a phone line.
no idea if it has changed, but it 2 years ago it use to be free if they could do just activate it. But £125ish if they had to get an engineer out. All depends if the line is just not subscribed, or if it has been physically disconnected.
No I didn't my original reply to you is above... I've not contradicted myself at all, you just don't seem to be able to understand a fairly simple situation.
I said that BT have laid out the expense of fitting the line hoping to recoup it if/when you activate that line, the first person to activate the line will have to pay the original installation fee, whether that is you or the next person to own your flat.
No they won't, they will only have to pay it if you have physically had the line disconnected, if there is a dial tone it SHOULD be free. Whether or not there is an active customer on the line is irrelevant.