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[mrsteve]

I moved into a 1920s house last year and didn't take up use of the existing overhead phone line. After waiting for cabinet capacity, I recently signed up to Plus.net for FTTC, and yesterday a friendly OpenReach engineer came by to "install my phone service". After discussing how he would move the master socket, then spending most of the day fixing a fault further up the line, he sent me a text at 6pm saying all faults fixed but no time to finish the internal fit so this will need to be booked in for a socket relocation".

Plus.net are now billing me for my service, which I have not started using yet, as the installation is not complete to my satisfaction. (The master socket - attachment "5 Master socket.jpg" - is on the windowsill of my 9 year old daughter's room along with some teddy bears. I want it downstairs in my comms cupboard.)

I've taken a look at the wiring leading into the master socket... and am concerned not only about the location of it but the cable running into it not being twisted pair and (I assume) unlikely to give me the full bandwidth I should expect from this line.

[mrsteve]

More pics

[mrsteve]

And so to my questions...

Will this impact FTTC performance? Should I get it rewired from the black rectangular box onwards using twisted pair (to my desired location)?
Is it acceptable for an OpenReach engineer "installing a new service" to leave it like this?
Should Plus.net do more (they only say it'll cost me £160 to OpenReach to move the master socket).

[Black Sheep]

From memory, the bog-standard installation time is 2hrs - that is for work carried out the minute they start on your premises.
IE: they could spend all day up the telegraph pole, or down the road in a joint-box, the 2hrs doesn't start until work commences at the premises.

I would be shouting from the rooftops that you have not had anything like a 'Great customer experience' (this is a priority with Openreach). The untwisted dropwire from the overhead closure should absolutely have been replaced from latest spec dropwire, and you are well within your rights to ask for the master socket to be relocated wherever the hell you want it .......... so long as it falls within the 2hr remit.

If however, the engineer thinks the job would take 3/4/5 hrs to achieve this, he could send the job back requesting the CP apply 'Time Related Charges' (TRC) to the job with an estimate of how long the task would take, and then have the CP re-allocate the task with a new appointment date.

Please, can 'we' not have a lengthy debate about how one engineer may be quicker than another at working - been there, done that, got very boring.

In summary, insist another engineer attend site and do the job properly and fit the master socket where you want it to go.

[burakkucat]

Welcome to the Kitz forum. 

Will this impact FTTC performance?

Yes.

Should I get it rewired from the black rectangular box onwards using twisted pair (to my desired location)?

Yes.

Is it acceptable for an OpenReach engineer "installing a new service" to leave it like this?

No.

Should Plus.net do more (they only say it'll cost me £160 to OpenReach to move the master socket).

Yes.

I've just given one word answers to each your four questions because Black Sheep, one of our Openreach members, has covered all the points in his, the preceding, post.

[Weaver]

Welcome to the Forum MrSteve. Stick to your guns; that is hopeless.

[mrsteve]

Thanks all. Armed with fresh confidence, guns stuck to (too many military metaphors?): OpenReach level 2 raised by excellent Plusnet tech support, engineer coming AM today.  it'll all be sorted by noon! If not I'll have to cancel tonight as it's my last cooling off day...

[tubaman]

What a lovely mess!
I assume the Openreach chap didn't actually do any work on your house wiring yesterday as he spent a lot of time fixing other faults on the line? If that's the case then saying it should be booked in again is very naughty as he never actually started the job you'd asked for (ie moving the master socket).
Hopefully it'll be sorted today.
 

[mrsteve]

Thanks again for help. Yes, exactly @tubaman. A priority callout today from another fella and it's totally sorted - new cable from drop point and new master switch with vdsl faceplate exactly where I want it. 40mbit down, super happy coming from months on 4G. Plusnet came through in the end by getting me the escalated next day Openreach.

[burakkucat]

. . . new master switch . . .

I am certain that you had intended to type "socket" and am pleased to read that the mess has now been resolved. 

[redanalog]

My QCO would have shot me if I had left a site like this without damn good reason haha