Fault call out charge

[Red-Queenie]

Hiya, today I got in touch with BT as our broadband has been in and out and incredibly slow. After doing all the usual checks and finding nothing wrong the assistant said they would send out an engineer. I've always been a bit fearful of having engineer visits because of the possible charges should they find a fault within the home and especially now it's just something I can not afford, so I explained my fear of the possible charge and said I would rather leave it as it would probably sort itself out in a few days. I was then told that they no longer charge if a fault is found at home. I've tried to confirm this via Google but so far haven't found anything to support this. Please could someone tell me if this is true? I have an engineer booked for Friday so still have time to cancel should it be wrong.

[licquorice]

If the fault is proved to be due to your home wiring, you will be charged.

You can simply test that the problem is not in your wiring by connecting your hub directly to the test socket behind the removable faceplate of the master socket and seeing if the problem remains or goes away.

[iniltous]

If there is an issue, Openreach are called out by the ISP at the consumers instigation, and whatever the issue is , it’s not Openreach responsibility, ( like dodgy Christmas lights causing the router to lose sync ) or damage that’s not considered fair wear and tear then charges are possible, OR raise a charge to the ISP , the ISP can either absorb the charge , pass the charge onto the consumer, or challenge OR if they feel the charge isn’t warranted.
It is possible that your ISP ( BT ) could send an engineer , not an Openreach one , a ‘Qube’ type tech are available to check the customers internal items ( router , internal wiring , filters etc  ) that Openreach are not responsible for …I don’t know if BT offer this for their customers.

When you report a problem, your provider should test the line , if a fault is detected the tester gives an approximate location of the fault , and if that location is obviously not at the customer ‘end’ , then they perhaps they can assure you that charges are not going to be raised, TBH , if the customer service rep said no charges and one subsequently appears on the bill , it would be easily challenged, but obviously it would be a pain if that were necessary, getting them to listen to the call and then waiving the charge.

[JohnC2 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Red-Queenie thanks for you post about possible engineer charges. 

I've checked for you and can confirm thar a charge would no longer apply to any repair engineers. This means no charges for Openreach or Qube engineers, even if the cause of the fault is found to be within the customer domain.

I hope this helps put your mind at rest.

Cheers

John

[licquorice]

@JohnC2 when was that change of policy introduced? Is it universally the case now?

[JohnC2]

Hi @licquorice, I was just looking on bt.com as the OP couldn't find anything on the web, and it's been a while since I came across a disputed engineer charge on the forum. 

I ran a bill dispute for an engineer call out charge and found this: "From Monday the 8th August 2022. 
CAPC i.e. possible engineer charges, will no longer apply to any repair engineers. This means no charges for Openreach or Qube engineers, even if the cause of the fault is found to be within the customer domain."

Cheers 

John

[licquorice]

Thanks@JohnC2 good to see BT are maintaining their high standards of communication!

[Red-Queenie]

That's brilliant news. Thank you!