Moving master socket

[Stevekill2]

My master socket is under stairs next to a gas main. When we had new gas boiler pit in he said that master socket shouldn’t be there in case of it going faulty.

my questions is:-

can the master socket be moved 

and do they move it free for a disabled homeowner 

and who do we ask or contact to have it moved and how much it cost or will it be free

[Paul608085]

@Stevekill2 

We had our master socket moved from the hall into the lounge about 10 years ago.

You ask your telephone/broadband provider to arrange it, though it will be Openreach that actually do the work.

Back then it cost us something like £128, but I have no idea how much they charge today.

I can't see disability being a reason to get it done for free. However, if it could be proven that it is dangerous where it is currently, then that might be different?

It could also be a question of which was there first?

Was there a gas boiler already there when the master socket was installed next to it, or was the new boiler moved to where the master socket is?

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[imjolly]

I am not sure how you can classify a phone master socket dangerous but if you want it moved you contact your ISP as already said.  I can't see it being free.  you could should local and find telecom engineer to move socket a nd I expect cheaper than openreach

If and when you are moved to digital voice  and also fibre to the home then master socket will no longer be used or needed so maybe just wait for that to happen

[iniltous]

As stated , it’s chargable to move a master socket , but how did the master socket (if it is the master socket ) end up in the under the stairs ( in an under stairs cupboard presumably ) , if the address is served by underground armoured cable that comes directly into the house through the foundation to the under stairs area , it was the builder/developer that installed the armoured cable to which the master socket is connected in that cupboard, that’s  a consequence of the developer design.

If your service is overhead from a telegraph pole , or there is a block on the outside wall where an underground cable terminates before another internal cable runs to the master socket , then you or a previous occupant asked the installer to fit the master socket there …which was it ?

Lastly , has the home always had the boiler where it is in effect predating the installation of a phone line , or was the boiler placed in the same area after the socket already existed ? , if it’s that ( the boiler placed alongside the socket rather than the socket placed near the boiler ) then if that proximity is ‘illegal’ then the boiler should have been placed elsewhere not next to the socket rather, so it’s the boiler that should be shifted , although that’s going to be more expensive for the householder than the socket being moved.

FWIW , there is no risk the master socket being where it is if you don’t have a gas leak , if you have a gas leak you are no more in danger from that socket as you are from light switches etc.

[Paul608085]

@imjolly 

"you could should local and find telecom engineer to move socket a nd I expect cheaper than openreach"

When I was with BT Broadband, (FTTC), our line was unreliable for many years and Openreach were regular visitors here to fix faults.

They appeared to know on their "job sheet" each time where the Master socket was located.

The engineer who moved the socket for us said that he would update the records.

Sure enough, a few weeks later the line went bad again and Openreach came out. It was a different engineer to the one who moved the socket, but one who had been here a few times prior to that.

Before he had even got through the front door, he asked: "have you had your master socket moved? It says here that it is in the lounge bay, but I'm sure that when I've been here before it was in the hall."

Do they not keep records anymore, or does no one care so long as the socket move job has been done properly?

.

[Paul608085]

@iniltous 

"if you have a gas leak you are no more in danger from that socket as you are from light switches etc."

I would suggest that the risk from a master socket is significantly less, (almost non-existant), than that from a light switch:

There would only be a problem during a gas leak if there were a spark that could ignite the gas. Given the much lower voltage and current involved, even when plugging in or unplugging a phone in the master socket, compared to the 240v mains and the current for the lamp being switched on, the risk of arcing in the light switch will be significantly greater.

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[imjolly]

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@Paul608085 wrote:

Do they not keep records anymore, or does no one care so long as the socket move job has been done properly?

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they don't keep records and any records they do have will be well out of date and probably couldn't care anyway