Avoiding a charge is simple…
- Don’t get an engineer out immediately: If you know why you need an engineer (the line has physically been cut), great – go ahead but it’s not great if the engineer arrives and it turns out to be the phone is unplugged. Before an engineer will consider visiting your property you will have to agree to the possibility of charges from Open Reach first. Many people believe they need an engineer get to their house ASAP to get the fault fixed, if there is no fault with the Open Reach equipment, the engineer will not fix the fault.
- Check the master test socket: Plug a phone or your broadband into the test socket (under the faceplate) and see if it works. If it fails inside the master test socket, preferably tested with two different working phones, the fault is unlikely to be in your house. Remember: Everything behind the faceplate including the master test socket is Open Reach Property.
- Don’t miss a visit: Unfortunately, unlike other appointments, if you forget one from Open Reach, you may get a nice card in the door saying they missed you but you will also get a charge on your telephone bill for the engineers wasted appointment, usually over £100.
The full article is a little heavy on the eyes but, when you report a fault to the faults department, it doesn’t automatically mean it’s free to fix!
The Standard Chargeable Visit is the main charge raised by Open Reach. You will get charged this if you miss a visit (see 3. above) and it’s also the charge for up to one hour’s work fixing your fault….
… On top, charges apply if the same Open Reach engineer has to order supplies for internal or maintenance work – the charges for an Open Reach engineer visit alone can go over 100 pounds!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6339625
Bottom line: Open Reach charges can be really expensive so its best to make sure you need an engineer before you request one!
eZe-talk 