In June, I signed a contract for broadband with BT. An Openreach surveyor told me the installation was complex and would require another visit. Five months passed with no progress. When I rang BT for an update in November, I was told Openreach would charge between £1,500 and £3,000 for the work. It turns out it had known about this for a month and I was given four days to decide whether to pay. If I don’t, my BT contract will be cancelled. I don’t even get the exact cost until I’ve given my decision. As all the other providers in my area rely on Openreach, I’m stuck.
CP, Croxdale
BT’s insistence you will be left without an internet connection unless you pay a sum it won’t specify until you have agreed to it is outrageous. Since you wrote in, the deadline expired and your contract was cancelled. However, why you were being charged was a mystery. The government’s universal service obligation requires BT to foot the bill if the cost of connecting a property is less than £3,400. If it’s more, customers have to pay the difference. These unfortunates tend to live in remote rural areas. You live in a terrace house three miles from Durham and others in your village have an internet connection. It should not be a costly business to extend the service to your door.
