Dropping a BT line - who to speak to?

[Big J]

I've spent about 20 minutes going around in circles, having spoken to BT who directed me to Openreach (who no longer operate a phone service) and then sifting through the Openreach website to no avail......argh 😡

 

Anyway, we've got a BT line taking a shortcut through the sitka block we're presently working in. The landowner is happy to have the corner removed (it's about 40 odd trees, but they are at first thinning size, so it's not a large area) but we need to drop the line to do it. It'd take less than 2hrs. Can anyone give me a number or a direction towards someone I should speak to to arrange this (in Devon)? 

 

It'd be doing Openreach a favour as the line is being contorted by the trees.

 

Thanks in advance.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

By the book J or by the seat of yr pants?

 

If you have a BT van anywhere nearby ask the lads inside if they could do you a favour. Save hours of admin hassle!

[Will C]

Good luck. We once had a domestic tree with 10 lines through it. BT wanted £300 just to come and quote to drop them for half a day! 
 

Would be cheaper for a tree to snap the line by natural causes (cough winch cough) then just fell the rest before bt arrive to put it back up. 
 

if the land owner calls it in you won’t normally be charged if the contractor does you may be. 

[eggsarascal]

Disconnect it yourself, where it goes into the property, not at the pole. Take a picture of where the wires go.

Edited August 30, 2021 by eggsarascal

[woody paul]

https://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=ceo-9593 message the CEO of openreach explaining you problem you should get an answer. If no luck true BT CEO  [email protected].

[Doug Tait]

32 minutes ago, Will C said:

tree to snap the line by natural causes (cough winch cough) then just fell the rest before bt arrive to put it back up. 

Was more or less told this by some openreach guys working near us a couple of weeks ago. 2 Sycamore dismantle with line through them, asked if possible to disconnect for us and the answer was what Will said.

[Joe d]

If it's not an optic cable they are easy enough to join if you cut them,  just a bit fiddly , hardest bit is tensioning the cable back up so try and cut a bit not under tension,  easier to join 

[openspaceman]

51 minutes ago, eggsarascal said:

Disconnect it yourself, where it goes into the property, not at the pole. Take a picture of where the wires go.

I don't know if things have changed much since broadband appeared but as long as its Plain Old Telephone Service, two copper wires used out of  seven, then the line was often held to the house by a wrap guy lashing then the non tensioned dropper either joined the house wire via "jellies" like a scotch block filled with insulating jelly of else went straight to a terminal block in the master socket. It was easy enough to disconnect the two wires as long as you noted their colours and which terminal they went to and then unwrap the lashing and drop the wire.

[Big J]

Thanks for all the feedback chaps. I'll have a think. It's just wire, as far as I can tell, but it's not at all old. Which means that some bright spark threaded it through an unthinned sitka plantation. 

 

 

[woody paul]

Just thought it could be a fibre cable,  

Edited August 30, 2021 by woody paul