How to remove old BT box

[slup]

If the original poster lives in a 'cabled' area, then the BT NTE will definitely be redundant.

There are still live copper pairs in cabled areas.

Yes, but VM do not use any BT infrastructure in cabled areas.

It's in his own house, he can do whatever he wants with it!

Are you really sure about that ?

So I buy a house and have VM install their cable services (including voice line over their own copper), and there's an old OpenReach box on the wall that the previous occupant had installed.

Are you seriously suggesting that I cannot touch the OpenReach box?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Who owns it?

 

[slup]

Who cares?

It's not the original posters' problem. He has no contract with BT/OpenReach for any service and so can do what he likes.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

He cannot do what he likes to property which is not his.

A BT master socket is not his.

 

[slup]

OK. Flip this around.

You've bought a house that previously had VM cable services installed, but you as the new homeowner want to go down the BT/Sky route.

What are you supposed to do with all the old VM infrastructure? Coax cables, splitters, faceplates and so on?

Absolutely whatever you like is the answer. Just rip the lot out if that is what you want to do.

The same scenario applies both ways. You cannot tell me that some third party that I have no contracted relationship with can stop me doing things to my own property.

Complete and utter tosh, sorry.

The absolute worse thing that could happen if you remove an OpenReach box would be that you have to pay a full re-connection fee if you try to reinstate the service in the future.

 

[Robin0577]

Strictly speaking of course BT own the box and the householder is not permitted to mess with it.

However, I can see an argument that since BT have not come and removed said box x months/years after the termination of a contract with them, then unclaimed goods might apply. The termination of the previous contract could be deemed to be notice that said box is no longer required and that they may retrieve it should they wish. Also, since the present occupier has no contract with BT he can't be breeching any of their contractual terms, such as not tampering with the box.

 

[riveralt]

Hi. I am redecorating and there is an old BT box that I want removed. Can I take off the cover cover the wires with electrical tap and then fill the hole?[/img]

Yep you can carry on - you can even cut the wires totally if you want (just the keep their equipment if you want to) - BT need your permission to connect to or have their equipment in your property - that will be in the form of a contract - you haven't got a contract - are not likely to have one - so carry on.

BT appear to have had plenty of time to remove their equipment if they so wished. I think they keep their equipment in place in the vain hope that the new occupier will take up their telephone lines.

I was in a similar position to you - when I switched over to Virgin Media over 8 years ago - I cut the cables and removed the box - binned it after six months.

 

[bernardgreen]

In practice you can remove redundant comms wiring that is inside the house but be careful that the incoming pair is either dead or if not the two wires are insulated from each other and ground. Not all disused lines are physically disconnected at the exchange and may have the 50 volts still on them. They have no service allocated to them so are not active but can be re-activated with a need for anyone to visit the exchange..

It is a different matter on external plant ( boxes cables etc ) where someone else's service may be running through the box you want to remove.

 

[JanK]

If the original poster lives in a 'cabled' area, then the BT NTE will definitely be redundant.

There are still live copper pairs in cabled areas.

It's in his own house, he can do whatever he wants with it!

Are you really sure about that ?

I'm getting really confused here... The little box:socket is inside my house. They were only very small wires smaller than any electrical wires... No copper wiring. Wiring into the house still all in tact. Just the facia removed!

 

[Iggifer]

if you look closely the phone wiring has copper in the middle of it

 

[NewOrder]

Even if you don't pay for a copper landline service the cables will still be live, and if you short them you could blow a fuse at the exchange and you could be charged for that.

Best to ring BT and get them to completely disconnect it at at the cabinet on your road so then you can do what ever you like with it.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

Meh - shorting them together is what happens when you pick up the phone. Blow a fuse? I don't think so.

 

[JanK]

Meh - shorting them together is what happens when you pick up the phone. Blow a fuse? I don't think so.

So if the existing wires I have left have a bit of black electrical tape around them, are they safe?

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

Usually there is a box on the outside of the house where the cable - for example - comes out of the ground. There is then usually a cable from that box in through the wall to the master socket. If you can find the outside box, I'd be inclined to remove the wiring your side of that box. That leaves the service intact for other future users.

This is not legal advice though, just practical.

 

[NewOrder]

Meh - shorting them together is what happens when you pick up the phone. Blow a fuse? I don't think so.

Just what I was once told, but thinking about it is far too low current to warrant the need for a fuse anyway.