andrew@decwrl.dec.com (Lord Snooty) (08/26/89)
I've never tried this before, but I want a new line to my apartment.
I live in a complex of apartments. The management says "leave it to the
phone company". They have apparently ca. 100 lines per block allocated,
and so PacBell's $35 fee for connection is one of these wires.
PacBell "quotes" $45 for the first 15 mins of installation, and $15 per
extra 15 min thereafter. When I asked them how long it would take, they
could not say. Not even guesstimate. When I suggested that this was less
of a "quote" and more of a "licence to print money", they reluctantly agreed.
Since deregulation, even a private contractor is allowed to
somehow get that wire into my apartment and with the appropriate hole
in the wall for the jack.
The management here says that I am not allowed to make the final
hookup myself.
These are the facts as I know them. Please - can anybody help out of
this maze? and how much SHOULD it cost?
...........................................................................
Andrew Palfreyman There's a good time coming, be it ever so far away,
andrew@berlioz.nsc.com That's what I says to myself, says I,
time sucks jolly good luck, hooray!
[Moderator's Note: The telco allows the *owner* of the inside wiring to
maintain it as he pleases, provided it works, of course. Your problem is,
the landlord is the *owner* -- not you -- and the landlord has opted to
have telco do the wiring and pass the costs along to the tenants. There
is probably very little you can do, since the telco can't give you the
authority to touch someone else's wires -- in this case, the landlord's.
But don't be too alarmed by the open-ended fee. I'd be very suprised if
the installation took more than fifteen minutes unless it is very complicated.
A half hour would be very ample. Of course, you could raise the point that
telco can only charge *you* for wiring that is within your premises and
under your control, namely, the wires in your apartment. You can't be
responsible for wires in areas of the building not in your control, such
as a locked basement area. Of course, the landlord *is* responsible for
that, and he says you as the tenant pay it! You can't win! PT]