$7.50 mo. telephone inside wire protection

[travelover]

May I relate this story: A client of mine in Houston had a huge house and a big wedding in two days. Her phone lines broke during the two days before her only child's big hoopla of a wedding. She did not take the insurance. She had to have it fixed, obviously, so AT&T came out and repaired the lines inside the house. Took an entire day. Cost her $450 around 23 years ago!!! Can you imagine how they would sock it to you now? Yikes!

Orchidflower, with all due respect, I think your client got ripped off. Telephone wiring hasn't changed essentially since Alexander Graham Bell and it was dirt simple them. These days we have the snap in connectors instead of hard wires to the receivers, but that is about it. If you can wire a door bell button, you can repair your own phone lines.

 

[ERD50]

May I relate this story: A client of mine in Houston had a huge house and a big wedding in two days. Her phone lines broke ... Cost her $450 around 23 years ago!!!

Moral of this story: I ALWAYS take the insurance now.

Not necessary at all. Very, very simple alternative to this, even more so today.

Learn where the phone line comes into your house. As others have said, there is usually a little box and it will have a standard phone jack on it that connects to the house wiring. All you need to do if you think you have a wiring problem is:

1) Unplug the house wiring from that box.
2) Plug a phone directly into the box.
3) Make a phone call.

If you get no dial tone on that phone, either the Phone Company line is bad (they fix it no charge), or that phone itself is bad. Try another phone, a known good one if possible.

This is easier today, as you can put a wireless base there, and have phone access all through the house and take your time getting the inside wiring checked out. Or just run a new line from there to some place convenient.

-ERD50

 

[Orchidflower]

Orchidflower, with all due respect, I think your client got ripped off. Telephone wiring hasn't changed essentially since Alexander Graham Bell and it was dirt simple them. These days we have the snap in connectors instead of hard wires to the receivers, but that is about it. If you can wire a door bell button, you can repair your own phone lines.

She probably did get ripped off, but it was two days before a huge wedding, so.....they had her by the neck.
I got ripped off with just installing two phones in Chicago with a bill for $850 7 years ago! I called and they halved it, but it was still a rip. Just had too many things going on at the time to argue, so I just paid it.
I'm seriously considering going strictly cell next time, anyway, but I sure plan to use this thread if I don't next time. Good to have experts here on this subject here.

 

[ikonomore]

I bought some new cordless panasonic phones a couple of years ago for my house. Only the base station needs a jack. The rest just need electric power. Really handy since i can put a phone in my workshop that doesn't have a jack. You can also buy more handsets for it.

I have just about zero cell phone coverage at my house because the community keeps defeating the planned cell phone towers.

J