Couple's dream shattered as BT demand £16,000 to install phone

A couple who hoped to open a B&B in the Perthshire hills have told how they were stunned when BT quoted them £53,000 to install a telephone.

Heather McDonald and her husband Stuart spent ten years and 250,000 turning a bare cottage four miles along a country road near the village of Braco into a beautiful four-bedroom home.

They moved in last August, and hoped to fulfil their ambition to run a B&B with spectacular views.

The final touch was to be the installation of a telephone.

But Mrs McDonald, 52, said she was shocked when BT at first quoted her 53,000.

She said she managed to whittle the cost down to 16,000 - with BT carrying the line on poles rather than bury it underground - but the cost is still far too much for the couple.

Mrs McDonald said the bill had halted their hopes of starting up a business, and caused stress to Stuart, 54 - who works for a roof tile company and has to travel to Braco every morning just to pick up phone messages.

They have installed a satellite connection to access the internet, and they use mobile phones, but inconsistent signal strength in the area means the mobiles are impossible to rely on in an emergency.

Mrs McDonald, who was snowed in for days in the winter, said: "We bought the property ten years ago and put everything in to making it a nice home. The final thing was to get connected to the outside world.

"But we were stunned when BT told us the cost of installing a phone line would be 53,000.

"We've invested so much time and money in making our dream a reality, and we never thought something like this would end up scuppering the whole thing. We're not in the middle of nowhere - we're four miles from Braco and only an hour from Glasgow and Edinburgh.

"BT Openreach is supposed to be about fair and equal access to all, but there's not much fair about charging one couple such a ludicrous amount."

A BT Open Reach spokesman said: "The full survey charge quoted reflects the additional line plant and equipment needed to provide the line to this remote location.

"To fulfil its Universal Service Obligation Openreach will pay up to 3,400 to provide a new line. Any excess costs above the 3,400 have to be met by the customer who ordered the line.

"In cases like this Openreach examines all engineering options and will seek to provide the cheapest solution available."