My house just got hit by lightning, who do I even call about this?

[-]

_hypotonic@reddit

Internet is broken, call your internet provider

[-]

fwapfwapfwap@reddit

Back I'm the late 90s when modems were build into desktop computers a thunderstorm once fried my 56k modem - been using surge protection power adaptors ever since!

[-]

neoshadow3942@reddit (OP)

Every single time I've thought about getting any surge protection I always back out thinking it'll never effect me

[-]

Master_Department494@reddit

Doesn't protect against a direct strike, so wouldn't have made a difference for you.

[-]

I had an underground powerline blow just down the road from me. Every single electronic device not plugged into a surge protector, including the heating controls, oven, and fridge, was fried. The surge protectors didn't survive but they saved everything plugged into them.

[-]

Worried_Sweet_7085@reddit

Did you claim on insurance for that or did the electricity people take care of it?

[-]

SignNotInUse@reddit

I was living in a rented furnished flat so the landlords insurance replaced the dead white goods and fixed the heating control. Should have probably gone to the electric board for replacement surge protectors and a new microwave because I'd been telling them for weeks there's a damaged power line and worked out roughly where it was from the way at peak demand a street light would flicker just before the voltage droped on one supply leg then all three legs cut out.

[-]

Long-Wash7180@reddit

Most of the time it's not worth it - I had a client with a 2km long phone line overground on poles, every time there was a storm it used to blow the modem up but the cost of getting the additional grounding and supression in place was greater than throwing £30 at a new modem each year. In the end we just kept a spare on the shelf for them.

[-]

Isgortio@reddit

My brother's friend built a new gaming pc about 20 years ago, 2 months later it was struck by lightning and completely fried. Now if there's a thunderstorm I keep my pc turned off and everything is on a surge protected plug.

[-]

Snoo_90612@reddit

Whilst I understand surge protection in your case as you've been effected by a lightening strike but does the average house need it?

The UK network doesn't really have surges and the fuses and breakers in the main board protect the house. So, is surge protection just for lightening strikes and what are the odds of that happening?

[-]

mata_dan@reddit

Okay so because this is the second time I've seen the mistake in this thread - it's "affected".

Effect/affect is one of the more confusing grammar things that takes a while to figure out to be fair.

[-]

Draiscor93@reddit

Better to have and not need than need and not have 🤷

[-]

Inoffensive_Comments@reddit

I think the first call is to your insurance company.

[-]

jaynoj@reddit

Not worth getting your insurance premium increased for years just for a few quid on a tin of paint.

Their ISP can sort out the fried phone outlet and router.

[-]

Silly-Cow-9647@reddit

There's a difference between calling your insurance provider and claiming on your insurance. My insurer has trades people they can send out in an emergency at no extra cost regardless of whether I end up claiming - it's part of what I'm already paying for.

[-]

TheDr_@reddit

But their phone line is down badum tsh

[-]

Inoffensive_Comments@reddit

Oh no! Send a homing pigeon, or write a letter!

“Dear Sir, my phone go boom, pls fix.

K thx bye”

[-]

GodAtum@reddit

Most of the people on here have no idea what they are on about. My neighbour’s house was hit my lightning which blew all this electrics. He had to move out while the whole house was required. It took almost half a year.

[-]

Neugiermeister@reddit

who do I even call about this?

Ghostbusters.

[-]

Leonichol@reddit

Home Insurance.

Your phone supplier for the box (if you use it, else, worry less).

[-]

OSUBrit@reddit

Absolutely not worth getting insurance involved for this.

[-]

Shawn-117@reddit

You don’t think? The house could end up needing a lot of re-wiring.

[-]

OSUBrit@reddit

The phone system is it connected to the electrical system, there’s little chance it would be effected. Is it worth getting a spark over to check to be safe? Absolutely, is it worth claiming on insurance until you know you need a rewiring? Very unlikely.

[-]

VerifiablyMrWonka@reddit

OP states his router is fried, so unless that happened to be running on batteries (or through a surge protector - unlikely given it fried) then the systems were connected.

[-]

rocco-a@reddit

It’s very unlikely

[-]

AreEUHappyNow@reddit

Or he has an ADSL internet connection which receives it's network via the phone line that was hit by lightning?

[-]

A_Cat_Typingg@reddit

And the ADSL connection terminates in what bit of equipment which is usually plugged into the mains and therefore could conceivably send a power spike back into the mains circuit in the house? I see the logic of what they're saying.

[-]

BevvyTime@reddit

POE go brrrrrrrr

[-]

twatsmaketwitts@reddit

You have absolutely no idea if the over voltage transferred to other lines in the house. It's easily possible if the phone lines cable run is long enough, or if it's in closer proximity to other lines in the house.

[-]

Able-Angle1@reddit

Gtfoh

[-]

BevvyTime@reddit

What, it just magically jumps through the air to a separate, sealed system?

You’d know if the electrics were fucked, because your consumer unit would be bollocksed.

[-]

Pindadio@reddit

So I had it years ago where lightening ran down the phone line, into my router, out the router into the back of the TV and dvd player. Luckily the fuses on those stopped current flowing any further, the fuses had turned to dust when I looked in them.

Only ended up needing the phone line and replacing the TV and DVD player and router

[-]

BevvyTime@reddit

This is my point, even if not clearly made.

If it had gone int any of the electrical equipment they’d have been literally toast.

[-]

FourEyedTroll@reddit

What, it just magically jumps through the air

Say this bit again, but slower.

[-]

BevvyTime@reddit

Ok, through the electrically shielded cable, the air, several layers of insulation, out the other side, then quietly and invisibly cooks something that would be really, really obvious as all the bulbs, screens and the like would have also gone pop.

[-]

Splodge89@reddit

That’s exactly what happened… lightening is electricity magically jumping through the air.

[-]

LogicalAardvark5897@reddit

Yes we call it lightning

[-]

twatsmaketwitts@reddit

Yeah, you know how the charge magically jumped through the air in the first place from a few hundred meters in the sky to the telephone line?

Your consumer unit ain't protecting shit if it comes through on the telephone line anyway. Most older houses don't even have SPD protection in the first place.

Houses up to 2km away have been known to be damaged from over voltage from lightning strikes. Damage costs from lightning stikes are going up every year. Germany keeps a record through their insurance data and in 2024 insurance paid out €350million to domestic policies only, vs €220million in 2022.

If you've got expensive stuff in your house, make sure you have SPD fitted on all cable entry points to the house - including your phone line/copper broadband line.

[-]

EhDinnaeEvenKen@reddit

Which is why you get a sparky to check it, which he already said.

You just don't involve insurance until you know the cost of any possible works will be worth the hit on premiums.

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twatsmaketwitts@reddit

Yeah agreed on that front. Insurance would be 2nd call after sparky has checked for damage.

[-]

Daveddozey@reddit

If there’s damage. Far more likely there’s no damage.

[-]

Jezbod@reddit

The damnable corona loss strikes again.

[-]

Frosty-Ad-4347@reddit

There is a condition in your policy that will state you have to report incidents within a certain time frame.

Log it with your insurer. You don’t have to pursue the claim, but if you don’t log it and then need to claim it could prejudice your claim.

[-]

Vexxxiang@reddit

Issue I could see is the open reach boxes in new Installs do have a power plug for fibre (at least with EE) so there is a chance mains power could have been affected. It's still slim but best to have someone check for safety sake

[-]

OSUBrit@reddit

Absolutely should get an electrician in to do a once over but that telephone socket looks 80s/90s just from the PCB.

[-]

Murph_9000@reddit

If you have xDSL, there's a very close proximity between the copper of the phone line and your internal electrics. It's over very light cables, which will likely vaporize quite quickly, but the modem/router does present the possibility of an electrical path for extreme overvoltage, and for lightning level voltage on the phone line to briefly make it onto the mains wiring. The phone line and a low voltage DC power supply connect to the same PCB in the modem/router, and the DC power supply has mains and the low voltage DC on the same PCB in the PSU. The exploded box appears to be an Openreach NTE5, which is a traditional POTS CPE/demarcation box. I'd guess OP is probably on DSL.

[-]

Racing_Fox@reddit

If they come round and say there’s an issue, get insurance involved

Otherwise, absolutely not.

[-]

Responsible-Buyer215@reddit

You find that out first, you don’t contact your house insurance over a guess unless you’re stupid

[-]

nickymoo@reddit

Depends if acts of god are covered by the insurance.

[-]

Conscious_Cell1825@reddit

The worst clause in the insurance business

[-]

Daveddozey@reddit

I don’t get how they could prove it’s an act of god, surely they would have to prove god exists?

[-]

garethchester@reddit

Need to get Billy Connolly on the case

[-]

Sunkinthesand@reddit

Fun story... I was working as an IT trainer. The company building had 2 wings east and west. The west wing had been empty for years but was under rapid development for new contracts and in the training / presentation suites they spent a few thousand on overhead ceiling mounted projectors and networking. ... Jump ahead to the summer and one of the very few lighting storms that hit NE Scotland. A tree next to the building is struck, it jumps across and i see it go across the ceiling to the projector. The projector is dead, and in the neighbouring room also. It turns out in their rush to develop the wing they never had the wing grounded for lightning strikes (other wing was and was fine). Fancy new wing and training rooms were mostly useless at the flash of lightning. Because it was not grounded insurance did not pay out and we wheeled out the ol' portable units. In short, contact insurance to confirm the status and any assessment of essential works needed, even if they won't pay for repairs Op will know the damage/risks.

P.s the fun bit was that i was mid presentation, i checked everyone in the group was ok and when i checked on the other room the trainer was still hugging the ground.

[-]

Odd-Cake8015@reddit

How so? I got more than 200k paid by my home insurance following a disaster and the premium barely changed. Maybe £10 a month more.

It was so funny, I recall calling to make the claim while in a flooded inhabitable house and the operator “are you sure you want to make the claim? You’ll need to lay the excess of…£100”

[-]

Serious_Badger_4145@reddit

We don't know if it affected the electrics though there's no picture of those ? It could have damaged everything that's plugged in

[-]

OSUBrit@reddit

That's what the spark is for

[-]

sl236@reddit

Around where we live, it's very hard to get tradesmen to come out for small jobs. They're all booked up 6-8 months ahead, and/or are too busy doing insurance jobs and just straight up ghost you.

If you can arrange to get it handled yourself, great! Insurers aren't charities, they're out for profit like everyone else, and make no mistake - one way or another, they will take their cut.

But if where you live is anything like where I live, a few days into calling people you realise that paying the insurer their cut so they actually get the work organised and coordinated - especially if multiple trades are involved - may actually be worth it.

[-]

enygma999@reddit

We had a lightning strike years ago. Took out the router, obviously, but what we didn't realise was all the other stuff it got. The set-top box in the guest bedroom. The antenna amplifier. The socket it burnt out behind the TV. Lots of little stuff that added up. If you've got an insurance policy with a protected NCD, it might actually be worth it. No, your premiums won't increase that much for one small claim, particularly if you keep your NCD.

OP, make sure you check other things that are connected to your phone line or might have gotten caught by a surge in the power grid (that lightning went somewhere, and probably raised the potential on your earth bonding briefly so could have damaged anything). Then, when you have a total of affected stuff, up to you to judge whether an insurance claim is worth it.

[-]

Leonichol@reddit

A call costs nothing.

They will advise. Including whether they think it is a good idea to assess for further damage - such as to the areas surrounding the cable and its ingress.

Then OP can decide whether a claim is worthwhile given the particulars of their policy, to make a claim or just sand, fill, paint and make good before the line is repaired.

But OP did post here. And not DIYUK. This suggests a held hand is valued by them in a way it may not be for others. And there is nothing wrong with that.

[-]

LongBeakedSnipe@reddit

This is totally wrong.

Often, if something is 'claimworthy' it can still be counted as a claim on your account **even if you don't make a claim**

[-]

OSUBrit@reddit

Insurance companies will make note of enquiries and can and will use them to put your premiums up even without a claim. You can Google this.

[-]

Crusty5ock@reddit

Risk profile on a lightning strike? The go to cliche for a low probability event. A premium hike in this case would obviously just be a way of recovering costs.

[-]

joolzter@reddit

A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD NEWS ARTICLE... is not relevant... just saying. Let's not assume the world hasn't changed in 13 years... hint: it has.

[-]

OSUBrit@reddit

My man, insurance companies haven't changed since 1680.

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Training_Yak_4655@reddit

I've called Aviva at least twice to discuss a potential claim, one was a small washing machine flood. I've always had an excess of \~£450. Ended up paying out of own pocket, zero effect on premium.

[-]

Mizfit1991@reddit

Insurance companies will only class it as a claim if they get to offer stage and you decline the offer. If you enquire then it does get held on record for a short period so if you re enquire the data is there already.

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BeardySam@reddit

Your risk profile from a lightning strike will be very different from a car crash

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TangerineOrganic6483@reddit

Yeah, phoning insurance companies for advice is like asking police for advice on selling drugs….

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Daveddozey@reddit

Nah, lightning never strikes the same place twice*, so your rates will go down

* obviously it does

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Praetorian_1975@reddit

Excess, you’ll get the olde ‘act of God’ excuse from the insurance company for sure

[-]

Kim-Jong-Long-Dong@reddit

Our house got hit by lightning, hit an old aerial, travelled down the phone line that was nearby. It blew everything in the house that was plugged in at the time that had any sort of transformer (xbox, WiFi routers Etc, stuff that doesnt actually run on 240V). Also blew up the washing machine because there was an old phone socket behind it we didn't know about.

I wouldnt be surprised if OP finds additional damaged goods around the house if they have a proper look.

[-]

AirconGuyUK@reddit

Have insurers never heard the term 'Lightning never strikes twice'?

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Sloppy-Joe76@reddit

I guess Roy Sullivan didn’t get that memo

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_FreddieLovesDelilah@reddit

I FUCKING HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES.

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TimetravellingElf@reddit

Act of God clause get out? Dunno if that still exists for stuff

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ForeignWeb8992@reddit

Don't forget the big telly that got fried

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GD-f-stop@reddit

Insurance most likely won’t pay out that is classed as “an act of god” same as civil war or war not covered by most insurance companies in small print.

[-]

OkContribution6454@reddit

Zeus, to be fair he has a great third party insurance coverage.

[-]

valoa@reddit

Call the Tate Modern Gallery for the first pic. I thought it was a piece of art at first

[-]

RyanDM12@reddit

Your insurance. Or if you don’t want to deal with them (extra costs wise) have a trusted electrician look at the wiring in the house (if he says it’s fine it probably is if it isn’t then go to insurance cus rewiring is expensive)

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SuchRespond4322@reddit

Was gonna say ghost busters but not even they could help with something this strange

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UKDroneDC@reddit

The lightning police

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No_Poem_3434@reddit

Im sorry im just picturing OP' sat there after the strike trying to switch the lights off hair stood up on end like Ocious P potter from the borrowers (John goodman)...

“Turn… off… the… e-lec-tri-ci-ty.” “The… power… Turn… off… the… power…”

in that situation if id didnt laugh a little bit id be crying forgive my sense of humor!

[-]

Super_Shallot2351@reddit

from outreach and themself

What?

[-]

Lanky_Bus_1221@reddit

House insurance I guess

[-]

CompetitiveRun9602@reddit

100% everything plugged in just got fried because you probably dont have an spd

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RetroComputerKing@reddit

It's an act of God, so get to praying 😄

[-]

FixZealousideal6972@reddit

Telecoms engineer here Just report it to your CP, they will book an appointment for someone to come and replace, however do not mention damage, just say your phone line/broadband isnt working, they will get you to do some "checks" then they will book an appointment.

This is a lovely job for someone, nice quick snip to start their day off

[-]

Far_Win_3390@reddit

Openreach give them a call they’ll sort it, you won’t need a sparky out it’s just a copper phone internally, I work for openreach this is easily fixed more common than you think

[-]

Far_Win_3390@reddit

Your service provider eg who your internets with

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tweep6435@reddit

Zeus probably 😛

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TradeSevere@reddit

So who remembers unplugging TV aerials during storms? I'm sure everybodies parents had a friend who's TV exploded due to lightening hitting the roof aerial

[-]

Lucky-Metal558@reddit

alililili

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cowboycrunchies01@reddit

I feel for you. Exactly the same situation happened to a friend of mine, they ended up having to get their whole house rewired, no kidding. Ever since that every time we have a storm I pray we don’t get hit by lightning.

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

JURASS1CJAM@reddit

America?

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

Leonichol@reddit

!tlc

[-]

MrNoir79@reddit

Sue the church?

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

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Careless-Cooker@reddit

I say, shocking.

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

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AfternoonLines@reddit

Ghostbusters. Obviously.

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

AdooomJTH@reddit

Were you making scones at the time by any chance?

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

LAP5KA5@reddit

Talk about lightning fast connection

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

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spampoo@reddit

Who are you going to call? Ghost busters!

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

mouchybaby@reddit

Free electricity ⚡️

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

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zwifter11@reddit

Call God

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

Sad_Fan8608@reddit

Ghostbusters

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

Sharky-the-sparky@reddit

God

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

Snappy0@reddit

God

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

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Fresh_and_wild@reddit

Are you near Hereford Bristol area? There was a massive storm last night.

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

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Ok_Bumblebee_9873@reddit

There was most everywhere

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SorryYouAreJustWrong@reddit

Thor

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

[-]

weekedipie1@reddit

Ghostbusters

[-]

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question

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AdamGarner89@reddit

Furious I had to scroll this far down to find this comment haha

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mikesimus118@reddit

Act of god unfortunately, ring and explain I imagine you’re not the only person with damaged equipment

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Kralgore@reddit

Openreach. It says it on the box.

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404invalid-user@reddit

no you contact your isp open reach will just tell you to do this anyway

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TobyADev@reddit

Home insurers. And openreach/whoever provides your wifi

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Successful_Air_3525@reddit

Your insurance first, electrician after 😉

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Racing_Fox@reddit

Don’t call the insurance for this. Absolutely not worth it

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Successful_Air_3525@reddit

Really? Maybe if they don’t cover it… although they would blame the installation i guess and will look for any excuse not pay a penny. You right, insurance nowadays is the biggest scam approved by government… well government is not that far either.. 😁

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surreynot@reddit

If it’s your internet or phone call them out if not don’t worry,we Had it a few years ago, neighbours house struck, we lost a tv , a Mac mini ? A PlayStation to the surge. Since then I have all av stuff on surge protector extension cables.

[-]

EsotericSnail@reddit

Are you in South Manchester? We thought we had a direct strike last night - massive flash and simultaneous massive bang about 3am-ish. But this morning, everyone I know in a 5 mile radius is also convinced their back garden had a direct strike.

[-]

30sixth@reddit

In Hazel Grove Stockport. Same time and thought the same. So did my brother round the corner. We've all said it was the loudest / brightest we had ever seen. Kids still didn't wake up though!!

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Ok_Bumblebee_9873@reddit

It was most of the middle of the country. I'm in Warwickshire and experienced the same thing at the same time. I've just seen someone else saying so in Bristol too.

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Serious_Badger_4145@reddit

Do you own or rent?

Home insurer. If you rent the landlord needs to call their buildings insurance

[-]

Racing_Fox@reddit

Why, what are the insurance going to do? Come and replace a £15 cover and wipe off some soot? They’ll bill that right back to you and up your premiums

[-]

CaptMelonfish@reddit

Check your roof, make sure everything is in tact. House near us was struck a few years ago and it blew a large section of tiles off the roof and damaged the beams.

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Bifanarama@reddit

No one. At least, not from that line.

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eat-the-kids-first@reddit

The fire department……fire can be raging in wires hidden in your walls/ceilings.

It’s standard practice in my part of the world for the fire guys to scan the house with thermal imaging equipment to ensure there aren’t any lingering fires (and there often are).

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s1pp3ryd00dar@reddit

Interesting, the BT/Openreach master socket usually has a surge arrestor inside it.

I've seen debate on ISP forums on the purpose and its ability to protect connected equipment from direct lightning strikes or just induced surges.

I think I have my answer now.

[-]

Timely_Egg_6827@reddit

Phone your teleco - they can replace the wires but you need to buy a new phone. Main worry is if surge has damaged the line into socket and they can test that. Should be included in your rental but may take a few days as residential SLA is I think a week unless someone needs it for safety of life or doctor on call.

[-]

Murph_9000@reddit

The exploded NTE5 master phone socket belongs Openreach, but support is via whoever you are paying line rental to. That can be either a traditional voice phone provider or it can be your ISP (if you have migrated the line itself to data-only, with optional Digital Voice / VoIP). Openreach will come out to replace it, but you need to go via the customer support associated with your line rental. If you pay for voice and Internet separately, call both companies. You should not go direct to Openreach.

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Square_Answer_7717@reddit

Insurance, you at least need to have the entire houses electrics checked, you are lucky it didnt start a fire, one near us was litterally burnt to 4 blackened walls

[-]

Ok_Bumblebee_9873@reddit

Wow last night?

[-]

Ok_Bumblebee_9873@reddit

I watched a house a road over get hit last night by the biggest lightening bolt I've ever seen. I wonder if it was yours.

[-]

unknown_ally@reddit

I was completely unaware of the storm completely but my PC had trouble turning on properly this morning. I wonder if it was because of the storm.

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Mattie_1S1K@reddit

Happened to me one minute. I was standing up after turning Xbox etc on next big flash of light and a bang and I’m side ways on the couch. Tv, Xbox PlayStation, dvd and internet box and router gone up in smoke. I claimed everything on insurance. The internet cable I to house was a bubbled mess of wire and plastic.

[-]

bmjwilson@reddit

Phone linter line would be your ISP, who'd get openreach to fix the line. Unless your on virgin connection, then virgin themselves would come and fix it.

[-]

RedditFrogReddit@reddit

If the damage is purely inside the property (beyond the demarcation box outside) then the ISP will not fix it. You'll need a contractor for that.

[-]

captaincooll@reddit

No you're incorrect up to the nte is openreach

[-]

Practical_Scar4374@reddit

Your*
/s I just wanna be a reverse asshat. :)

[-]

Rare-Soft4785@reddit

An ISP regardless of what network be is OR/VM/CF etc is absolutely responsible up to where their 'network' ends. This is always up to the last point of inception, in this case for OP, their BT Master Socket, for VM it's up to their internal junction box before their RJ59 (for Coaxial and RFoG Fibre areas) cable connects the router, or the wallbox (for their FTTP areas). CF is up to the ONT, same as OR FTTP is also up to the ONT.

Anything past those sections of 'network' is deemed the customers responsibility (within reason) and they are liable for that bit. Most ISP's will still suck up the cost for many bits, especially for long-term customers unless they can without a doubt prove due to misuse or pure incompetence, the defect/damage is due to the customer

[-]

CarrowCanary@reddit

Everything up to the socket on the inside wall that the RJ11 or similar cable plugs into is the ISP's obligation to fix (usually by sending OpenReach round).

[-]

BiasTap@reddit

I'm with Virgin but it's not their cables. I don't have full fiberoptic in my area. BT open reach did my repair.

[-]

howitzer1@reddit

I don't think that connection is a virgin anymore

[-]

Oster-P@reddit

Could try a thunderbolt cable

[-]

UnderstandingFar6589@reddit

Snigger

[-]

Not_AI_Yet@reddit

Damn you! That took me a minute

[-]

Altruistic-Nerve4180@reddit

Take my laugh and upvote

[-]

Kitchen_Part_882@reddit

Openreach or your ISP.

That looks like (what's left of) a master socket and you're not supposed to touch anything in the top half.

Hopefully the surge didn't hit anything on the ring main the router was connected to.

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JustanotherN0body00@reddit

Act of god.... 🤔... May or may not be covered on your insurance.

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pk9pk@reddit

And how exactly did you anger the gods?. Joking my dad was ESB ( Irish electrical board) area manager for supply in the Wild West of Ireland After a lightning storm the company phone in the house would not stop ringing, wouldn’t see him for weeks. Mostly transformer stations and the like hit, never heard it hitting so low. And low voltage..Good luck

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kingofovens@reddit

Take no notice on extra premium for home insurance I had a full roof and entire upstairs refurbished due to storm damage. My insurance went up but not by much. You'll need everything checked a lightning strike is serious to the integrity of the house. There maybe unseen damage

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KushBluntsworth@reddit

That’s crazy because

A few days ago I was sat in the conservatory and the lightning sounded soo fkin close

And again last night the flash felt like a phone flash by the glass

I fkin ran 🥴🤣 getting hit by lightning isn’t on my to do list

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Sad-Nectarine-7855@reddit

An electrician

[-]

TheGhostOfCake@reddit

Ghostbusters! 👻 /s

Best stop is insurance or landlord if rented

[-]

beeurd@reddit

This happened to me a couple of years ago, although it looked much less dramatic. Call your ISP and they'll be able to send a replacement router and arrange for Openreach (or whoever it is these days) to replace the master socket.

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Captaincadet@reddit

We had it a few years back also. Sent the modem to the other side of the room, though for us about 3,000 homes were effected

BT sent an engineer out (who turned up 6 hours early as it’s all he was doing at the time) to look at the modem and go “yup that’s dead, bad news is BT won’t give me spares as they don’t trust me and you’ll have to wait a few weeks for a new modem “

I think he did replace the panel in the house.

If it’s BT there is supposedly a design flaw where there’s no lightning protection and if you push BT they’ll actually give you some compensation

[-]

captaincooll@reddit

It's not that BT don't trust the engineers , it's that openreach represents almost every single provider so they'd end up carrying 100 routers round to cover every job and have no room in the van. You have lightning protection in localised areas but it's been largely done away with due to interference with the broadband. It's not a design flaw you just can't fit a fuse big enough to stop lightning inside a small nte they still contain fuses that stop a fair bit of lightning damage for routers if it's not direct and just frys the socket. BT may give you compensation but it's not policy and will probably tell you to kick rocks.

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Gummi-Dofoo@reddit

Your first call should be to the fire brigade, who can check for hot spots in the walls/attic space!

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JollyJamma@reddit

Electrician to do some tests to make sure nothing important was fried.

Otherwise, just call your ISP.

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DiDiPLF@reddit

I'd ask the electrician about your lightning protection too, modern houses all have them, it just takes the surge to ground rather than your electric system being the easy route.

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twatsmaketwitts@reddit

Yeah and can get it fitted to the phone/broadband line as well for future safety.

If he'd had a TV or pc wired into the the router, they could have gone as well but I imagine it was wireless.

[-]

badreligionlover@reddit

You live in or near to Leeds any chance? Was crazy overhead earlier...

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DrWkk@reddit

Does anything electrical work? Does the boiler work (it has electrical components)? Does your oven work? Is there damage where the lightning hit? Hole in roof?

If it’s just the phone line then you’re lucky and call the phone company.

If electrics are off then the house was fried and you need to call home insurance. Both buildings and contents.

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BigOleSmileyFace@reddit

Check any wired devices you had connected to it too.

This happened to me, took out the ethernet port on my PC, luckily everything else on the PC worked fine and just fitted a new PCI network adapter.

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jetpilots1@reddit

You should check everything that was plugged in at the time. I went through this years ago and needed to replace a lot of items.

You may find you need to contact your home insurer if the damage is to a lot of items, or you might not if it was contained to your phone line.

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-info-sec-@reddit

Stop. Don't call your insurance. This is a localised issue.

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UuusernameWith4Us@reddit

Are you really telling OP to wash a socket with soapy water? Do you have any advice on cleaning toasters?

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-info-sec-@reddit

Hey, it's cool and wise to be cautious. In the event, it's a very low DC voltage system.

[-]

PerkeNdencen@reddit

Well, it's 50V - so pretty safe, but not what I would call very low voltage! I've had a decent thwack before now.

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hsw77@reddit

It's a phone line...

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Magnets@reddit

It's not a mains socket, you can see it's only a telephone line

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Deep_Age_304@reddit

it's a phone socket - so yes no problem with water getting getting near it.

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DiDiPLF@reddit

You do realise that you can dunk an unplugged toaster into a bowl of soapy water to wash it? Just make sure its completely dry before you plug it back in.

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WALL-G@reddit

You wipe the soot off the wall with soapy water and any dead equipment (including the socket) will be replaced by Openreach.

This is not a home insurance matter.

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Jacktheforkie@reddit

I’d start with an electrician to inspect everything, that phone socket might well be obsolete, your internet provider will be able to advise and clean up that one, then you’ll want a decorator/ DIY it

[-]

Chris260364@reddit

I would ask the guy from open reach for his opinion on the cause and effect in regards to the other wiring. In my opinion it's segregated. If it came down the LV system it would be your appliances that get it more than the fixed wiring. However,an EIC report is never a bad thing to have if you want to spend the 150 or something like that.

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MythicChaos91@reddit

100% worth getting surge protection on houses these days, costs about £100 and will save you thousands.

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mturner1993@reddit

My nan left the tap on and caused £10k water damage. Her premiums went up by £10/20 as she moved provider.

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WhereTheMoonSets@reddit

Insurance, then electrician and plumber, then Internet and decorators in that order. Im sorry this happened to you.

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AspieTravels@reddit

Call BT customer service free 0330 123 4150

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LazarusOwenhart@reddit

Call BT for the phone and your ISP for the router.

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Scotty-Raspberry-36@reddit

In the old days this would have fried your computer as well. Guess you don't have an ethernet connection

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isnecrophiliathatbad@reddit

Looks like it hit your phone line, which would be an open reach matter. Call them out explaining what happened so the can survey all damage back to the pole and fibre junctions.

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Upper_Paramedic_2043@reddit

Back in the days of dial-up internet access we had a lightning strike on the telegraph pole in the street. It blew up the telephone box in the house, my modem, my PC and also the TV and video recorder in the bedroom which weren’t connected to anything. It also set light to my neighbours carpet as their box was on the skirting in the hall

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TedBurns-3@reddit

Home insurance

ISP

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chiefgareth@reddit

Happened to us 20 years ago. Every electrical appliance in the house that was on was destroyed. Didn’t have running water for a couple of days. We got loads of new gear through insurance though, which was nice.

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Awellknownstick@reddit

Lol did it get past the breaker box? How were pteiferals?

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OriginalPlonker@reddit

Phone lines don't go through the 'breaker box'.

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Awellknownstick@reddit

No I didn't have the full text open when I posted, was gonna change when I read it, then saw your post lol. Will own my L 😆

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OriginalPlonker@reddit

I had this happen years ago, and my DECT answerphone was destroyed. The extra handsets were unaffected since they're cordless, and I sold those on eBay.

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ddmf@reddit

I had something similar happen in 2010 - the most serious was that it hit the chimney and the roughcasting went in two directions, 1 nearly hit my ex who was smoking outside, and the second flew across the street and punched a hole in the neighbour's bedroom window.

Even though I had a UPS on my server the board had gone, tv went, boiler circuit board went.

Insurance company were great but I had to declare it for the next 5 years.

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Wart_Time_L32@reddit

The pole outside our house got hit by lightning a few years ago and blew out all electric items connected via the router, we contacted home insurance company who replaced all items and they contacted the electricity team, got a bigger TV out of it but also took a while to get broadband back so was a little chaotic with WFH.

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DGHSparks@reddit

Your house inThorance company

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BiasTap@reddit

Holy fucking crap. This is scary! Insurance should cover it, but your excess might be higher than the cost to replace it. Bt open reach fixed my broken phone line, they just ran a new line and put a new box. I arranged the repair through my provider though.

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Yamosu@reddit

Looking at that, if your telephone/internet provider uses the Openreach copper, report it. If there was something connected, that's probably fried too.

If nothing connected, you can probably clean it up and ignore it. Might be worth getting a sparky in to give the electrics a once over, but unless a load of other stuff got damaged, calling insurance is pointless IMO

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QuirkyImage@reddit

Use house insurance policy

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Fresh_and_wild@reddit

Call your ISP. If it’s only the phone line box as described then it’s likely your house wasn’t hit by lightening, but sone of the ISP’s infrastructure nearby was and the current went down the copper and blew your device. Very likely your neighbours may have had the same experience.

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maldax_@reddit

I suspect your isp already knows as there is probably damage at the other end too

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Ill-Ad-2122@reddit

If this is the only damage then just call openreach/your isp(assuming its a BT phone line) and get them to fix it, the router is probably toast as well so would need replacing if so.

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DJBigPhil@reddit

Are you sure that first picture isn’t from an exhibition at Tate Modern?

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skut_monkey@reddit

Happened to a guy I know, absolutely destroyed his electric cabinet,
No home insurance either, cost him a few grand to put right

[-]

pocketmonkeys@reddit

It appears you've already worked out what/where the lightning hit but your isp/Openreach will usually ask what the entry point of the lightning was to determine who pays. If the power surge came in via telephone cables you shouldn't have to pay.

Sometimes it hits the power network and just fries the router and power adapter (and the phone socket still works), this looks convincingly like it hit the phone cables outside and then fried the phone socket and router. Worth making sure you tell them that when you report it and when they send an engineer tell them too.

Having seen cables with lightning damage there may be more repairs to do outside so might not be an instant fix

[-]

OSUBrit@reddit

Ignore anyone saying insurance. It’s not worth claiming and even letting them know this happened could put your renewal up without a claim.

Speak to your ISP who can send an engineer out either from them or openreach to repair any line issues and your outlet. Also to get a new modem. Openreach can take bloody ages to do anything though so look into 4G/5G router options.

I would also consider calling an electrician to do some checks. It’s unlikely your wiring is affected but better to be safe. Only if you uncover electrical issues (or structural ones - I’d have a look around outside and see if check if the lightning hit your property directly or just down the line) - should you contact your insurance.

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ScotForWhat@reddit

Don’t call your insurance. Your ISP (internet service provider) will sort it out with Openreach who own the phone lines. Wash the soot off the wall and touch up the paint if needed.

Unless there’s significant damage elsewhere you haven’t shown us then this is well below your excess and not worth the hassle of claiming.

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Aioli-Garlic-Ramen@reddit

I’d get your telephone provider to sort, might find all your neighbours have the same issue I would check your Fuseboard all works too

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E_D_K_2@reddit

You in Leicestershire? The lightning has been mental here all night.

[-]

neoshadow3942@reddit (OP)

Merseyside, the rain and lightning rollled on through and decided to hit my house and then continue on

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