Summary to my telephone line woes:
I find that some telephone cables do not seem to work and others need to be joined together (kind of like a cat5 crossover cable if you know that cable). My Sky+ box needs to have the silver cable that came with the box between it and the wall, the extension cable on its own seems to make the box think it is unconnected.
Also, even when both boxes register the phone line one box still doesnt call back. Sky sent 3 letters, I sent 2 very cross letters back. I now dont have to have both boxes connected as I refused to pay the callout for a box that (to me) works perfectly. They finally agreed to waive the telephone line condition and I can just aout cope, albeit there is an astoundingly high price for the service (£43). I may cancel soon but Ive also just got a new Sky+ box (V2), it is so much better than the old V1 that I can last for a short while more now.