Telegraph Pole on Private Land. Claiming Rent??
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LJ._2
Posts: 15 Forumite
in Phones & TV
Hi I have recently, successfully, claimed unregistered land/river bank next to my house. The land has a single wooden telegraph pole situated on it. Can I claim an annual rental from BT for this pole?
I have searched the Internet and got a bit drowsy as there does not seem to be anything mentioned about this, although I am sure that rental can be claimed.
Can anyone provide an email address to contact BT about this? Please don't provide a telephone number because I'm profoundly deaf! (just as well really, with contacting BT! :rotfl::rotfl:)
What would a likely rental be??
Many thanks for any help directed.
LJ.
I have searched the Internet and got a bit drowsy as there does not seem to be anything mentioned about this, although I am sure that rental can be claimed.
Can anyone provide an email address to contact BT about this? Please don't provide a telephone number because I'm profoundly deaf! (just as well really, with contacting BT! :rotfl::rotfl:)
What would a likely rental be??
Many thanks for any help directed.
LJ.
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LJ.
LJ.
0
Comments
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You could try:
BT Wayleaves Scanning Office
Communications House
Harlescott Lane
Shrewsbury
SY1 3AQ
telephone: 0800 581525
However, I suspect that at most you would be looking at a maximum of £5/year or so - if that.
Its also quite possible you would receive nothing as they were there 'before you' and used whatever 'utility' powers they had at the time (or perhaps when you registered the land, you should have mentioned the existence of the BT pole on whatever forms you filled in)
Regards
Sunil0 -
Hi I have recently, successfully, claimed unregistered land/river bank next to my house. The land has a single wooden telegraph pole situated on it. Can I claim an annual rental from BT for this pole?
I have searched the Internet and got a bit drowsy as there does not seem to be anything mentioned about this, although I am sure that rental can be claimed.
Can anyone provide an email address to contact BT about this? Please don't provide a telephone number because I'm profoundly deaf! (just as well really, with contacting BT! :rotfl::rotfl:)
What would a likely rental be??
Many thanks for any help directed.
LJ.
Hi, I work in the planning department with BT (Openreach) and deal with issues like this most days. We often pay people if we need to install a new pole on their land. This can either take the form of an annual payment or a one-off lump sum equivalent to a 20yr payment.
These agreements are called wayleaves and are held by our wayleaves office in Shrewsbury as shown above.
To be honest I think it's very unlikely that you would be able to make a claim on the basis that, as was also previously said, the pole was there before you bought the land. As the land was previously unregistered BT would not have required a wayleave to install the pole and this case would be looked at with the view that you knew the pole was there before you bought the land.
We get quite a few cases come into the office where a homeowner is asking for a pole in the bottom of their garden to be shifted. They may have only been in the house for a few years and not aware that the previous owner signed a wayleave agreement 40 years ago consenting to the pole being installed. They may feel it unfair as they had nothing to do with the original agreement, however, when buying a new property one thing conveyancers often forget to search for is whether there any agreements relating to BT apparatus on the land. I often have to refer disgruntled customers back to their solicitors to question why this did not show up in the searches when buying the property.
Another thing to look at is whether there are wires from the pole causing an obstruction where they fly over your land. BT have legal rights to fly wires over third parties land without having to get consent - so long as the wires do not interfere with, say your plans to build an extension or outbuilding. If this is the case then we would have to resite the pole at our own expense.
Which area do you line in btw? If you're local I could come out and do a survey on it for you.
Hope this helps - if you need any more info. feel free to PM me0 -
davy_fulla wrote: »Hi, I work in the planning department with BT (Openreach) and deal with issues like this most days. We often pay people if we need to install a new pole on their land. This can either take the form of an annual payment or a one-off lump sum equivalent to a 20yr payment.
These agreements are called wayleaves and are held by our wayleaves office in Shrewsbury as shown above.
To be honest I think it's very unlikely that you would be able to make a claim on the basis that, as was also previously said, the pole was there before you bought the land. As the land was previously unregistered BT would not have required a wayleave to install the pole and this case would be looked at with the view that you knew the pole was there before you bought the land.
We get quite a few cases come into the office where a homeowner is asking for a pole in the bottom of their garden to be shifted. They may have only been in the house for a few years and not aware that the previous owner signed a wayleave agreement 40 years ago consenting to the pole being installed. They may feel it unfair as they had nothing to do with the original agreement, however, when buying a new property one thing conveyancers often forget to search for is whether there any agreements relating to BT apparatus on the land. I often have to refer disgruntled customers back to their solicitors to question why this did not show up in the searches when buying the property.
Another thing to look at is whether there are wires from the pole causing an obstruction where they fly over your land. BT have legal rights to fly wires over third parties land without having to get consent - so long as the wires do not interfere with, say your plans to build an extension or outbuilding. If this is the case then we would have to resite the pole at our own expense.
Which area do you line in btw? If you're local I could come out and do a survey on it for you.
Hope this helps - if you need any more info. feel free to PM me
Blimey Davy what a helpful reply and impressed by your offer mate - just a shame there aren't more people around like you these days. Well done - hope LJ finds it useful0 -
Blimey Davy what a helpful reply and impressed by your offer mate - just a shame there aren't more people around like you these days. Well done - hope LJ finds it useful
Cheers Geoffo, like to help where I can - especially as I know what a nightmare it is trying to get in touch with us. What chance would LJ have trying to explain the situation to the call centre in Bangalore? 0 -
Many thanks to all of your responses! S'pecially Davy!
Actually the pole does not bother me so much as I had got used to it being there. We have lived here twenty years and have only just got round to registering the un-registered riverbank where the pole stands, it had not cost me anything other than the Land Registry office fee. So I have not done too badly.
I must admit I felt a bit mean in asking if a rental for the pole is possible, but then... here we are on the MoneySaving forum! I might just put a letter together to the office in Shrewsbury and see what comes of it, you never know. I suppose it largely depends who answers it, I'll report back if I do...
Just for your interest Davy... I am just to the north of Peterborough.
Cheers all
LJ.--
LJ.0 -
davy_fulla wrote: »Hi, I work in the planning department with BT (Openreach) and deal with issues like this most days.
One of those rare posts where you wish you could hit "Thanks" more than once.
:T :T :TWarning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac
0 -
Many thanks to all of your responses! S'pecially Davy!
Actually the pole does not bother me so much as I had got used to it being there. We have lived here twenty years and have only just got round to registering the un-registered riverbank where the pole stands, it had not cost me anything other than the Land Registry office fee. So I have not done too badly.
I must admit I felt a bit mean in asking if a rental for the pole is possible, but then... here we are on the MoneySaving forum! I might just put a letter together to the office in Shrewsbury and see what comes of it, you never know. I suppose it largely depends who answers it, I'll report back if I do...
Just for your interest Davy... I am just to the north of Peterborough.
Cheers all
LJ.
Peterborough? Couldn't have been much further away really - my area is the North East. TBH the payments never amount to that much anyway so you're not missing out on much (can't blame you for trying though). If you do write to the wayleaves office though it would be better if you could give them some information about the pole.
There will be a white disc with a black number on the front of it and things will be speeded up if you can give this number. Also there will be a 2 digit number etched into the pole itself just below this disc - this will tell you the year it was installed, i.e. 71=1971.
Good luck if you decide to pursue it and even though I don't work down that way the rules are the same up here so I can give you some advice if you need to know how to word your letter.0
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