Who pays? (damaged router due to leak) Help!

Lionel_Thinkbag

Hi,

I've been without a landline or internet since last Friday. We discovered a leak in the communal area outside our flat. We have a cupboard that contains the water meter, electric meter and the router/connector thingy for our phone/internet. To be clear the cupboard is built into the wall in the communal area.

The leak is right above this cupboard, and according to the plumber who came out it's something wrong with the roof. When we inspected the router box there was water dripping out of it. We reported it to our management company (block of privately rented flats) They said they would sort out the leak but we would have to contact our phone provider ourselves.

So, I finally managed to get through to our phone company (this is a company who serves the entire block, and took over the contract from a previous company - all presumably arranged by the management co)

They are still messing me about and havent given me a date or time that someone will come to fix it. However the girl on the phone said something along the lines of "I should advise you that if a fault is found with your wiring etc etc then there could be a fee applied" I asked how much the fee could be and she said upwards of £140! :eek:

So now I am worried, that we are going to have to pay even though it was not our fault. If that is the case would I be able to recover the money from the management company? The guy who acts as caretaker for the building said I shouldnt have to pay but he couldn't confirm either way if the management co would foot the bill.

So yeah any advice would be appreciated.

moromir

Provided the cupboard forms part of the demised premises, you should be able to claim on your contents insurance.

Lionel_Thinkbag

Yeah I'm not sure that it does, we have to go outside the flat to access it. We don't have contents insurance I'm afraid. We're on a top floor flat so we had a false sense of security - yeah yeah I know. Blame my husband, it was his flat before I moved in.

Lionel_Thinkbag

Sorry for the double post.

Isn't this a similar situation where if your neighbours tree damages your property they have to pay/claim on their insurance?

The caretaker for the building said it was something the company who built it would have to sort, and gave me the impression that this wasn't an isolated incident. Shouldn't the HA/management company pay for the repair if needed and then seek compensation from the builders/claim on their insurance?

I know we should have our own contents insurance, but in this instance I don't see why we should have to claim as it wasn't our fault and I suspect it wouldn't be covered anyway as it wasn't inside of our flat itself.

I really want to know where we stand from a legal point of view. I'd rather not have it repaired at all if it's going to lead to a situation where we're trying to recover the cost from the HA/management.

To be honest we we're thinking of moving in with my parents and I think this might be the push we needed

DaftyDuck

Just remember that a new router will set you back between £5 and £20 for a cheapie that will still work as well as any supplied by the main BB suppliers.... (ADSL or Cable by the way?), and the BT wiring itself is fairly waterproof...

If the phone line still works, but BB has gone, then dump that router, and buy a cheap new one. You are likely to get a new one anyway when you finally move house.

Obviously, PC World will provide you with a router for £89 if you want, but there are actually good'uns available for less than a pub meal!

If needed, I can point you to a good router online... next day delivery is usually under £3....

Lionel_Thinkbag

I'm using router as a generic term. We have our own router inside the flat. This thing has a load of cables going in and out of it and was there before we moved in, so I don't even know if its technically a router. As far as I know its just the magic box that makes the internet happen rofl!

EDIT: Also the caretaker guy tried replacing it with a box from one of the empty flats but it didn't work, so I'm guessing its more complicated than just plugging in and switching on.

DaftyDuck

Lionel_Thinkbag wrote: »

I'm using router as a generic term. We have our own router inside the flat. This thing has a load of cables going in and out of it and was there before we moved in, so I don't even know if its technically a router. As far as I know its just the magic box that makes the internet happen rofl!

EDIT: Also the caretaker guy tried replacing it with a box from one of the empty flats but it didn't work, so I'm guessing its more complicated than just plugging in and switching on.

Darn it! I was looking forward to solving a housing problem for a tenner!

So, if it was there before you moved in... it's not yours, nor your responsibility to repair/replace it...

Guest101

So do you have a contract with the service provider? It doesnt sound like you do, since you say they supply the whole building through the management company. Also you say its rented, bit confused. Do you rent or own?

Guest101

Lionel_Thinkbag wrote: »

I'm using router as a generic term. We have our own router inside the flat. This thing has a load of cables going in and out of it and was there before we moved in, so I don't even know if its technically a router. As far as I know its just the magic box that makes the internet happen rofl!

EDIT: Also the caretaker guy tried replacing it with a box from one of the empty flats but it didn't work, so I'm guessing its more complicated than just plugging in and switching on.

I'm quite tech savvy, and i literally have not got a clue what this thing is?! And there's one for every flat?? Can they confirm what this is and what they claim it does?

Internet: You have a phone line, you plug in a router (in your flat) and this sends and receives signal, thereby you have internet - Why is there 2 routers, per flat?????

Lionel_Thinkbag

Yeah, we have a contract with the phone company. What I meant was that the ha/management co had set it up so that company provided the building with internet/phone. We were given the impression that we had to use that company.

We dont own, we privately rent. Sorry for the confusion.

@guest: I have no idea, inside the flat our router plugs into the wall like normal, presumably that connects to this other thingy somehow. All I know is if that thing wasnt plugged in, wed have no phone or internet.

nom_de_plume

Sounds like it's a piece of kit in a communal area that supplies all the flats. That would be the owner of the freehold for the block's responsibility. The managing agent for the block should deal with it either directly or via their insurers assuming they are working for the owner.