Virgin media cabling on party wall

TheSnowQueen

Virgin media have put in a new box on what they say is the party dividing wall. It is 8.5" wide.
I say they have put it on my side of the boundary line and drilled through to neighbours house. Vigin Media insist that a party wall does not belong to either or me or my neighbour so they can put it anywhere they want on this 8.5" wide party wall.
They have also damaged all the brickwork, which they insist that is fine because they've filled it with goo.


I am not all happy about the damage and now have fallen out with the neighbours about this.


Who can help me

Retrogamer

You can help yourself by making amends with your neighbours. It's not worth falling out with them over something so petty.
If it's a party wall it belongs to both of you and a small box and small hole aren't anything to be losing neighbourly relationships over.

JJ_Egan

A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall) is a dividing partition between two adjoining buildings (or units) that is shared by the tenants of each residence or business.

System

However being a party wall does not entitle Virgin to encroach on the OP's property with their box

bingo_bango

!!!!!! wrote: »

However being a party wall does not entitle Virgin to encroach on the OP's property with their box

But that's the point. It's not just the OP's property. It belongs to both them and the neighbour jointly. No one side has more rights than the other in relation to it, unless it encroaches their boundary which can be a very costly argument to settle, if it ever actually gets resolved.

See the Gardenlaw forums for details of boundary wall disputes. It doesn't make pretty reading, and very few ever seem to get any sort of satisfactory resolution. Bad blood and heavy expense seem to be the order of the day.

TheSnowQueen

Thanks I'll take a look.
Yes, this box does encroach my boundary, that is my issue.

DandelionPatrol

bingo_bango wrote: »

But that's the point. It's not just the OP's property. It belongs to both them and the neighbour jointly. No one side has more rights than the other in relation to it, unless it encroaches their boundary which can be a very costly argument to settle, if it ever actually gets resolved.

See the Gardenlaw forums for details of boundary wall disputes. It doesn't make pretty reading, and very few ever seem to get any sort of satisfactory resolution. Bad blood and heavy expense seem to be the order of the day.

OP says

they have put it on my side of the boundary line and drilled through to neighbours house

The wall may be joint, but the box itself is trespassing.

I imagine that the situation is that neighbour's house projects forwards of OP's house such that the outside wall of neighbour's house is in OP's garden.

I would be telling neighbour that the box cannot stay and they should get Virgin Media to sort it. And I would be writing to Virgin Media telling them to sort it. If the original contact was by phone, it would be worth noting the response as given in the OP in the letter, just to get it on the record.

C_Mababejive

picture..?

Retrogamer

DandelionPatrol wrote: »

OP says

The wall may be joint, but the box itself is trespassing.

I imagine that the situation is that neighbour's house projects forwards of OP's house such that the outside wall of neighbour's house is in OP's garden.

I would be telling neighbour that the box cannot stay and they should get Virgin Media to sort it. And I would be writing to Virgin Media telling them to sort it. If the original contact was by phone, it would be worth noting the response as given in the OP in the letter, just to get it on the record.

This sounds right, but i can't help feeling that keeping on friendly terms with neighbours is more important.

DandelionPatrol

Retrogamer wrote: »

This sounds right, but i can't help feeling that keeping on friendly terms with neighbours is more important.

The technical solution is for the box to go on the front of the neighbours house and the cable to go through the original hole, via a route clipped to the wall. I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation.

Sounds like the neighbours should be trying to keep on friendly terms with the OP and keeping their contractors under control ...