Damaged B.T.cable by neighbours contractors.Who pays?

iniltous

pappa_golf wrote: »

NO NO NO , its upto BT to chase the person that damaged the line NOT bill the OP and leave them to chase it up.

OR would chase a third party who damaged their property like a car crashing into a PCP in the public road, but in the OP's case it's possible they will be charged, if the rouge trader had knocked off the line to the house they were working on rather than the neighbour, the line rental payer would be charged because the person who damaged the line was an agent for them, generally if the damage is within the curtilage of the property then BT will charge the renter , it's upto them to reclaim if necessary from the agent working on their behalf, otherwise BT would never get compensated for damage inside a property boundary as everyone would say 'its not me , it was someone else, chase them '
It's over simplistic to say it's OR's side of the NTE so it's OR problem, cases where damage is done inside the property boundary but on OR's side of the NTE or where the fault isn't caused by fair wear and tear are charged

System

pappa_golf wrote: »

"

please put the words "phone line responsibility" into google and check out BT forums etc

I take it you are on about one of the first few hits from the BT forum where it says that Openreach own the line BUT the householder is responsible for it if it gets damaged etc?

pappa_golf

I,m out of this , pay up if you want ,

Spookieuk

Let me try to clear this up (this is my job): If the line was damaged within the boundary of the customers property it's going to be bloody tough for them to prove it wasn't them and they might get charged. If that happens it's going to be down to the ISP to decide if they are a valuable customer and if they want to wave the fee (likely hood is: unless you're paying over £50 a month I can't see it happening).

If the cut is clearly visible on the neighbours side of the building I couldn't see Openreach charging. You can just point out the brand new guttering and most engineers won't be vindictive enough to charge and will chalk it up to: "it happens". As for them chasing it? Well not only is it not your problem any more. To be honest they will likely be pragmatic about it and realise it probably costs more to chase it than it does to just drop the fee.

Retrogamer

pappa_golf wrote: »

you are only responsible for cables AFTER the white box in your house , any damaged cables outside your front door are down to BT , it is not your job to chase the contractor , it is BTs job


BT will only pass a charge onto your phone supplier , IF the fault is inside your premises

I've worked with various ADSL broadband providers for the best part of 6 years and if there is evidence that the external cables were damaged directly by someone, or via negligence and it's on the customer's property they sometimes will charge for these repairs.

System

pappa_golf wrote: »

you are only responsible for cables AFTER the white box in your house , any damaged cables outside your front door are down to BT , it is not your job to chase the contractor , it is BTs job


BT will only pass a charge onto your phone supplier , IF the fault is inside your premises

Your premises extend to the boundaries of your curtilage. I.E. the extent shown on your deeds or the deeds of the house you are renting.

Premises is not just the building.

littleboo

pappa_golf wrote: »

correct , but it is not INSIDE the OPs property , all phonelines , waterpipes and gas /electric services outside of your property are the responsibility of the supplier. they supply upto your meters or in the case of BT , the white socket , from there inwards you are responsible.

As mentioned by others, your property means to your boundary. There is a difference between a fault - something that has failed, and damage - something that has occurred by action or inaction. The former is clearly BT's responsibility, the latter could be yours if the damage occurred within the boundary of your property and you may get charged.

Swipe

Well, I guess we'll all find out the outcome when the OP updates the thread in due course.

dave76

I had a window replaced a few years ago and the dropwire entered the house near the window. The guy doing the job ripped out the wire with the old window but never admitted to doing so (even though the internet I was using went off as he removed the window!?) - BT charged me £160 if I remember rightly, just added on to the next bill. I eventually got the window company to cough up but I had to do all the chasing.