BT Cable Causing property damage.

Mickey666

trelech said:

Why is it such a nightmare? They installed the cable touching my property. It's not even attached the engineer has just decided to go straight from the pole to my neighbor's house and use my roof as a tension adjuster.

If the cable is physically damaging your property then I feel sure you must have the right to make whatever alterations are necessary to protect your property.  Is it possible to safely access the cable where it is touching your roof?  If so, I'd be getting up there and slipping a piece of 4x2 wood or similar between the cable and your roof.  This would protect your roof.  Secondly, I'd contact Openreach to report the cable problem https://www.openreach.com/help-and-support/damage-health-and-safety, pointing out both the likelihood of damage to your property and to their cable - after all, if the cable is rubbing on your roof then it will eventually wear through itself and cause loss of service to your neighbour.  I wouldn't necessarily expect them to do anything about it but it would at least give you an audit trail to prove that you informed them of the problem and the potential damage caused by the cable installation.

If this gets no response from them within, say, two weeks, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the cable itself develops a fault due to the constant movement against your roof especially if you happened to have a file or some sandpaper with you while inserting the piece of woor under the cable to protect your roof, in which case the neighbour will lose service and can pursue Openreach, via their provider, for a fix.

Jeepers_Creepers

Jeepers! Of course OpenReach are liable for this if it's as you say!

And I bet they'll act on it reasonably promptly too. (Tho' I'm limiting that to a 50p bet...)

Take LOTS of photos so they don't come out, sort their cable and then claim it never touched your house. 

Do you have Legal Protection on your insurance? Good - call them up for advice, but don't take it any further unless O-R are slow to respond or hesitant to repair the damage. 

But, lawdie, if this is as you say, then obviously they are liable. 

Oh, and I'd say do NOT do anything to this cable yourself - don't try and add any mods to protect to your property and certainly don't cut the cable. Also don't mention emotive 'potential' issues such as injury risk from snapped cables or anything. This is as simple as 'your cable has damaged - and it continues to damage - my property and you want this sorted and the damage made good, including any internal work due to resulting leaks'. 

EVIDENCE!

trelech

It was like that when I bought the house a few years back. Didn't really notice it at the time.
Going to have a chat with next door today. The cable is about 1.5meters in from the corner of the house plus it's under tension I don't want to touch it really.

Alter_ego

Take plenty of Photos, Proving the cable comes from pole and goes to next door. Hard to prove after rectified

Are you 100% sure it's a phone cable?

TELLIT01

I thought this was a recently installed cable from the OP.  If it's been there for years and not caused a problem it's more likely that it has loosened in high wind and blown up onto the tiles.  Either way, Openreach need to get it sorted quickly.

trelech

Thanks for all your help guys. I've taken a good amount of photos now. Rang OR but they are working from home, so it was only an answerphone message. I thought about going up, but if I touch it in any way it gives them grounds to say that I have caused the damage.

Jeepers_Creepers

Don't touch it. They will sort it. If the damage was caused by the cable, they will fix this too. 

trelech

In the end I kept ringing until I spoke to a person. Explained that I had a contractor out who wouldn't touch the roof until the wire was moved. They were hesitant to start, but said every time it rains water is !!!!!! into my house. Then they got someone out in 2 hours. 
The engineer said he couldn't see how the cable was causing a leak. It can possibly be the cable. 🙄
(well the roofer who does this for a living thinks it is.) 
So that damp patch right below the cable is just random. Plus the leak inside was strangely right below the cable. 
He got really arsy when I started to take pictures and asked what I was doing. 
Explained I needed proof that the cable was incorrectly installed and was touching my property, also that I had proof that someone was sent out to fix it. 
He then tried to say that we are in a pandemic and this is not and emergency. 
Almost lost it but kept my calm. 
"so it's fine for water to run into our bedroom everytime it rains causing damp. I'll just tell my asthmatic, pregnant wife that."
Then he got arsy saying there was no need to be like that.
Strangely no leaks since, not one. All the snow and storms we have had and my house is bone dry.
Thanks to everyone who commented and left advice. 

Jeepers_Creepers

Ha-ha - nice outcome, and many thanks for the update :-)  

Jeepers, what's that guy got to be arsy about? It's his job!

Is the cable now kept away from your roof? How did they do this?

NibblyPig

I believe that usually in this instance you would contact your home insurance company who would contact your neighbour's home insurance or the relevant people asking them to fix it.