Removing old Virgin cables

[Deleted User]

There are some ancient cables on the outside of the house, originally installed by NTL or Cable and Wireless, before they became Virgin.

They are falling down, some of the clips have failed. They are ugly too, black so they stand out.

Want to take them down. Not sure if they even work anymore. Can I just cut them close to the box and where they enter the wall? What about removing them from the wall, is it better to leave them or take them out and fill with something?

I know Virgin won't remove them, technically their property etc.

koalakoala

We removed the ones in this house. Filled the holes in the walls,, ( rendered so a bit obvious )

Section62

rigolith said:

I know Virgin won't remove them, technically their property etc.

Definitely their property.  And very likely there is a contract which allows them to leave them there even if you aren't taking their service.

If you damage/remove the equipment then Virgin may try to bill you for repairs - but if you aren't currently with Virgin that may not become a practical issue until you or a future occupier wants to switch to them.

FaceHead

Section62 said:

rigolith said:

I know Virgin won't remove them, technically their property etc.

Definitely their property.  And very likely there is a contract which allows them to leave them there even if you aren't taking their service.

If you damage/remove the equipment then Virgin may try to bill you for repairs - but if you aren't currently with Virgin that may not become a practical issue until you or a future occupier wants to switch to them.

How can there be a contract if the cables predate the OPs ownership of the property? Contracts are between people and companies - a house is not a contracting entity. 

Clearly there are a few contract-like things that do affect properties, such as planning permission and restrictive covenants, but I don't see how that could apply. Once virgin has been given fair notice to remove the cables and have declined, I can't see what recourse they would have - and how they'd even know the cables had been removed. 

Clearly virgin could just refuse to re-connect the OP unless they pay for the damage, so the OP would need to consider if they want to burn that bridge. 

OP - if you do want rid of the cables, and are confident you'll never need to interact with virgin again, I'd suggest cutting them off as close to your boundary as you can, and getting rid of as much as possible. 

[Deleted User]

No contract with me. Any recommendations for filler into brick walls?

I'll probably just cut them at the brown box, the cover is loose anyway.

Section62

FaceHead said:

Section62 said:

[Deleted User] said:

I know Virgin won't remove them, technically their property etc.

Definitely their property.  And very likely there is a contract which allows them to leave them there even if you aren't taking their service.

If you damage/remove the equipment then Virgin may try to bill you for repairs - but if you aren't currently with Virgin that may not become a practical issue until you or a future occupier wants to switch to them.

How can there be a contract if the cables predate the OPs ownership of the property? Contracts are between people and companies - a house is not a contracting entity.

Parliament has given utility companies various special powers - a better known one is that of deemed energy supply.  That's why it doesn't matter that a house isn't a contracting entity - the house doesn't need to be for the incoming owner/occupier to be contracted.

Rights of utility companies to place and maintain equipment on private land is a complicated area of law (see The_Real_Cheddar_Bob's water main saga for an example).  Going gung ho and damaging their equipment because somone on the internet says it is Ok can turn out to have expensive consequences.

FaceHead said:

...and how they'd even know the cables had been removed.

As I said, it might not become a practical issue until someone wants to switch to them.

On the other hand, if the other end of the cable is still connected to something then there is a risk of (a) causing damage shorting something out which is traced back along the line or (b) an automated line checking system may notice the cable is cut.  Maybe nothing will happen as a result.  Maybe it will.

chrisw

Just cut it off. If you do have Virgin in the future, they will come round and install new cable without a second thought.

[Deleted User]

Section62 said:

FaceHead said:

Section62 said:

[Deleted User] said:

I know Virgin won't remove them, technically their property etc.

Definitely their property.  And very likely there is a contract which allows them to leave them there even if you aren't taking their service.

If you damage/remove the equipment then Virgin may try to bill you for repairs - but if you aren't currently with Virgin that may not become a practical issue until you or a future occupier wants to switch to them.

How can there be a contract if the cables predate the OPs ownership of the property? Contracts are between people and companies - a house is not a contracting entity.

Parliament has given utility companies various special powers - a better known one is that of deemed energy supply.  That's why it doesn't matter that a house isn't a contracting entity - the house doesn't need to be for the incoming owner/occupier to be contracted.

Rights of utility companies to place and maintain equipment on private land is a complicated area of law (see The_Real_Cheddar_Bob's water main saga for an example).  Going gung ho and damaging their equipment because somone on the internet says it is Ok can turn out to have expensive consequences.

FaceHead said:

...and how they'd even know the cables had been removed.

As I said, it might not become a practical issue until someone wants to switch to them.

On the other hand, if the other end of the cable is still connected to something then there is a risk of (a) causing damage shorting something out which is traced back along the line or (b) an automated line checking system may notice the cable is cut.  Maybe nothing will happen as a result.  Maybe it will.

Okay, how do I get rid of it then? It's falling down and looks ugly. It either needs to go or be replaced with something that blends in a bit.

Bendy_House

This brown box with the loose cover - any chance of a photo? And can you remove the cover? That would be the obvious place to examine disconnecting the cables before removal if possible.

[Deleted User]

Bendy_House said:

This brown box with the loose cover - any chance of a photo? And can you remove the cover? That would be the obvious place to examine disconnecting the cables before removal if possible.

It was flapping the the breeze so I used a cable tie to hold it down. With some pliers I disconnected everything inside.

Bendy_House

Cool. So, these cables were installed for a previous homeowner? And clearly that homeowner removed them before you bought the house?? So you have never actually even seen these cables??? Effectively, these cables - as far as you are concerned - never existed????

Good - now, tomorrow, rip them off and chuck them away.