Removing old Virgin cables

FreeBear

Bendy_House said: now, tomorrow, rip them off and chuck them away.

Dispose of the old cables sensibly - They contain copper which is in high demand and recyclable. Most (all ?) council tips have a bin for cables & wire.

casper_gutman

FaceHead said:

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. 

It's at least possible for a house to have covenants in the deeds in connection with cables on the property. Our first house had one for cables belonging to Associated Rediffusion for cable TV installed in the 1960s.

The fact you don't see covenants like this from Virgin suggests they either got new statutory powers in the last six decades which make this unnecessary or just found such arrangements to be more hassle than they were worth. 

Not the most helpful post, I now realise!

Section62

[Deleted User] said:

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.

Ask Virgin to maintain/remove their equipment.  If they refuse, exercise your rights under the Electronic Communications Code.

Ignore the people who apparently don't have a clue what they are talking about and are encouraging you to do something which very likely involves breaking the law.  In addition to the general offences relating to intentional damage to other people's property, communications networks (and other utilities) have special protections, even if they are on your land.  Virgin may not care enough to take action against you... but you never know.

stuart45

FreeBear said:

Bendy_House said: now, tomorrow, rip them off and chuck them away.

Dispose of the old cables sensibly - They contain copper which is in high demand and recyclable. Most (all ?) council tips have a bin for cables & wire.

Or take it to the scrap yard. I got over £20 last week for a bagfull.

[Deleted User]

I've asked Virgin to come and remove them as they are falling down. Let's see if they do.

[Deleted User]

Thinking about this, if I ask them to do it there could be legal issues.

First, they will have my address so will know where to check, and have a pretty good idea of who did it. At the moment I can just say they had been removed by persons unknown, in the unlikely event that they even notice.

Second, if they do agree to do something it will probably only be to re-attach them to the wall. I want them gone, or at least replaced with some that are less unsightly, which I imagine they will not be willing to do. Looking at their support forum they seem to have declined to help other people in similar situations.

I'll just have to get the ladder out and do it.

So, again, what is good for filling the holes in the wall when the cable has been removed?

Bendy_House

[Deleted User] said:

Thinking about this, if I ask them to do it there could be legal issues.

First, they will have my address so will know where to check, and have a pretty good idea of who did it. At the moment I can just say they had been removed by persons unknown, in the unlikely event that they even notice.

Second, if they do agree to do something it will probably only be to re-attach them to the wall. I want them gone, or at least replaced with some that are less unsightly, which I imagine they will not be willing to do. Looking at their support forum they seem to have declined to help other people in similar situations.

I'll just have to get the ladder out and do it.

So, again, what is good for filling the holes in the wall when the cable has been removed?

What kind of wall do you have? Rendered? Brickwork?

You essentially have a choice of exterior filler - buy a pack and use a teaspoonful... - or exterior 'caulk' from a cartridge gun (cheaper and easier).

If you have, say, red bricks, then if you can get a small piece and hammer it into dust, you can press this firmly on to the filled hole so's it sticks to the unset filler/caulk and disguise it.

I wouldn't use silicone-based caulk unless it's over-paintable. 

[Deleted User]

Bendy_House said:

[Deleted User] said:

Thinking about this, if I ask them to do it there could be legal issues.

First, they will have my address so will know where to check, and have a pretty good idea of who did it. At the moment I can just say they had been removed by persons unknown, in the unlikely event that they even notice.

Second, if they do agree to do something it will probably only be to re-attach them to the wall. I want them gone, or at least replaced with some that are less unsightly, which I imagine they will not be willing to do. Looking at their support forum they seem to have declined to help other people in similar situations.

I'll just have to get the ladder out and do it.

So, again, what is good for filling the holes in the wall when the cable has been removed?

What kind of wall do you have? Rendered? Brickwork?

You essentially have a choice of exterior filler - buy a pack and use a teaspoonful... - or exterior 'caulk' from a cartridge gun (cheaper and easier).

If you have, say, red bricks, then if you can get a small piece and hammer it into dust, you can press this firmly on to the filled hole so's it sticks to the unset filler/caulk and disguise it.

I wouldn't use silicone-based caulk unless it's over-paintable. 

Thanks, it's brickwork and not in great condition.

So some exterior filler on the outside, maybe caulk. And then just the usual gap filler on the inside. Will need to redecorate anyway.

Slinky

Presumably this 'contracting' arrangement doesn't apply to Sky? We have a dish on the chimney, installed for the previous, deceased, owner. Then our tenant decided he wanted Sky, so Sky installed another dish on the side of the house, without our permission. We live in the house now and don't have or want Sky, we intend to just remove the dishes and wiring. If there had been a contract which included the wiring and dish being owned by Sky, surely they would have reconnected what was already there when the tenant wanted it?

Section62

[Deleted User] said:

First, they will have my address so will know where to check, and have a pretty good idea of who did it. At the moment I can just say they had been removed by persons unknown, in the unlikely event that they even notice.

If they do notice then you'll need to make sure that all google streetview, EA pics etc have been removed from the internet, or else don't show the Virgin equipment.  Unfortunately living in the information age means lots of potentially incriminating evidence is out there, some of it we don't know about.

People have found that an approach similar to Bendy's "I know nothing about it/Before my time" has failed thanks to google's gift to posterity.

As the property owner the liability probably remains with you, although in a genuine case of theft/vandalism by a third party I guess Virgin would be sympathetic if the damage was promptly reported to them.