Neighbour hammering a cable to my fence

The_Unready

Tricky - I understand what the other posters are saying about life being too short, but that cable being there also constricts your future options for replacing or changing the fence unilaterally (you'll now probably need to tell him if you do that).

It doesn't sound like he's going to remove the cable on his own accord, so your only option might be to take down some of the panels yourself to make a point.

That option, however, is decidedly one of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Probably better to ignore it for now and hope that Fate deals him a gruesome end 😃!

Keep_pedalling

liquidcool76 said:

@victor2
It is a traditional garden fence

So absolute zero damage can be caused by attaching a small cable to it. The problem seems to be the grudge you have against the neighbour rather than the cable itself. If you don’t get on with a neighbour it’s better to ignore them rather than provoking a stupid fight. If they were playing loud music until the early hours or some other form of unsocial behaviour that was effecting your quality of life then fine fight it, but this is simply not worth it.

solentsusie

I would make my complaint to BT and get them to send an engineer to remove it. 

The engineer should know the legalities around boundaries and when you requested that he cease attaching the cable to your fence after you clearly explained it did not belong to your neighbour and you had not given permission for it to be attached they should have stopped immediately.

It's alright everyone on here saying that you should ignore it but if you do need to do any work to your fence your neighbour will be the first to complain if the cable is damaged - and probably try and charge you for any inconvenience cause by this - better to sort it now.

I also have a similar type of neighbour who has complete disregard for anyone else so I feel your pain.  If you let them take an inch they will take a mile.... 

liquidcool76

@solentsusie
I agree with your approach. I will try an go down that route. I have discussed this with a solicitor friend and apparently this type of action (no matter how small) is considered criminal damage.

GDB2222

liquidcool76 said:

@solentsusie
I agree with your approach. I will try an go down that route. I have discussed this with a solicitor friend and apparently this type of action (no matter how small) is considered criminal damage.

Oh wow! Are you going to bring a private prosecution against the BT engineer?

victor2

So, if a strong wind blows out a fence panel and breaks the cable, who pays for it to be repaired?

And if the OP accidentally breaks the cable when replacing his damaged fence panels, who pays for the repair then?

solentsusie

victor2 said:

So, if a strong wind blows out a fence panel and breaks the cable, who pays for it to be repaired?

And if the OP accidentally breaks the cable when replacing his damaged fence panels, who pays for the repair then?

Exactly my point. If there was nowhere else to hammer it to a wall, which the OP states there was, then it should have been run through ducting and buried in the ground.  

Mr.Generous

solentsusie said:

victor2 said:

So, if a strong wind blows out a fence panel and breaks the cable, who pays for it to be repaired?

And if the OP accidentally breaks the cable when replacing his damaged fence panels, who pays for the repair then?

Exactly my point. If there was nowhere else to hammer it to a wall, which the OP states there was, then it should have been run through ducting and buried in the ground.  

Yeah, should have. But they didn't. So want to fall out over it? If a panel needs replacing it's not OP's problem regarding the cable.

oldernonethewiser

Mr.Generous said:

solentsusie said:

victor2 said:

So, if a strong wind blows out a fence panel and breaks the cable, who pays for it to be repaired?

And if the OP accidentally breaks the cable when replacing his damaged fence panels, who pays for the repair then?

Exactly my point. If there was nowhere else to hammer it to a wall, which the OP states there was, then it should have been run through ducting and buried in the ground.  

Yeah, should have. But they didn't. So want to fall out over it? If a panel needs replacing it's not OP's problem regarding the cable.

I reckon if a panel needs replacing and the cable gets damaged the neighbour will be very keen to make it the OP's problem.

victor2

Would be a shame if the cable rubbing against the fence posts wore through and shorted wouldn't it...