Openreach Refuse to pay Compensation

Tourgolfer

Openreach came to install our neighbours fibre cable and they came onto our property without my knowledge or permission despite being in the House at the time and installed the cable less than a metre above our integral garage roof thereby restricting access. I spent over six hours of my time finding out about who installed the cable, what we could do about it, taking legal advice and lodging a formal complaint. They have now returned and installed the cable correctly. I duly submitted a claim for compensation  but they responded by saying they don't pay compensation. I have emailed them again as I am not prepared to have them come onto my property without asking and installing a cable less than a meter above my integral garage roof. I am a pensioner in my mid seventies and I really do not need this stress. Its time to stand up against this Company and show them they are not above the Law.  

HampshireH

They have however rectified the problem and you are seemingly no worse off. Certainly not suffered a financial loss of any kind.

How much compensation are you trying to claim

Ayr_Rage

How could a cable ABOVE a garage roof restrict access?

Your age and status is irrelevant.

What do you want?

molerat

Ayr_Rage said:

How could a cable ABOVE a garage roof restrict access?

Your age and status is irrelevant.

What do you want?

It does, it means they are more likely to be grumpy (btw I am a pensioner in my seventies )

ThumbRemote

If they've fixed the problem, at least you know that it's taken them extra time and money to send an engineer out again. 

They seem to have done so without arguing, so it seems the issue was with the initial engineer rather than the company as a whole. In this case it's not really worth getting worked up about. 

Aylesbury_Duck

I'm struggling to visualise how they can run a cable less than a metre above an integrated garage roof?  Surely an integral garage is built into the house?

Anyway, I fail to see what compensation is due here.  They've clearly acknowledged an incorrect installation and corrected it.  You've suffered no loss.  Bringing your age and working status into it is just grasping for emotional leverage.  One could argue that being a pensioner that you have plenty of time to deal with this, more so than someone managing work commitments.

Hoenir

Speaking to the neighbour would have saved many of the 6 hours I suspect. 

Undervalued

Tourgolfer said:

Openreach came to install our neighbours fibre cable and they came onto our property without my knowledge or permission despite being in the House at the time and installed the cable less than a metre above our integral garage roof thereby restricting access. I spent over six hours of my time finding out about who installed the cable, what we could do about it, taking legal advice and lodging a formal complaint. They have now returned and installed the cable correctly. I duly submitted a claim for compensation  but they responded by saying they don't pay compensation. I have emailed them again as I am not prepared to have them come onto my property without asking and installing a cable less than a meter above my integral garage roof. I am a pensioner in my mid seventies and I really do not need this stress. Its time to stand up against this Company and show them they are not above the Law.  

Last two sentences - You can't have it both ways. If you don't need the stress then its not time to "show them...."!

If you make enough fuss they will probably give you a nominal sum to go away. Do you really think that will show a huge PLC that they are not above the law?

Grumpy_chap

Tourgolfer said:

Openreach came to install our neighbours fibre cable and they came onto our property without my knowledge or permission despite being in the House at the time and installed the cable less than a metre above our integral garage roof thereby restricting access. I spent over six hours of my time finding out about who installed the cable, what we could do about it, taking legal advice and lodging a formal complaint. They have now returned and installed the cable correctly. I duly submitted a claim for compensation  but they responded by saying they don't pay compensation. I have emailed them again as I am not prepared to have them come onto my property without asking and installing a cable less than a meter above my integral garage roof. I am a pensioner in my mid seventies and I really do not need this stress. Its time to stand up against this Company and show them they are not above the Law.  

I struggle to understand how the cable in that location restricted access but may it is obvious from the layout in real life just not in a written description.

Openreach have now returned and re-routed the cable so the issue is resolved.  It would seem, therefore, that you have suffered no loss through the mistake.

It is fortunate that you are a pensioner mid-seventies as that means the six hours expended in resolving the issue did not impact your work / earnings so no loss there.

From whom did you take legal advice?  It seems quite quick to resort to legal advice as the first step - I very much doubt that any claim can be made with regard to the associated costs as there is a duty to minimise costs in any such case and that would mean lodging the complaint with the company at fault first.  The legal route is the way to go some time along the line when the compliant process has failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

What loss have you suffered?
What are you seeking compensation for?
How much compensation are you seeking?

born_again

How do you know they came onto your property? If it was installed a metre over a  integral garage roof?
They could have simply have thrown the cable from neighbours house to the road & lifted it over.

Same with if you were in then you would have seen or known exactly who has installed the cable, as they tend to have vans parked on the street all with logo's

pinkshoes

Tourgolfer said:

Openreach came to install our neighbours fibre cable and they came onto our property without my knowledge or permission despite being in the House at the time and installed the cable less than a metre above our integral garage roof thereby restricting access. I spent over six hours of my time finding out about who installed the cable, what we could do about it, taking legal advice and lodging a formal complaint. They have now returned and installed the cable correctly. I duly submitted a claim for compensation  but they responded by saying they don't pay compensation. I have emailed them again as I am not prepared to have them come onto my property without asking and installing a cable less than a meter above my integral garage roof. I am a pensioner in my mid seventies and I really do not need this stress. Its time to stand up against this Company and show them they are not above the Law.  

What are your actual losses?

What on earth took 6 hours?? You surely just knock on the neighbour's door and tell them their cable is restricting access (how?!?!?!) and it will need to be removed within 48 hours.

Or you could have just cut the cable and taken it down if they'd installed it on your property without permission?