Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Denying access to cable for neighbours

268 replies

EatsShitAndLeaves · 10/05/2017 17:12

So I got a letter in the post from Virgin Media who are in our locality.

They want me to give permission to lay cable down my drive to access the houses behind.

I live in an old farmhouse with a big front/back garden- before we moved in after the "field" at the back was sold and 3 houses built on it.

They have access to their property via my drive - but I own the drive.

I've done a very shitty picture to illustrate...R is road, G is garden and D is Drive. My house is the rectangle.

It's not to scale. The drive is very long and we spent a lot of money block paving it when we moved in.

I'm not at all keen on this being ripped up and botched reinstated.

As we are on the Main Street we would get access to Virgin services regardless. Allowing the work gains us nothing - apart from stress and hassle.

However if I deny the work then my neighbours can't take this service.

AIBU to refuse access?

Denying access to cable for neighbours
OP posts:
MadamePomfrey · 10/05/2017 17:32

I wouldn't personally as once the cables are down surely you have to allow them access for maintenance! What happens the next time they need to up grade something! Or when one of the neighbors has an issue and they come to fix it I wouldn't as people says cable isn't essential!

MrsPicklesonSmythe · 10/05/2017 17:35

No way. They can have sky or any number of other options instead, the neighbours might not even have asked for it.

TheExuberant1 · 10/05/2017 17:35

I would say no. My neighbours had Virgin installed and the cables were installed on my land without permission. They made a horrible mess while I was out and I ended up with a huge cable just left on on my drive and in a large flower bed. I have since found out that by using my land they should have been paying me rent! It has caused months of going backwards and forwards to Virgin to try and get this wire sorted out!

MrsSeverusSnape · 10/05/2017 17:35

After the mess virgin made of our drive when they were laying cable for our TV etc, there is NFW I would let them dig it up for anyone else. YADNBU

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 10/05/2017 17:35

Be very very careful. When we got Virgin the access to our house was horrible easy etc, would be no problem. When the actual guys who were going to do the work turned up they pointed out that there job was to get the cable in place, and make safe, not to reinstate block paving....

Somerville · 10/05/2017 17:36

Re the deeds I think the clause you need to look for is on easements. And then whether 'underground services' are mentioned.

Justaboy · 10/05/2017 17:38

EatsShitAndLeaves I know some people who would kill to have access to Virgin Media! Their broadband is superb. I use it here and all of the time I'm getting 220 Meg downloads which is really super fast.

I sometimes work at other places and the broadband supplied by other vendors over BT copper/Fibre structure never seems as good.

I'd go for it even it's just for yourself never mind the neighbours!

Yes i knew their TV is dross just like Sky but they do provide phone as well as very fast BB their infrastructure is far more recent than BT's copper legacy stuff.

In practice I expect they'd install a cable duct which means they won't touch your drive again and maintenance work will be done from manholes elsewhere. I also would expect their to be way-leaves (permitted rights) over the drive and adjacent ground for the other utilities Water, Gas Leccy and BT's or Openreach's cables.

Tell them you'll let them come provided that they give you free or discounted Broadband access:-)

Win/Win there!

user1493759849 · 10/05/2017 17:39

Yeah say no hun. You will be in life for a shit load of future hassle.

As I said, we don't even have Virgin in the part of the county where I live, and we have to find others alternatives. Your neighbours will have to do the same.

Thus is the problem with shared drives. What a pain. (No offence sorry... Blush )

ohohoops · 10/05/2017 17:39

YANBU. I don't know what they would be like at carrying out the work but I do know that trying to phone a Virgin Media call centre to have a problem resolved is an absolute nightmare.

user1493759849 · 10/05/2017 17:40

*You will be in LINE for a shit load of future hassle, not life

Mulledwine1 · 10/05/2017 17:40

I think cable is kind of essential. How do you get internet without cables? Admittedly there might be BT cables, but they will probably need upgrading anyway and there may already be an easement across your land for BT. Internet is an essential service these days.

I don't know about Virgin Media's status in terms of being able to insist on carrying out work. I'd look into it, because I'm not sure, that in the end, you can actually refuse. But I might be wrong. A new Electronic Communications Code has just been signed off by Parliament as part of the Digital Economy Act, that could be relevant for you.

user1493759849 · 10/05/2017 17:41

*THIS is the problem with shared drives!

ARGH!!! Fucking typos. C'mon mumsnet, stick an edit button on here....... even if you give us just 10 minutes to do it, like digital spy!. Grin

Mulledwine1 · 10/05/2017 17:41

I do know that trying to phone a Virgin Media call centre to have a problem resolved is an absolute nightmare

True. But the secret weapon is the email address: [email protected] which gets you to their high level customer complaints team. One day they will change that email address. For something like this you could call their HQ anyway, you're not a customer and they'd have to put you through to the relevant department.

Littledidsheknow · 10/05/2017 17:43

Dig up your expensive drive, for a non-essential service that isn't even for you? Fuck that.

Goldmandra · 10/05/2017 17:47

I would agree with written conditions that they will pay the original contractors or another one of your choice to reinstate the block paving after it is laid and at any time in the future they need access for repairs. If your contactors can't make it good without relaying the whole drive with new bricks, they will have to pay for that.

If they want it, they will pay. If they don't want to pay, you have been reasonable and your neighbours won't get the cable.

Justaboy · 10/05/2017 17:48

I know some of their installers have been less that brilliant but BT can and do cock up just as well. Tell them to get someone out to survey it and ask them exactly what they want to do and where they are to go and the level of reinstatement.

Get this agreed in writing and a clause that says failure to reinstate to your required standards will mean that you will refuse them access. They will very likely use different contractors to do this part then the usual hook-up ones. Our install here is very neat and unobtrusive you would know we're connected!

Id 'be damn thankful that you live in a connected area! A lot and I'm sure some here never have the speeds to do anything with iplayer or use the net while anyone else in the house is using it!

SoupDragon · 10/05/2017 17:49

My Virgin cable comes in through my front wall and along my side wall. They didn't dig up the driveway at all. It's above ground (barely visible at the base of the wall)

Goldfishjane · 10/05/2017 17:50

Say no.

I doubt your neighbours have asked - maybe no one will even use them!

ThreeLeggedHaggis · 10/05/2017 17:50

I would refuse. Virgin is a nice-to-have for some people, not even that for many, and essential to nobody.

But I would check everything out legally so if the neighbours approach you, you know where you stand.

Justaboy · 10/05/2017 17:52

I do know that trying to phone a Virgin Media call centre to have a problem resolved is an absolute nightmare

Yes agree on that but their typical Telco's like BT Vodafone O2 EE 3 Sky and the rest of them!.

As regards the paving they might "Mole" under the road this is where a natty little machine burrows under the road. I've seen this in use under such as railway lines and motorways, Airport Runways where they can't dig or disrupt services.

rwalker · 10/05/2017 17:52

no, no, no your block paving will settle and dip reinstalling never works, offer but only if they take up whole drive and reinstall whole lot with give 5 year guarantee .also if they put duct in for cable there is talk of all comunication providers sharing duct space so you could and up with anyone using it .You would have to give access to repair and if you damaged it say redoing drive you would have to pay them to fix

tiggytape · 10/05/2017 17:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lweji · 10/05/2017 17:53

Could they lay the cables any other way? Around the house or above ground?

Worst case, they bought the houses without the cables. It's not a basic right.

WaxyBean · 10/05/2017 17:54

If you did want to go ahead I would insist that virgin paid the costs of you appointing a surveyor to agree terms of access, quality of work etc. Approach like a party wall agreement!

KakunaRattata · 10/05/2017 17:56

Based on the mess they've made round here, I wouldn't let them step foot on my drive, never mind dig it up.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.