NTL Will Not Reconnect My Cable

[Kochane]

Hello,

I hope someone can help me.

I had 2mb Broadband installed in October, however as there is no external cable point outside our half of the property, the engineers wired the cable accross our neighbours property into a cable/phone point. After a week the neighbour complained both to NTL and to us and requested it to be moved.

An engineer eventually came round but did not have permission to reroute the cable or to install an external cable point outside our property. He advised he had contacted someone in another team who would be in contact. None ever contacted us back.

On Thursday just gone I came home to find the neighbour had disconnected our broadband cable and removed it from his property (which I am advised he is legally allowed to do) which has now left me with no access. I contacted NTL who sent an engineer around the next day but as he was only someone who can fix cable boxes he again advised me he contacted the installation team and put it through as an urgent job and someone would be around that day or Saturday. No-one came on Friday or Saturday and I had taken 2 days of work. I called NTL again on Saturday evening and was told there was no record of any job but theey would book someone in for today Monday. My fiance today took the day off work but again no-one has contacted. I called NTL once more and was then told I should not be talking to Customer Services (even though I had been speaking to both Customer Services and Broadband Support team before) again has told me no job has been registered with the installation team.

What do I do? Customer Services initially told me it has been booked for this Thursday (another day off work) but I am at the end of my tether. I am still paying for this service and rely on it for work, banking etc and through no fault of my own have had the service taken awaywith no foreseable resolution.

I have just spoken again to Customer Services and everyone is denying responsibilty telling me it is the Installation Manager's responsibility to get back to me - which he has not yet for any of my requests (supposedly passed on by Customer Services or by the Cable Engineer who came) and they will not help me with anything else. I was told if there is no reply to just send in a letter of complaint. It seems they really don't want to just send someone to put a new point in which I assume takes about half an hour max? Is it because I am already a paying customer they feel it doesn't matter? Should I just cancel my direct debit and not pay until it is installed properly?

I am just going round in circles but unfortunately as I don't have a BT phoneline I am stuck with this NTL problem

If any one has any ideas or contacts please can you advise.

Many Thanks,

Gordon

[Russ]

Sorry to hear about your troubles - send me a PM with your name, address and account number and I'll get someone on to it this afternoon.

[MovedGoalPosts]

:welcome: to Cable Forum :D

As Russ indicates above, whilst Cable Forum is independent of ntl we do have some high level contacts who have been good at troubleshooting these sort of issues. Do forward your details to Russ and they will be passed on. Unfortunately though, there may be a couple of days wait for action as I recall our contact is having a well earned break.

In this instance though there may be a problem getting a new connection. You do state that there was no street access point for your house, hence the original installer, wrongly, running cables though your neighbour's land. If there is no access point, at best this will require ntl to send a construction crew to make one (if your lucky there is one but it's just been tarmaced over). However if there isn't one ntl may be very reluctant to build one as the costs for a single customer far outweigh the money they will make from you.

At the very least you need to be ensuring that while you have no service, you are not being billed for services that cannot be supplied, especially when the disconnection is due to ntl's own installers getting it wrong.

[Kochane]

OK Thanks guys,

I have been told NTL can put the phone point outside my house but as I say just need someone to actually do it! Surely if that is the reason I have not been contacted I would have least been told this no?

Well as I say I do really appreciate any help and fingers crossed I'm running again soon and can get some work done!!!

How would I ensure no billing for this period without service? I mentioned this to a Customer Services person but again was told they have no authority to action this?

[ColinJames]

NTL standard clauses and conditions state that they have the right to access a supply on a customers' property and alter as they see fit. So, I would not be so sure that your neighbour has the right to deny you access to the box on his land. He would have the right to demand that it is done neatly and correctly and not interfer with his service. Also, it is my understanding, where joint properties or adjacent properties exist you do have the right to access services by the shortest practible route, even it that means crossing your neighbours ground (think water and sewerage). I you are lucky this will be spelt out in your title deeds, if not see your lawyer.

[Chris]

I think you'll find title deeds relate to services that were installed when the house was built, like water and sewers. I very much doubt you have any right to dig a trench through your neighbour's garden to lay an NTL cable.


NTL's rights over the neighbour's land extend only to equipment they own on his land - that is, the cable that runs up the garden and the wall box. They don't have the right to install new cable without permission, especially not to do so in order to service another home.

The fact they did so in the first place suggests to me that the local install team is either under ridiculous time pressure or too lazy to do the job properly, hence wanting to run a cable from next door rather than laying a new one, and hence not bothering to contact the OP to resolve this issue.

@Kochane: DO NOT cancel your Direct Debit. NTL's debt recovery system is like an oil tanker, very hard to stop once it gets underway. Keep paying them for now and demand compo later.

Do get in touch with Russ by PM as he has asked. We have had plenty of success escalating issues like yours directly to NTL management.

[handyman]

AFAIK ntl are granted special rights with the cable tv licences that makes them a proper utility and have rights do dig up roads though they cant cross neighbors prop[erty, even when getting a ntl business line put in I had to get permission from the lanlord.

[MovedGoalPosts]

NTL standard clauses and conditions state that they have the right to access a supply on a customers' property and alter as they see fit. So, I would not be so sure that your neighbour has the right to deny you access to the box on his land. He would have the right to demand that it is done neatly and correctly and not interfer with his service. Also, it is my understanding, where joint properties or adjacent properties exist you do have the right to access services by the shortest practible route, even it that means crossing your neighbours ground (think water and sewerage). I you are lucky this will be spelt out in your title deeds, if not see your lawyer.

Very wrong I'm afraid. As a Chartered Surveyor I should know this sort of stuff.

Yes when a service is installed through your garden you create a "wayleave" for ntl's cable which gives them rights, over your garden to service maintain or whatever their stuff that serves your house.

There is nothing in English law that can force a neighbour or other landowner to allow a service to pass over their land. Even with blocks of flats, where the grounds may be owned by a freeholder, and you only own a leasehold interest of the flat itself, there is no compulsion on the freeholder to allow a new service to be run through the grounds.

Often one will encounter easements (a legal right) has been created to enable services to pass through land belonging to, or uinder the control of others. These will often apply to shared drain systems for many houses. It can also apply to electric , gas and water and indeed telephony. However the creation of the easement was usually written into the title deeds at the time the development was created (particulalry for blocks of flats). There can often be considerable sums of money changing hands as part of creating the easement - albeit that sometimes that cost is hidden amongst a bigger transaction for aquisition of a plot of land.

Easements can be created at any time, if the owners are so minded (but I stress there is no compulsion to grant one), but money will usually change hands. Without the easement, ntl, or any other service supplier cannot run their service over neighbouring land.

[ColinJames]

To Chartered Engineer- Thank you for your comprehensive reply.
I think we may have a closer understanding about this than may first appear.
I have a letter from ntl which starts "Welcome to ntl". On the back are some standard clauses. Second clause is titled "Telecommunications Wayleave Agreement" Para.2 "This ..Agreement..installed within your property...you or others have asked for" Now I guess that ntl did not sent me a unique letter so this clause is there for all. Para.3 is also worth a read.
As regards the more general point regarding services, as you point out, easements have often been created, so it is well worth checking before assuming that you do not have rights!!

[Kochane]

Hello guys

Again thanks for all of your help and advice. Thankfully it has all been sorted now - NTL hAve come and rewired the cable so it now goes into a brand new point outside my front door :)

So all is fixed - mind you I heard our neighbour shout at the engineers when they were moving it - suffice to say we shall be having as little to di with him as possible in the future!

Thanks again and also to the nice lady who called to ensure it was all ok

[Chris]

Glad to hear it all turned out ok. :tu: Thanks for coming back to let us know. :)