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[renluop]

This seems to be least inappropriate section for this thread. Forgive me if I have erred.

He reported to BT a fault that had left him and wife without a voice connection. This was confirmed and he was advised a visit was not required. Both he and wife work full time and there was a note through the door, that included information thar permission to dig would be required. This about a month after he'd had the front garden remodelled and block paving laid! The BT inspection cover in the road (A in the attached PDF) takes his and the neighbour's cable to boxes sited on the neighbour's side of the fence, then along the wall C to enter son's house. Picture of paving is B in the PDF.

Naturally he is very upset, that the paving may have to be damaged, and I wonder if anyone here may have some advice for him, how best to tackle the matter with BT.

A final fly in the ointment is that the neighbour has reported a fault ( crackling line) but his supplier is Telephone Warehouse. I feel that this too could be a recipe for muddle and uncoordination. Any thoughts on that too?

All your advice and comment is valued.

[Ronski]

Being block paving by it's very nature it should be possible to remove the blocks required  without damage and then reinstate  afterwards.. Now whether they actually do that is a different matter.

[c6em]

Sadly this sort of thing I've seen before.
New extensions erected and driveways done while none of the services which run below are ever first renewed or put in ducts prior to the work being done.
Indeed often the disturbances associated with such works is the catalyst for the service below being damaged leading to a fault in the first place.
Added to which in T&C's for all utilities is the clause which the householder grants by default by taking the service a wayleave to the utility company over their land route that the pipe/cable etc runs from the road (public highway) to their property.  So BT have a 'right' to dig up the paving/garden.

All you can do is request minimal damage and maximum care......

[renluop]

Well now there's a hole in the road, see pic, and from that it looks like the cable goes up the neighbour's side of the boundary. I hope I'm right? Interesting that the cables are not laid direct into ground.
 
Road works Org has job desc

   Install 1m of 1 way poly duct in Footway,Install 1m of 1 way poly duct in Verge,Provide 1 core drill(s) into jointbox or building

. Interpret?

I was told that the neigbour wife had said that she had been told that the fault had arisen from the apving/ fencing work. Pesonally, if that had come from a BTOR employee of a case unrealeted to the line of the person he told, I think it out of order.

[Dray]

What's out of order? The neighbour also has a fault presumably caused by the same fencing/driveway work.

[Ronski]

That new fence post does look awfully close to where the conduit goes, but it's barely under the surface.

[renluop]

What's out of order? The neighbour also has a fault presumably caused by the same fencing/driveway work.

Personally, I think making assumptions is a dangerous thing to do. As it happened shortly after the work was done, the neigbour put some poles in very close to same position.
Work now is complete as the cable could not be found. No lifting was needed, as BT used some drilling method under the bricks and laid the cable up neighbour's garden.

[Dray]

So what's out of order?

[renluop]

So what's out of order?

What is my business with any company is not your business! And that would apply especially were you with a rival and you and the rival possibly looking to make trouble.
Also IMHO there is a basic matter of confidentiality. In my work, bank and revenue, I would have been disciplined for speaking to a third party about a customer's affairs.

[Dray]

But was it the neighbour who also had the problem and whose garden was used for the cable run? Or was it some other neighbour?

[renluop]

But was it the neighbour who also had the problem and whose garden was used for the cable run? Or was it some other neighbour?

The same neighbour (the one who was the other half of the semi. Once again the neighbour had  a problem that was said to have occurred at approximately the same time as my son's. One cannot jump from that to an assumption that it was the same problem, lacking positive evidence.

The cable could not be traced, so that evidence is absent.

[Dray]

Looks like this neighbour had a right to know anyway and it's hardly a state secret, is it? It's nice to be able to walk up to Openreach engineers and ask them what they're doing anyway.

[burakkucat]

Road works Org has job desc

   Install 1m of 1 way poly duct in Footway,Install 1m of 1 way poly duct in Verge,Provide 1 core drill(s) into jointbox or building

. Interpret?

Original                                                               My Translation

"Install 1m of 1 way poly duct in Footway"             "Install a one metre length of a single PVC duct into the pavement"
"Install 1m of 1 way poly duct in Verge"                 "Install a one metre length of a single PVC duct into the grass verge"
"Provide 1 core drill(s) into jointbox or building"       "By usage of a core-drill capable of drilling through concrete, make a hole into a pre-existing                                                                                                   BT joint box or make a hole into a building"

(Sorry if the formatting has gone screwy.    )

[renluop]

Looks like this neighbour had a right to know anyway and it's hardly a state secret, is it? It's nice to be able to walk up to Openreach engineers and ask them what they're doing anyway.

It's not that they know what is being done; it's the comment by the workman, as to the cause being someone's recent work on the premises.

I think, we'll leave it there!

[Starman]

FYI those exposed green ducts are utilized by CATV i.e Virgin Media. BT's modern duct runs are grey - Qualification: Work for a Distribution Network Operator [Ex-Electricity Board] and see those most days during excavations.