My neighbour is refusing Openreach access to a box on their property to install our fibre broadband. Would you approach them about it?
Posted by BearMcBearFace@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 47 comments
We’ve been waiting for FTTP broadband to be installed for some time. Our line runs underground to a junction box in a neighbours garden along with connections for 3 other properties (including this neighbour). They are refusing access to Openreach to access the box and demanding payment for each visit. Up until now we’ve had absolutely no issues with this neighbour.
Would you reach out to the neighbour to explain that the upgrade is happening because you have issues with your internet and hope to appeal to their common sense, or just let Openreach deal with it? At present, I don’t think they even know why the work is being done and just feel like they’re ‘sticking it to the man’ for a few quid.
fursty_ferret@reddit
Starlink is cheaper than any Openreach provider at the moment anyway if you're happy with 100mbps.
draig00@reddit
Starlink isn't cheaper than Openreach. Plusnet you can get 300mbps for £30 a month. The latency is much better and no ugly dish on the side of the house. I'm sure other providers have deals also cheaper than starlink. I'm not going to research more providers but it looks like I did more than you.
fursty_ferret@reddit
£25/month at the moment? I appreciate it's hard to tell when reading from a screen, but your attitude stinks.
draig00@reddit
£25 for six months... Then jumps to £35 unless I missed something. I didn't know they had dropped pricing Plusnet and I'm sure other providers have cheaper deals than what I said. Cheaper again is to get a data sim but. I am just a guy with a stinking attitude on reddit.
BearMcBearFace@reddit (OP)
Sadly not. 100mbps Starlink comes in at £35 a month but I managed to negotiate EE 900mbps for £31.99 a month.
fursty_ferret@reddit
If you're in a rural area it's definitely less than £35/month at the moment, as my dad's just gone for the 100mbps package.
Obviously not as good as fibre but your neighbour could drag this out for years.
johnwick5G@reddit
Go out one night and cut his copper feed, see how quickly he back tracks when he needs his line fixed.
nathderbyshire@reddit
What a bellend. Does he have fibre and just limiting yours or has he refused it entirely?
I've just had an outdoor installation done and I'm waiting on the internal installation and they say any work is covered and any damages can be claimed back if they occur, if that's something they may be worried about
BearMcBearFace@reddit (OP)
Funnily enough he’s waiting on his own installation, so is properly cutting off his own nose to spite his face!
gt94sss2@reddit
Will be amusing when Openreach refuses to install FTTP for them.
sc_BK@reddit
I bet if the neighbours own phone/internet went down they would allow openreach access!
Alert_Mine7067@reddit
If the box is on their property, there is probably a wayleave in place and Openreach may already pay them a small sum every year for having it there.
There is also an area in front of houses called a service strip for telecoms, gas, electric, street lighting, water etc. Due to the proximity to property boundaries, some people wrongly assume ownership of this and make it part of their garden, and then kick up a fuss whenever utilities need to access plant within this area.
I work for Openreach and this is rare, but it still happens from time to time, there is a legal process that BT/Openreach follows in order to gain access. Long and short, they will get access, but it may take a while.
gt94sss2@reddit
Openreach doesn't even need to make an annual payment for a wayleave. It's quite possible an agreement was reached with a previous owner with a one off payment which means the current owners inherit the access obligation.
BearMcBearFace@reddit (OP)
So they are claiming there is no wayleave in place, but the box is also right on their property boundary between them and the footpath. I suspect there’s been some boundary creep when the property was built and the nabbed a bit of extra garden as it was right on the edge of the estate and at the time would have had a rough piece of waste ground beside it.
Alert_Mine7067@reddit
From what you're saying it sounds like it's on a service strip, my understanding is that there wouldn't need to be a wayleave due to it's location. With any luck someone more senior comes out and has a conversation with them. If your suspicions are correct and they've crept on to land that's not legally theirs, then I imagine it's in their best interests to just allow access and everyone goes on their merry way none the wiser.
Various_Good_6964@reddit
Openreach will have dealt with this kind of thing and will know the right answer, if you get involved you're just risking creating a rift between you and the neighbour, which isn't what you want if they're the kind to demand payment for something that realistically has no cost to them.
racsssss@reddit
Yeah it you ask them nicely and they say no, what then? OpenReach will go through their process which will possibly involve some legal action, much better if your neighbour doesn't associate that with you
BearMcBearFace@reddit (OP)
There’s only 3 lines coming in to that junction box and it’s a very rural area. The neighbour already knows it’s us as they’ll have seen Openreach on our driveway. I’m not worried about them associating it with us though. I’m not about to go looking for a fight over it, just chat it over with them.
Leader_Bee@reddit
The fact that it is on their property as I understand it, the owner of the box, I.E the telecoms company, should have whats known as "presumed right of access"
BowiesFixedPupil@reddit
Sounds like if he is refusing access that there is an issue with the Wayleave that should be in place.
It's very unusual for an agreement not to exist but something isn't right here.
OP, I'd start by checking the neighbours title to see if the access rights are noted.
I would also personally go and speak to them to see if you can find a solution but there is a risk that you find out he's a cunt and relations are destroyed. Not much can be done about that though.
BearMcBearFace@reddit (OP)
He’s claiming there is no wayleave in place. The box is right on the boundary between his property and the footpath on the estate, so I wonder if there was some boundary creep after his property was built and they grabbed a bit more garden than was actually theirs.
Environmental-Pea758@reddit
It actually is quite common especially in ex council houses to not have a wayleave. Council owned properties wouldn't require a wayleave as they were not privately owned, when the council house gets bought privately there still isnt a wayleave but it will be in the missives that they must allow access to utilities
Ok-Literature473@reddit
Engineers won’t just force their way onto the property if they’ve been refused access even with a wayleave in place. It’ll need to be escalated and dealt with by the OR way leave team.
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
It' a blanket right in Comms Act to maintain existing infrastructure but it probably needs to get processed at legal level.
jimicus@reddit
And Openreach are generally reluctant to go down that road. They certainly will be if it only affects four people.
wdwhereicome2015@reddit
The owners may not be aware of the rights of access to the junction box.
DrHydeous@reddit
You can continue waiting for an indeterminate amount of time and maybe Openreach will sort it out.
Or you can offer your neighbour £250 for however many visits are required to get shit working.
Strict_Statement8716@reddit
Openreach routinely quote £1000 just to come and look at a site. In that context, them paying the neighbour £250 doesn't seem unreasonable.
fussyfella@reddit
Ultimately OpenReach have what are called "licence powers" to get wayleave access in cases like this, but they much prefer to do it amicably, as the legal route takes time.
Talk to your neighbours is always the first course of action.
butterflyrattle@reddit
I’ll try hey bear sensory, my kid keeps asking for the rainbow clouds, felt like I was going crazy as the videos seemed to be gradually taken down til all gone!
Ok-Literature473@reddit
Used to work for an ISP who used the Openreach network.
This happens way more than you’d think. Openreach have a wayleave team that your ISP can escalate to.
Some people are just dicks.
Had an engineer once who was allowed access but the farmer refused to moved the very aggressive goat. That lasted weeks with hilarious updates with every attempted access.
Had another one for an energy provider. They relied on point to point satellites for their network but there was a tree that had grown so large in between that it interfered with the signal.
No matter how much money they offered the land owner they would not cut the tree.
In the end they rebuilt the satellites in slightly different locations.
newnortherner21@reddit
I think they are being unreasonable, and Openreach should deal with it.
Even though Openreach are a disgrace, as two wrongs don't make a right. Tempted as I would be to only agree to them turning up at a set time, none of this 'between 8 and 1' or '1 until 6' which offers no time period outside school start and finishing times, a policy that is unfair to any single parent.
notouttolunch@reddit
I don't think this is a policy as much as an operational requirement. Check out some of the horror stories on /openreach. They're just as grim as bad tenant horror stories.
sihasihasi@reddit
I'd at least have gone round for a chat before posting on Reddit.
BearMcBearFace@reddit (OP)
My next course of action is couples counselling then probably divorce 🚩🚩🚩
Remote_Sun_2017@reddit
Or suggest go non contact with your entire family
notouttolunch@reddit
*the human race
BearMcBearFace@reddit (OP)
I’ll probably also write them out of my will without telling them.
minnis93@reddit
Whoa whoa whoa, this is Reddit, we don't do that sort of thing here
Leader_Bee@reddit
Typical reddit comment.
Flaramon@reddit
OpenReach can demand access to a property to upgrade or maintain existing infrastructure. Since the box already exists, they own that box and the cables inside. Leave it with OpenReach, they'll send a letter to remind them of their access rights - but you can expect this to take months to resolve that way.
Neddlings55@reddit
Im pretty sure they legally cant refuse access.
Something to do with easements and statutory rights.
Id let Openreach deal with it. It wont be the first time they have had this situation.
Legitimate_War_397@reddit
This. I work for an energy supplier, we quite often run into issues where the neighbours won’t let us in but we have a right of access 99% of the time pre warrant letter and a theft of changing the locks to their house does the trick. Although we do advise our customer to try to talk it out with the neighbour first before we escalate because we aren’t the people that have to live next to the neighbour first before
Psychological-Fox97@reddit
Really depends on the neighbours, could work or it could lead to them demanding cash from you too once they know it's for you.
If they are people tou already talk to then I'd give it a go but otherwise id assume they are going to be dicks about it like they already are.
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
Just let Openreach handle it - they have some legal powers for this type of situation. I mean assuming your neighbours aren't stupid, they can work out stopping a telecoms company accessing a utility box is causing someone issues but hey, it's not them.
SeniorPea8614@reddit
My understanding is that OpenReach specifically have a right of access for things like this. It sounds like a problem they should be addressing directly.
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