VirginMedia running fibre despite being told not to

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newirishman

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Used to have virgin (formerly UPC) internet via their cable service. I am in a middle house of a group of terraces, in Dublin, and the coax cable runs on the street facing side of the house tucked onto the top of the wall under the soffit. It isn’t exactly pretty, given there are distribution switches etc. The coax cable was already there when I bought the house in 2008.
About 10 year ago I got external insulation fitted, and at the time they were already difficult to deal with to clean the cable stuff up a bit. (They didn’t really) It was interfering with the insulation essentially,
Didn’t have access to the deeds at the time.
We finally got fibre (eir) on the street maybe 2 years ago, which runs on (the old phone line) poles, and each terrace is fed off a pole. So no cables running across any walls or property that doesn’t need it.

Few months ago got a letter “to the household” from VirginMedia telling me all excited about their fibre offering and that they are going to fit fibre cables on my house and they’ll be in touch closer to the time.
Wrote them a letter (send via email and registered post) to tell them “no”, they are not allowed to fit any cables or enter my property.
Meanwhile I also got my deeds and checked if there’s any agreement in placement, which there isn’t.

Two weeks ago, both the missus and I were at work, and sure enough some VirginMedia folks rock up at the house and mount a fibre cable and a switch to the soffit.
After some messaging and emailing them, plus given them 10 days to remove their stuff, they finally came back to me wanting to discuss things.

I am aghast that they just enter people’s property and mount stuff, essentially damaging the soffit by screwing things into it - Even more so after being explicitly told they aren’t allowed to do so.
I also had to spend not inconsiderable time dealing with this, writing letters, having phone calls, and now having to make time to meet with them.

Given this is not acceptable behaviour, I want to make sure they feel a bit of a pain and see if there’s a way to get them slapped with a fine or similar. There must be some trespassing laws they violated here.
 
newirishman said:
There must be some trespassing laws they violated here.
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It's not trespass as the presence of someone on your property would objectively need to instil fear in the occupant. Workmen installing something on a one-off basis is not trespass. Me turning up in your front garden and staring in your windows every morning very much is trespass.


I don't know the legal rights around the physical work they've done but it it not trespass.
 
Hello,

If memory serves, legislation was passed many years ago, to permit them to enter the front of a property, much in the same way as the postman etc. is permitted to, to carry out their duties.

I'm working from very vague recollection here, but think that legislation was passed when the main cable TV provider was "Cablelink' (once owned by RTE), who I think have ultimately evolved into Virgin.

Notwithstanding the above, there is an issue with regards to them installing new cables and equipment on your property, without your consent.

I ran into a similar issue to yours, many years ago (not with Virgin) and ultimately engaged a solicitor. After a few letters, compensation was agreed and the cables were removed (albeit I had to sign an agreement that I would pay for the equipment and installation, if ever I wanted to avail of the service).

My bet is that they want to now do a deal with you and will offer you a heavily discounted or free service, in return for your consent to allowing them to leave the equipment there. If I'm right, and you do agree something, make sure it's very clearly documented (and specify if the benefit remains attached to the property, in the event that you ever sell it, or if you can transfer the benefit agreed to any future property that you may own).
 
Dr Strangelove said:
It's not trespass as the presence of someone on your property would objectively need to instil fear in the occupant. Workmen installing something on a one-off basis is not trespass.
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Thanks. In light of me explicitly telling them they are not allowed to step on my property, I am curious though how it wouldn't be. Workmen installing something, assuming I am asking them to do so, is clearly not trespassing. If I don't want the postman to step on my front garden, I can put the letterbox where it can be reached from the public road. But just turning up on my house and fixing stuff on it? Without even bothering to give me some notice? I mean, imagine the additional uproar if Irish water would have started digging up your front garden without any notice.

MrEarl said:
I'm working from very vague recollection here, but think that legislation was passed when the main cable TV provider was "Cablelink' (once owned by RTE), who I think have ultimately evolved into Virgin.
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Interestingly, I have an easement registered in the deeds for telephone, power, water, and gas. There is nothing in the deeds for cable tv, and I have never used cable tv services (used to have sky). Used cable broadband for a few years as I couldn't get the required bandwidth over the ancient twisted pair copper, and as soon as I was able to get fibre, I ditched the cable broadband.
They might well offer me something, but even if I use internet quite a bit, I don't really need two fibre connections to the house - especially after I went through the hassle of making a fibre cable work without comprising external insulation. Not as such running a data centre there.
At this point, I just want them to remove all the stuff (including their old coax) and stop this practice.
 
Have a think if you would be ok with removing the option to some neighbours from having Fibre via Virgin Media Network. Sky and Vodafone are also options with the new fibre line. They may be able to work around you and possibly feed your Neighbours from the other direction but just a consideration.
 
theresa1 said:
Have a think if you would be ok with removing the option to some neighbours from having Fibre via Virgin Media Network.
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You mean think of the common good over the rights of the individual?

My neighbour refused to allow wires on the wall so they ran them internally through the attic. That could be an option so their neighbours aren't compromised by one objector.
 
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theresa1 said:
Have a think if you would be ok with removing the option to some neighbours from having Fibre via Virgin Media Network. Sky and Vodafone are also options with the new fibre line. They may be able to work around you and possibly feed your Neighbours from the other direction but just a consideration.
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All my neighbours are being fed from the same fibre switch on a pole on the road (It is openeir fibre). With individual fibre cables running to each property. So we have already easily accessible fibre in the street. Why run another one?

Dr Strangelove said:
So that the law isn’t weaponised by cranks.
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Well I've been known to occasionally be a grumpy old man (I have not been called a crank so far). I still object to some random installer team drilling holes into my soffit, dragging ladders across my roses, and in general messing around on my property when I am not around. Never mind fitting yet another ugly black box that I have no use for. Especially if I have asked them not to.

Also, if I now decide to change or have to repair my soffit, I need to deal with a fibre cable which is in the way.
 
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A another thread on this here

Does a wayleave exist?

I have checked the land registry and there is no record of an easement or wayleave registered against my house. I think it was built in 1982 and I've owned it for about 17 years. A cable company has very untidy cables running across the front of my house and I wish to have them removed. I am...
www.askaboutmoney.com

My experience was they got wayleave signed by an older family member who really didn't know what they were signing, and ignored written instructions. They installed their equipment very badly and had to pushed to fix it all properly Part of the wayleave was free TV. They tried to not honor this constantly in the subsequent years, and used to bill the owner who refused to pay. Used to go around in circles with them. No idea what the situation is now.

I suspect from reading that older thread that much of what they are doing has no legal basis. Because looking online and anecdotal postings they seem to remove their cables when it's insisted. They should be more professional about if they need the goodwill of property owners.

They aren't the only provider anymore. There are probably other options for fibre in the street and cheaper. I wouldn't be facilitating a companies profits for more hassle than it's worth.
 
"https://www.irishtimes.com/property...my-garden-even-though-im-not-their-customer/?"

Paywalled - but the answer is YES.

Section 4(1)(g) of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2012 grants exemptions for statutory undertakers (which includes authorised telecom operators) to inspect, repair, renew, alter or remove cables or other apparatus without planning permission provided that the works are necessary for maintenance or operational purposes.

The provider could also argue that they and their predecessors, have maintained and used the cable infrastructure on your property, openly, without objection and without explicit permission for over 20 years, and as such they may claim a prescriptive easement to continue maintaining the cables.
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My pragmatic in-laws have enjoyed free Virgin TV for many years thanks to having a junction box and associated cabling attached to the side of their house.
 
I can’t even remember the name of the company now but it was the pre runner of virgin media in the cork area. We had a cable running along our back fence line with a large black box on the side of the house feeding the neighbours cable. All fine until we needed to knock that wall during renovations. No matter how many time I contacted them to move the box I got nowhere, they wanted to charge me for moving the box, it was not their box, I had no permission to move it and so on. So on a day before an important premier league match I contacted them, said we waited as long as we could but the wall was coming down tomorrow whether they moved the cable and box or not. And they could deal with all my neighbours and not me going forward. The cable and box were moved in a few hours.

I got the impression customer service did not have a clue and the cable team just were not interested. Zero effective communication to the detriment of the customer.
 
We're an end of road house with their cables on side. Cheaper rate because of that. A while back needed an internal visit from them but they dragged their feet and no appointments available in the near future. No supervisor available in call centre to discuss it. Told them 'ok come out tomorrow and remove your cables and we will go elsewhere but do remember it will affect the whole road'. Hey presto supervisor has just become available now and a cancellation has just come through this minute' :D Wasn't that a big coincidence now!
 
Going off the topic but did Cork multichannel not take over from South Coast TV (going back to the time of the illegal rebeaming of the British channels?.

I can't comment on wayfare agreement but in terms of getting internal insulation done on the house, had a similar issue to the OP last year and Virgin were excellent to deal with, can't fault them and they did a great job in tidying up the cables and removing a lot of older stuff that had built up over the years. I guess it's like any company, sometimes it comes down to the people on the ground who in my case were grand to deal with.
 
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