Rented accommodation eircom broadband wired incorrectly

FrStone

I recently signed a 1 year lease for an apartment. I was told that it was possible to get fixed line boradband in the apartment. I have since went about getting fixed line broadband, eircom sent an engineer around who took one look at the wiring and said the wiring was done wrong first day and that no eircom engineer would look at it further as it is a health and safety hazard. He said it would need to be fixed privately by way of an electrician.

I have contacted my landlord regarding getting him to provide an electrician to sort this out. He has now decided that he will only pay for the work to be done if it is cheap, if it is a few hundred euro he will be "asking for a contribution". Has anyone been in this situation before? Now I have no intention of paying a contribution, I'll move out if it isn't sorted. I'm also contacting my solicitor in the morning to see what she thinks.

davo10

FrStone wrote: »

I recently signed a 1 year lease for an apartment. I was told that it was possible to get fixed line boradband in the apartment. I have since went about getting fixed line broadband, eircom sent an engineer around who took one look at the wiring and said the wiring was done wrong first day and that no eircom engineer would look at it further as it is a health and safety hazard. He said it would need to be fixed privately by way of an electrician.

I have contacted my landlord regarding getting him to provide an electrician to sort this out. He has now decided that he will only pay for the work to be done if it is cheap, if it is a few hundred euro he will be "asking for a contribution". Has anyone been in this situation before? Now I have no intention of paying a contribution, I'll move out if it isn't sorted. I'm also contacting my solicitor in the morning to see what she thinks.

Does your tenancy contract state that fixed line bb is available in the apartment, if not and you move out, then you will have breached your tenancy contract and will more than likely lose your deposit.

ted1

Sounds really odd. Telephone cables should be seperate from mains and should enter the premises in their own. What type property is it? Can you post a picture of the wiring

I'd hold off getting a solicter. Your not quite at the stage. What is the place coning too.

MarkAnthony

Have you tried Sky or Vodaphone, you sometimes find in a bid to get your business they are willing to sort things.

Is UPC available to you it's a far superior service.

I think a solicitor is going a wee bit far, I can't imagine it's cheaper than a contribution to the engineer.

FrStone

I can't get upc, and Vodafone have told me the same as eircom.

I can't post a photo of the working, but basically the engineer told me that the wiring goes behind the fuse box which is a big no no in eircoms terms and conditions. The signal gets lost behind the fuse box and never fully makes it to the place you plug in the modem.

To be honest the solicitor is a relation so I won't pay a penny for it. We tend to get solicitors involved quite early in my family because of this.

I just don't think it's fair I should be paying to put in a fixture I was promised world be in the house and when I leave I won't be able to bring it with me so to speak.

MarkAnthony

Aye, that'd be an issue alright and if you can't get UPC there are no other fixed line providers. That's not going to be a cheap fix.

As you've legal advice I'm not sure why you're posting here but for what its worth you need to separate puff from conditions of the lease. Did you specifically request it written into the lease? Jotted down at the bottom above the signatures should be fine.

Your solicitor will be better placed to advise, of course.

the_syco

Solicitors know the law, but someone on here may know a workaround.

When talking to the solicitor, look at the angle of health and safety for the entire apartment, as wherever there is a phone socket there is a potential health and safety hazard.

Also, I'm pretty sure only the ESB can mess with the fuseboard? Would they need need to switch it off at the local switch before the electrician takes the cable out from behind the fuseboard, or where does the mains go through it?

TBH, if this is a sign of things to come, I'd get out, and advise the ESB of it (with a copy of the Eircom engineers report and perhaps a photograph).

DublinDilbert

What wiring is he talking about, is it the eircom master socket or other telephone points which have been installed.

Usually with apartments they are all wired the same, so check if the neighbours have the same issue.

Eircom are usually responsible for getting the signal to the master socket, usually located in the hallway.

It shouldn't be that expensive to sort out as even a small bit of surface wiring could be used. But you have to be clear what exactly has required.

Also the eircom's technician line about health and safety us rubish, if he deems it unsafe as a "professional" he should report it. Sounds like he didn't want to fix the problem.

The_Conductor

Sounds like someone did a poor DIY install job on the Eircom line at some stage.
I'd suggest have one or two people look at it- and see what they come back with. Wiring jobs such as this (which don't involve dealing with 240V cabling) are normally very reasonable in cost- however- as its already behind a fuse box- you're off to a bad start.......... I do network cabling jobs on a regular basis- and to be honest with you- if I saw a setup such as you've broadly described- I'd walk- and tel you to get a properly qualified engineer in.........

Once the cable has been removed from the fuse box etc (by said engineer)- anyone at all will wire it for you. Eircom may suggest a few dampeners if the signal isn't clean enough- but thats probably the extent of it at that stage.........

I don't know what electricians charge these days- but for an hour or two's work- it couldn't possibly be the hundreds you're talking about...........

braddun

you could pay someone 50 euro to run a new line to eircom box


electricians are not the ones to call,look for a phone guy

ted1

If it's behind the fuse board, all they need they need to do is cut it before the fuseboard and bring it in somewhere else. Less than an hours work with about 2 euros wirth of part.

Bringing a solicter in early, alienates people and can make matters worse.

If I got a solicters letter.
I would contact the practice to make sure they know that it was sent. Then I would send a letter back reminding the solicters that the PRTB need to deal with the matter before he can do anything. I would tell the tenant that I will chase it up with the builder, then I would do the bear minimum throughout his tenancy ( I would never be helpful like I am with other tenants) then at the end of the lease I would raise the rent to the max

I would also point out that it is possible to get fixed line broadband, you just need to get a line out in.

tinz18

ted1 wrote: »

If it's behind the fuse board, all they need they need to do is cut it before the fuseboard and bring it in somewhere else. Less than an hours work with about 2 euros wirth of part.

That's what the telephone guy did in my last place. He was the 3rd guy to look at it and figured when he couldn't use the line in the house he'd just make a new connection by bringing in the wire from the outside at a different point - he had 40 years in Eircom under his belt though so maybe he was just good at his job. He was working the contract on behalf of Sky though- I found the guys from Eircom to have no clue what they were doing, they spent hours messing, said it was connected (it wasn't) then next guy to come went through the same rigmarole.

MarkAnthony

The_Conductor wrote: »

Sounds like someone did a poor DIY install job on the Eircom line at some stage.
I'd suggest have one or two people look at it- and see what they come back with. Wiring jobs such as this (which don't involve dealing with 240V cabling) are normally very reasonable in cost- however- as its already behind a fuse box- you're off to a bad start.......... I do network cabling jobs on a regular basis- and to be honest with you- if I saw a setup such as you've broadly described- I'd walk- and tel you to get a properly qualified engineer in.........

Once the cable has been removed from the fuse box etc (by said engineer)- anyone at all will wire it for you. Eircom may suggest a few dampeners if the signal isn't clean enough- but thats probably the extent of it at that stage.........

I don't know what electricians charge these days- but for an hour or two's work- it couldn't possibly be the hundreds you're talking about...........

ted1 wrote: »

If it's behind the fuse board, all they need they need to do is cut it before the fuseboard and bring it in somewhere else. Less than an hours work with about 2 euros wirth of part.

Are they not going to have to dig into the walls though? I think that's going to be the major cost, no?

ted1 wrote: »

Bringing a solicter in early, alienates people and can make matters worse.

+1

tinz18 wrote: »

That's what the telephone guy did in my last place. He was the 3rd guy to look at it and figured when he couldn't use the line in the house he'd just make a new connection by bringing in the wire from the outside at a different point - he had 40 years in Eircom under his belt though so maybe he was just good at his job. He was working the contract on behalf of Sky though- I found the guys from Eircom to have no clue what they were doing, they spent hours messing, said it was connected (it wasn't) then next guy to come went through the same rigmarole.

The Sky guys can be great, I didn't think they'd go that far TBH - OP this looks like a runner, give Sky a call if you've fibre in your area (once Sky have launched) but be careful what you tell them.

Tinz - did you get yours installed as part of the trial - that would be my only concern as they were doing everything during the trial and assessing cost.

listermint

Yes get an electrician or call SKY. Sounds like original Engineer was Lazy and Vodafone didnt bother coming out because you may have said to much on the phone that they got scared.

Its simple for an electrician to either remove the cable prior to the fuse board or if there is access take the line direct from outside in via different root.

It should not be expensive either.

tinz18

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Tinz - did you get yours installed as part of the trial - that would be my only concern as they were doing everything during the trial and assessing cost.

It wasn't a trial- this was only a couple of months ago when their broadband was up and running a good while but it could be the guy himself that was just so helpful. So far I've found Sky great, got them in the new place too and they've been so much easier to deal with than Eircom especially when there is complications. Complications happen a lot to my friends down here when they can't get UPC and so far they've all opted for Sky after dealing with Eircom for months on end without getting anything done.

ted1

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Are they not going to have to dig into the walls though? I think that's going to be the major cost, no?

No they won't. they should be able to do it with me Minimal disruption, a drill would do the job, without seen it, I would take it back to where it enters the property, then run in a cable from there. Eircom are responsible up to where it enters the property

MarkAnthony

ted1 wrote: »

No they won't. they should be able to do it with me Minimal disruption, a drill would do the job, without seen it, I would take it back to where it enters the property, then run in a cable from there. Eircom are responsible up to where it enters the property

How are they going to get it from the entry point to point X though - honest question I'm about as handy as a jelly hammer.

ted1

MarkAnthony wrote: »

How are they going to get it from the entry point to point X though - honest question I'm about as handy as a jelly hammer.

With a small drill bit they can bring it inside and then, run it along or behind a skirting board.

jd

MarkAnthony wrote: »

The Sky guys can be great,

This guy was an eircom (wholesale) technician, I'd guess, lucky dip what technician is assigned to a job.

Eric Cartman

ted1 wrote: »

Sounds really odd. Telephone cables should be seperate from mains and should enter the premises in their own. What type property is it? Can you post a picture of the wiring

I'd hold off getting a solicter. Your not quite at the stage. What is the place coning too.

in an apartment block most telecoms will be brought to each apartment through a riser that all end up in the same place in the basement etc. Either the cable in the wall is damaged or incorrectly connected. Either way , eircom only work to the cabinet anyway so its a private matter to get it to the apartment, most eircom engineers will normally connect all the way to the apartment as its usually straight forward, but in this case he's not allowed to try fix the issue as if he knocks out someone else's cable while trying to fix the OPs then eircom would have to foot the bill and he'd more than likely be sacked.

MarkAnthony

jd wrote: »

This guy was an eircom (wholesale) technician, I'd guess, lucky dip what technician is assigned to a job.

It depends on the job to some degree, I'm pretty sure Sierra are doing Sky's faceplate replacements for Fibre (which is ofc Eircom's infrastructure).