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Telephone line encroachment

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S

salford

Guest
What is the name of your state? Minnesota

My neighbors are tearing down their old garage and building a new one. Currently my telephone line is resting on top of their garage. The neighbors have asked that we move the line before their new garage is built. The telephone company came out today and will be billing us for the service.

Who is responsible for paying for the service?

Is this similar to: let's say...the neighbors tree is on your property so you have the right to cut the branches that are on your side at your expense.
 


FarmerJ

Senior Member
If it is qwest that is your provider just out of curiousity have you noticed if there are in your area what is called `mid line drops` ? what are those , they are where your phone line doesnt go directly from a house to the pole . It goes from house following the air space over only your yard and is attached to with a clamp to the main cable and then shoots over sideways to the weather proof cover on the line and makes its connection , If your in Minneapolis for example both excell and qwest now use midline drops and you should be able to argue that this should have been done long ago at no charge . Other wise if you didnt call it in your self they arent allowed to charge you for something you didnt order and can indeed take steps to temporarily raise the line above the roof , they would have to take steps to stop the line from rubbing on the roof anyway . If your not in Minneapolis I would suggest calling your city hall and learn if there is any local ordinance that addresses the issue of where drop has to start from . (back when it was UsWest , installer explained all of the above to me when I had 2nd line put in since I was one of those Evil Telemarketers who made my living working the phone and the installer was asked why he had to move both lines by me . I was not charged extra . )
 

nextwife

Senior Member
When I bought my house, there were combined utility wires that came to the house in a way that no longer met code. As the party who used the service, it was the property owner's responsibility (which I did as the new owner) to pay the costs of PROPERLY bringing that service into the house. Contact the utility, but I would believe it falls to you as the owner serviced to get the service to your residence in a way that does not encroach on another owner.
 
S

salford

Guest
FarmerJ said:
It goes from house following the air space over only your yard and is attached to with a clamp to the main cable and then shoots over sideways to the weather proof cover on the line and makes its connection , If your in Minneapolis for example both excell and qwest now use midline drops and you should be able to argue that this should have been done long ago at no charge .
Thank you for the explanation FarmerJ.
Midline drops had already been installed prior to me moving to this home. However, the drop is/was positioned on the neighbors property. I believe it's Qwest's responsiblility to move the line so that it falls on my property thus eliminating the line's encroachment. This should not be a billable service.
 

FarmerJ

Senior Member
Short of cutting the line in a place that will force your phone co to replace it . You need to atleast do some homework and contact your city hall to learn what your citys ords are for aerial utility lines that serve a home and the placements of them . If your line was a true mid line drop how could it be over another persons garage ? mid line drops dont go from house directly to the nearest pole like the lines often did in my old neighborhood they mounted to a steel support line with a clamp of some sort then shot over to a terminal that 4 or more homes were connected to . Other wise you can only make the phone co take steps to protect the line during the construction phase . look to see if you can find a city ordinance defining who is responsible . and call the PUC in Saint Paul .
 

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