Demand Letter

[Doggit]

Point out to them that 1: The repairs they are trying to charge you for weren't done, 2: it would appear that there is a public utility cable on your land; can they justify why that is, and 3: No charge was mentioned at the time of the repair.

 

[motorbiking]

It seems there are 2 issues:
- you dispute the work done
- you didn't do the damage

you could ask them why they are billing you for work they didn't do as a result of damage that wasn't caused by you.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Any opinions???

It was not you who damaged it, it was your contractor.

Therefore, IMO, they are the ones who now have to decide whether to pay their lawyers, or pay ENWL, or let their insurers deal with it.

 

[Lectrician]

It was not you who damaged it, it was your contractor.

Therefore, IMO, they are the ones who now have to decide whether to pay their lawyers, or pay ENWL, or let their insurers deal with it.

Completely agree.

 

[stillp]

There is no bottle end that would be required for this cable.

Anyone know what this means?

 

[stillp]

It was not you who damaged it, it was your contractor.

Therefore, IMO, they are the ones who now have to decide whether to pay their lawyers, or pay ENWL, or let their insurers deal with it.

If, indeed, it was damaged at all.

 

[Lectrician]

Anyone know what this means?

I assumed they meant “pot end”. Where a resin type joint is put onto the very end of a cable to safely terminate it.

 

[stillp]

I assumed they meant “pot end”. Where a resin type joint is put onto the very end of a cable to safely terminate it.

I'd assumed that too, but if this cable is linking two properties why would it have a pot end?

 

[John D v2.0]

I think the contractor thing may be a red herring, as in general the home owner would be liable to the utility company and the contractor would be liable to the home owner. The contractor would only be directly liable if they were negligent (maybe not even then though)or operating outside of their contact.
I am not a lawyer though!

 

[Lectrician]

The reply letter said no bottle end would be required. I think they are using the terminology of the OP in his email to them?

 

[stillp]

Ah, OK, I'd read it as meaning that a pot end was required but there wasn't one fitted.

 

[EFLImpudence]

The OP.

I had my front garden concreted. whilst my contractor started digging the garden he exposed an old electrical live cable without a pot end.

 

[aesmith]

I had my front garden concreted. whilst my contractor started digging the garden he exposed an old electrical live cable without a pot end.
Rang electricity north west came out and looked on its laptop it used to be a old street lamp cable.
Now my property used to be a pub with side land which is our garden now at one time there probably was a street lamp on the land.
The north west electricity guy called an assistant (im assumin there must be a policy u need 2 people to work on live cables). He came out put a pot end on it and buried it on my land.

So their description of the work is completely different to yours. Did anyone other than you witness the work? It's just that blanking off a dead end and reburying is so blatantly different from joining in a 3m section of new cable. They must be thinking of a different job. Can you re-excavate the cable to see?

 

[Sid1968]

No its all concreted now

Not witnessed what they did. Had whole procedure on CCTV but since i got a bill after 2 months i can only go back 5weeks on my recorder
I was specifically advised by the engineer that he will fit a pot end and bury it. There was about 6 feet of cable. So why joint a 3mtre cable and bury. I honestly doubt that they have buried it 3 mtre under

 

[motorbiking]

I think the contractor thing may be a red herring, as in general the home owner would be liable to the utility company and the contractor would be liable to the home owner. The contractor would only be directly liable if they were negligent (maybe not even then though)or operating outside of their contact.
I am not a lawyer though!

That would need to be via statute, as the default legal position is the person who did the damage is liable. You don’t normally employ people to do work, you contract for their services. They should have insurance.