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Jackal1's avatar
Jackal1
Joining in
1 month ago

Junction cabinet in my hedge

Virgin Media applied to the local highways agency to replace a 85cm high cabinet on the highway outside my house in 2023. They actually put a replacement 1.2m high by 1.2m wide cabinet in my hedge, next to my drive. Earlier this year they dug up my hedge looking for cables under the cabinet and the hedge is now wrecked. I can’t replace it with a fence because the cabinet is in the way. I’ve tried complaining but four months later I’m just being fobbed off with excuses or promised callbacks which don’t materialise. I want to escalate the complaint but am not sure where to go. Is it Ofcom or the Communications Ombudsman? 

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28 Replies

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  • Jackal1's avatar
    Jackal1
    Joining in
    1 month ago

    Did you ever get this sorted?  Virgin applied to the highways department to put a Cabinet on the highway outside my house but they put it in my hedge instead. There was one before but it was 85cm high and the new one is 1.2m high, right next to my drive. To make matters worse, they have damaged the hedge  but I can’t replace it with a fence because the cabinet is in the way. I’m trying to get it moved but I just keep getting fobbed off with excuses and promises of phone calls that never materialise. Is there someone I can escalate this to? Ofcom? Communications Ombudsman? 

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    1 month ago

    What is it you are specifically complaining about? The fact that the cabinet is bigger or your hedge was damaged or both things?

    • Jackal1's avatar
      Jackal1
      Joining in
      1 month ago

      The cabinet is higher than before so it should have had planning permission and it’s been put in my hedge and wrecked it but I can’t replace it with a fence as it’s across the boundary line. 

      • goslow's avatar
        goslow
        Alessandro Volta
        1 month ago
        Jackal1 wrote:

        The cabinet is higher than before so it should have had planning permission and it’s been put in my hedge and wrecked it but I can’t replace it with a fence as it’s across the boundary line. 

        IMO, you have two separate issue to deal with then.

        The placement and size of the cabinet is one for the council. AIUI, telecoms providers have certain rights under 'permitted development' as to where they place equipment in the street. When they notify the council, it is often not much more than a formality

        You would have to find out from the council if they were notified and whether the change in size of the cabinet is relevant for consideration by the council.

        In a recent similar past topic

        Fibre cable cabinet installed on my property without knowledge or our consent yesterday. | Virgin Media Community - 5646772

        the OP managed to confirm with the council that an error (by the council) had been made in the cabinet placement. You may have an angle with the council if the proper process was not followed.

        Do you know if the new cabinet takes up more space from your land than the previous one did i.e. has the new cabinet moved from the old position on the public street and taken space from your land because of its greater size or was the cabinet always partly on your land but hidden in the hedge?

        If your hedge has been damaged then you would need to tackle VM directly about this.

        From past 'property damage' type of topics on here. VM's method is to keep the complainant engaged in endless back and forward communication but with no meaningful action or resolution taking place (presumably in the hope the complainant gives up eventually and goes away without VM having to do anything).

        I think you have to make a formal complaint to VM first of all and give VM an opportunity to correct and resolve the issue(s) before taking a legal route for property damage (which may be via small claims perhaps).

        You need to get some proper legal advice from Citizens Advice on both issues or see if you have any legal services cover through your home insurance or other such types of legal cover.

      • jpeg1's avatar
        jpeg1
        Alessandro Volta
        11 days ago

        Yoy will not got anywhere complaining to VM because they are not going to admit a mistake by their own contractors. 

        This is a planning issue and you will need to take it up with the Council Planning department.  Copy your letter and photo to local Councillor/s and ask for their support.   

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    1 month ago

    Sharing some photographs of the situation would be very helpful.

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta
    1 month ago

    You need to know where is the boundary line of your property - which may or may not defined by the hedge. And if it's the hedge: over time it may have grown significantly in width, so where is the centre - if the centre is actually the boundary?

    • Jackal1's avatar
      Jackal1
      Joining in
      1 month ago

      I’ve checked the boundary line with the council. The cabinet is 40cm deep and at least 29cm is in my property. 

      • -tony-'s avatar
        -tony-
        Alessandro Volta
        1 month ago

        VM - if they even bother to reply will run you round in circles hoping that you get fed up and go away - you need to keep talking to the council - the original cabinet will have been poitioned with their approval and i would assume was fully on council land - if the new one has a bigger footprint and you can 100% prove part of it is on your land the council may get involved - otherwise you will need to go legal 

      • goslow's avatar
        goslow
        Alessandro Volta
        23 days ago

        That's certainly an unwelcome addition in front of any home.

        You may get further suggestions and comments on here in response to the photo but, IMHO, your time and effort might be best used to get some proper legal advice on the matter.

        Unless you have some sort of solid basis for your case, IMO VM is highly likely just to keep stringing you along in endless non-productive communication in the hope that you give up and go away.

  • legacy1's avatar
    legacy1
    Alessandro Volta
    22 days ago

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSSqHhAqxrk&list=RDdSSqHhAqxrk&start_radio=1

  • Darthvadar's avatar
    Darthvadar
    Up to speed
    21 days ago

    If VM did not have wayleave to install this on your land, I would simply remove it myself , since you would be waiting forever and a day for VM to do anything about it. They are truly a waste of time and space. Present Board needs to step down, and go and find a job at a car wash or something.

    • Jackal1's avatar
      Jackal1
      Joining in
      12 days ago

      There is no way leave. I am going to have to do something as I can’t fix the damage their contractors have done to my garden with it in the way. 

      • goslow's avatar
        goslow
        Alessandro Volta
        12 days ago

        Well, you seem to be tackling the issue at a fairly leisurely pace if the matter dates back as far as 2023. IMHO, the longer the problem drags on, the better VM's case for leaving things exactly as they are.

        Your last VM reply on here was a month ago with an offer to raise a complaint to the 'field construction complaints team'. What happened with that (I am guessing nothing whatsoever)?

        Reposting on here is unlikely to improve your situation as there is no mechanism on here to help fix your issue. The VM people on here can/will do nothing more than relay messages for you. Any comm's on here will, at best, just be sent into the abyss of VM internal communications, never to be seen again. As has been suggested on the topic earlier, you need to get proper legal advice to see what (if any) options you have.

        Edit: Crossed over with subsequent replies from the OP

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta
    11 days ago

    In reality, councils are very unlikely to order the removal of a live cabinet, particularly a large one. What they usually enforce instead is proper reinstatement, compliance with clearances, and mitigation of any obstruction or damage. Full removal tends to be a last resort where there’s a safety issue or clear non-compliance.

    Even if a cabinet turns out to be on private land without a wayleave, councils usually won’t intervene as it’s a civil matter and removal of a live cabinet is still uncommon in practice. You can take VM to court to get an order for removal, but this is slow, expensive and unpredictable as courts usually see as disproportionate the removal of telecoms infrastructure serving the public interest. I believe goslow has a point about timing: while time doesn’t automatically make an unauthorised installation lawful, the longer a live telecoms cabinet has been in place, the less likely a court is to order its removal. As time passes, proportionality, third-party reliance and public interest increasingly favour regularisation or compensation rather than removal.

    Ofcom won’t handle individual complaints, so they won’t resolve this. The best route is to submit a formal complaint in writing (email or letter) and if, after eight weeks it isn’t resolved, request a deadlock letter which VM must issue. With that letter you can escalated to CISAS - which still is unlikely to order VM to remove the cabinet but can order compensation, force other remedial action and recommend that VM formalises access to the land by having both parties sign a wayleave.

    So, whether it's by escalatation to CISAS/Communications Ombudsman or court action these disputes usually end with a retrospective wayleave and/or compensation (hedge damage, inconvenience) rather than complete removal, unless there’s a clear safety or access issue.

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    11 days ago

    Plenty of reasons CISAS is likely to not get involved in such a dispute described in

    https://www.cedr.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CISAS-Scheme-Rules-Jan-2026.pdf

    The complainant needs to be/have been a VM customer or in the process of signing up (not sure if the OP is) and property damage is excluded under the scheme (amongst various other things listed which might lead to exclusion).

    OP needs some proper legal advice IMO. As per Roger_Gooner though, I suspect they are not going to get very far with changing the cabinet or its position.