Recovery of costs of repairs to cable damaged by owners/occupiers

Persons found negligent of causing damage to underground pipes and cables may be charged by the telecommunications carrier that owns the infrastructure for the costs of the necessary repairs.

The TIO will consider complaints about the billing of these sorts of charges. However, the TIO can only investigate where the complaint is received from the person who owns or occupies the land. The TIO has no jurisdiction to investigate complaints lodged by contractors.

Where the TIO chooses to investigate, it will do so with a view to establishing whether it is reasonable in all the circumstances for the carrier to recover the costs from the complainant.

In assessing the merits of a complaint, and - where appropriate - what would constitute a fair and reasonable outcome, the TIO will consider the following sorts of factors:

• the carrier's rights to install the facility on the complainant's land
  
• whether the carrier in any way contributed to the damage, e.g. by providing inaccurate maps
  
• whether the complainant or their contractor took reasonable steps to lessen the likelihood of damage
  
• the nature and extent of the damage
  
• what action the carrier took, or proposes to take, to repair the damage
  
• whether it is reasonable for the carrier to recover the costs from the complainant in all the circumstances.

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