New build - damaged fibre

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › New build - damaged fibre

Kookoo

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#322732 17-Sep-2025 11:35

Has anyone been in a situation like this before? Would really appreciate a bit of advice.

We just moved into a new build- there is still development going on next door, by a different developer to the one who built our house. On the morning of the settlement date a Chorus tech came onsite to hook up our new home to fibre and found out that the developer next door damaged the fibre running under the footpath. His verdict is that we're not getting fibre until that developer digs up the footpath to allow Chorus access to repair the blockage. The last email I got from the tech was that he was going to talk to the site supervisor there.

It's only been a couple of days, but the problem I have is that in this situation there seems to be no "owner" for this problem. Who's supposed to be making the next door developer do it? Is it Chorus? My ISP? My developer, who sold the property with the expectation that fibre was available? My lawyer?

And also - what's a reasonable time for something like this to be resolved? Just wondering what kind of alternative arrangements I should be making in the meantime.

Hello, Ground!

Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#3415585 17-Sep-2025 11:49

Could you please PM me with your name and address? I'll find your Chorus order and determine what the status is and who the next action sits with.

Thanks,

Simon @ Chorus

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

Kookoo

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#3415586 17-Sep-2025 11:55

Wheelbarrow01:

Could you please PM me with your name and address? I'll find your Chorus order and determine what the status is and who the next action sits with.

Thanks,

Simon @ Chorus

Thank you, PM'd

Hello, Ground!

alasta

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Subscriber

#3415591 17-Sep-2025 12:07

The exact same thing happened where I live. Nine identical townhouses, eight with fibre connections, and one without due to the cable having been damaged by the developer's contractor. A Chorus tech has looked at it but didn't seem to know what to do.

As far as I'm aware it's still unresolved four years later so the owner has just accepted that she is stuck with wireless broadband.

snj

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#3415594 17-Sep-2025 12:13

Kookoo:

We just moved into a new build- there is still development going on next door, by a different developer to the one who built our house. On the morning of the settlement date a Chorus tech came onsite to hook up our new home to fibre and found out that the developer next door damaged the fibre running under the footpath. His verdict is that we're not getting fibre until that developer digs up the footpath to allow Chorus access to repair the blockage. The last email I got from the tech was that he was going to talk to the site supervisor there.

I know Chorus has replied already and are looking into it, but did the purchase/settlement agreement have provisions for raising issues discovered after settlement? If so, raise an issue with whatever process is available there so it's squarely on the developer. If the house was sold as fibre ready to install, and it's not, putting pressure via both angles is probably beneficial for you in getting it sorted quickly.

Kookoo

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#3415613 17-Sep-2025 13:43

snj:

I know Chorus has replied already and are looking into it, but did the purchase/settlement agreement have provisions for raising issues discovered after settlement? If so, raise an issue with whatever process is available there so it's squarely on the developer. If the house was sold as fibre ready to install, and it's not, putting pressure via both angles is probably beneficial for you in getting it sorted quickly.

Good point. This was discovered before the settlement took place, and both lawyers were informed of the situation. Getting the lawyer to chase it up isn't a cheap option to put it mildly, so if there is another route I can chase up I'd rather try it first.

Hello, Ground!

Kookoo

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#3415614 17-Sep-2025 13:44

alasta:

The exact same thing happened where I live. Nine identical townhouses, eight with fibre connections, and one without due to the cable having been damaged by the developer's contractor. A Chorus tech has looked at it but didn't seem to know what to do.

As far as I'm aware it's still unresolved four years later so the owner has just accepted that she is stuck with wireless broadband.

Uh-oh...

Hello, Ground!

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mattwnz

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#3415628 17-Sep-2025 14:27

Is this damage on public land? If this damage had occurred on an existing street surely the network provider would repair and send the person who caused the damage to the network the bill? Seems crazy that the end users who have nothing to do with it get affected. I can’t see hire it is different to car crashing into a power pole

mattwnz

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#3415629 17-Sep-2025 14:35

This, and the post about the drive and footpath is why we need tv programs like fair go. Common sense quick solutions are needed and it seems like common sense in NZ is quickly disappearing

Kookoo

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#3415647 17-Sep-2025 16:54

mattwnz:

Is this damage on public land? If this damage had occurred on an existing street surely the network provider would repair and send the person who caused the damage to the network the bill? Seems crazy that the end users who have nothing to do with it get affected. I can’t see hire it is different to car crashing into a power pole

Public land - it's the footpath in front of the development site. I suspect they had some heavy trucks access the site via the footpath which broke the pavement and compressed the cable.

Hello, Ground!

mattwnz

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#3415650 17-Sep-2025 17:38

Kookoo:

mattwnz:

Is this damage on public land? If this damage had occurred on an existing street surely the network provider would repair and send the person who caused the damage to the network the bill? Seems crazy that the end users who have nothing to do with it get affected. I can’t see hire it is different to car crashing into a power pole

Public land - it's the footpath in front of the development site. I suspect they had some heavy trucks access the site via the footpath which broke the pavement and compressed the cable.

How are they going to prove who did it. If that fibre is owned and maintained by the infrastructure company and on public land, then I would have thought it is totally up to them to resolve this in a timely manner. Or am I missing something here? But I do wonder how something that is buried underground could be damaged in that way, that is why you bury things relatively deep underground, so they are no affected by surface structures. If it is directly under the paving, then it is very likely to get damaged at some point with movement of the structure. I rememebr we had a concrete path and the sparky must have installed the electrical cable directly under it, and when the path moved from tree roots, the electrical cable was sheared at the path join...no common sense.

Kookoo

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#3415761 17-Sep-2025 21:22

mattwnz:

How are they going to prove who did it. If that fibre is owned and maintained by the infrastructure company and on public land, then I would have thought it is totally up to them to resolve this in a timely manner. Or am I missing something here? But I do wonder how something that is buried underground could be damaged in that way, that is why you bury things relatively deep underground, so they are no affected by surface structures. If it is directly under the paving, then it is very likely to get damaged at some point with movement of the structure. I rememebr we had a concrete path and the sparky must have installed the electrical cable directly under it, and when the path moved from tree roots, the electrical cable was sheared at the path join...no common sense.

The paving has been removed or destroyed and the footpath closed off to give trucks/diggers access to the site. So while it's public land, it's currently only being used by the developer.

Hello, Ground!

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Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#3415839 18-Sep-2025 09:53

Hi everyone,

Just an update that we have asked our field team to get the network on the footpath repaired so that the OP's installation can proceed. We do have a procedure for this but it appears the technician didn't follow it, so the appropriate training will be provided.

The issue of apportioning blame and recovering cost is one for Chorus to deal with, but our priority is getting the damage rectified asap so that the OP can be connected, and we'll deal with those issues at a later time.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

MadEngineer

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#3415965 18-Sep-2025 18:07

Cases like this should be simple. Damaged fibre will get repaired regardless of who’s at fault. The fibre company will (may) then invoice who they believe is responsible.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

Kookoo

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#3419067 27-Sep-2025 00:20

All sorted. Many thanks to @wheelbarrow1 for helping out.

Hello, Ground!