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speshnz

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#320230 21-Jul-2025 12:55
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Are there any published guidelines on what constitutes a "proper" install? 

 

We had a break caused by an accident (which I'm willing to accept) the resulting fix ended up with 2 guys and 10 hours labour on the bill.

 

I've already rung Chorus who are investigating the bill for us which is cool.

 

Some background, My son had an accident while learning to drive and took out a fence along our driveway (the Fibre is run along the bottom of the fence.. At the time it seemed fine, no problems with the internet. Issues happened about 3 weeks later when we reinstated the fence. While moving the sleave back into position on the fence it obviously aggravated the damage from the accident and the fibre finally snapped. The was found and repaired in about 30-45 minutes. The issue came when the the first guy was trying to blow the new fibre through. Heaps of issues he couldn't get it to blow through properly. ended up opening it up at the road demarcation point to see if it was there (it was) then re-blowing the driveway, which still didn't work. After about 45 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to blow the new fibre he sat in his truck and waited for the second engineer to arrive. He did some investigation and worked out that there was a problem somewhere under the drive. Removed the pavers at the edge and found the sleave was laid directed underneath the pavers on the drive, effectively with the cars driving over the pavers it crimped the sleave enough to make them unable to blow the fibre. That was repaired and the fibre was blown through no problem. While the second guy was repairing the crimp, he mentioned this should have been buried deeper or at the very least had a proper rigid conduit, which as a part of the second repair he added a section of conduit to the sleave and buried it down around 200mm.

 

I'm happy enough to pay for the initial fix for the damage caused, but i have a couple of issues with the bill as it currently stands.

 

first one is around the hours charged, we have security cameras, the first guy was onsite from around 9:00am till 12:10pm.  I get travel time is a thing, but he invoiced for 6 hours. The second guy was around for a bit over an 1 hour and charged 3

 

the second is the rest of the work was repairing something that was caused due to a poor original install. 

 

I'm happy enough to pay for the break caused by the accident, based on what happened that appears to be 1 guy for around 2 hours

 

Just wondering if there were any chorus docs around how a UFB install is "supposed" to be done.  At the moment i have a fibre connection thats run along a fence on my neighbours property (the installers clearly thought that was the boundary, it isnt) then buried in the bark of a small garden and then straight under a paved driveway sitting in the bedding sand directly under the pavers.  The neighours cool, but just trying to understand the situation fully to head off any future problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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gehenna
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  #3395830 21-Jul-2025 13:07
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Only skim read until later so I might have missed some details sorry, but possibly a minimum callout time charge involved - e.g. 3hrs even if the job is finished in 1.  Just guessing, but these are common practices.  The time should be itemised on any invoice you get, and if it's not then you can ask for it to be itemised.




speshnz

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  #3395832 21-Jul-2025 13:10
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It is

 

First guy was onsite for around 3 hours the majority of which was fixing the issue with crimped duct... the other was onsite for a little over 1. 

 

They charged 6 and 3 hours respectively.

 

I havent been able to find any mention of a minimum call out 


acsylaa
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  #3395907 21-Jul-2025 15:31
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I'd be pushing back on Chorus for poor workmanship during the original installation.

 

Unfortunately, what you're experiencing isn’t uncommon — I've seen this kind of substandard work many times. It highlights why it’s so important to hold Chorus (or their contractors) accountable and insist that installations are done properly and in accordance with their own published guidelines:
 Chorus Trenching Guidelines

 

Now, I know someone will jump in defending the use of microduct, saying it's ruggedised and built to withstand certain conditions, and that it can last for years. That might be true — in theory. But let’s be clear: it’s not designed to be buried directly under pavers or in high-load areas where it’s at risk of being crushed. That’s just asking for long-term trouble.

 

There’s also a real double standard at play here. When Chorus or their contractors do the install, they often cut corners — I’ve seen microduct laid with little care, in shallow trenches, and sometimes just tossed under pavers or decking. But if you, the property owner, want to do the install yourself, suddenly they enforce every guideline to the letter and expect perfection.

 

Let’s not forget some of the wild cases out there, like the now-infamous UFB install where the ONT was installed in a toilet:
UFB terminal installed in toilet – Stuff article

 

If the install had followed Chorus’ trenching standards or reused the existing conduit (which may still be present), this entire issue could’ve been avoided.

 

At the end of the day, it’s the inconsistency and lack of accountability that’s the real problem — and consumers are left to deal with the fallout.




speshnz

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  #3395914 21-Jul-2025 15:41
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acsylaa:

 

I'd be pushing back on Chorus for poor workmanship during the original installation.

 

 

Oh i definitely am... like i said, im happy to pay for the damage we did... even though if you wanted to be pedantic you could probably argue it wouldn't have been damaged if they hadn't run it across my neighbors place attached to his fence which is 100mm inside his boundary 

 

acsylaa:

 

Now, I know someone will jump in defending the use of microduct, saying it's ruggedised and built to withstand certain conditions, and that it can last for years. That might be true — in theory. But let’s be clear: it’s not designed to be buried directly under pavers or in high-load areas where it’s at risk of being crushed. That’s just asking for long-term trouble.

 

If the install had followed Chorus’ trenching standards or reused the existing conduit (which may still be present), this entire issue could’ve been avoided.

 

At the end of the day, it’s the inconsistency and lack of accountability that’s the real problem — and consumers are left to deal with the fallout.

 

 

Literally the issue was the microduct (I'm assuming that's the propername for the black sheath they blow the fibre through?) was crimped by the edge of the paver on the edge of the driveway that runs directly under.... that my car drives over twice a day. Its the same reason the second guy who showed up trenched the start and put it in about 30cm of conduit to protect from that edge pressure.


Jase2985
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  #3396029 21-Jul-2025 21:37
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@Wheelbarrow01 one for you Simon

 

 

 

 


Wheelbarrow01
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  #3396137 22-Jul-2025 11:44
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Jase2985:

 

@Wheelbarrow01 one for you Simon

 

 

Cheers, I've referred this post internally so the most appropriate person can provide a response and/or investigate further. 





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


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speshnz

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  #3396138 22-Jul-2025 11:47
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Wheelbarrow01:

 

Jase2985:

 

@Wheelbarrow01 one for you Simon

 

 

Cheers, I've referred this post internally so the most appropriate person can provide a response and/or investigate further. 

 

 

 

 

Oh, thanks :) sing out if you want i can pm you the details


Chorusnz
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  #3396173 22-Jul-2025 13:56
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Hi @speshnz We've popped you a DM requesting further details from yourself so we can investigate further. ^ZF


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