My neighbor is installing broadband fiber under my driveway. Can I stop them from digging it up? DEAN DUNHAM answers

My next door neighbor is installing fiber optic cables and the provider needs to dig up my driveway to do it.

But the first thing I knew was when I saw my driveway marked with spray paint to indicate where to dig. Do I have any say in what’s going on?

Mr., Cheshire.

Dean Dunham responds: I see from the photos you emailed me that the letters “OR” were painted on your driveway.

This stands for ‘Openreach’ and is the company that maintains the telephone cables, ducts, cabinets and exchanges that connect almost every home and business in the UK to broadband and telephone providers.

In most cases, Openreach will need to have what is called a right of way agreement to install or repair equipment on private land or within a property, where you provide a service to people who are not the legal owners of the land or property, such as an apartment building.

A waybill is a written legal agreement between Openreach and the owner of the land or property and its purpose is to give Openreach permission to install, maintain or repair network equipment on your property.

However, there are three circumstances where Openreach does not have to approach the owner of private land and agree a right of way arrangement.

Firstly, if there is already a right of way agreement in place. Landowners often find that such an agreement has been concluded with a previous owner. You will be obliged to comply with it.

Secondly, if a previous owner of the land has requested the service; and thirdly, in limited circumstances, where the works are considered extremely urgent.

You should therefore find out if there is a right of way agreement in place. Check the UK Land Registry (landregistry.uk) and look for right of way agreements on your property. If you find one, get a copy and read it carefully to determine what rights Openreach has.

One thing you need to consider is whether you are entitled to compensation under the agreement.

This will either be a “one-time” payment, which will not interest you because it will have been received by a previous owner, or an annual payment, which will interest you because you may now have a payday.

If there is no such agreement, please write to Openreach and ask: “If there is no right of way agreement, what right do you have to come onto my land, spray paint my driveway and dig it up?” I believe they will get back to you to rectify the situation.

You can apply for compensation for the inconvenience caused. If you refuse to accept a new right of way agreement, a hearing will usually be held on the matter.

The broken dryer warranty is about to expire

My dryer has stopped working and is nearing the end of its warranty.

I asked the seller to do a repair, but the date indicated to call is after the end of the warranty. What are my rights?

NB, London.

Dean Dunham responds: Retailers often mislead consumers into believing that warranties are the most important thing and that when they expire, their rights expire as well. This is not the case.

The warranty provides you with a contract with the warranty provider (usually the manufacturer of the products) and automatic rights to repair or replace the products if they become defective during the warranty period and no exclusions apply.

The warranty period is not an issue here since you have “reported” the problem before it expired, but sometimes warranties only cover certain problems.

The first step is to review the terms of the warranty and see what it says about how long repairs and replacements should take.

If a time is quoted, tell the store/manufacturer and say there will be a breach of warranty terms if they don’t fix the issue now.

Despite my previous advice, as I said, the warranty does not represent your only rights.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you more power. In relation to your faulty tumble dryer, it says that if the problem is a “manufacturer’s error” (i.e. you didn’t cause it and the problem isn’t just “wear and tear”), you’ll be entitled to a remedy – a repair, replacement or partial refund.