Reporting network damage or health and safety problems
Tell us about unsafe, damaged or vandalised Openreach equipment
It's important that damaged, unsafe or vandalised equipment is reported so we can fix it as quickly as possible
and keep the network safe and running for everyone.
You can contact Openreach to report damage to our network or raise any health & safety problems, such as:
- damaged underground cables (often caused by mechanical diggers in built-up areas)
- loose cables or cables dangling from telephone poles
- damaged or vandalised green cabinets, including graffiti, or unattended cabinets with open doors
- something unsafe at a site where we're working
- damaged telephone poles (for example if they’re leaning at odd angles, or have fallen down)
- loose, cracked or missing manhole covers
- damage to your property or personal injury.
Identifying Openreach equipment
If you spot any unsafe, damaged or vandalised equipment which you think belongs to Openreach please check this guide to make sure it’s ours
first.
Once you’re sure the equipment belongs to us, it would really help us if you use the What3Words App to tell us
exactly where the damaged equipment is so that our engineers can locate and make it safe as quickly as
possible. You can download the app from the app store on your mobile device, they're a third party and you
can access their privacy statement to understand how they use your data.
Reporting to our damage team
The quickest way to report any damaged, unsafe or vandalised Openreach equipment is to use our virtual
assistant EiVA.
To get started with EiVA just click on the icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. Please include
the What3Words reference in the damage location field if you have it.
Our damage teams cannot help if you:
- have a question about your broadband or telephone bill
- have a problem with your service, such as a fault or slow broadband speeds
- have a query about an engineer visit
- want to order phone or broadband, or upgrade to Ultrafast Full Fibre
The Openreach damage team cannot help you with any of these problems nor can they transfer you to any
teams who can. Please contact your broadband or telephone service provider for any assistance with these
problems.
Highways authorities
How to report damaged Openreach equipment if you work for a highways authority.
Health, safety and wellbeing
Read about our approach to health and safety, including our accreditations and policies.
© Openreach Limited 2023