If it’s hard to move a mountain, moving Bell Canada equipment from a homeowner’s property can be no less difficult.

It’s a lesson Patrick Castelino learned first-hand, when he asked Bell to move a large wiring cabinet from the yard of his Streetsville home, after he twice learned the utility was trying to install more equipment on his property.

It has now agreed to do so, after The Fixer started making inquiries — almost a year after Castelino’s request.

He emailed us after he saw our Feb. 17 column about Bell utility poles in the back yard of an Etobicoke home. The homeowners asked Bell to move them and were told they’d have to pay.

Bell had a change of heart soon after, saying it does not occupy private property without permission, and would move the poles at its own cost.

That’s not what it told Castelino, he says. When he asked Bell to move the cabinet — after intercepting a Bell contractor he says was about to tear down his fence a year ago — the utility insisted it had the legal right to occupy his property.

And after saying earlier that they’d pay him if the box could stay in his yard, he said Bell recently told him on the phone that if he wanted it moved, he’d have to pay the $250,000 estimated cost.

Castelino moved into the Forest Hill Dr. home in 1998, and noticed that the fence along his property line was recessed to make room for a cabinet with Bell service equipment in it.

He got along just fine with it until 2007, when he spotted a Bell contractor about to take down his fence, to expand the equipment on his property.

“No one from Bell consulted me, asked for my permission or even bothered to send me any sort of notice,” Castelino claimed.

He chased off the contractor, complained to Bell, and said he was told no work would be done unless all parties agreed to it.

Nothing happened until last April, when he again put the run on a Bell contractor preparing to dismantle his fence to install more equipment.

This time, he asked Bell to move the box, suggesting it could be relocated to the city easement on the other side of his fence, just a few feet from where it is now.

A Feb. 15 from lawyer Carolyn Ruby, who represented Bell, said “our terminal is properly located within the easement for telecommunications lines registered against title to the property,” with the approval of the City of Mississauga.

Castelino complained to his city councillor, George Carlson (Ward 11), who he said looked into it and told him the city’s legal position is that Bell has no rights to be on his property, never mind installing more equipment.

STATUS: We asked Bell why it demanded Castelino pay to move the cabinet, if it does not occupy private property without the owner’s consent. We also asked if it could provide legal documents to prove it has a right to be on his property. A week later, Bell spokesperson Jason Laszlo emailed to say it “will relocate the equipment away from Mr. Castelino’s property.” Other utility services buried in the city easement makes the job difficult and expensive, said Laszlo, “but we respect Mr. Castelino’s concerns. Timing is dependent on discussions with the utilities involved and development of plan to ensure we minimize service disruption.”

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If anyone is having similar problems with Bell or any other utility, tell us about it.