Neighbor calls plummer to find pipe, cuts into our fios line and WE have to pay!

[Minerva]

Neighbor had plummer in HIS yard, cut fios line and won't pay and (Verizon) wants me to pay $600. Said to call homeowner's insurance.

They bury this shit with a damn shovel a few inches in the ground, THEY should pay for this. This plummer was dumb he was walking around with a metal detector with the battery duck taped in! I looked like something from toys-r-us.

Our lane is 3200 feet long and they did a fusion splice instead of running a new line. We depend on this connection heavily (have two actually) so we may just have an electrician run a proper conduit 4 feet in the ground like it's supposed to.

Verizon is saying they should call miss utility before digging! Really? An aerator would have done this IMO.

Anyone else have this happen?

What a pain in the ass!

 

[Charmonium]

It probably wouldn't have mattered even if he did call. If they were that sloppy running the original line, my guess is that the contractor billed Verizon for doing the job properly and the contractor just put the line wherever it was convenient. Verizon would probably have a record of the line existing but in terms of knowing exactly where it was, I very much doubt that since this looks so slap-dash.

 

[lxskllr]

Contractor is the one that needs to verify utilities before doing underground work, and Verizon knows that. Not doing so is *illegal*, but I don't know who you'd go to. You'd think Verizon would help you out...

 

[Humpy]

In my state it is "illegal" for a licensed contractor to dig with out calling for a utility location first. The plumber would be on the hook for paying for repairs. The depth of the cable is regulated by code as well.

If this is the case in your state there is really no question on who should pay.

Edit: Wizard above. For us a call to our Contractors State License Board would have the matter settled pretty quick.

 

[MongGrel]

It probably wouldn't have mattered even if he did call. If they were that sloppy running the original line, my guess is that the contractor billed Verizon for doing the job properly and the contractor just put the line wherever it was convenient. Verizon would probably have a record of the line existing but in terms of knowing exactly where it was, I very much doubt that since this looks so slap-dash.

Pretty much this I would think, but I would still think Verizon would be obligated.

But good luck with that one I guess. Nothing like a corporation being a person these days with a bank of corporate lawyers.

It does seem you should be able to trace that one back a bit, as you've been paying for the service up till now and it was installed poorly to begin with.

 

[Ns1]

i forsee small claims court in your future

 

[KK]

What do you got to do with this? Call them up and have them bill the homeowner that cut it. Verizon is the the one that needs to pursue the neighbor.

 

[MongGrel]

i forsee small claims court in your future

Maybe you could get a $5 million dollar Civil suit going for the pain and suffering involved on the side

:sneaky:

J/K

 

[PowerEngineer]

This sounds like an expense that your neighbor's home owner insurance might cover (if they don't decide to go after the plumber). I can understand why Verison doesn't want to get in the middle on this. Hope for your sake that things get settled quickly.

 

[Carson Dyle]

You want to bury conduit 4 feet underground?

 

[PottedMeat]

What do you got to do with this? Call them up and have them bill the homeowner that cut it. Verizon is the the one that needs to pursue the neighbor.

yeah, this. OP's part is complaining that there's no internet. VZ goes out and finds cut verizon property, makes land owner pay for repair.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Back when I had FIOS I accidently cut my FIOS line with a post hole digger while installing a new mailbox. I found out that not only was the cable run at the wrong depth, it was in the wrong place. Verizon didn't argue and replaced it for free. Check local code because it sounds like your run wasn't buried deep enough. Bring that to Verizon's attention and they will likely back down and replace it properly, for free.

 

[Greenman]

Neighbor had plummer in HIS yard, cut fios line and won't pay and (Verizon) wants me to pay $600. Said to call homeowner's insurance.

They bury this shit with a damn shovel a few inches in the ground, THEY should pay for this. This plummer was dumb he was walking around with a metal detector with the battery duck taped in! I looked like something from toys-r-us.

Our lane is 3200 feet long and they did a fusion splice instead of running a new line. We depend on this connection heavily (have two actually) so we may just have an electrician run a proper conduit 4 feet in the ground like it's supposed to.

Verizon is saying they should call miss utility before digging! Really? An aerator would have done this IMO.

Anyone else have this happen?

What a pain in the ass!

If the line was cut in your neighbors yard, it's your neighbors problem. The contractor who cut it is responsible. Call Verizon and tell them your service is out, and to correct the problem. Everything else is between your neighbor and Verizon.

 

[CraKaJaX]

What the hell is a plummer??

 

[Newbian]

What the hell is a plummer??

A professional plum picker.

 

[Humpy]

What the hell is a plummer??

Plummer is a lunar impact craterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_crater. It is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earthhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth, to the north of the huge walled plain Apollohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_(crater). Less than one crater diameter to the north of Plummer is the similar-sized Wilsing.

 

[PottedMeat]

What the hell is a plummer??

she played honey bunny in pulp fiction - "Any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every motherfucking last one of ya! "

 

[JSt0rm]

A professional plum picker.

that seems to be the problem.

 

[Spacehead]

Is this correct-
The line was cut in your neighbors yard & Verizon want you to pay?

Verizon is saying they should call miss utility before digging!

Mississippi?

(3) Except where the excavator has fully complied with the provisions of Section 77-13-5 and subsections (1) and (2) of this section, each person responsible for excavation that results in damage to an underground line or underground facility, except the property owner, unless the property owner is the excavator, shall be responsible for any and all costs and expenses incurred by the operator in restoring, correcting, repairing or replacing the damaged line or facility.

http://ms1call.org/one-call-law/#JD_77-13-7
I'd go to the above site & look for some info

 

[Ken M]

Neighbor had plummer in HIS yard, cut fios line and won't pay and (Verizon) wants me to pay $600. Said to call homeowner's insurance.

They bury this shit with a damn shovel a few inches in the ground, THEY should pay for this. This plummer was dumb he was walking around with a metal detector with the battery duck taped in! I looked like something from toys-r-us.

Our lane is 3200 feet long and they did a fusion splice instead of running a new line. We depend on this connection heavily (have two actually) so we may just have an electrician run a proper conduit 4 feet in the ground like it's supposed to.

Verizon is saying they should call miss utility before digging! Really? An aerator would have done this IMO.

Anyone else have this happen?

What a pain in the ass!

Who is Miss Utility? Is that like the Tooth Fairy?
Stop expecting the government to fix your problems.

 

[Lyfer]

Invite your neighbor over for dinner and feed him your poop.

 

[Jeff7]

Contractor is the one that needs to verify utilities before doing underground work, and Verizon knows that. Not doing so is *illegal*, but I don't know who you'd go to. You'd think Verizon would help you out...

They probably just listened for keywords and heard "shovel," "dig," and "damaged cable." That adds up to "Verizon isn't paying. Goodbye!"



I had really intermittent service (TimeWarner). I stated that the cable was damaged, and that it was probably done by a falling branch during a recent windstorm. The cable runs right underneath a tree. They didn't seem to be in any hurry to deal with that, partly because it's my tree.

I finally did use the correct keywords though: "exposed metal in the cable"
The shielding was visible and badly frayed.
That got someone to show up fairly quickly.

It's all outsourced to people with a tenuous understanding of English, or else with a rigid checklist to follow. As soon as a keyword appears that's in the checklist, that has to be the right path to follow.

"Your call is very important to us, which is why we've farmed out the service to the shittiest call center we could find, and then tried to lowball them on price."

Who is Miss Utility? Is that like the Tooth Fairy?
Stop expecting the government to fix your problems.

Everyone knows this.®

 

[Humpy]

Invite your neighbor over for dinner and feed him your poop.

Someday I won't get a giggle out of simple poop joke.

 

[chimaxi83]

Over at good old AT&T, they took the burial of our own drop cables away from us, and now use contractors.

One time, I was on a repair out of a pedestal that had a pending burial order for that day. The contractors show up, and the two non-English speaking gentleman proceeded to dig a 3 inch trench with

then carefully (not really) placed the wire in the expertly dug trench, and kicked the dirt back over the trench with their boots. Ultra professional, amirite? I could have pulled the whole thing up and out of the ground with very little effort.

Anyway, OP, there is nothing wrong with a properly done fusion splice. It's basically as good as new, minus the break in the jacket, but the splice should be sealed anyway. How long are you from the fiber terminal? If it's that 3200' you mentioned, nobody is going to replace a length of cable that long that has nothing but a clean cut somewhere in the middle, unless of course you pay for it.

 

[88keys]

As for myself. I'd probably be pretty pissed. I'd try to take any legal action I could and if that failed, I'd proceed to find that plumber and slash the tires to all of his work vehicles in the middle of the night or something along those lines.

FWIW, I am a vindicate SOB when it comes to money.