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

[s0me0nesmind1]

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...

I would be threatening to leave, personally. No way in hell I would pay $600 for someone else's mistake.

That's usually what gets the most "prompt" attention. Threatening to no longer be a customer.

 

[OutHouse]

As others have said, this is on the neighbor. The damage did not happen on your property. How could verizon make you pay a dime?

 

[Meghan54]

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

Nope, not gov't. More likely 811.org....utility company paid for.

"Call before you dig", "Dial before you dig", "Digger's Hotline", "One-call", "Miss Utility", "Dig Safe", or Underground Service Alert are services that allow construction workers or homeowners to contact utility companies, who will then denote where underground utilities are located via color-coded markings typically up to and not past the user's service connection or meter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_location

 

[Carson Dyle]

How deep are these cables supposed to be buried? I spent a couple of summers installing sprinkler systems and they were only buried deep enough to avoid the typical yard maintenance - maybe 8" at most.

 

[SNC]

Why is your line running through your neighbor's yard?

 

[msi1337]

I think the regulations state that 18" is the minimal burial depth

http://freenec.com/T640.html

 

[Ichinisan]

Telecoms never bury it as deep as they're supposed to. It's just too likely that they would damage other lines. Easier to just come repair their own line when it gets damaged.

 

[DCal430]

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



Mississippi?


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

Huh you should read section JD_77_13-5 as it sounds like it was less than 12 inches, so your section does not apply. Sounds to me like verizon didn't bury the line properly and are actually one responsible.

 

[squirrel dog]

make a public service commission complaint on your service provider and see how quick your troubles go away , at 0 cost to anyone . PSC complaint , a baller win .

 

[slackerinabox]

I'd first call Verizon's highest level of customer service, then their retentions department, then your local cable company to change providers if all else fails.

 

[squirrel dog]

As an ex att manager , your line to your house should be 6~18" deep . Gas and water are at the 3~3+' level and power is below that , so a conduit at 4' deep would price out at around $6 a foot in Louisiana . Plus permits . The line provided by your service provider
belongs to them , it's up to them to fix it to your satisfaction , and it can be repaired properly . Believe me when I tell you if your state has a psc commission , just the threat of you filing one would get one of my managers wanting to meet with you , "to straighten it all out" . Yearly raises are effected by many factors , safety , productivity and customer satisfaction which a psc profile is built into .

 

[rh71]

Surprised they bury at all - sounds like a crapload of work for an installer. Is this a new thing and we are the ones backwards here with all the lines hanging on poles across our backyards? Maybe to avoid mother nature's wrath?

 

[lxskllr]

Surprised they bury at all - sounds like a crapload of work for an installer. Is this a new thing and we are the ones backwards here with all the lines hanging on poles across our backyards? Maybe to avoid mother nature's wrath?

Depends I think. They hang where poles are available, and bury otherwise. Exposed lines are retarded, and should always be buried imo. It's more work/money up front to save money/hassle in the future.

 

[Harrod]

make a public service commission complaint on your service provider and see how quick your troubles go away , at 0 cost to anyone . PSC complaint , a baller win .

Do, this, as someone who works for an ISP, there is absolutely nothing that will get there attention quicker than doing something like this.

 

[boomerang]

Hmm, can I file a PSC complaint next time Comcast decides to start charging me monthly for a modem I own? It seems like I every time I contact them about something they slap that charge on my bill. They're always real good about taking it off though. I can only guess they're hoping I won't notice.

 

[feralkid]

 

[who?]

Does someone remind you of a duck, quack, quack, quack?

 

[fstime]

My state has "Call Before You Dig," all the major utility companies come and place little flag stakes if there is something running through your property and its completely free.

http://call811.com/811-your-state

 

[Red Squirrel]

lol why would the plumber even bother using a metal detector to find a water or drainage line, I don't think metal detectors go as far as 10 feet, which is where water/sewage line typically should be to avoid freezing. It also sounds like he never got a locate done.

It's completely insane that Verizon wants $600 to fix the line. I would try to get to their retention department, they might wave it if you're lucky. Ask to cancel the service and when they ask why say that the line got cut and there's no way you want to pay $600 to get it fixed.

 

[BoomerD]

The plumber and homeowner where the work was performed are the ones who should pay the costs...HOWEVER, I'd just bitch to Verizon...tell them your service is out...and has been out for x days...and DEMAND they come fix your service. It's up to them to recoup the costs from the liable parties.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Come to think of it, arn't they responsible for anything after the NID? I thought this is how it worked. I wonder if they're trying to string you along thinking you have to pay, so they don't have to.

 

[MongGrel]

make a public service commission complaint on your service provider and see how quick your troubles go away , at 0 cost to anyone . PSC complaint , a baller win .

Do, this, as someone who works for an ISP, there is absolutely nothing that will get there attention quicker than doing something like this.

+1

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Contacting the right people will get much better/faster results in many cases.

It is a matter of knowing who to contact to kick someone in the ass sometimes.

 

[Jeff7]

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.

I was in my campus apartment during college and heard a loud boom from some construction equipment several hundred feet away, then the lights went out.
The entire campus lost power for several hours.

They had received approval to dig there, as there were allegedly no buried power lines in that area.

Found it!

 

[Humpy]

...10 feet, which is where water/sewage line typically should be to avoid freezing.

LOL Canada

 

[Imp]

Meh, at least they didn't hit the gas. Some idiot I know hired people who couldn't speak English to install a fence right on top of the painted, located utilities. Guess what? They dug too deep and hit a has main, took all night to repair it after the fire department was called.