Looking for advice- Dealing with Comcast

[Jonathan Freinkel]

Not a standard situation.. Trying to understand what to do.

2 months ago I called Comcast to come and finally bury the wire for my neighbors house that had been on my property and exposed for 4+ months!

A week ago I noticed a large tree of mine had turned brown and the leaves were looking bad.

I looked closer today and see that they cut all the tree roots to bury the wire.

Are they liable for their damage? Since the wire did not have to go in that direction surely it'it shows intent?



And no. I don't want the wood. I want the tree replaced!

[Jonathan Freinkel]

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[Ken Fitzgerald]

Contact the city to see if utilities including Comcast have a right of way to run cables. Then contact a lawyer for legal advice.

[Mel Fulks]

In my experience and reading unless the ground is extremely rocky the trees that put out that type root system are pretty tough. I would complain ,but expect no payout unless the tree dies soon.

[Mel Fulks]

Oops,forgot the part about NEIGHBORS line. Ken has good idea about checking right of way.

[Mel Fulks]

One more thing, it is possible you will be getting a number of new ugly shoots coming up from the cuts.

[Frederick Skelly]

I agree with the steps Ken stated. Get solid info and then take action.

Several cable companies Ive worked with use subs for this kind of work. Depending on the laws in your state, that may/may not introduce some interesting wrinkles.

On the other hand, you might be surprised and they may offer some amount of compensation without too much argument. I mean, they know that sometimes sloppy or bad workmanship happens and you have evidence of such.

As an aside, I'll tell you a story about a guy I once worked with. It's NOT a good comparison, but it might give you some "hope" and it's good general kowledge for other folks........ This guy's toilets kept backing up and the drain cleaner guys kept telling him there was an obstruction at 80 ft (or whatever it was). He finally hired a company to dig there and find/fix the problem. He brought pics the next day - the blockage was a piece of yellow (natural gas?) piping - right through the center of his sewer line. No kidding - it looked as if someone had done it on purpose. We were all doing the "what the heck?"routine. He called the utility company and they said something like "those lines went in using a directional drilling type machine from probably some distance away and sometimes this happens. Bring us the pics and we'll pay for a proper repair." So Im suggesting that utility companies know they are going to have stuff happen once in a while and factor it into their business plans. Maybe, if you get lucky, they'll negotiate some kind of reasonable settlement and pass the cost back to their sub. I would call your homeowner's insurance and ask what they would pay if that tree were destroyed (lightening, etc). It won't be what it would cost to bring in a 40' Ash and plant it, but it will give you a "bottom of the range" number. You might also ask your city/county building authorities.

Anyway, I hope this long winded story helps a bit and I wish you good luck. Please let us know how it turns out so we can all be smarter on "dealing with" utilities.

Fred

[Mark Blatter]

I agree with the steps Ken stated. Get solid info and then take action.

Several cable companies Ive worked with use subs for this kind of work. Depending on the laws in your state, that may/may not introduce some interesting wrinkles.

On the other hand, you might be surprised and they may offer some amount of compensation without too much argument. I mean, they know that sometimes sloppy or bad workmanship happens and you have evidence of such.

As an aside, I'll tell you a story about a guy I once worked with. It's NOT a good comparison, but it might give you some "hope" and it's good general kowledge for other folks........ This guy's toilets kept backing up and the drain cleaner guys kept telling him there was an obstruction at 80 ft (or whatever it was). He finally hired a company to dig there and find/fix the problem. He brought pics the next day - the blockage was a piece of yellow (natural gas?) piping - right through the center of his sewer line. No kidding - it looked as if someone had done it on purpose. We were all doing the "what the heck?"routine. He called the utility company and they said something like "those lines went in using a directional drilling type machine from probably some distance away and sometimes this happens. Bring us the pics and we'll pay for a proper repair." So Im suggesting that utility companies know they are going to have stuff happen once in a while and factor it into their business plans. Maybe, if you get lucky, they'll negotiate some kind of reasonable settlement and pass the cost back to their sub. I would call your homeowner's insurance and ask what they would pay if that tree were destroyed (lightening, etc). It won't be what it would cost to bring in a 40' Ash and plant it, but it will give you a "bottom of the range" number. You might also ask your city/county building authorities.

Anyway, I hope this long winded story helps a bit and I wish you good luck. Please let us know how it turns out so we can all be smarter on "dealing with" utilities.

Fred

Fred,

You are right and most utility companies will stand behind their work. The bad news is that this is Comcast, who has proven time and time again, that they are not the friendliest company around....and that is to their own customers.

[Brian Elfert]

It looks like the coax line was probably installed by a vibratory plow. If a subcontractor did the work they probably just went the quickest route. Comcast generally pays subcontractors a fixed amount for each job so the faster they do it the more jobs they can do in a day. I am surprised the subcontractor didn't just hand dig the line and put it about two inches below the ground. In my area that is all Comcast ever seems to do.

As far as gas lines through sewer lines go, this happened with some frequency in my area. At least one house has exploded from this that I recall. The gas utility is trying to identify these issues so they can be fixed before explosions and fires happen.

[Dan Hintz]

I am surprised the subcontractor didn't just hand dig the line and put it about two inches below the ground. In my area that is all Comcast ever seems to do.

Consider yourself lucky... around here, they just lay the cable on the ground. If they do end up burying it, it's only after years of continually bugging them... THEN it gets buried 2" under.