Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire

   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #11  
When I ran water to my garage, I called the phone company ahead of time. I knew where the line was, but I also knew that I needed to cross it at 90 degrees. I asked them if there was anything I/they could do. They said they could come out and mark it. Tom them that was really going to do much good since I knew where it was. They told me to "becareful and try not to cut it work around it if I could." It ended up raining and they didn't make it out to mark it. After wrestling with an ill-cutting trenching piece-of-crap, I didn't even bother to stop when I got close to the line. Went right on through it. Filled the trench back in except where the line was, called them from the cell phone, they came out an fixed it a day or so later. No charge. That was a lot easier than me trying to dig a couple foot of trench by hand avoid a wire. I know, wasn't the right thing to do, but it work for me. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #12  
I had to run a new water line 90 degree to what the pole marker showed the phone line running past my place. Called them, they showed up said the line ran in front of my house. It should have but didn't, it took 3 90 deg bends to go around my 2 acres. I had to show the tech on his own map that the line did run that way before he marked it.

Harry K
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #13  
I've cut the phone line at least 4 times in the past few years. Phone guy just gave me a coupla kits to repair it myself. (I told him I would be happy to if he did).

Shovel once
Posthole diggers once
t-post once
Tractor once

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #14  
Well, I hope you learned your lesson. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But seriously, call before you dig anything, just to cover your assets.

A friend of ours called before he dug. He was putting in a fence. They marked everything and he still managed to hit the gas lines for both of his next door neighbors. He got absolutely nothing done that day. At least nothing exploded. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #15  
Call ANYTIME you are going to dig more than 12 inches down if you dont want to take the chance, thats the law here.

You will not normally get billed for cutting a telco service wire (serves one house) marked or otherwise. Unless you expect me to dig it up after you filled in the hole before you called.

If you cut a cable (serves more than one customer) and did not get it marked, you will pay for time and material including backhoe charges if needed. This is in at least 98% of the cases.

If you called and waited the three days and it wasnt marked, or you called and it was mismarked, and you hit it. The locating company will be billed.

Thats how it works in PA and did when I worked in NJ.

.........................

I fixed a lot of cable in all kinds of situations before the law came around. Call before you dig is a real good thing with sound reasons backing it up. The laws are written so that contractors dont take out service to many people because thay think they are to good to have to dig by hand. You can very simply help kill someone if they are trying to get to 911 and you cut the cable. You take the utilities down to a buisness and they are losing money. That affects a lot more then a backhoe operator.
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #16  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you called and waited the three days and it wasnt marked, or you called and it was mismarked, and you hit it. The locating company will be billed.)</font>

I've found that getting locates can be a real nightmare with some of the utilities, especially in the country.

More than one water district has told me to do what I have to do and if I cut it they'll fix it. The problem with that is it kills me production wise if I cut a water line.


Farmer's Electric first didn't send anyone out until I had a snot slinging fit. Then the locator missed a three phase service I had to cross and I had to have them back to mark it.

I don't even want to think about what four forty three phase would do to the tractor in that initial surge. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Another interesting thing in the mix is directional boring. If someone cuts across your yard with a trencher you're going to remember it. Plus an experienced post hold digger will notice the different soils sometimes between the fill and undisturbed soil. But a bore won't disturb the surface and it's still down there.
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #17  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Well, I hope you learned your lesson. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

)</font>

Apparently not. To finish my spillway pipe, I jumped the fence and shoveled a last 4'. Guess what? Yup, I found his phone line. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Got lucky and didn't cut this one. I called him just to be positive. Told him I found it for him. He laughed. He already knew I'm good at finding stuff. He has 5 acres, I shovel 4' and find the phone line in the back of his property... Oh well, he's thankfull I'm piping, the ditch across his land is getting WAY BIG!
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #18  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I was plowing the garden (it has always been in the same location) and plowed through the phone line to my own house. I asked the phone guy how deep the line should be burried and he told me 12-18". No way the plow could have went this deep but the wife changed phone companies to something cheaper and they don't have a repair crew. SBC came out and ran a new wire and told me I would be responsible for the price of the repair. After a couple of months, still no bill-still could be though. )</font>The deal here is the phone company your wife switched to has a contract with SBC to do that companies repairs for them.
SBC has no legal right to bill you because the other company is SBCs customer not you.
Don't let SBC pull the wool over your eyes.
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #19  
Lbrown, depends on what kind of deal the reseller (CLEC) has with SBC. If they dont cover the cost then the end user could be charged. In this case SBC is just a contractor. CELC's are noted for not bothering to pay their bills, at least around here. About 9 months ago the local I work for sent a CLEC a letter on a Monday that we would be terminating their service, about 3000 residential lines, T1's, and special circuits on Thursday. It was pretty funny.
 
   / Cut The Neighbors Telephone Wire #20  
In NY it's called "Digsafe". It's free and I always call.
Then, if I hit something it won't be my fault.

Many times the underground utilities are not marked clearly.

Good luck.
 
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