Um, Comcast, Could You Maybe Not Randomly Dig Up My Property Without Asking?
Reader Kyle, like so many of us, would rather Comcast not dig up his property without asking, especially when they are a) running cable for his neighbor b) mysteriously avoiding an area near the curb where they could have run the cable without disturbing his yard. To add insult to (landscaping) injury, when he asked the Comcast workers to stop digging they refused, and when he called Comcast to ask them to tell the workers to stop, they also refused, then hung up on him.
Kyle says:
I'm in the basement playing video games and my wife calls down to me, telling me that there are two guys digging in our front yard. I run up stairs to check it out, and they tell me that they're running cable to my neighbor's house. I would have no problem with this, except that they were running the line through my yard, and not through the other patch of grass near the curb where they should have been running it. I spoke to one of them and asked why they didn't ask me if they could dig on my property, and he gave me some noise about needing to run it over here because of the line signal. I told him to stop digging for a few minutes while I spoke with someone at Comcast.
I call the local number, navigate the tree and finally get in touch with a human being. For the first time in probably 3 years, I did not confirm the woman's name before continuing. I explained the situation and she tells me that she can't do anything about it. I ask to be put in touch with someone who can do something about it. She asks me for either my phone number or my account number, both of which I decline to provide. She continues saying that she's trying to help me, I inform her that she does not need my phone number to transfer me to someone who can help me. She asks if I'm a Comcast customer, I say yes, but also tell her that it doesn't matter; if I was a Dish customer, they still wouldn't be able to dig in my yard.
At this point she starts trying to talk over me, and I raise my voice to drown her attempts to talk over me. Then she hangs up on me. I'm researching DirecTV and Dish as we speak.
We asked Comcast for their official lawn digging policy, but our email went unanswered at the time of this post. Kyle says that the Comcast workers did a good job covering up where they were digging, but he's "just irritated that two Comcast techs took it upon themselves to start digging on private property when there is an area near the curb that they could have used that isn't my property." He also adds: "The real test will come in next several days, seeing if any of that grass ends up dying."
Since we don't know Comcast's official policy about digging up your lawn, we'll just refer our readers to their official coffee making policy. It is totally irrelevant, but quite comprehensive.
Kyle sends an update:
Comcast has an easement on the property on the other side of the sidewalk, a strip of grass roughly 3 feet wide directly next to the curb. This same strip of grass is where the box is located, in front of my other neighbor's house.
Had they used this area (and this area only) I would have had no problem. Instead, they also used a part of my yard, which is not fenced. There is no easement on my property, aside from that "communal" strip of grass.
Comcast has written us back and will be investigating the issue further, but in the meantime, Frank, Comcast's Twitter-jockey, says:
"The rules and policies regarding utility easements vary by municipality guidelines. It is always our goal to do any type of digging in the least intrusive manner possible. "
Frank from Comcast sends another update. He says that Comcast was within its legal rights to dig up Kyle's lawn, but admits that it could have been handled better. (Like, by not hanging up on him.)
As a quick follow up regarding this situation. The place where work was being done was in the utility easement for [redacted], which is 12 feet from the curb. We are working with the Customer to learn more of his experience and improve it for others. But ultimately we could have done a better job of explaining what we were doing and what an easement is.
Yay, communication.
(Photo: u2acro )
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Comments:
If someone is digging up your property without permission, summon law enforcement. Comcast, especially, is not going to care until you make them care.
I would call the cops. Trespassing is illegal, no? Or is there an exception for utilities/cable providers?
I go dig it back up. But I'm a dick like that.
My solution? Fences & pit-bulls. Lots of pit-bulls.
People don't come into my yard unless I let them in.
Jeez, they come out to give a ditch for free and you get angry? Talk about ungrateful. I wonder if the police would come out if you called them about it while they were still digging.
Trespassing and vandalism is against the law, last I checked, even for multibillion dollar monopoly corporations I'm sure. OP should have called the police, instead of Comcast, and then grabbed a shovel and defended his property.
@snoop-blog: You, sir, are not a dick. I'd rent a ditchwitch, and then pour bags of dry cement in the trench prior to covering it back up.
No right of way nor variance, no diggy!
snoop, brilliant! Actually dig it up behind them as they work. That would have been just brilliant.
Get out the shovel, Mildred, I got a hankerin to do some diggin...
@henrygates: Beat me to it - if a comcast employee (or anyone else for that matter) won't leave your property, and insists on vandalizing it, call the cops.
I would just repeatedly have a dog dig down and chew up the newly placed cable. The techs will get tired of having to come out and fix it. You don't even have to actually damage the cable, just keep calling Comcast and reporting that the previous damage that the techs caused has come back. You don't even need a dog...
Shoulda called the cops!
What they were doing is illegal.
Call the cops, and then get pictures, plate numbers, names of the workers if possible etc. Even if the cops don't get there in time, you'll have enough evidence to at the very least make a ruckus and hopefully get some sort of apology from Comcast.
I would have called the local police and informed then that two people, who are NOT public servants, were digging up my lawn and have refused to vacate my property. I wonder how Comcast would have dealt with that?
If Comcast enjoys the use of an easement, there's not much one can do to prevent it from digging.
That said, I'd probably make them prove they've got an easement before letting them dig. Quick call to the cops for criminal damaging should stop the digging until such proof is offered.
get out a shovel and some hedge clippers and disable that cable pronto.
Also, check to see if your locale has a DigSafe law that requires contractors to contact DigSafe for approval prior to excavation. That's a bigger offense than trespassing.
Snoop has a great idea to just dig it up, however I would take it one step further. I'd dig it up, but do it as part of a "landscaping project" that you are thinking about doing in that area. That way you have a legitimate reason to dig that area up and "accidentally" snipping the cable (in three or four places).
And when Comcast comes back out to try and run cable through your yard, inform them that they are trespassing, and any further attempt to dig in your yard will result in the authorities being called.
I wouldn't go through the trouble of digging it all back up, I'd just make sure the line got cut somewhere along the run.
In some states this guy would be within his rights to shoot at trespassers. That'd be a hell of a day at work, eh?
I call shenanigans. The OP claims that he called Comcast and reached a live human being.
You should have called the police the very moment the Comcast techs said no to your request to stop digging on your property.
I just let them know that there's a permit fee to dig on my property: one year of all the movie channels for free.
I had to have a new line dropped as a result of a weak signal. The post/trunk/whatever it is called is in my backyard neighbors yard. The Time Warner tech went to the neighbors house and asked permission to enter her yard and to dig, only a short distance, in her yard.
Why not lie down on the lawn in front of them? Just be sure not to pop off to the pub for a pint or two. Those bastards would just start up again even if they promised not to.
@SkokieGuy: heh, nah, he probably just called and said "Verizon" and "Fios" in response to every question asked by the automated system
As iMike noted above, if there is a utility easement on your property (as there is on almost all residential property), you have no choice. Fastest way to check -> pull out the copy of your title that you got when you bought the house. It will list easements and locations of them.
The problem with cutting the line is that they will fine you! Remember the DigSafe law? I would have contacted the police.
1. Ask them to leave your property.
2. If they refused, call cops.
In many incorporated areas, there is a utility right of way on the street-facing portion of property. Basically, this allows utilities to access their lines under & over the property, install new lines and maintain those lines, without having to get permission of the property owner. They have to avoid damaging the lawn & other property when they do so. In addition, municipalities often have rules about what can be placed on the right of way by the homeowner. So, you may not be able to place your reflecting pool over the right of way.
Comcast had every right to do what they did (minus the extremely bad customer service). Its called the utility right of way.
Sorry folks, but chances are Comcast has the right to do this. Utility easements tend to be fairly broad. They certainly don't need the owner's permission. Calling the cops is no recourse.
What surprises me is that so few property owners understand that these easements exist.
Call comcast? Call the POLICE!!!!
Most people don't know this but a good section of "their" front yard is the City's/Counties property/easement. Roads tend to be measured as 20, 30, 40 feet wide from center line. While actual roads a lot of time are 1/2 this. At my house the road easement is a good 15 feet past the curb. So all that grass I mow, not my property. You can usually spot the edge of this easement by the location of things like phone or cable pedestals, power vaults, or water meters.
Comcast almost certainly has access to the easement over the property. They don't need permission from anyone to use the easement for the purposes for which it was granted (running utility lines, etc.). Comcast was completely in the right here, and the OP was wrong to demand that they stop. As a property owner, he should understand their right to access his property as part of the easement on the deed. So long as they fix any "damage" that they do, Comcast was 100% right here. Now, there are better ways to go about it, like asking permission, but what if the person says no? They still have the right to do it notwithstanding the owners non-consent.
I had some utility contract workers digging up my lawn completely making a mess. When I asked what they were doing, they said "digging for worms". I'm still not sure who they were or what they were doing; they might have been replacing some underground electrical lines. I don't want to stop them if their work was necessary, but a straight answer would have been nice when they're imposing on my property.
He was a lot nicer/patient than I would be. I would have walked out and ordered them to stop while I called the police.
Comcast didn't have the courtesy to call you, you don't need to call them.
Me: Hi boys what are you up too?
Comcast: We are running a cable line.
Me: Why are you going through my lawn?
Comcast: Because we are COMCAST as we do as we f'ing please!
Me: Well I hope you got a locate done first cause the gas line is real close to the surface here.
...or...
Me: Well don't mind the sprinklers...(swish.d.d.d.d.d.swish...)
...or...
Me: Keep an eye on my dog OK! He doesn't like people in his space. Sit Ubu sit.
It's called utility easement. They have the right to dig in your yard or gain access to utility services without asking permission. The basic guideline for Cable and Phone is whichever path the power company took should be followed if at all possible. In the case of Aerial spans if power is to low to follow or cuts across a yard in what would be considered "Aerial Trespassing" then mid-span drops following property lines must be followed. Usually they will try and follow property lines if possible whether it's aerial or underground. Something most people don't know is you are not supposed to plant anything within 3-4 feet of a utility access box or pole. The utility companies will usually pay for damages if they occur to said shrubs but there are not legally obligated to do so. Yes, I did work for Comcast once upon a time.
whatever happened to that consumerist lawyer to see if it really is illegal (its not).....wait we are bashing Comcast, lets post it anyway.........no need to check the facts.
Your township/municipality should have a cable television commission which directs the way a ('the') cable company operates in the area and should have defined rules and guidelines for constructions.
Google it or contact your official complaint officer appointed by your commission.
OMG I just realized this guy actually got an accurate answer immediately from a Comcast employee... on the first try!
There is hope for all the cable companies... I can feel it.
@MayorBee is Haulin' Ass...Gettin' Paid: Comcast's digging policy is on display, in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in a disused lavatory, with a sign on the door saying, "Beware of the Leopard."
When a utility (like Comcast) gets a license to provide service in your city they get certain rights-of-way and easements. If they are digging within those areas there isn't anything you can do about it. So you need to understand the particular rules set up in your town. I would bet that if the OP looked closely at his deed he would find his yard is legally defined in a way that doesn't match his internal notion of what his yard is. That being said a company that gave a shit about customers would inform you about what is was going to do and have the paperwork that described the right-of-way handy so there was no mis-understanding. I say all of this after Comcast bozos came an cut through my fios because they didn't follow the required PA rules to get underground services marked before digging.
@Pylon83
If they have the rights to use an easement, then they should have the paperwork with them proving it.
Call the cops & cut their cable. Utilities are allowed easements, but these usually are near the road, *NOT* in the middle of the lawn.
@Pylon83: That depends on your title. Which is a good reason to have a copy of all of the paper on your property in the county clerk's office.
You should make a point of knowing what easements are on your property.
Often, the utilities must be run on the road right of way, and any new easements that are needed must be paid for, after condemnation.
Not every home is a part of a development.
I'm the OP. Comcast has an easement on the property on the other side of the sidewalk, a strip of grass roughly 3 feet wide directly next to the curb. This same strip of grass is where the box is located, in front of my other neighbor's house.
Had they used this area (and this area only) I would have had no problem. Instead, they also used a part of my yard, which is not fenced. There is no easement on my property, aside from that "communal" strip of grass.
I'm agreeing with others here. First, call the cops. Second, that cable would mysteriously be cut every day or so.
same as when people park in your driveway for a neighbor's party-sprinklers
Hrm... Destruction of property..?