HOUSTON – You trust that when your internet provider sends someone to your home or property, they’ve vetted that person and taken responsibility for their work.
But one Copperfield woman contacted KPRC 2 Investigates when her new provider struck her with a repair bill for damages, which was caused by one of its contractors.
Here’s what you can do if this happens to you.
All Rita Peabody wanted was a lower-priced internet service. But she said her decision to switch providers set up a series of events that cost her thousands of dollars -- until we stepped in.
Small flags were marked on Peabody’s underground electric line after AT&T sent a contractor to bury a fiber line in her backyard, which turned into a very costly mistake.
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“So, I’m getting ready for work. He’s back here. I guess burying the line and then, all of a sudden, everything just goes off,” she explained. “No, electricity. No A/C because the A/C was running that day. And so I immediately opened that door and I said, ‘Hey, what did you do?’ And he said nothing.”
The worker finished burying the line and left, leaving Peabody with no power. CenterPoint told her the problem was with her underground electric line, a repair that took more than a week and cost more than $2,600.
“I just wanted new internet services. I didn’t know it was gonna be so costly,” she said.
Back and forth over who is responsible for damage
Peabody filed a claim with AT&T to reimburse her for the damages back in February.
AT&T sent the following response:
“The work related to your claim was performed by a contractor.
As a result, AT&T said it was not liable for the damages involved in this incident. AT&T told her to take it up with its contractor Qualstat. That company told Peabody it wasn’t their employee that caused the damage. Both companies were trying to pass the buck.
“They are totally passing it but they’re not passing the buck to me,” said Peabody.
Peabody even took pictures of the man sent to her home to bury the fiber line. He had no badge or vest identifying who he works for and he was driving an unmarked Honda.
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“I just want them to pay me my expenses, the expenses that I had to correct for their employee that they did hire. I didn’t and you know, find him and just you know, you get what you need from here, but just pay me and let me live my life. That’s all I ask,” she said.
When we reached out to AT&T, they contacted Peabody the same day. Within three days, the contractor’s insurance company put a check in the mail that covered all of the damages.
AT&T released following statement
We’ve reached out to Ms. Peabody and are working with our contractor to resolve her damage claim. We require our contractors to obtain proper permitting, follow applicable construction codes, and abide by rules governing rights-of-way and property easements. If construction-related issues do occur, we work to resolve and restore any impacts from our work.
“What would I do differently honestly aside from him knocking on my door? I’m like, ‘Oh, hi! My name is this. What is your name?’ I like for people to do, just do your job, but I may have to just come out and just watch them and that’s horrible. But that’s just something that you may have to do,” Peabody said.
We did check with an attorney about who is ultimately liable in cases like these. AT&T or contractors the company hires?
In general, a company is not liable for the negligence of independent contractors. Attorneys say you should also be careful of anything you sign that might unknowingly release the primary company from liability.
In this week’s episode of Ask Amy, I go over the most common questions about utility crews and your property.
RELATED: Utility crews leave damage behind, frustrating homeowners
