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Community Support

Community Support

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6.7K Messages

Monday, May 23rd, 2016 9:00 PM

Exposed Line/ Wire - How To Report & Things To Know From AT&T

 

Note: Extreme weather or other factors can cause downed lines, including electrical lines. Always call your local authorities in an emergency situation. Never approach a downed wire yourself.

 

To report a unburied wire, exposed cable, or compromised man-hole covers both AT&T customers and non-customers can report it by calling here, 800.288.2020. If you are a DSL or U-verse customer, you may also report an un-buried wire or exposed cable using Live Chat support on our Support Center.

 

Please contact AT&T if:

  • More than two weeks have passed since AT&T performed initial work in your area or at your home, refer to the below section for more details
  • A cable providing service to a house is hanging low
  • AT&T owned equipment in your yard, street or neighborhood needs the attention of AT&T
  • A hazard is visibly present

Some utility companies mark or paint their lines. If the line is marked but does not say AT&T, please report the uncovered cable directly to that company.

 

During repair or new installation, cables are sometimes left unburied and above ground. Many factors can contribute to this including:

  • Obtaining necessary permits from local authorities – Not only can it take some time to get a permit, but the permit only allows for work on certain dates at certain times.
  • WeatherWeather conditions limit the times we can work. Rain, snow, and other intrusive weather conditions can cause delays. During winter months, the ground can freeze and burying the line cannot take place until the ground has thawed and is soft enough to work on.
  • Home Owner Associations – We work with the community to make sure we follow the HOA polices which may cause delays.
  • New Construction and Coordination of ContractorsGetting the line buried can involve multiple parties which could cause delays.

Your estimated completion date is a projection and may change. We will keep you updated should this occur. Winter weather can cause the promise date to be extended beyond our estimated two week time period. When spring arrives your appointment will be rescheduled to bury the cable. 

 

You may receive a text message alerting you of your new projected date should a change occur. If your mobile contact number is not listed on your account or you did not receive a text message, feel free to contact our bury team here: 800.288.2020.

 

FAQ:

  • What time will the crew be there to install it? Do I need to be home?
    • Our cable burial teams do not have set schedules
    • You do not need to be home for the crews to perform the cable burial service unless you have locked gates or fences that would prevent access to the cable.
  • What if I have a sprinkler system or invisible fence?
    • If you have a sprinkler system or invisible fence installed on your property, please indicate the locations of sprinkler heads or invisible fence devices with a visual aid such as a flag, cone or grass safe paint so we can plan a path to bury the cable accordingly
  • What damage will be done to my landscaping?
    • Our teams take special care not to damage your property when burying cables. If any landscaping damage is caused, we will ensure that your property is restored to its previous condition. If you do not see any action after 1 week or have questions, please reach out to us at
      1-800-246-8464: If you live in CA, NV, TX, MO, OK, KS, AR, IL, OH, IN, WI, MI
      1-877-737-2478: If you live in FL, GA, NC, SC, KY, LA, AL, MS, TN

 

Thanks

ATTJohnCS, AT&T Community Specialist

*I am an AT&T employee, and the postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent AT&T's position, strategies or opinions.

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4 Attachments

Contributor

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2 Messages

7 years ago

Thank you . The hole has been fixed 

Contributor

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1 Message

7 years ago

When I upgraded my Uverse speed a tech came out and ran a new cable from the power pole in the alley to my house. The problem is, he said it would be buried initially but instead ran it from high on the pole right to the house and left it sagging across my driverway. I'm 5 foot 5 and I can grab the cable with my fist it's so low.  How do I go about getting it either buried or raised up?

Contributor

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1 Message

7 years ago

My neighbor has a 2nd home with large acreage that abuts mine.  He just had ATT install service and the installer laid the lines across my property without permission.  They used a trencher to dig and install the lines approx. 100 LF through my property.  There are no easements on my property and in the process they dug up my drive way, went through a picnic area where I'm installing retaining walls and a fireplace and then through a newly planted strawberry patch.  I approached my neighbor regarding this concern and he is not interested in helping me resolve the matter.    ATT has informed me that they cannot help me because I am not an account holder.  Am I correct in stating that this is an encroachment on my property for which permission should have been requested and an agreeable route of installation should have been discussed that would not have resulted in damage or inconvenience to me?

 

 

Contributor

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2 Messages

7 years ago

There has been no internet for me or any of my neighbors for 6 days now. Find this odd since we are in south carolina and didnt get hit hard but I dont know enough about how it works to complain. I do know that for at least 3 days (when i noticed it) the little grey pole outside has its cover off and wires exposed. Been trying to report but no idea how and the phone calls keep taking me to a message about outages. I have a picture as well i can send so you know what im talking about. Though the no internet is a issue, especially since i pay most of my bills online, the son of a neighbor opened up his wireless spectrum for us all untill we get connection back. Funny how he is only one with internet on entire street.

Contributor

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1 Message

7 years ago

I'd like to speak with someone from the Construction / Engineering Department responsible for Portola Valley, CA 94028

 

A tree fell and broke the existing power pole - PG&E put in a new one but did not touch ATT&T wires leaving them on the old broken pole. Further, a number of lines are not far of the ground on our private drive - really looks terrible. My neighbors and I would like to explore having the lines put underground.

 

Thank you for the feed back.

Contributor

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1 Message

7 years ago

There is a AT&T pole (about 3 ft tall) that's falling. The wires grounded from the ground have been exposed. I tried calling the # on the pole, but nobody pickup.  I'm not sure what the pole is for but the neighborhood seem to have a lot of those but non, falling over and/or wires exposed. 

Contributor

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3 Messages

6 years ago

Burial of Fiber Cut Water Line, No contact from AT&T or their sub contractor

 

No marking of the water line was done prior to them running the equipment, and no one from AT&T or their direct subcontractor contacted me. I received a text from the plumber they contacted that I had an appointment scheduled for this evening, which is how I found out that there was a problem. NOTE - this means that they had my phone number and didn't bother to call or text me.

 

The plumber was able to get there quickly, but unfortunately left before I was able to get home. If the plumber hadn't contacted me, my only notice was a hang tag by my door (which I found at 6 pm, 2 hours after the office closed that was the only phone number on the card).

 

The plumbing repair was not done to my satisfaction as the home owner (based on pictures from the plumber). There was no indication of the burial being done today, nor is it available as an appointment that I can see from my att portal access. The phone number I was given to contact (from the main att customer service line -- same phone number listed on this community page as well), that was supposed to be answered until 7 pm eastern, resulted in a hangup that it was not available for my area to call in to that number.

 

I am beyond frustrated at this lack of communication. The water meter was within 2 feet of the fiber cable lying on the ground, and to not mark it or contact the home owner for clarification is completely unacceptable. And now they want to come back next week at a time I can not be home to do something else. I need that rescheduled and there is no way to get any information, or even a timeline for when someone would be available to answer the phone, and be able to fix any part of this correctly. 

Contributor

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3 Messages

6 years ago

I need to place a grievance and need some information as to where I can do that because I need some resolution. Recently AT&T sent out subcontractors to my senior parents house to trim the branches from their tree that was resting on the power/phone lines. My father not knowing any better asked if they could trim a second branch since they were up on the tree already. The crew of two said sure we could do that for $40. He said he would be right back to pay them and upon his return the crew asked him for the money as they packed up their truck. My father went to the backyard to see if the branch was removed and when he came back to question them about it they said they could not do it after all because their inspector would write them up and took off with my fathers money and moved on to the next house a block away. The tree branch was never removed and my father was left very upset. The subcontractors are always in the area, probably taking advantage of other seniors, As much as I tempted to go speak to them I chose to come to AT&T first since you were the one's that sent these thieves out. I would like a response as soon as possible to solve this issue. I will not let some thieves take advantage of my elderly parents due to their naiveness and age. Thank you. Yesi

Contributor

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1 Message

6 years ago

I would echo that the web instructions and capabilities of the people taking the service calls were not particularly helpful.  Finding how to report an unburied cable was difficult.  The 1-800-288-2020 line automated routing did not provide an option for someone not a customer to report this type of situation.  It took four tries to get a service rep who could give me the correct number, 1-800-924-9420; which would not allow me to report the cable that is laying exposed out in a common area of the subdivision.  They did try to sell me U-Verse though...not a great experience.  Why would anyone want to be a customer of a company that operates this way?

New Member

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2 Messages

4 years ago

Awesome thank you so much. I'll give them a call. I appreciate the help!
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