damage to service drop, should I go ahead and pay the full amount or is there a way to reduce it?

[Lumberjack]

I know my insurance has a $2,500 deductible, so the insurance company wouldn’t even pay anything at that price. The advantage would be that it goes towards the deductible in case you would have to file another claim this year. Not sure how yours is setup, but I thought I’d share.

Deductibles are usually per occurrence, not an annual deductible like medical insurance.

 

[cory]

Is "offer in compromise" the term I'm looking for? I would talk with a higher up at the power company ...

Totally agree. Of course you may have to rip your hair out to actually make phone contact with said higher up...

 

[Boomslang]

It was so expensive because they upgraded the line from the old shit to the new hotness. So yea, not totally fair to put you on the hook for the whole thing. Around here a service drop hookup is done by an electrician (not the utility) and runs $600-$800. I would try and work something out with the utility. Even splitting the cost would be better than nothing.

 

[JeffGu]

Around here, nobody... not even the utility company... can restore any part of the system that doesn't meet current codes. That drop would have to be replaced with the current standard for 200A service. But, I've also had good luck with utility companies modifying the bill. It is worth the effort to talk to them about it. That's an expensive drop, though. I got the entire service to the house on one of our properties switched to underground for less than that. 140' run, including the trenching, meter socket, cutoff switch and the new 200A panel at the house. Utility company ran it down the pole in conduit, installed meter socket and cutoff switch... electrician did the rest. I'm not sure if any of that bill was what the utility company did, because that part of the system is their responsibility, and the rest was mine. Still, $2200 seems awfully high for an aerial drop.

Edit: Wife still had the bill. No bill from utility company, $1260.00 from the electrician.

 

[Fivepoints]

I would definitely go talk to higher ups at the utilities. This will probably be more effective in person vs trying to get someone on the phone. I would point out the unacceptable one month wait to get a service drop dropped to be able to perform work.

 

[cerviarborist]

Generally the utility companies are only concerned with pole to pole and pole to transformer distribution. Service drops are handled by an electrician. This in and of itself is puzzling to me. If the bill has been assessed by the utility company, ask them to provide an itemized bill showing how their figure was arrived at. Once you have that, contact their dispute resolution unit, show them documentation that you requested an assist on this property from them a month ago, and ask them to absorb the cost of the new service drop, or accept a smaller amount. Again, be diplomatic and get with their dispute resolution department. Ask your client (the property owner) if they're willing to lean into the utility company on the basis of their slow motion response. Utility companies are pretty flush with cash and if a property owner is concerned (as they should be...the service drop was put on their property), you may well get somebody at the utility company to just call it done and let it go without a fee.

 

[Reach]

Their service is already bad enough now. Lead time used to be less than a week, now over a month for a line drop.

Around here it takes at least a month, if not 6-8 weeks, and the weather had better cooperate or you’re out of luck! We did one of those last summer, worked like mad for two days in 97 degree heat to get the job done but we made it.

On my opinions, I like the idea of calling your agent first, for an opinion, and then do what he says. One claim in 17 years for something like that should not be a big deal, we have had two liability claims in 11 years - both the same summer - and did not see a rate increase.

 

[Daniel]

Apparently Daniel is one of those special sort of asshole's who doesn't have a problem stealing money from another workingman?

You know without a question that the working men and women of the utility company are going to get paid whether or not he pays that bill.

The only working man he could take any money from in this situation is himself.

 

[flushcut]

I would pay out of pocket. A claim might raise your policy more than the out of pocket cost in the long run. Plus 22hung really isn't that much, a day of tree work.

 

[JeffGu]

Ultimately, the bill for the drop falls on the owner of the property, and that's who they'll go after to collect it. The homeowner likely doesn't want a lien on their property and will end up paying it. That's likely to result in a small claims court judgement against you. Generally speaking, that's bad for business.

But hey, maybe they'll just forget about the bill, or the Tooth Fairy will pay it, or Daniel will spend some of his millions and pay it for you.

Nah, I'm just kidding. None of that shit is gonna happen.

 

[rico]

Bragging about how much money they make while refusing to pay people for their services...This kinda reminds me of someone else, but I for the life of me can't remember who?

 

[cerviarborist]

Ultimately, the bill for the drop falls on the owner of the property, and that's who they'll go after to collect it. The homeowner likely doesn't want a lien on their property and will end up paying it. That's likely to result in a small claims court judgement against you. Generally speaking, that's bad for business.

But hey, maybe they'll just forget about the bill, or the Tooth Fairy will pay it, or Daniel will spend some of his millions and pay it for you.

Nah, I'm just kidding. None of that shit is gonna happen.

That's why I suggested the OP ally themselves with the property owner and that both of them contact the utility dispute resolution department. The utility is more likely to want to satisfy a property owner and client, than a contractor.

 

[Winchman]

Sounds like the power company hired an electrician to do an upgrade to current code at an emergency call rate, then billed you twice what they paid him. I'm in the "Talk to them about it." corner. Hopefully there's a middle ground that's fair to all involved.

On all three of the houses I built in South Carolina in the '70s and '80s, I picked up a meter base from the power company, wired it up to the breaker panel, added the mast and weatherhead with the wires hanging out three feet. After the inspections, the power company ran the drop to the wires at the weatherhead, and that was the dividing point between my responsibility and theirs.

More recently in Georgia, I had the power company come to fix a plastic cover over a connection at the weatherhead. I told them I needed to be on the roof, and a live conductor was exposed close to where I'd be working. I got same day service at no charge.

 

[cerviarborist]

@erwin I wondered how this played out ultimately.

 

[erwin]

they'll get back to me before the 15th and hopefully with a reasonable bill.