Another Verizon FiOS Install, Another Home Violated
from the yes,-again dept
Last month, Verizon's PR folks went back and forth with a writer over whether or not one of their technicians actually started a fire at a customer's house when installing its FiOS service. The fire department says there was a fire, but Verizon denies that. In any case, the damage the installation caused was certainly significant, even if Verizon so generously paid for repairs. A month later, and look what's happened (again): a Verizon FiOS installer once again clipped an electrical wire, resulting in $2,650 worth of damage and a smoking house. Verizon's PR people are more than welcome to (again) argue about whether or not the smoke means there was fire, but regardless of their definition, these sorts of stories continue to pile up.
Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
DIY
One reason why I install all my own structured wiring.
freak3dot
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
I need new wiring, guess I'll call up Verizon!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Two (contested - not that Verizon has a lot of cred) fires out of how many installs? Now, what's the rate for other vendors? I'm no fan of Verizon, but I like this sort of media hype even less. Show us some facts, Carlo.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
No matter what you think you know
Or what anyone has told you, you are always taking that chance when you drill through a wall. Even if you have the original blueprint for the structure, that doesn't mean that it was followed to begin with, or hasn't been altered.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Whatever
OK, this is pointing to Verizon. It doesn't even begin to comment about plumbers, electricians and other contractors that inadvertently damage homes let alone start house fires.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re:
Two (that have been in the news) out of how many? You obviously did not read the linked article, or you would have seen this quote:
"But our electrician tells us ours was not the first botched Verizon installation he's been called out to fix."
This one is in the news because it happened to a reporter during the install at his home. How many others have happened to people that are NOT reporters and are not "worthy" enough to be in the news?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re:
Do you need a new house, too?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Little idiot Papa Carlo
Hey, little Papa Carlo
Are you getting your monthly check from Comcast, dude ?
This is ridiculous.
FIOS installation by Verizon is about 100 million times less dangerous to your house than instaling new gas furnace by your local HVAC contractor
Even if some idiot installer shotcuts electric wires and gets his ass burned so what's the point ?
I bet you will do no better, dude, judging from your comments on various technical matters.
Get a life, dude
Get a real job
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
We owned up
Readers might be interested in Verizon's own blog post about this: http://policyblog.verizon.com/PolicyBlog/Blogs/policyblog/EricRabe9/362/FiOS-Smokes.aspx#When :19:30:35
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re:
I agree about the media hype. I'm destracted from the story just because I looking for some hard facts, i don't need speculation and opinions. Oh yeah, i'm also no fan of Verizon.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re:
I just recently bought a house and all the repective service companies came out to install there stuff (security system, cable TV, highspeed internet, etc...). I told them all to leave what equipment i needed and I will do it all myself. If you are a person that can't do it yourself then that means you will have to either (1) trust the free/or paid install service from Verizon, or (2) go out and hire someone who can do it instead of Verizon. It is your job to hire someone responsible.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
I want it!
I just want FIOS...hate Verizon (and all Cell companies)..but want FIOS!!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Singe the walls and carpet, but give me fiber!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
I wonder how the Verizon guys blew up that garage? I can see a fire, but blowing up someone's garage?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Verizon is not only screwing up on the installs. You should have been in my neighborhood when the ran the new high tech fiber cables underground using illegal aliens, oh I mean undocumented workers, with picks and shovels. Now verizon wouldn't get their hands dirty so they use a sub contractor to hire the workers. And they made a mess of the entire neighborhood, I especially like the 18" wide trench they cut accross my driveway apron and then patched.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: Little idiot Papa Carlo
FIOS installation by Verizon is about 100 million times less dangerous to your house than instaling new gas furnace by your local HVAC contractor
Well duh, since gas is flammable, but it takes a mighty spark from electricity to start a fire. If you have to use an analogy to make your point, you have lost your argument.
Even if some idiot installer shotcuts electric wires and gets his ass burned so what's the point ?
The point is it happens with Verizon quite a bit. They do not take the time to properly train their installers. Just because there are two news stories does not mean Verizon does not screw up ALL the time. For example, last month some contractors (contracted by Verizon mind you) cut into a fiber optic cable for one of their main towers and 3/4 of the state went without cell phone service for an entire day (http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/05/09/news/state/42-verizon.txt). Did they give anyone a discount for the day? Nope.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Caveman see smoke... probably means fire there.
So simple, even a caveman can understand it.
Apparently; however, not Verizon.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Actually, Verizon is using mostly subcontractors for installing FiOS. The reason they are doing this is it is a hell of a lot cheaper to have subcontractors do it rather than have their own high priced union workers do it.
This is exactly what cable companies do also. From what I have heard, the subcontractors do a pretty good job. As good or better than their regular technicians. It might say Verizon (or Cablevision or Cox or whatever) on the truck, but they could still be subcontractors.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Classic Blog Post
Heavy on the criticism, light on factual content.
As a structured cabling provider, I see all kinds of crap. Most of the ISPs don't qualifty their vendors at all, other than to ask them if they can find an RJ21X jack with two hands.
In my experience, Verizon is actually one of the better providers, but its no surprise to me that "Verizon" branded techs have started a few fires. Actually, I'm surprised more ISPs aren't in more deep doo-doo over stuff like this.
I would like to see some real information here, instead of just this rumour mill crud. Give us the real deal = who, what, when, where stuff - names, dates, places.
Otherwise this is just wild speculation.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
No excuse for hitting AC lines
"you are always taking that chance when you drill through a wall. Even if you have the original blueprint for the structure, that doesn't mean that it was followed to begin with, or hasn't been altered."
That's correct to a limited extent. The tools certainly exist to verify if there's AC active in a wall. Any competent installer would be checking prior to drilling, especially since they're usually working near the freaking power demarc as well. Water pipes, OTOH, can't be as easily detected. :-
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: I want it!
Verizon is NOT a cell phone company!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: Re: I want it!
Then what are they? Is my Verizon cell phone an anomaly of the universe of something?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Sub Contractors
Here in the San Antonio area, and I'm very sure most of south Texas, if it were not for the large amount of illegals no construction, not just fiber installs, would get done. They are truly the backbone around here and most are very hard workers, albeit there will be bad apples in every race, but for the most part they do good work.
What makes me laugh is the amount of AT&T workers it takes to install a new switching box in my neighborhood. There have been no less than 10, 2 man crews outside my backyard here in Schertz Texas for more than 1 week. Now that seems like a waste of manpower.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Another Verizon FIOS install
Accidents happen to everyone & every company. If Verizon damaged something, they will fix it. Here is an article about the customer's home who suffered the fire damage:Sounds to me like the homeowner is satisfied & understands that accidents happen.
AP
Review: After Smoke Clears, FiOS a Hit
Wednesday September 5, 5:47 pm ET
By John Wilen, AP Business Writer
Review: Verizon's FiOS Service Is a Hit, Installation Problems Aside
NEW YORK (AP) -- If the installers hadn't almost burned my house down, I'd say Verizon's new cable television and high speed Internet service was fantastic.
In fact, ever since the smoke cleared, I've enjoyed more than 100 TV channels, a responsive remote and fast Internet connection that rarely falters. If the installers figure out how to tell where power lines run in a wall, the service is nearly flawless.
ADVERTISEMENT
Verizon Communications Inc., for those keeping score, is a telephone company that's been branching out into other things, such as cable TV. Cable companies, meanwhile, are broadening their offerings to include high-speed Internet and telephone service.
Verizon, which serves 28 states and Washington, D.C., is spending $23 billion to make fiber-optic connections -- which it calls FiOS -- available to 18 million homes by 2010. By bypassing the old copper phone lines, the company has much more bandwidth available than anyone else. (AT&T Inc. also is upgrading its service with fiber, though the cables do not extend all the way to each home.)
While it's been available where I live for a while, it wasn't until I moved within the Philadelphia suburbs that the company made me a pitch that was too good to refuse: All my telecom services -- landline, cell phone, cable and Internet -- on one bill.
The package is about $200, $10 a month more than it used to cost me to buy cable from Comcast, and my landline, Internet and wireless services from Verizon or Verizon Wireless. But I figured that $10 was worth it for faster Internet speeds of up to 5 megabits per second downstream (and 2 Mbps upstream) and 150 free cable channels -- dozens more than I was getting from Comcast. Verizon threw in a voice mail box, caller identification service and unlimited calling with no extra charge.
And, I'll admit, I was more than ready to stick it in Comcast's eye after years of consistent 5 percent annual price hikes, mediocre equipment and a remote that barely worked.
I knew I was taking a risk, but how bad can cable TV delivered by a phone company be? Pretty good, as it turns out.
Though my 26-inch Samsung set couldn't take advantage of the service's high-definition offerings, the standard-definition picture quality was at least as good as offered by Comcast.
Verizon's remote and set-top box provided work amazingly well, compared to the Comcast equipment I was using. All the usual channels appear to be there, plus some. On the sports front, I've gained several new versions of ESPN, I now have the NFL Network, and I didn't lose Comcast SportsNet (the two rivals inked a deal letting Verizon carry CSN, home of many local Phillies, Sixers and Flyers games, last year).
We've also benefited from channel inflation in home improvement and cooking networks, and gained a slew of new nature, science and history-related channels, many of which I'd never heard of. One, DIY, repeats some of our favorite shows from other networks, letting us catch programs we used to miss. We've also gained children's channels such as Noggin.
On the Internet side the service has been exemplary. Whereas our old DSL modem had to be reset frequently, I've only had to reset our FiOS modem once. It may be a tad slower than a cable connection, but unless you're downloading gobs of big files, who's the wiser? It's more than fast enough for Webkinz and the occasional cartoon or game.
The landline works and sounds just fine, though it's not your grandfather's phone service -- power isn't supplied over the network. Verizon does provide an eight-hour backup battery to help you through blackouts (we've fortunately not experienced any yet).
There was no change to our cell phone service, which we've had through Verizon Wireless for several years now (for the record, the coverage in Bucks County, Pa., is better than Cingular, our previous provider).
One complaint is the lack of documentation. I'm not normally a big manual reader, but a simple channel guide would have been nice (I've since found one online). And to use the voice mail service that came with the FiOS phone connection, I had to call an operator, then an 800 number, then suffer through several transfers before finding someone who could give me basic instructions (such as which number to dial to retrieve voice mail messages, for instance).
And there is the small matter of installation. When Verizon runs fiber to your house, the company needs to install a box on an inside wall. It was in drilling through a wall to connect that box to a fiber conduit that our installer hit an electrical wire. That knocked the power out and left our electrical box -- and the front of the house -- smoking.
The technicians compounded this error by insisting that we pay for the electrical repairs, then bill them. We'd be reimbursed in 30 days, they assured us. My wife was having none of that. Verizon's insurance company cut us a check for the $2,650 repair within days.
We got a brand-new electrical box out of the deal, for free. But our electrician tells us ours was not the first botched Verizon installation he's been called out to fix.
For its part, Verizon was very apologetic. That's fine, but I want to know how many other people have had similar installation problems.
Very few, Verizon spokeswoman Sharon Shaffer assured me.
"This particular occurrence and the extent of the damage is rare," Shaffer said.
The technician did apparently get a talking-to.
"The training on installation procedures was reviewed with the technician," Shaffer said.
I'm sure the our incident was rare, and all's well that ends well, as far as I'm concerned.
Now, give me that remote.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
"The technician did apparently get a talking-to."
I wonder how that went? "Don't burn down our customers house anymore, ok?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Universal Apologist - DIAF
WTF is with all you flapping apologist, there is no reason for these incidents to occur in the first place, they simply failed to check for wiring, which is quite easy to do. Blueprints and non-standard wiring are non-issues if you perform the appropriate steps to check for wiring.
And bringing up "plumbers, electricians and other contractors" has no bearing on this discussion, WHAT SO EVER!!! I mean really, why not obtusely say "Well at least they didn't take a nap on your couch" or "Video captured your wife taking a shower"
I mean really, what is the deal with some of you chuckleheads dreaming up excuses for stuff like this?
Are you projecting your own incompetence? Hoping to lower expectations?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
In my old Plano neighborhood, FIOS cut the gas lines twice causing evacuation of our block. They also left a heap of dirt in my side yard for a month.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
I am trying to talk to them they are in my yard and not one speaks English!!!! they dug up my plants my tree wtf!! is wrong I will won't have anything to do with verizon. I took pics
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Damage to my property by Verizon FIOS contractor
On November 5, verizon contractors were digging in front of my house to install their bright orange cables on our street. The equipment used and the digging caused a lot of vibrations in my house and my wife went out to ask them what exactly was going on. Later that day, we discovered that a mantlepiece on which we had family pictures and ornaments had crashed down and broken the pictures and ornaments. The contractors had gone by that time. We called several verizon numbers but nobody could help. We also sent two letters, one to their office in Baltimore and the other to their office in Beltsville, along with pictures of the damage. There has been no response. Can anybody tell me how to get a response out of Verizon?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
On November 19, 2007 We had Verizon install our Cable,Phone, and Fiber optic line package installed. After a week I noticed a bump in my carpet, and on further investigation I saw that the installer ran two cables under my carpet. The installer ripped the carpet and removed the screws from the closet track. This was an obvious shortcut for the installer (He had access to the basement and was given permission to run the wires from the basement. At the time of the installation my daughter who is eighteen years old was home. I could not be there because i had to work. I have called numerous times with no promised calls back. i have also emailed them only to get an auto message back from them to troubleshoot my own issues. I only wanted them to come to my apartment and assess the damage made by the installer and possibly fix it.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: Another Verizon FIOS install
Ok verizon caught my house on fire today installing FIOS...actually we never got that far as the tech. drilled into the main power source to our home. The fire department cut a wall in our home and the electrician sent by Verizon cut an even bigger hole by the electrical panel box. Verizon paid for the electrician and is paying for the handiman. However, now I'm not so sure I want them back to do even more work. How common is this?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
smoke==fire
sounds like all new wires
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Verizon FiOS and fire
It's amazing to see how many of the FiOS installs have resulted in FiRE and emotional distress to unsuspecting homeowners. On 12/10/07 while my wife was in the hospital we were scheduled for a FiOS install. The tech began drilling through the exterior foundation with no brace on his drill. He drilled into the main power line for our home. Good thing I was home and knew to immediately go to the main breaker once I smelled the burning and smoke. The tech stayed outside - it never occurred to him to bang on the door to gain entrance to shut off the breaker. For the next three months my wife and I would fight with Verizon to make the repairs and compensate us for the damage caused. The other thing is that the advertised rate of the triple play bundle is 30% less that what is actually billed. What a rip! Who holds them accountable!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Verizon subcontractor caused a flood
Anyone else having property damage after Fios subcontractors installing cables?? I had a HUGE Flood in my basement..destroying 31 yrs of stuff...carpeting, walls, etc. OF COURSE, Verizon is sayoing "not their fault" I have gotten the run around from Verizon since late Feb. ANYONE know what I can do???? Help!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Verizon subcontractor caused a flood
Anyone else having property damage after Fios subcontractors installing cables?? I had a HUGE Flood in my basement..destroying 31 yrs of stuff...carpeting, walls, etc. OF COURSE, Verizon is sayoing "not their fault" I have gotten the run around from Verizon since late Feb. ANYONE know what I can do???? Help!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Contractors and Subs are suppose to be Insured
Ask the contractor for a copy of thier Insurance Certificate before the install starts. Take pictures before the install. Take the day off from work and watch the work being done. As for undocumented workers. Call ICE and watch the $25,000.00 fine per man start. If the installers cut through a cable or pipe call the fire dept and get a report. Then call your homeowners insurance or Apt insurance company.
I install and service LARGE HVAC equipment and our company is a welding and boiler company. We do not make mistakes. We are trained. I have installed hundreds of runs in homes from refrigerant lines to Romex/BX/MC/EMT and Cable/Phone/Power/Gas/water/Pex/CSST lines. Never did I cut into any type of line. We solder inside walls, attics and basements(no fires yet in 25 yrs). Check before drilling. Stop at the first hole and use the bit to probe around inside the wall (with the drill stopped of course). We now use a Ridged See Snake hand held camera with a 3 ft lead to look. It cost $220 dollars (here in NJ).
If they work in your unfinished basement make sure they run the wire parralel to the beams so later on you can sheet rock the basement ceiling if you want. DONT let the installer jump beams with wires, cable or pipe. If they have to jump beams make them drill holes and pull the wire or pipe through the holes. Make sure the holes are drilled in the center of the beams so nails from sheet rocking wont pierce the work. If they did this they are professional. If not call them back and make them fix it for free.
Call Consumer affairs and Better Business (BBB) and file a complaint. Call the Town were you live and complain to the permit dept. Find out who the Inspector is for your municipality is and call them. You can call the Plumbing or Electrical Board in your state and file a complaint there. In NJ you need to be Licensed to install low voltage wiring or Gas, Domestic Water etc.. Also need to be a registered business and prove INSURANCE to get a contractors License.
If you think the contractor is NOT qualified ask them to leave and call the prime contractor (Verizon, Att, Comcast, Plumbers, electricians etc...) and tell them to send someone else.
Do your homework. And always use qualified craftsmen and mechanics. We arn't cheep. But it's your home or business we're talking about. Be prepared to pay the price for quality work.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Fios installation disrepair
Shorty after the Verizon sub-contractors installed the FIOS cable to the house I was left with a busted pipe for my springler system. The customer service people never informed me that the installers would arrive a day before the scheduled date to dig up my yard and leave me a bigger bill than anticipated.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
get over yourselves
look ive installed as a contractor in oregon for 8 years,both comcast and verizon.each istall is different everybody has a different expirence and it dictates how they fell about things.i have seen alot off bad installs from all installers be inhouse or contrator,evan hvac,sparkies and plumbers have bad installs some are better at fixing the problem onsite.as far as (undocumented) workers yea its a fact of life this day and age.you should not bang conntractors just cause you have a bad install it happens we are americans to and we have kids think about that before you crush peoples wellbeing i would not try to take your job from you dont take mine!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
VERIZON STARTED A FIRE - BY KARL ROVE
ANOTHER OF THE MILLIONS OF LIES THAT ROVE SPREADS...
THEY NEVER CAUGHT ROVE FOR THE ANTHRAX LETTERS....
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
verizon fios installs
this report is completely biased, lacking of facts, and one sided. how many other companies are out there doing this type of work and what are their statistics on house damage? Charter? Time Warner? Cox? Dish Network? Direct Tv? etc etc... get some facts before you start bashing a company. what's your agenda?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: Patched driveway by verizon
I don't understand how Verizon can damge your driveway and get away with only replacing the damaged part leaving the homeowner with a patch line and mismatched colors. I don't think this is fair--they should put it back the way it was before they wrecked it--even if they have to replace the whole thing!
Angry homeowner.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: get over yourselves
Dear Undocumented worker,
If you are in the US illegally, could you please provide some information to the INS so that they can help to get you and your family home.
The consumer has a right to not have their home and property destroyed and I do not care who you are that is a fact. If you don't have the proper training or tools you should not be providing the service. Talk about taking your job, if you are not properly performing your work you have absolutly no right to it.
Sincerely, Customer
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Verizon was at my property today before they came my property was cared for by me with love my yard looked like a green carpet. my sprikler system while maybe not as good as some others it worked well in my yard and though my driveway had some cracks well NOW my yard, my sprinklers, my driveway will never be the same it brakes my heart to look at it and now I am told they will be putting in a big box of some kind on each side of my property They say verizon fiber optics is the future the future I see thanks to verizon doesn't look good from my front window.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Time Warner/ATX
May 15th Time Warner Cable subcontracted ATX to install cable television, regular internet, wireless internet, and take over my existing local/long distance phone service. The installer disappeared as soon as he arrived. I finally located him at the side of my house and proceeded to tell him I had ordered the drilling to go through the attic despite the additional charges. He told me I needed to move the entertainment center which involved moving the DVD,VCR, stereo, TV, movies-VHS and DVD. After which he drilled through the wall not behind the huge entertainment center I had moved, but 18 inches to the right and through the aluminum siding and brick not through the attic as I specified on the phone when placing my order and again in person.
He also trampled my wood fern flower bed while moving his ladder not once not twice but back and forth and back and forth as if he was deeply entranced in a game of "hokey pokey." I contacted Time Warner and ATX repeatedly and after 6 weeks I was offered $1000 to fix the hole in my living room, the flower bed, and the aluminum siding holes (2). The construction contractor said he couldn't fix my issues for less than $5200 considering they don't even make aluminum siding anymore. They said their insurance company would be in touch since $1000 was their authorized limit. That was 7 weeks ago. Today I called the corporate head quarters in New York and pleasantly explained my ridiculous situation and within an hour I heard from 4 different individuals working for Time Warner. I now have a claim number, a new contact name, and another phone number this time it's the Hartford Insurance Company. So we'll see. This has been crazy. I really have to laugh at this point. All I wanted was to watch some TV while resting my bones a little when I got some free time and all this is the result. I am amazed how these people appear to have the Forest Gump gene.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
House almost caught fire
I too have had the same problem, Our cable line going to our house was fried, melted and mangled. I am a Comcast Customer, and I found out that Verizon Cut the Lines to the Comcast Main Cable Box, possibly cut the wires to my house to hide the damage, and whatever else they did caused a short that fried my cable line, seriously damaged my fridge, and completely destroyed my XBox 360 and Nintendo WII... The craziest part?? Both the XBOX and WII were on a surge protector. This company almost burned my house down, and all I got was attitude from them as if I was inconveniencing them for calling!
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Add Your Comment