Question - Do I pay, or do they?

[Loki]

We are having a fence installed and the fence company hit a water line that goes to the geothermal cooling unit for the house we are renting.
The fence company is telling me that they are not paying for anything.

Aren't they responsible for damages that occur during installation?

 

[Viking1204]

If they won't pay I'd have them stop work immediately and find a new fence installer.

 

[rob85k5]

In my experience, opinion.
If no one told the contractor to look out for it, then the owner covers the cost.
Did the Landlord or you contract the work? Did the Landlord tell you about the piping?
Check your lease about improvements to the property.

 

[Roaster's Gallery]

Was the contractor licensed & insured?

 

[Seanpcola]

This. ^^^^^^

Accident's happen but a professional always checks for stuff like that BEFORE THEY START, water lines, buried phone or electrical lines.

My personal score is 2 septic tanks and a telephone trunk line. The phone line was AT&T's fault. They came to the site and marked it wrong. The septic tanks were me.

 

[Snow Bird]

If it wasn't marked it's not there fault.

 

[jakec]

if your renting you shouldn't have to pay for shit.

 

[fishingjean]

All I know is my wife is eating snow crab right now!!!!!

 

[bobinbusan]

http://www.songs-tube.net/69923-ZZ Top-Mexican Blackbird.html

 

[Viking1204]

A good fence company would have told you who to contact to have the area the fence was going in marked. That is unless they were making the calls themselves. If neither happened then the fence company should be liable, they performed worked and didn't take precautions to protect the owners property. No way this should be on the owner of the property and definitely not on the renter IMO.

 

[JohnAL]

You can do the "Call Before You Dig" and they will mark utility lines free but they will not mark things like ground source heat pump lines. They won't even mark water lines past the meter.

 

[bigbulls]

Did you contract the fence or did your LL?

If you did it did you have permission from the LL?
If you had permission were you made aware of where the lines are by your LL?
If you were made aware of the lines did you make the company aware of the lines?

If your LL contracted the company then he can deal with the fencing company and repairs.

 

[Armyvet35N]

I handed my fence installer a survey prior to the install to cover my behind

 

[Loki]

Did you contract the fence or did your LL?

If you did it did you have permission from the LL?
If you had permission were you made aware of where the lines are by your LL?
If you were made aware of the lines did you make the company aware of the lines?

If your LL contracted the company then he can deal with the fencing company and repairs.

We contracted with them, housing doesn't provide fences, you do that on your own.
We did have their permission, we submitted and were approved for an alteration request to add a fence / dog pen.
Housing provided a diagram showing where the wells were and we provided it to the installers after telling them that they were there.

Once they hit the lines they just left without notifying anyone. When I came in from work I found an unfinished fence, a hole with a nicked water line and an AC unit that was blowing nothing but hot air.

That's what really has me hot with this - they just left and no one talked to me until the next day. They had my cell, someone was in the home, and the housing office is right across the street from us.
They could and should have told someone - but didn't.

 

[Loki]

In my experience, opinion.
If no one told the contractor to look out for it, then the owner covers the cost.
Did the Landlord or you contract the work? Did the Landlord tell you about the piping?
Check your lease about improvements to the property.

We told them, provided them with a diagram of where things were.
Improvements - we can do if approved - which it was.

 

[Marquezj16]

Sounds like you have a bad case of customer service. I'd enlist the help of the housing office on how to deal with the company. I'd also put the company on notice for breach of contract for not finishing the work and cost of repair for the damages.

 

[Droshki]

With all that said, it would seem to me that they are at fault. I dont see how this is any different then them accidentally backing into part of the house, for instance.

 

[Loki]

With all that said, it would seem to me that they are at fault. I dont see how this is any different then them accidentally backing into part of the house, for instance.

Yep - his insurance should cover things like this happening, it's a construction job ... stuff happens.

 

[Droshki]

Exactly. And if they are not licensed, insured, and bonded and everything else that is supposed to go along with this sort of thing, the housing office would probably find that really interesting.

 

[redneck]

I had a fence and deck company for years this happens all the time I would not make a clam over it but I sure as hell would have had it fixed before you got home from work it's not that hard to fix

From the deep woods