Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
wigleyclan
Enthusiast - Level 1

Hi all, I have been trying to find the answer to this question for the past couple weeks and have yet to really pull up any useful information.  Over a year ago, BGE came out and installed a new utility pole at the edge of our backyard with the understanding that the phone and cable company would follow up, transfer their lines and then take the old pole out.  Does anyone know who I can contact directly to follow up on this?  Thanks so much!

Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
VZ_Kim
Contributor - Level 2

Hi Wigleyclan, you can call Verizon repair department and put in a ticket to our Dispatch Resource Center (DRC). The ticket will be routed by the DRC to the proper construction team.

Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
phinney5350
Contributor - Level 1

A year ago..Wow. Who owns the pole? Did you re contact them to follow up on their pole? Normally but not always, the last utility that moves their wires, will remove the pole. If it's a pole not owned by any utility company, you're probably on your own. AND always write down the name /number of the person dealing with your issue  when they come to your home. You should not contact VZ repair until you have all the info on this pole. Good Luck.

Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
2manypoles
Enthusiast - Level 1

Were the old utility poles ever removed?  I have the same problem on my property except I have a two double pole situation and a total of 5 poles on my property.  One is leaning into my driveway.  The sight of all these poles is driving me nuts.  I'm just so happy I found that I wasn't alone in this that I had to write in.

Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
CherylLawyer
Newbie

Could someone please help me with this too?  The pole I have is marked "ATT&T".  

I'm put on hold FOREVER on the service line.  Gosh, I JUST want to talk to someone...or at least email the information.  

Signed,

Very Frustrated

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Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
ElizabethS
Moderator Emeritus

Have you tried contacting AT&T?

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Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
phinney5350
Contributor - Level 1
Where do you live? They may now belong to Verizon, but I would call AT & T first
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Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
kctyphoon
Newbie
being a lineman - i will post some info to try and help anyone else looking for the answer to this.. typically, the company responsible for removing an old pole will be the last utility left to have NOT moved their lines over to the new pole. it will only be either your local power company or verizon, as verizon will move any other 3rd party lines like those belonging to cable companies or other vendors.
every utility pole should have a tag on it with numbers to identify each pole. most of them will have letters before the numbers, which will identify who actually owns the pole JC = JCPL , BT (bell telephone) or VZ will be verizon's. some areas have no letters, and they will usually belong to the locol power company. if you want to ATTEMPT to follow protocol, and have patience, you can try to contact the poles owner directly and complain. many times a complaint will get lost in the shuffle and you may never hear anything from it. a last resort is to file a complaint with the BPU - board of public utility. utility companies generally DO NOT want you to do this, but your call will get immediate attention and be given priority to coming to some sort of resolution. you can find their number online, or on the inside cover of your phone book.
i have literally removed poles that were left behind for 15 years, so dont assume that "they know about it" if its been sitting for a long time. if the old pole present a clear safety hazard i would not hesitate to file a BPU complaint if its clearly been forgotten about.
hope this helps some of you.
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Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
parmelng
Newbie

What is the phone number for the Dispatch Resource Center?  I've searched and can't find a phone number or email.  I live in MA and no luck.  My old telephone pole is leaning bad and I don't know if it will make it through another winter.  This is a safety issue.  Who can I contact?  Thanks.

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Re: Who is responsible for removing old utility / telephone poles?
LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

Hi parmelng,

Contact information for reporting this type of issue can be found here:

http://www.verizon.com/support/residential/service_outage_information.htm?

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