installer damaged gutter - how to handle?

[wside]

Sorry if this is a noob question.

Tech came out today after first tech failed to show until 5pm on Friday even though he was scheduled to come between 8a-12p. Of course when he finally showed up it started to rain.

Well today's tech tells me that i can't go HD due to neighbors massive oak tree & in the process his latter slipped and did damage to my gutter. Nice.

Has anybody had an installer damage their house & how did they handle this situation with directv?

I have been a directv customer for a very long time & I am not thrilled about the idea of switching to comcast but I bought my HD tv for a reason...

Thanks.

[Michael D'Angelo]

Welcome to DBSTalk

I have never had anything damaged during a install but I would suggest calling DIRECTV to let them know and contact your local install company that came out.

[eandras]

Youn need to call Directv installation services and start a claim with them. In addition is the roof the only place to mount the dish? Is a pole mount in the yard possible?

You need to call Directv to have a tech supervisor come out to assess the line of sight as well as the damage.

[Mertzen]

Call D* and file a damage claim. Do the same with the local HSP. Make sure someone from the HSP comes out to check the damage. And best rule of all: Document document document. Pictures, estimates, bills.

[wside]

Thanks for the input. I definitely need to get a tech supervisor out here and file a claim.

Not sure if a pole will help. I have good line of sight south and south east but south west is blocked no matter where u are in my yard.

Even despite these events I want to stick with them as it is definitely the lesser of two evils as compared to local cable provider.

[joe diamond]

Thanks for the input. I definitely need to get a tech supervisor out here and file a claim.

Not sure if a pole will help. I have good line of sight south and south east but south west is blocked no matter where u are in my yard.

Even despite these events I want to stick with them as it is definitely the lesser of two evils as compared to local cable provider.

What I have seen,

The HSP will send a tech out with a WO (Work Order) for a Sevice Call. He will be offered $30.00 to do what is on the WO. IF he does anything the HSP will let you know another "contractor" is going to fix it. If things are not ok he will be liable.

The original guy...............was he an employee of the HSP? If so, the HSP fixes your gutter with their insurance. If not an employee he will have GL insurance. If no insurance....chase the HSP.

Joe

[jhillestad]

Must be a pretty expensive gutter....... Cant you just bend it back or re nail it ? I mean seriously its not like he broke your window or put a hole through your roof..... Dont forget to file a claim for mental anguish and time lossed calling for the claim.... geez.

[drifter77]

When calling the tech company that covers my area (Directech), it's kind of troubling that the first option on the first phone menu you get is "Press 1 to report a damage claim." :nono2:

[paulman182]

As far as view of the sats is concerned, if you have a 3LNB dish, you are already looking further west than you will have to for the HD channels. 119 is the westermost satellite on either dish.

It might be that you need a new site survey, too.

[turey22]

okay i actually got damage by the hsp one time and still in the process of them reinbursing me and this happened in september of 2007. first thing you need to do like everyone has said is call DTV and have them open up an damage claim. if you want also they can give you a number to call the damage claim department in colarado.

take pictures of the damage and also if you get an estimate, make copies of it. Like they said document everything. your going to be asked to send all that in to the damage claim department. they will later send a letter to you in the mail and also call you. then they will send someone out there to look at the damge. getting down to the point, i think that all they do is waste your time and if you can fix it yourself go ahead beacuse like i said i have had a damage claim since sep 07.

[TigersFanJJ]

Can you satisfy my curiousity and post pictures of the damage?

[glennb]

Must be a pretty expensive gutter....... Cant you just bend it back or re nail it ? I mean seriously its not like he broke your window or put a hole through your roof..... Dont forget to file a claim for mental anguish and time lossed calling for the claim.... geez.

The seamless gutters I had put on my house 2 years ago cost me $800.

You can probably get by with the cheap flimsy crap MENARDS sells for $150 I guess.

[RobertE]

Not to take away from the OPs issue, but I've seen some pretty cheap thin gutters.

At one house, just the weight of the ladder itself started to cave in the gutter. This was just my little 16 footer. Had to don my spidey suit to get to the dish a different way. I've emptied BEvERage cans that were thicker than that gutter. :eek2:

[KneeDragger]

Must be a pretty expensive gutter....... Cant you just bend it back or re nail it ? I mean seriously its not like he broke your window or put a hole through your roof..... Dont forget to file a claim for mental anguish and time lossed calling for the claim.... geez.



If someone bumped into your car and caved the bumper in and flaked the paint.. would you want it fixed or would you just say "oh well... ill just pop it out and throw some touch up paint on it. No biggy" Because if you say yes to that, you either drive a beater or simply take no pride in the things you own.:nono:

[tcusta00]

If someone bumped into your car and caved the bumper in and flaked the paint.. would you want it fixed or would you just say "oh well... ill just pop it out and throw some touch up paint on it. No biggy" Because if you say yes to that, you either drive a beater or simply take no pride in the things you own.:nono:

+1. How dare anyone criticize a person for wanting his damaged property fixed. For shame.

[joe diamond]

+1. How dare anyone criticize a person for wanting his damaged property fixed. For shame.

It is not a criticism of the customer.

There was a time when techs were paid $25.00 for a NLOS visit. One day it just disappeared. The expense and liability of driving to and from the address remained. The time and expense to survey the address.......sometimes from a ladder...and sometimes for a long time ......as the customer attempts to find dish locations is still there.

The money paid for the installations has not gone up but these issues continue.

Who pays for the occasional ding? Who benefits when all goes well?

That is all.

Joe

[Hansen]

It is not a criticism of the customer.

There was a time when techs were paid $25.00 for a NLOS visit. One day it just disappeared. The expense and liability of driving to and from the address remained. The time and expense to survey the address.......sometimes from a ladder...and sometimes for a long time ......as the customer attempts to find dish locations is still there.

The money paid for the installations has not gone up but these issues continue.

Who pays for the occasional ding? Who benefits when all goes well?

That is all.

Joe


While the financial arrangements between DirecTV and the installers may be horrible, that does not justify in any way or excuse in any way an installer causing damage to a homeowner's property and the homeowner/customer having to foot the bill for that damage. The installer needs to take a reasonable amount of care in doing the work so as not to damage property and if the installer makes a mistake, which happens sometimes, then the installer needs to take responsbility for his actions.

[tcusta00]

While the financial arrangements between DirecTV and the installers may be horrible, that does not justify in any way or excuse in any way an installer causing damage to a homeowner's property and the homeowner/customer having to foot the bill for that damage. The installer needs to take a reasonable amount of care in doing the work so as not to damage property and if the installer makes a mistake, which happens sometimes, then the installer needs to take responsbility for his actions.

What he said. The buck needs to stop somewhere and people need to stop pointing fingers and take some responsibility for their actions. Don't leave the customer in the lurch.

[glennb]

It is not a criticism of the customer.

There was a time when techs were paid $25.00 for a NLOS visit. One day it just disappeared. The expense and liability of driving to and from the address remained. The time and expense to survey the address.......sometimes from a ladder...and sometimes for a long time ......as the customer attempts to find dish locations is still there.

The money paid for the installations has not gone up but these issues continue.

Who pays for the occasional ding? Who benefits when all goes well?

That is all.

Joe

So if all goes well with the install but the installer banged up the gutters on the house, or maybe scrapped some paint off the house, or if the installer hit the homeowners car when he drove up the homeowner should pay for the damage because after all the install went well ?

[TigersFanJJ]

If someone bumped into your car and caved the bumper in and flaked the paint.. would you want it fixed or would you just say "oh well... ill just pop it out and throw some touch up paint on it. No biggy" Because if you say yes to that, you either drive a beater or simply take no pride in the things you own.:nono:

That's a rather extreme analogy, don't you think?

[PANCHITO]

Can you prove it? maybe the gutter installers did it and you didn't notice it.

[tcusta00]

Can you prove it? maybe the gutter installers did it and you didn't notice it.

Are you serious?

[KneeDragger]

That's a rather extreme analogy, don't you think?


not really. I do body work. Cost about $500 on the low side to repair\replace a bumper so ide say its pretty close. Fact of the matter is,, someone damaged his property and whether or not it was done intenentional or not doesnt matter. The person who damaged it should return it back to the condition prior to incident. Im sure most would agree that if your car was involved in a collision, you would expect the insurance company and body shop to return it back to the way it was right? I guess what im saying is.. lets say you were in an accident.. body shop fixes your car (mind you.. you do pay for this coverage monthly) and you notice the shade of paint is different on the hood than fenders.... would you be upset and expect them to make it right? Or... how about you notice the fender that got scuffed in the collision hadnt been fixed because afterall.. "it wasnt THAT bad".. would you be annoyed and expect it to be repaired. I know i would expect all the repairs to be complete wihout compromising. Heck... i had a old man back out of his driveway once and smack my car. Broke my blackouts and spidered the paint. Paint wasnt flaked but you know what.. it wasnt spidered either and i take great pride in my vehicles. When i went to pick it up, they had replaced my blackouts with AVS ones versus the GTO ones i had spent extra for. I rejected and requested they provide what was on my car. I spent the extra money bc the GTO ones fit the headlights better and its what i wanted. Well.... this guy spent the money recently at that... for these gutters to enhance the appearence of his home.. not to have an installer damage them. Just because the installer did his JOB and provided DTV service doesnt at all mean the homeowner should compromise something like this. :nono2:

[KneeDragger]

For the record... maybe im just anal or something about these things.. but ive owned up to my mishaps. I still have great customers because of it too. I dropped a $13000 Suzuki Hayabusa off the stands in my garage last year. Bike was only 2 months old! I called the guy right away to let him know what had happened and that i would be overnighting the replacement parts the very next day. Not only did he appreciate that i was honest about it.. but bc it was only a $65 mirror that i damaged, he wanted to pay for and i wouldnt let him. That is integrity!

[PANCHITO]

Are you serious?

Did you see a smiley face next to it.

You will be surprice how many customer do false claims, especially when they don't get what they want.

[tcusta00]

And then come lie about it on public forums for what reason again?

[PANCHITO]

And then come lie about it on public forums for what reason again?

I'm not saying he is lying, I'm saying that maybe the gutter was damage before the tech show up and he didn't noticed it. I'm sure the local installation co. will send a super to see if the damage could have been done with the ladder.:feelbette

[tcusta00]

I'm not saying he is lying, I'm saying that maybe the gutter was damage before the tech show up and he didn't noticed it. I'm sure the local installation co. will send a super to see if the damage could have been done with the ladder.:feelbette


You will be surprice how many customer do false claims, especially when they don't get what they want.

I'm gonna go ahead and take the OP at his word. Life's too short to question the motives of someone coming onto a forum for help. :shrug:

[PANCHITO]

I'm gonna go ahead and take the OP at his word. Life's too short to question the motives of someone coming onto a forum for help. :shrug:

If my gutter was damage before the installer show up and I didn't notice it, I'm not lying in making a claim, but I'm making a false claim. sure I can look for help in the forum because I want my gutter fix. In another hand if I see the installer do the damage I will definitely ask for compensation in the spot.

[joe diamond]

So if all goes well with the install but the installer banged up the gutters on the house, or maybe scrapped some paint off the house, or if the installer hit the homeowners car when he drove up the homeowner should pay for the damage because after all the install went well ?
The installer and or the company should still pay.......and be more careful.

My point was that the risks involved in providing a service should be worth taking.

Joe

[tcusta00]

The installer and or the company should still pay.......and be more careful.

My point was that the risks involved in providing a service should be worth taking.

Joe

I agree with that 100%, Joe, and as you've said in these forums before, that's why you quit and went independent. Good for you. But your point is an issue between the installation company and DirecTV. Don't blame the customer or even broach the subject here, because it just doesn't add up.

[TigersFanJJ]

not really. I do body work. Cost about $500 on the low side to repair\replace a bumper so ide say its pretty close. Fact of the matter is,, someone damaged his property and whether or not it was done intenentional or not doesnt matter. The person who damaged it should return it back to the condition prior to incident. Im sure most would agree that if your car was involved in a collision, you would expect the insurance company and body shop to return it back to the way it was right? I guess what im saying is.. lets say you were in an accident.. body shop fixes your car (mind you.. you do pay for this coverage monthly) and you notice the shade of paint is different on the hood than fenders.... would you be upset and expect them to make it right? Or... how about you notice the fender that got scuffed in the collision hadnt been fixed because afterall.. "it wasnt THAT bad".. would you be annoyed and expect it to be repaired. I know i would expect all the repairs to be complete wihout compromising. Heck... i had a old man back out of his driveway once and smack my car. Broke my blackouts and spidered the paint. Paint wasnt flaked but you know what.. it wasnt spidered either and i take great pride in my vehicles. When i went to pick it up, they had replaced my blackouts with AVS ones versus the GTO ones i had spent extra for. I rejected and requested they provide what was on my car. I spent the extra money bc the GTO ones fit the headlights better and its what i wanted. Well.... this guy spent the money recently at that... for these gutters to enhance the appearence of his home.. not to have an installer damage them. Just because the installer did his JOB and provided DTV service doesnt at all mean the homeowner should compromise something like this. :nono2:

Sorry, didn't mean to set you off.

If it can be fixed and look good by bending it back, why not do that? Using your analogy, should the person that caved the bumper in have to buy the other person a brand new car, or just have the damage repaired?

[joe diamond]

Reminding all that Directv is the one who uses the "F" word.
Since we know nothing is .......you know......the "F" word...What Directv is really saying is WE will GIVE you some stuff IF you the customer subscribe to our service.

It is the fine print and last mentioned stuff that confuses the issue. Customers are promised all kinds of things and are often not wrong to expect some of the promised things. Directv says the installation will be free. HSPs make schedules that preclude any kind of quality work. It is the installer who ends up eating rising costs, constantly rushing through the overbooked schedule or explaining things are only a little free and there will be charges.

Customers have a right to expect their homes will not be damaged...BUT ...they should expect some modifications that may not be covered by the FREE installation. Nobody tells them.

Besides, someone who has done this work for more than a week can find a dish location without a ladder. You take the ladder off the truck to hang the dish.........free sight surveys.......priceless!

Joe

[jhillestad]

If someone bumped into your car and caved the bumper in and flaked the paint.. would you want it fixed or would you just say "oh well... ill just pop it out and throw some touch up paint on it. No biggy" Because if you say yes to that, you either drive a beater or simply take no pride in the things you own.:nono:

Your argument would only hold true IF I did not invite him onto my property ... The installer was there because the guy wanted a dish and the ladder slipped and bent his gutter ... cant we all get along and be reasonable when things go a little bad ? but noooooooo the first inkling is to sue or seek restitution .... it was an accident.. it does not sound like its ruined so patch it up and move on ... but you guys are acting like he should get a whole new gutter and stuff for free because things did not go ' perfect ' ...

comparing a gutter bend from an invited installer to a complete stranger banging into my car is a specious argument and is like comparing apple to oranges...

Too many lawyer tv drama's has made everyone " sue happy " ....

[tcusta00]

Your argument would only hold true IF I did not invite him onto my property ... The installer was there because the guy wanted a dish and the ladder slipped and bent his gutter ... cant we all get along and be reasonable when things go a little bad ? but noooooooo the first inkling is to sue or seek restitution .... it was an accident.. it does not sound like its ruined so patch it up and move on ... but you guys are acting like he should get a whole new gutter and stuff for free because things did not go ' perfect ' ...

comparing a gutter bend from an invited installer to a complete stranger banging into my car is a specious argument and is like comparing apple to oranges...

Too many lawyer tv drama's has made everyone " sue happy " ....

Actually, no one said anything about suing until your post. Folks in this thread (myself included) just said that his gutter should be fixed by the guy that damaged it. Like you said, patch it up and move on. Problem is the former was never done. I'll grant you that the car analogy is a little exaggerated but it was done so to make a point. I don't care if they guy was invited on the property or not - that's a ridiculous point to make.