Local

Homeowner says fiber crew butchered his trees

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — AT&T and Google fiber cables mean fast internet, but some homeowners tell Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke the crews those companies are using to install the lines keep damaging property.

Aaron Condon, who lives near Park Road Shopping Center, said the bushes and trees along his back fence used to be nice and full, giving him more privacy.

"You couldn't even see the neighbor's house before," Condon said.

But AT&T was putting fiber cable in his neighborhood along an overhead line in his backyard and it trimmed that foliage away from it.

"Next day, I come out here to find my trees have all been butchered," Condon said.

The crew AT&T used cut more than he was expecting, he said.

"I just felt it was a big injustice," Condon said.

When it comes to installing fiber cable, people don't just complain about AT&T.

The North Carolina Attorney General's Office said it received 29 complaints about AT&T and Google the last two years.

The Better Business Bureau said it's hard to get an exact number because the companies use different contractors, but the BBB counts dozens of complaints.

The city of Charlotte has fined various contractors thousands of dollars, according to reports.

"I was upset. Mainly loss of privacy. Like how do you put a price tag on privacy?"
Condon said.

He put a price tag on it and asked AT&T for nearly $5,000 to replant the trees and bushes.

The company which handles claims for AT&T told him 'no.'
It said the trees were interfering with the lines, so the crew had the right to do the work it did.

It said it would give Condon $50 though -- what it called an "appearance allowance" -- for his "inconvenience."

"Big difference. That was like a slap in the face to me," Condon said.

Condon didn’t take the money out of principle.