I had a little run in with a manhole last night. I was turning from Abram street onto Oak street in Arlington when I heard a very bad sound (technical term). The pitch of the engine changed, my dashboard beeped at me and showed the oil warning light. I was only a block from my destination so I drove on and parked. When I got out, my suspicions were confirmed, I was loosing all my oil.
In the morning I called for a tow truck and sent my little bug off to Hiley to get fixed. I got the call later that I was looking at over $800 damage to replace the oil pan and the transmission mount (dog bone). The good news is that I needed an Oil change anyway. My car should be ready later today.
I drove back to the scene. The man hole cover only sticks up about a inch but it is right next to a dip in the road creating the perfect bad situation. I’m going to let the city know but I doubt if they will do anything.
I found a list of utilities companies on the Texas State Public Utilities Commission web site. I called the number listed for AT&T Executive Offices in Dallas. To my surprise a very polite gentleman answered the phone and took down my information. I was prepared for a runaround and was confounded with good customer service. I wish I could use these guys for my cell, home, internet and satellite service — oh wait, it’s the same company. Now I’m waiting for a call back.
–Douglas
I just got a call from someone at AT&T. This woman was very polite. She said that regular person would be back after the first of the year. She asked me about the incident. She said someone had already visited the site and taken some pictures. I emailed my pictures to this individual. Now we wait.
–Douglas
After telling people my plight I was encouraged to contact the city or the phone company. I half-heartedly went to the city web site and filled out the comment form. I expected it to be a black hole but maybe they would fix the hazard. To my surprise, I got a call from the city. They were out at the location and confirmed my story. Boy was I surprised. Now I am expecting a call from the city adjuster.
I contacted the city to see what was taking so long. They had not heard about my claim. I went downtown and filled out an actual claim form and submitted it to the City Secretary. Now we wait.
It turns out that AT&T owns that manhole cover. The city denied their responsibility for it. I need to figure out how to contact AT&T.
-Douglas