The Continual Fight is Exhausting... I won!
What do others do?
There have been a few battles I've chosen not to fight, and a couple of them I regret not taking up, but sometimes I'm just utterly exhausted from the constant fight, and many of them happen when you're at your most vulnerable (eyes health 'service').
This time I am pissed off. They simply don't care and expect me to just go away.
Why? Do others not battle for right?
Fibre is being installed in our area.
Five weeks ago my vehicle egress was blocked without any notice, meaning I was unable to get my car out and go to work. It was a fine day and I had plenty of work to be going on with.
The ongoing email communication -
The people who were on site told me they'd knocked on my door and that it wasn't their fault I didn't hear them'. I was walking my child to school, they'd watched me walk out of my driveway and they also watched me walk back and neither time took the opportunity to inform me my vehicular access would be cut off, or how long for or any options available for me to get to work.
They wouldn't tell me who they worked for, but the thought their boss contracted to Broadspectrum.
I phone Broadspectrum who, after putting me through several departments, DENIED working in this area. I phoned the council (Ref: 3936754), not their problem either, apparently, phone North Power. Not them either... phone Chorus. I phoned Chorus, had to deal with an incredibly unbelievably rude call centre staffer,, again not their problem except from a health and safety perspective, because they need to protect the company - yes, that is what they said - they raised a health and safety issue (ref: 54030606) and sent a person called Ross, who phoned me to tell me the trench had been filled in and as there was no longer a health and safety issue it wasn't his problem. And around in circles it went.
SIX hours later - I was walking my child home from his school, and I'd chosen a different way home to avoid a stray dog and I came across a collection of workers on Hillcrest Road.
Ross from Chorus, the employer of the digger driver and worker, who conveniently didn't have a card nor a pen but yes, they contract to Broadspectum, he seemed angry I wasn't offered options to get my vehicle out, steel plates etc (there were none that I could see), then incredulously told ME they 'will need to look for other work', a massive breech of employment regulations.
I phone Broadspectrum, who again DENY they are working in the area, but give me the contact for the head of the North Island Fibre rollout, Edward Lues, (who still hasn't returned my call).
XXXX, you turned up on my doorstep several days later. I have waited a month for your promised explanation and advice where to send the invoice for my lost day's work.
It is incredible that every single person I contacted on this issue abdicated responsibility, or just didn't bother to return my call or email.
Hi Susan,
My apologies for the miscommunication. When Sue and I visited you, we were under the impression that you were going to email me a description of your concerns/complaints and some information re the outcome which you desire.
I have now investigated the incident and have found the following:
- the team had to trench through your driveway in order to install a connection point for your house and your neighbour's house
- they inform me that they visited both your house and the neighbor's to communicate and make arrangements re the driveway
- they did find the neighbor but you were not home
- they then commenced trenching which was an activity that would have taken only around an hour before they could temporarily reinstate the driveway
- they informed me that you met with them whilst trenching and that they informed you that they could place plates over the open trench should you wish to use the driveway
- you then returned to your house and they got ready to place plates over the open trench but that you did not return
- they then finished their activity and placed metal in the trench as a temporary measure
- the driveway will be fully reinstated by the 12th April 2019
I have spoken to all teams to, in future, ensure improved communication, especially when residents may be influenced by our activities.
We regret this incident and hope that the matter will be resolved once the final reinstatement of the driveway is done.
Seems they think that is the 'end-of-the-matter'.
Thanks for your email, there are points I would like to refute.
- they then commenced trenching which was an activity that would have taken only around an hour before they could temporarily reinstate the driveway
No one informed of a time frame when I spoke to the workers.
- they informed me that you met with them whilst trenching and that they informed you that they could place plates over the open trench should you wish to use the driveway
They are lying - the first i heard about steel plates that 'should have been offered' was when I spoke to the team, as described in my first email to you, on Hillcrest Road in the afternoon, a little after 3 pm. No solution was offered.
The two workers on Tawanui Road, when I spoke with them a little after 9 am, refused to even tell me who they worked for!
- you then returned to your house and they got ready to place plates over the open trench but that you did not return
Why could they not have walked down my driveway to tell me I could now leave my property? I had clearly told them that I needed to go to work.
There were no steel plates there when I spoke to them, they were working on a short stretch, there were only two people working there and a very small digger.
Surely their boss, whom I spoke to later that afternoon and had been working around the corner, would have been aware of steel plates, that would have needed to have been delivered and placed, would have known of this.
I am utterly astounded you consider this an adequate reply to my email. It is nothing more than a brush-off'.
I lost 4 hours of work due this incompetence, not to mention the time I have taken to resolve this issue.
I am an independent contractor and I incurred the costs associated with what I needed to do to go to work, such as paying for my childcare.
I was unable to go to work due to the complete lack of professionalism shown in regard to this issue.
The very least you can do is compensate my lost income.
25 April 2019
I email again.
30 April 2019
Just had a phone call - They've agreed to compensate my lost income.
I win!
There have been a few battles I've chosen not to fight, and a couple of them I regret not taking up, but sometimes I'm just utterly exhausted from the constant fight, and many of them happen when you're at your most vulnerable (eyes health 'service').
This time I am pissed off. They simply don't care and expect me to just go away.
Why? Do others not battle for right?
Fibre is being installed in our area.
Five weeks ago my vehicle egress was blocked without any notice, meaning I was unable to get my car out and go to work. It was a fine day and I had plenty of work to be going on with.
The ongoing email communication -
The people who were on site told me they'd knocked on my door and that it wasn't their fault I didn't hear them'. I was walking my child to school, they'd watched me walk out of my driveway and they also watched me walk back and neither time took the opportunity to inform me my vehicular access would be cut off, or how long for or any options available for me to get to work.
They wouldn't tell me who they worked for, but the thought their boss contracted to Broadspectrum.
I phone Broadspectrum who, after putting me through several departments, DENIED working in this area. I phoned the council (Ref: 3936754), not their problem either, apparently, phone North Power. Not them either... phone Chorus. I phoned Chorus, had to deal with an incredibly unbelievably rude call centre staffer,, again not their problem except from a health and safety perspective, because they need to protect the company - yes, that is what they said - they raised a health and safety issue (ref: 54030606) and sent a person called Ross, who phoned me to tell me the trench had been filled in and as there was no longer a health and safety issue it wasn't his problem. And around in circles it went.
SIX hours later - I was walking my child home from his school, and I'd chosen a different way home to avoid a stray dog and I came across a collection of workers on Hillcrest Road.
Ross from Chorus, the employer of the digger driver and worker, who conveniently didn't have a card nor a pen but yes, they contract to Broadspectum, he seemed angry I wasn't offered options to get my vehicle out, steel plates etc (there were none that I could see), then incredulously told ME they 'will need to look for other work', a massive breech of employment regulations.
I phone Broadspectrum, who again DENY they are working in the area, but give me the contact for the head of the North Island Fibre rollout, Edward Lues, (who still hasn't returned my call).
XXXX, you turned up on my doorstep several days later. I have waited a month for your promised explanation and advice where to send the invoice for my lost day's work.
It is incredible that every single person I contacted on this issue abdicated responsibility, or just didn't bother to return my call or email.
Hi Susan,
My apologies for the miscommunication. When Sue and I visited you, we were under the impression that you were going to email me a description of your concerns/complaints and some information re the outcome which you desire.
I have now investigated the incident and have found the following:
- the team had to trench through your driveway in order to install a connection point for your house and your neighbour's house
- they inform me that they visited both your house and the neighbor's to communicate and make arrangements re the driveway
- they did find the neighbor but you were not home
- they then commenced trenching which was an activity that would have taken only around an hour before they could temporarily reinstate the driveway
- they informed me that you met with them whilst trenching and that they informed you that they could place plates over the open trench should you wish to use the driveway
- you then returned to your house and they got ready to place plates over the open trench but that you did not return
- they then finished their activity and placed metal in the trench as a temporary measure
- the driveway will be fully reinstated by the 12th April 2019
I have spoken to all teams to, in future, ensure improved communication, especially when residents may be influenced by our activities.
We regret this incident and hope that the matter will be resolved once the final reinstatement of the driveway is done.
Seems they think that is the 'end-of-the-matter'.
Thanks for your email, there are points I would like to refute.
- they then commenced trenching which was an activity that would have taken only around an hour before they could temporarily reinstate the driveway
No one informed of a time frame when I spoke to the workers.
- they informed me that you met with them whilst trenching and that they informed you that they could place plates over the open trench should you wish to use the driveway
They are lying - the first i heard about steel plates that 'should have been offered' was when I spoke to the team, as described in my first email to you, on Hillcrest Road in the afternoon, a little after 3 pm. No solution was offered.
The two workers on Tawanui Road, when I spoke with them a little after 9 am, refused to even tell me who they worked for!
- you then returned to your house and they got ready to place plates over the open trench but that you did not return
Why could they not have walked down my driveway to tell me I could now leave my property? I had clearly told them that I needed to go to work.
There were no steel plates there when I spoke to them, they were working on a short stretch, there were only two people working there and a very small digger.
Surely their boss, whom I spoke to later that afternoon and had been working around the corner, would have been aware of steel plates, that would have needed to have been delivered and placed, would have known of this.
I am utterly astounded you consider this an adequate reply to my email. It is nothing more than a brush-off'.
I lost 4 hours of work due this incompetence, not to mention the time I have taken to resolve this issue.
I am an independent contractor and I incurred the costs associated with what I needed to do to go to work, such as paying for my childcare.
I was unable to go to work due to the complete lack of professionalism shown in regard to this issue.
The very least you can do is compensate my lost income.
25 April 2019
I email again.
I am still awaiting your reply to my email dated 25 March.
Over the weeks I made sure to look as I was passing, and at none of the sites were steel plates used - except a couple of small ones on the Broadway footpath in the weekend and none were visible on any other sites.
I'd also like an explanation of the utter mess made with the driveway concrete replacement.
The water meter box was left askew and the back-fill done with mud, we've had to carry out our own repairs to make the area actually usable.
I can't say i am surprised.
There seems to be a general lack of care shown to most of the work undertaken in Kaikohe during this install and when we travel over to Kerikeri, as we do almost daily, it is hard to ascertain where the fibre install has been done.
It's very disappointing.
Ignoring me won't make me go away.
30 April 2019
Just had a phone call - They've agreed to compensate my lost income.
I win!
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