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I called 811 to ask them to mark my utility lines on a Monday and told them I'd be doing work that Friday. They didn't show up until the Monday after I planned to work.

What should I do? What recourse do I have?

Jacob Krall
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  • This really isn't a good site to ask this question. I've no idea what "811" is, and I'll wager 95% of our other users don't either. Further this is a product/service specific question. I'd suggest you either talk to 811 about compensation, or talk to an attorney. – The Evil Greebo Jul 02 '18 at 16:03
  • Sorry, thought 811 was on-topic because of other questions on that topic on this site. e.g. https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/41521/811-just-marked-my-utilities-can-i-mow-my-lawn – Jacob Krall Jul 02 '18 at 16:05
  • The other question that references 811 makes it pretty clear what 811 did - they marked utility lines. Your question doesn't say anything about what 811 does. It's about as useful to people who don't have "811" as me saying 'Miss Utility' would be to you. Further - the other question is asking about whether or not they can touch areas that were marked. Yours is asking about... I dunno - legal recourse? Financial recourse? – The Evil Greebo Jul 02 '18 at 16:08
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    There's not enough information here. When did you call? You're supposed to give them a few days to mark the lines, and you're *expected to wait until they do to start your project*. It's also generally a free service. Did they tell you they'd be coming on Friday? – Chris M. Jul 02 '18 at 16:12
  • @ChrisM. added when I called. – Jacob Krall Jul 02 '18 at 16:14
  • That helps, although I still don't know what recourse you expect from something covered by your taxes (your share of which is probably less than $1 a year). That's a longer lead time than you can usually expect, but it's summer and there's lots of projects being done now. – Chris M. Jul 02 '18 at 16:17
  • I checked my state (Maryland) where it used to be Miss Utility and is now 811 - probably due to somebody thinking "Miss" Utility is sexist, though I think it is just a great pun, but I digress - and the site says "at least two full working days", excluding weekends & holidays. Which means if you call on Monday then you should get marked no later than Thursday. But keep in mind that Miss Utility/811 has to in turn contact (in my area) Pepco, Washington Gas, WSSC, etc. and there can be delays at any step of the process. Based on what I've heard I wouldn't risk digging before they've all marked. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jul 02 '18 at 16:25
  • @manassehkatz Could be "sexist", could be "easier to remember", same with 911. It's all fine and good to know you need to call "Miss Utility", but "811" gives you both whom to call and *what to dial*. – Chris M. Jul 02 '18 at 16:41
  • 811 is the new standard for Call-Mr-Gopher. Because apparently Call-Mr-Gopher is not recognizable enough. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jul 02 '18 at 17:14
  • "At least two full working days" doesn't mean "no later than Thursday" - it means no earlier than Thursday. – The Evil Greebo Jul 02 '18 at 17:33
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    @TheEvilGreebo Hard to say for sure. My take on "you should call at least two working days in advance" means they might get to you in one day, or maybe in two days, but shouldn't take any **longer** than that. But as others have noted, there are so many variables in the process that there is no guarantee, especially in good weather (when everyone is doing projects at the same time) or in bad weather (when the people don't want to mark the streets because the marks will wash away or be covered by snow), etc. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jul 02 '18 at 17:37
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    No, "at least" does not mean "NO MORE THAN". It means "at a minimum, this long, and quite possibly longer". There is literally zero ambiguity in the definition of what "at least" means. – The Evil Greebo Jul 02 '18 at 17:55
  • Never heard of Miss Utility or Mr Gopher. I have heard of 811 but it may best to say call your local **Utility Locate Services**. – Alaska Man Jul 02 '18 at 18:05
  • @TheEvilGreebo What I meant was: if 811 says call "at least" then that means as long as you call "at least...before" then they should get it done in that time (in this case, 2 full working days) - i.e., they MIGHT get there in only one day, but they want "at least" 2 days to make sure they can get it done "in time". I think we'll have to agree to disagree. Bottom line: If 811 doesn't get there when you expect (whether that expectation is correct or not), you still shouldn't dig because "no response" definitely does not mean "nothing buried". – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jul 02 '18 at 18:19
  • If by agree to disagree you mean that you're going to invent definitions that are the literal opposite of what they mean, you're right. We disagree. And in this case, it's because you're wrong. https://www.google.com/search?q=define+at+least&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS749US750&oq=define+at+least&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1299j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 – The Evil Greebo Jul 02 '18 at 18:24
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    Due to "recourse" being the crux of the question, this really does seem like a *law* question and it belongs on the law stack exchange. For us, the "recourse" is simply dig very carefully, or wait. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jul 02 '18 at 18:48
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    @TheEvilGreebo I think we agree on "at least". We disagree on how it is being used here. In the end, it doesn't matter - the OP should not have dug before 811 did their thing. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jul 02 '18 at 20:28

1 Answers1

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Boilerplate disclaimer: I Am Not A Lawyer.

I don't think you have any recourse here besides calling to file a complaint (if they even field complaints). "811", which marks utilities for digging projects, is a free service. A week is a longer lead time than you would usually expect, but you're in the height of outdoor project/construction season, so they're probably busier than usual. They can't cater to everyone's schedule - it's just not feasible.

All that being said, they try to make it convenient for people to avoid utilities since it costs less to send someone to mark them than it does to fix a damaged line. So the expectation is that you call and then wait to dig until the lines are marked. In fact, in some states the lines are valid for as long as they're visible, so you can have them marked a decent bit in advance before you actually need to dig and still be fine.

You called, but then didn't wait, so you've more or less broken the unwritten rule of how the service is supposed to work. I don't think you can sue someone you aren't actually paying for providing a service later than you would have liked. It would be like trying to sue the USPS for delivering standard mail later than you wanted to receive it.

Chris M.
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    The service is paid for out of fees charged for power and telecom so it is not truly free. – Ed Beal Jul 02 '18 at 18:01
  • Well no, it never is. I wasn't sure if it was taxes or utility fees, but it's definitely not fee-for-service. – Chris M. Jul 02 '18 at 18:10
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    Call it a pre-paid service if you like, @EdBeal, but at the end of the day, users of this service are hostage to their terms. The OP here apparently tried to set terms of their own. – The Evil Greebo Jul 02 '18 at 18:16
  • Not just "hostage to their terms". Whether they follow their own "rules" or "terms" or not, **you need to wait** and if you don't wait and you bust a pipe, you are responsible. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jul 02 '18 at 18:21