TEMPLE, Texas — For four years, a Temple, TX family has been worried about the growing threat a utility pole is creating for their property and their neighbors.
Ahren Ingle is the caretaker for his parents. He told 6 News there is a utility pole on the side of their house that is leaning into their backyard. Ingle said it's been that way for four years and has grown more concerning.
"We're worried that it's going to fall over onto our property, or our neighbor's property and cause some real damages here," Ingle said.
The pole has damaged the wooden fence, the metal gate and a concrete stone pillar. It also has the lines hanging low into the family's backyard and on the roof of a shed.
Ingle called the City of Temple to get the pole and property fixed, but the City told him the job belonged to AT&T. However, Ingle says AT&T has given him and his parents the runaround the entire time.
"You call a general phone number to reach AT&T and you get transferred around literally until you get placed on a series of holds until you get to the right person," Ingle explained. "They keep telling you the same story that they have an engineer who's aware of the problem and they're going to send somebody out and the frustrating thing is there's just no follow through."
The Ingle's are tired of the broken promises and the looming threat, so they called 6 News to see if things can get straightened out.
6 News talked to two different departments within AT&T on the phone until a subrogation manager was reached. The manager asked 6 News to email photos of the slanted pole to her. She then said it was "something that needs urgent attention." That same manager is now claiming she's going to be the one handling the problem.
The AT&T employee couldn't tell 6 News on the phone why it's taken the company so long to address the Ingle's concern. She also couldn't say when it would be fixed by, but it would start right after the Ingle's filled out a claim form.
Until then, the Ingle's are dealing with the unsightly view and hoping something gets done before it's too late.
"I'm not sure how much voltage is coming through that, but it could result in a fire, it could result in a part of our home or a neighbor's home being damaged," Ingle added. "We just want to make sure that nobody gets injured, especially property or people as a result of AT&T's negligence basically."
An AT&T employee told 6 News Monday that they weren't able to tell if they had any documentation about the Ingle's concerns and complaints.
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