PONTIAC, Mich. – A Pontiac resident has been frustrated by DTE leaving over a dozen telephone poles on his front lawn.
“I’m assuming that they’re replacing throughout the neighborhood, so it’s hard to say. They’re all different sizes, too,” said Pontiac resident Devin Hall.
Hall said for the past few months, DTE’s given him the short end of the stick - more specifically, the short end of the pole or at least 20 of them left on the front lawn.
“I had called to get a pole removal twice now, and not only did they remove the pole twice, but they also left 19 more like I’m a storage unit,” Hall said.
Hall has felt like it’s been a cruel joke.
“I feel like because I’ve put in pole replacements and pole pickups, they’re like, let’s drop a whole storage unit off to him. It’s very much a haha - keep messing with us,” Hall said.
His neighbors feel the same about the community eyesore.
“It’s been horrible. I mean, I’m worried that my kids are gonna play on it. They’re not secured, nothing’s tied down. There’s no rope. Nothing to them,” said Hall’s neighbor, Alisha Black.
Hall said that no matter how many times he calls, he only gets the runaround.
“Just to get a hold of DTE in general is a nightmare. I spent lunch breaks calling them. I probably have a recollection of 60 phone calls in the past 6 months between me and DTE, I’m over it,” Hall said.
So, Local 4 called DTE to find out why the poles were placed there in the first place and what the company would do about it.
It turns out that pole upgrades are happening in the area, and the crews thought Hall’s lawn was the most convenient place for the poles, as repairs are underway.
The company is apologizing and will remove the poles on Wednesday (Sept. 24). Devin says he’ll believe when he sees it.
“It’s very frustrating. I just want my yard back,” Hall said.