Thursday, April 30, 2009

Yes, You Can Win

Back in December I reported about a problem we had with a pipe in the street and how we ended up having to pay for the pipe replacement and the subsequent street repair, a $3500 cost. I also reported that the plumber who did the work pointed out that the problem was not ours but was a case of inferior materials being used by whomever did the repairs.

Yes, we went after the City to pay us back, and we kept at it. The amount and type of paperwork was ridiculous. But I can now announce that we have deposited the check finally sent to us by the City. Back when all this first started more than a few people told us not to bother; we were never going to win and then it would take forever to get the money if we did win. If we'd had that attitude we never would have gotten our money back. Just because something takes work and lots of effort doesn't mean it shouldn't be attempted. We considered it personal activism, and it paid off. There's a lesson in there to be learned: don't give up and don't give in.

4 comments:

G6 said...

Thanks for this post.
It restores a little bit of my faith in general.
Sometimes one feels as if one is running into the wind....

Squooshball said...

Wow; good for you! My husband and I have been fighting our county for the past several months. There's been a discrepancy with our water bill, and we don't want to have to pay the extra money for the three quarters they overcharged us. Thanks for inspiring me to continue our fight and for proving that activism is still alive and well in 2009.

Anonymous said...

I applaud your tenaciousness.

Many years ago,when I lived in Philadelphia, a City snow plow came up my block and hit my parked car. A neighbor pointed it out to me, because the way my car was parked, I could not see it from my house, not would I have seen it from the driver's side of the car.
I called the City of Philadelphia and they told me that 1) my street doesn't get plowed, so no plow could have hit my car; and 2) unless I had the license plate number of the plow or the driver's name, I could not put in a claim.
When I put in a claim with my insurance company, they paid and then cancelled my policy. The insurance company knew it could not go after the city, so I was out of luck.
I am very happy that someone got satisfaction from City government, somewhere.

Anonymous said...

congrats!