Palm Springs homeowner demands accountability from Frontier after sewer line damage

A local resident is seeking answers from Frontier Communications after the company allegedly damaged her sewer line, leaving her with thousands of dollars in unpaid repairs.

Palm Springs homeowner Carrie Class first noticed something strange last December in her bathrooms. "Our toilets were literally burping water," she said. She said sand and debris began coming up through the pipes into her bathtub and appliances.

With Frontier crews working around that time in her neighborhood, she suspected they might have been responsible.

Plumbers unearthed the area in front of her home near the sidewalk and found a Frontier line had been shot through the sewer pipe. The extensive repair work cost approximately $10,000. Despite not having underground plumbing insurance, Class's insurance company covered the expense initially.

However, Class said 6 months later, Frontier Communications still hasn't paid out the claim, causing her homeowners insurance rates to rise about 10 percent, an increase of thousands of dollars more per year.

Class took to social media to share her story and discovered that others in the community had experienced similar issues with the company.

"I want to say there's at least 20 people who have said, 'Hey, that happened to me, too,'" Class said. "It's not about the mistakes we make. It's about how we clean up the mistakes we make. And they're not cleaning up behind themselves. That's the problem."

A representative for Frontier Communications acknowledged News Channel 3's request for comment Monday but did not immediately respond.