Call 4 Action: A goose, a power surge and a $21,000 reimbursement

LANCASTER, N.Y. (WIVB) — When a power surge happened in a Lancaster neighborhood earlier this year, it caused quite a bit of damage to a few dozen homes.

When damage wasn’t covered at one of those homes, the homeowner called for action.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Ang DeGrace, who lives on a fixed income. “It was unreal to do all this damage.”

It was an unreal experience on an average day. Back in September, residents in the Stony Brook South neighborhood of Lancaster experienced a power surge, with a goose — yes, a goose — flying into power lines.

“I was in my loft watching TV and then all of a sudden, poom, you heard a big noise and everything went out,” DeGrace said.

The power was only out for a couple of hours, but DeGrace’s garage door didn’t work and his furnace had been fried.

And that’s not all.

“When the fire department came here, he walked in my kitchen and right away he spotted that my dishwasher was burning,” DeGrace said. “When they put the power on … boom, it was just a loud noise again. And I think that’s what really caused it, (it) was too much power all at once.”

The damage came with a hefty price — more than $21,500 to fix everything, with several local contractors pitching in to get the work done.

“I just couldn’t afford it,” DeGrace said. “It’s not like I just wanted to go out and buy all new appliances. It was a lot of money.”

DeGrace said he charged his credit card and had to take out a home equity loan. DeGrace said he filed a claim with NYSEG to get his money back, but was denied. NYSEG said it was not working in this area at the time of the surge and classified the goose incident as an act of God.

A company spokesperson from NYSEG said: “Any alleged impacts from power surges caused by weather or nature are beyond the Company’s control and should be addressed by the homeowner’s insurance.”

Thinking he was covered through his insurance, DeGrace filed a claim with Safeco but was denied under its personal property coverage.

“That’s why I called Channel 4 to help me, because I didn’t know what to do. Nobody wanted to do anything,” DeGrace said. “I said, what do I have homeowner’s insurance (for)?”

Our Call 4 Action team went to work getting in touch with Safeco, pointing out DeGrace’s dwelling coverage. He then received a letter saying his case was being reopened, and just days ago he received his reimbursement check for over $21,000. His claim was finally approved.

“I can sleep better now knowing that I can pay this bill off. And I really appreciate Channel 4 for helping me,” DeGrace said.

If you have a Call 4 Action complaint, you can call our hotline at 716-879-4900.

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Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.

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