HOUSTON -- Homeowners in one Missouri City neighborhood say digging by a big phone company caused major damage to their roads and homes. They're asking Amy for help.

KPRC Local 2 investigative reporter Amy Davis stepped in to find out who's responsible.

Most of us know that there are some parts of our property designated as easements where phone, cable and electric companies can dig and work.

But people who live in Quail Valley say the digging on their property caused major problems. We stepped in to try and straighten it out.

The driveway is trashed, cement is separating and sidewalks are uneven. Margo Siekerka said she knows why.

"The truth of the matter is AT&T made this mess," Siekerka said.

Actually, AT&T sent several subcontractors to the neighborhood to dig a trench and two holes to bury some new cables.

Siekerka said she noticed a damaged curb the first day crews were here. When she asked a worker about it, she said he handed her a card and said, "Here, call this number," which was for the claims department. She said it still hasn't done anything about the curb.

AT&T did send someone to repair the curb and level this street, what it calls a "good faith effort to resolve the situation," but Siekerka said it wasn't nearly enough.

"They wanted to fix this little square," she showed Local 2 Investigates. "They never addressed all of the damages to my poor neighbor's house."

"It sounds like AT&T's probably going to play hardball here," said David Tiede, director of the Texas Consumer Complaint Center at the University of Houston Law Center. "The problem that the property owners will have is getting together the legal resources to prove what could be a relatively complex case."

Complex and expensive.

In a statement, an AT&T spokesperson wrote, "We disagree with Ms. Siekerka's claim. The damaged street, curbs and driveways were preexisting conditions in this part of the neighborhood prior to AT&T doing work."

The roads in Quail Valley are privately owned, so Tiede says Siekerka and her neighbors will likely first have to hire an engineer to determine if the digging is what caused all of this damage, then hire a lawyer to take those findings to court.

"The sad fact is that justice can be expensive and the only way that you can get people to take responsibility in certain circumstances is to pursue your rights in court," said Tiede.

"We just don't have deep pockets here," Siekerka said. "I mean, we take care of our neighborhood, but we didn't invite this mess."

The other common issue here is who is technically responsible for the damage if the digging is what caused it? Would it be AT&T or the subcontractors?

Tiede said usually a consumer would sue both because the contractor authorized the work the subcontractor did.

The Texas Consumer Complaint Center is a great resource for these types of disputes.