A Washington, D.C., woman paid hundreds of dollars for a fence, but months later it still wasn’t installed.
Gwendolyn Bridgett wanted to keep her dogs and children from trampling her flowers.
"I just wanted to beautify my home," she said.
She bought a $1,600 fence in May from Long Fence, thinking it would be installed within two weeks, but May turned into June.
"We waited a little bit, and then I called the company only to find out that we had to wait on D.C. government to issue us a permit," she said.
By September, she still didn't have a fence.
NBC4 Responds contacted the company and learned it was waiting on the city to issue the original permit submitted in May. It wasn't approved and eventually expired.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
The D.C. Department of Transportation, which issues the permits, said the "permit in question was slowed because the original application was incomplete..." It went on to say, "The applicant was notified of the missing paperwork, but failed to respond and the permit lapsed in June."
In a statement, Long Fence said it resubmitted two more permit applications with the necessary information and neither got approved.
Long Fence went on to say, "It was only after notifying DDOT that NBC was launching an inquiry into the delays ... that the permit was ultimately ... approved."
DDOT did admit that the fence company did submit another application in August, and the city admits it wasn't approved until October, two weeks longer than it usually takes.
"Within, I'd say, two weeks, voila!" Bridgett said.
The fence was installed.
When it comes to obtaining permits, ultimately it is the responsibility of the homeowner to make sure it's taken care of. While most companies will do it for you, it's always a good idea to make sure to follow up with the city just in case.
