In article ,
aemeijers wrote:

call cable company and bitch them out

Don't bother bitching to them. They are, after all, the ones you are
going to TRY (probably unsuccessfully) to have repair the damage for
free.

make them replace it with a direct run?

MAKE them? Fat chance. The CATV provider will simply quote state law
that the digger should have called for a locate.

Worst case scenario, even beyond having to PAY for a repair or
replacement: They will lay a temporary wire across the property and it
will STAY there for a YEAR or longer.

There is no code specifying depth of cover for low voltage cabling.
Depth is never officially revealed during a locate. Laying sod on top
of a drop is widespread and common, particularly within the CATV
industry.

Was flower bed there before or after the cable was installed?

It doesn't matter. The drop was damaged without locates. The digger is
at fault.

Most cable companies hate buried splices due to high
failure rates, and they are a PITA to track down.

Agreed, and a simple repair often takes longer than simply laying a
cough, hack TEMPORARY wire on top of the ground. The repairdroid
simply lays the temp and takes off. The hapless subscriber can only
HOPE that the tech did the follow-up paperwork necessary to get a
permanent wire placed. Even if s/he did, when it gets buried, it is
often after hell freezes over and pigs are flying all over the place.

Why was all that "slack" wire "snaking" all around? Simple. When the
home was first provided service, a temporary wire was laid with enough
slack to start your own CATV company. The sod was laid over the wire
where it lay.

Years ago I ran the drop plow that placed a phone wire to my neighbor's
home. Some years afterward, he cut the wire. During our conversation,
he asked why the drop took a big detour (loop) about ten feet out from
the house. I told him that, while running the plow, I encountered a
HUGE dog house that was blocking an otherwise straight shot to the
protector/entrance. I informed him that it was easier to maneuver the
plow AROUND the obstruction than it would have been to MOVE the dog
house.

Call before you dig.
--

JR