Tree trimmers left injured veteran's lawn buried in branches. Then asked her to clean it up
OG&E finally responded to Lynn Bunting after News 4 got involved
Most times, veterans are not treated with the respect that they deserve. Lynn Bunting, a retired veteran, was frustrated with OG&E (Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company) after calling them nine times to remove the tree debris from her backyard. The company came to cut down the trees back in April, and three months later, they still haven't cleared them from Bunting's backyard. Moreover, the veteran confessed that every time she called OG&E to come clean up the trees, they kept postponing, with a new false promise, as per KFOR Oklahoma's News 4 (@kfor4news) broadcast on July 8, 2026.
The 'big bucks' never arrived
She had called OG&E twice in March when she saw that the trees in her backyard were too close to the power lines. They promised they'd come, but never did. On April 29, her neighbor called them because her electricity was going out, and they immediately responded and cut down the trees. She told the contractor she couldn't remove the branches herself because of her recent arm surgery and "torn ligaments and separation." "And then I had a plate from a previous accident. They took that out, did this. So I’ve got a double whammy. You can’t bend down very well," Bunting explained to the outlet. The contractor assured her, "Oh no, that’s why we got to hire our big bucks, you know." But they never came back.
Different answers on different occasions
Three months and nine calls later, OG&E kept saying that they would clear the mess, but never did. "One said it’ll take 20 business days... I asked to talk to a supervisor, and she said 'within 48 hours,'" the veteran recalled. After several attempts, Bunting was frustrated with their promises and said, "Shame on you. That’s just a shame. I’ve been a great customer. Never had problems with me. Come on. I’m the little woman. Yeah. Take care of me."
Veterans as targets
Veterans have been targeted time and again by government agencies. The Harris Poll, surveyed on behalf of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), found that 37% of Americans experienced fraudulent activities after being impacted by a natural disaster. 14% reported identity theft, 11% dealt with government assistance fraud and loan scams, 10% experienced vendor fraud, utility scams, charity fraud, and insurance fraud, while 8% dealt with contractor fraud. Bunting had to contact OG&E nine times before they responded. A 2024 report shared on Which? found that 42% of UK adults called their energy provider in 2023, and 39% faced at least one customer service problem.
Some (17%) had to wait a long time on the phone before speaking to an advisor, 11% were passed between departments without any helpful responses, or were not given good advice. 10% reported delays in receiving a response to their email.
OG&E's explanation
Finally, after KFOR Oklahoma's News 4 reached out to OG&E, they responded with a public statement that read, "We regret that the customer’s tree limbs were not removed following her outage, which was not related to a storm, weather, or act of nature." Moreover, they said that they've spoken to Bunting and have assured her that action will be taken as soon as power is restored. "Our crews will remove the debris by the end of this week. Due to the timing of this story, it’s important to note that OG&E does not remove debris following storm events like the one this weekend," OG&E added.
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