BT under fire as services lost for three weeks (From Basingstoke Gazette)

BT under fire as services lost for three weeks

10:00am Thursday 14th March 2013 in Andover

BT customers in a village near Andover have complained that they were cut off for up to three weeks.

Three neighbours were unable to use broadband and their phone lines after an agricultural vehicle brought down one of the overhead wires in North Houghton at the beginning of February. However, it took until Friday, 1 March, for all services to be fully restored.

A BT spokeswoman said: “This affected the service of three customers.

“After our engineers carried out vital survey work of the damage, we arranged for two new poles and a new aerial cable to be provided.

“Work to fully restore service started on 28 February and was fully restored on Friday, 1 March.”

Resident Michael Woodhall, who works from home as a chartered surveyor, is unhappy that the works took so long.

The former Hampshire county councillor said: “It was very inconvenient as all I could work from was my iPhone and that isn’t easy doing emails.

“I managed to get the phone diverting to my iPhone but it meant that the office staff couldn’t do their jobs – there were two weeks that were pretty frustrating.”

He also claimed that the BT fault meant that an elderly neighbour could not use her emergency call button, which automatically gets help in case of emergencies.

Mr Woodhall added: “BT (Openreach), who was immediately informed, failed to make the necessary repairs despite having sent on five separate occasions a total of eight manned repair vehicles.

“Reassurances were made by them that the fault would be rectified within a few days.”