February 26, 2001 16:33: A MAN is furious after telephone company BT arrived to fix his phone on the day he was moving home four months after he first reported the fault.
Gary Luke, 36, of Westover Road, Downley, said managers did not even apologise for the blunder, despite paying out £850 in compensation.
Phone engineer Mr Luke reported the fault on November 7.
After waiting nearly a month, an engineer arrived but left without fixing the phone.
Despite complaints to BT, Mr Luke heard nothing until another engineer arrived in January.
"They came to put in underground cabling but somehow they forgot to pack the cabling," said Mr Luke.
Two weeks later Mr Luke had another house call from a BT representative who planned to drill a hole in the wall.
"Not surprisingly, this guy forgot the drill!" added Mr Luke.
His next contact with the company was on January 19, when a representative told him his phone was fixed.
"I knew the phone couldn't have been fixed as there was no cabling in the ground," he said.
Three months after the problem started, Mr Luke still hadn't received an apology from BT.
On the morning of February 6 as the Luke family moved out of their Avery Avenue home, two engineers arrived and fixed the fault.
"I was disgusted that after all the trouble, they didn't even waive the transfer connection charge to my new address," said Mr Luke.
BT spokesman Paul Durrell said it is normal practice to repair a fault of this kind in two working days.
He said he did not know why an apology had not been sent to Mr Luke but said he would send him one immediately.
By.Michelle Fleming
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article