Beckenham residents struggle without BT phones for three days (From News Shopper)

Beckenham residents struggle without BT phones for three days

5:12pm Wednesday 22nd August 2012 in Bromley By Heloise Wood

HUNDREDS of Beckenham residents have struggled without a phone line or internet connection for three days.

When News Shopper went to print, some were still waiting for normal service to resume following a suspected cable theft from under the road in Village Way.

More than 450 people reported a fault in their phone lines from Thursday to Sunday with many more thought to have been affected as people without a phone line or internet connection would have struggled to lodge a complaint.

Yvette Kentish, 35, from Mayford Close, was left fuming after reporting the incident to BT.

The phone provider sent her an automated text warning if the fault did not lie with the service provider’s kit she would be charged £99.

She says she asked customer service about possible compensation but was not given any information.

The HR manager said: “They need to be a little more sympathetic.

“It was a complete palava reporting the incident to them in the first place.

“Why does it take so long to repair it? That’s what you pay a premium for.”

Meanwhile, several members of St John’s Halls Park Church for Eden Park, Beckenham, could not use their phone for days.

Sylvia Hillman, 73, of Stanhope Grove, attends the church’s twice weekly Link Cafe.

She said: “I can’t believe someone would cut the wire.

“It is difficult to get in touch with anyone without a telephone, especially the lady who takes me shopping.”

Andrew Woodard, 44, who works at Auto Smart Fix, a few doors down from Ms Hillman, went to check on the pensioner.

He said: “I was a bit worried about how she was coping without a phone line so I popped in a couple of times over the few days.”

BT confirmed an alleged case of cable theft occurred in Village Way but did not confirm if normal service had been restored.

The spokesperson said: “Engineers worked as quickly as possible to replace and change over around 160m of cable.

“We had just over 450 reports of faults associated with this incident.”

BT said cable theft costs the UK economy £770m a year.