Villagers get each other’s numbers in BT blunder
FOR the residents of a small village, the past week has been a case of dial M for mayhem after they were given each other’s phone numbers by mistake.
Blundering BT engineers left up to 50 of them with crossed wires when they were sent out to replace overhead cables that had been rubbing against a tree.
Householders in Cliffords Mesne, Gloucestershire, said their bungling meant up to two thirds of the village found themselves receiving calls intended for their neighbours.
Villager Susan Fewell, 63, said: ‘It has been a totally bizarre situation. It was quite fraught, but people are beginning to see the funny side.’
Yesterday, some villagers claimed they still had the wrong number – a week after the maintenance work began. Retired lecturer John Frank-
‘We’re beginning to see the funny side’
lin said his phone line was totally cut off while around 50 neighbours had one other’s numbers.
The 65-year-old said a ‘trunk’ supply cable from nearby Newent had been rubbing against a tree and causing crackling on the line.
But the repair on Wednesday last week caused even more problems.
Mr Franklin added: ‘Half to two thirds of the village had a problem as a result. We all more or less know each other. We were able to work out who had who’s number.
‘It took a little while to work out and people were getting confused.
‘For instance, one neighbour was waiting for a hospital appointment to come through on the phone, and the hospital rang her, but of course they rang another neighbour down the road.
‘Thankfully, she was able to pop along and tell them about it.
‘It was a little bit like the village was running a delivery service for a while.’ The few lucky enough to keep their numbers soon found themselves acting as village operators.
Marian Roper, 71, said: ‘ We were one of the fortunate houses that were not affected.
‘We have been putting people in contact with neighbours as we were one of the few numbers people knew for certain.’
BT, which blamed the chaos on contractors working for its Openreach subsidiary, claimed just 15 homes were affected.
A spokesman said: ‘ Contractors working for Openreach, who install and maintain the local network on behalf of all communications providers, left around 15 customers with crossed lines.
‘Openreach is working hard to put things right. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Anyone who thinks they may be affected must report a fault to the company they pay their bill to so an investigation can be carried out.’