Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

BT accused of being ‘absolutely ridiculous’ as Perth businesses count the cost of phone fault

Pitcullen Crescent, where businesses have been without a working phone line for days.
Pitcullen Crescent, where businesses have been without a working phone line for days.

A Perth business owner has described BT’s attitude to more than 200 premises being without a phone for 10 days as “cavalier” and “absolutely ridiculous.”

Dr Tom Lowdon, 70, is one of many guest house owners in Pitcullen Crescent hit by the problem, which he claims has cost him a four-figure sum.

BT said the situation has been caused by a major cable failure and stressed that repairs could be carried out on Friday.

But Mr Lowdon told The Courier he feels BT is treating the problem as a “very low priority” and said it has affected scores of businesses in the area, including a care home.

“This has caused a huge amount of disruption,” he said. “I understand it’s a problem with the main cable and was told it would be repaired by this Friday, but that’s 10 days we’ve gone without a main phone and internet already. Fortunately, we have a system that allows our phone line to be diverted via a mobile phone.”

Mr Lowdon’s wife, Margaret, said she feels “isolated” due to the situation.

Diane McLeay from Scone who knows some of the guest house owners said: “The whole street of B&Bs has been without telephone service for well over a week and we can’t get answers or explanations from anyone.

“Further, the care homes in the area have no emergency services as a result and people have to come into the homes at night in case of emergency a totally unacceptable situation.”

A BT spokesperson said: “We have a major cable failure off the Perth exchange affecting around 240 local premises.

“A large underground cable needs to be replaced after a broken sewage pipe flooded BT’s underground network.

“A section of the road must be closed to allow repairs to go ahead, as access is needed via several manholes, and these works are subject to the usual permissions from the roads authority and statutory notice being served.

“Assuming all goes to plan, it is hoped to complete the repairs by Friday. We’re sorry for any inconvenience meantime.”