Raw Deal: It took a huge crane to fix Sandy’s phone problem

Sandy Massie needed a new phone line put in place in his back garden (although the pole was actually situated in a neighbour's garden)

WHAT do you do when you have a problem with your phone, but BT can’t get access to replace the pole that carries the line to your house?

That’s the problem that was faced by Sandy Massie of Laurencekirk.

Sandy’s phone line and internet access developed problems in May. He contacted BT, which diverted calls to his mobile, although the signal was a bit patchy at times.

But then there was a long wait for more action. Sandy contacted Raw Deal and we spoke to BT – and quickly came to appreciate why there had been a delay.

The problem turned out to be with the pole carrying the line in the gardens behind Sandy and his neighbours’ houses. The pole had been in place, in a neighbour’s garden, since the 1950s and needed replaced.

However, doing this was a problem.

The garden area at the rear of Sandy’s house is “landlocked”. There are buildings all around, enclosing the gardens. A new phone pole would be 11 metres long, so it would be impossible to manoeuvre it through a house.

It had to go over the roofs.

Even then, there was a problem. The streets of Laurencekirk are narrow, so getting a crane big enough to hoist in a heavy pole would require the closure of a whole road, which needs to be organised by the local authority.

It certainly wasn’t an easy solution, but it was done in the end.

BT told us: “We are sorry for the delay in repairing Mr and Mrs Massie’s phone service but the mitigating factors in this particular case were exceptional. The new pole has now been erected allowing service to be restored.

“We’ve agreed to refund Mr Massie a sum of £225 covering the period without service, plus a £75 goodwill credit by way of apology.”

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