Bombarding the top brass of Openreach with emails of complaint saw residents of Beech finally end an 11-day wait to get their broadband fixed.
The problem began at lunchtime on February 4 when a hedge-cutting tractor accidentally brought down some cables, leaving 82 homes in Kings Hill and side roads off it without broadband.
Residents lost their internet, television and landline telephone services, and because Beech lies in a valley many were unable to use their mobile phones.
Trevor Malkin was one of many Kings Hill residents who emailed Openreach’s incoming chief executive Katie Milligan last Friday.
He said: “This situation is unacceptable and is now causing serious disruption and risk within our community. Our village includes a significant number of vulnerable and elderly residents who rely heavily on broadband for communication and access to essential services.”
But the co-ordinated efforts of villagers eventually brought a swift conclusion to the crisis.
Emma Franklin, of Openreach’s high level escalations department, replied: “We’ve had several residents contact us about this incident. I’d like to reassure you that we know about this fault and the issues many people in the community are facing on the back of this.
“Our ask is that you give us the opportunity to work with our local engineering teams to repair this fault that’s affecting you all. This will remain a focus of ours until we get everyone back in service. Rest assured, we’re working hard to fix this and restore service as quickly as possible.”
Trevor said: “After lots of neighbours emailed the chief executive on Friday at the same time I did, it was quickly escalated to high level and the work was carried out on Sunday morning, which only took around two hours. It seems everyone is now back on broadband, so a big sigh of relief 11 days later.”
