Awl Ob Da Aebrae Tangs

Well months back Telstra said CASE CLOSED - re Chicks phone in Bilambil. Case was closed but because she has been away a good bit she didn't realise that it wasnt at all repaired. The main House has reached Ombudsman level with complaints about their service. Baad enough that their service provider has cancelled their contract due to inability to do anything about Telstra and the failed lines.
Tried on the weekend to ring out and the noise on line was severe enough to prevent even a basic conversation or even allow internet connection on dial-up.
Ringing the residential complaints line involved a 3/4 hour wait and then being told she had called the wrong number which proved not to be so and the young assistant Jade said it was most likely a routing problem. NOT MY PROBLEM ! except that it is because of the havoc resulting. Telstra then made a commitment to attend to it before Tuesday Closing but Chick has NO confidence in that .
The BILAMBIL people have been told various and confliciting stories about the reasons for this sudden demise of the phone lines in the Valley .
It has taken most of the year for people to begin connecting with one another and realising that the problem is wider sprread than each individual home.m m
You should have kept complaining - said the delightful young woman.

Residents have been told

Telstra has been refused access to a property on the northern side of the Valley where lines need repair;.
Birds have eaten the wires on the property
one man on Hogans Road has no phone at all and has been told it will be another 18 months
the problem is up on carool hill
all the copper lines have failed due to age
residents will be provided with mobiles until the wiring is all fixed- oh sorry we changed our mind
and chick was told she would be given a satellite phone if she kept complaining. Do we have satellite range out there ?

These are only a few that I have heard due to not being in the Valley much these last months. Likely there are more. Effectively - we are isolated from all normal phone or net services whilst still paying for them.

Bilambil Valley is less than 20kms from the major areas of Tweed Heads and Gold Coast. 100 from Brisbane and yet such services as Virgin don't reach it. IBurst modems dont cover it. Down in the Valley there isnt even mobile reception except on some upmarket deals. What is this ?

NOW I AM PIG ROPE-ABLE
The technician calls me. A day early. Wow - thinks I . A day early . They are good guys after all. Oh No. !

The technician is a good guy. He sounds tired and bruised and is kindly and polite. But what he tells me is a hair prickler. Telstra have known all along they had a major project happening because the whole valley system was collapsing and theyve been jiggling and juggling people and LYING. Saying this and saying that and promising this and promising that. While we all pay our bills and wonder whats wrong THEY KNEW. It was probably better 100 years ago.

Losing the plot a little on this one and have sent an heated sms which is a muddle but not as muddled as Telstra

"I am a 58 year old pensioner resident of Bilambil Valley. Several months ago I had trouble with my landline which was repaired promptly and efficiently and I was informed that " The case was closed " This is what it said in September on an SMS . FROM TELSTRA : re case 125322484 for service of ( izzys chick ) The fault reported on 24/08/07 was resolved on 29/08/07 at 12:14. THIS CASE IS NOW CLOSED.

So I relax and think everythings ok. The Owners of my property who live in an adjoining residence on separate landline and who had also had trouble likewise thought all was well . I have been away often during the week this year with family etc and it took a while to notice that things were still really amiss. My prepaid dial up internet was very slow and the phone often crackled but I wasnt there often eneough to realise how bad it was and how many other people were being affected. Now I cant even speak on my phone or get internet connection let alone open emails. AND NOW I find out telstra has known what was happening for ages and had a major project scheduled ( so they say ) Everyone I speak to has been told a different thing and then its left to the technicians to try and soothe the rumpled feathers. I was just told that their policy is not to warn people but to wait for the complaints and then somehow juggle the available lines. I myself have been paying my pre paid home phone and pre paid internet all this time for NOTHING. Everyone else is in the same boat. We have all hunted for the problem and are only now finding out from one another that its not isolated. telstra has NO time frame for when this will be fixed. We dont even have basic phone coomunication. They offered me a mobile today but that wont give me internet. The girl I spoke to from telstra on the weekend told me it was " an isolated problem " and that Telstra made a commitment to " have it dealt with by Tuesday afternoon "
And i dont feel any security about that either because an elderly gentleman near me was offered one but was told they had changed their mind.
I dont know what situation people are being left in but my talk with a very nice tech this afternoon just rocked me. He said hes been dealing with complaints all day as he doe most days. The contractor hasnt even begun to come in to do whatever it is they're planning.
I asked why we werent warned and he said it isnt poilcy. So we are all out of pocket. Been left in a rural region out of town without communication. And paying for services which don;t even exist. Some of the people would be on contracts with other providers which they are tied into and not able to access.
This has affected my communications with my children and grandchildren who live in Sydney and Armidale. it must surely have affected people with businesses and now they tell me

I shoud have complained more
That they don;t know what time frame we are talking about
And that they have known what was happening all the time while they were telling customers a variety of different stories.

I am complaining now. Although It makes me very uneasy to say anything against them. i spoke to an old man over the way the other day and he had contacted the ombudsman but was like me afraid of the repercussions. I would prefer that my name was not brought into anything to do with this if you are able to do anything but its ludicrous. Talking about broadband options and we dont have even the basic. In Brisbane I use satellite phone and net but cant get that in the Valley and its only 15kms from the major centres of Tweed and Gold Coast . 2007 ?????? !!!!!!!!!

TELSTRA AND PHONE IN BILAMBIL

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