Six weeks after moving into a new-build house I am still without a phone line and broadband connection.
Virgin Media tells me it has yet to be notified by the developer that the infrastructure is complete. The developer, Bellway, insists it has contacted Virgin to confirm this several times and that it’s powerless to speed matters up. TW, Leeds
You’re not alone, if that’s any comfort. So many residents on new estates are stranded for weeks without connections that Openreach, which along with Virgin installs the nation’s telecoms infrastructure, has had to dedicate a complaints site to them.
In your case, however, Virgin told me that its hands were tied because Bellway had another few weeks of construction work to finish and it could not lay cabling until it was done. Bellway failed to respond to requests for a comment so we may never know where the blame lies. Another month passed and the cabling was finally laid, three months after you moved in.
This year the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, announced plans to enforce automatic compensation payments for the 2.6 million customers a year who suffer from delayed installations or repairs. But even if the new rules were in place they may not have helped you, since the sum would be calculated according to the time elapsed from the promised installation date – and you were never given one.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
