A Shirley man with health conditions has been without a working landline for almost a week, and his daughter says it was cut without notice.
“I can’t believe Telus would do this to anyone, let alone an older sick person,” said Tara Alberti.
About two weeks ago, Alberti says she received a notice in the mail from Telus telling her that her street was getting a fibre optics upgrade and the current copper line would be replaced.
Her father, Gary Adcock, lives just a few doors down, and she was concerned his house would also be affected.
Adcock only has a landline and lives with a heart condition, and he relies on his daughter for help. She says she asked Telus if the upgrade would affect his house, and they told her no.
Last Tuesday, Adcock learned that his landline had stopped working.
“I was trying to call my daughter, and that didn’t work, so then I jumped into the car and went up to her house,” said Adcock.
In a statement to CHEK News, Telus says it attempted to contact Adcock several times about the fibre optic installation, including securing an installation date for late November.
“[We] make every attempt to communicate with our customers at least 60 days in advance of turning off our copper networks,” said Telus.
“We attempted to contact Mr. Adcock numerous times since July to book a fibre installation date, including phoning six times per week and sending registered mail to his home, though regrettably, we understand Mr. Adcock says he did not receive any of our communications.”
Alberti insists she only received initial notice of the changeover about two weeks ago, and that her father never received a phone call, voicemail or letter.
“What if he needs to call 911? What if there’s a fire, or burglar, or whatever, or just contacting me if he’s not feeling well?” said Alberti.
Instead, the two say they’ve set up an appointment with Shaw to install phone services on Oct. 18, which would be one week since his phone lines have stopped working.
The daughter says she’s also considering pursuing legal action against Telus.
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Oli Herrera
