A family has described a distressing three-month wait for BT to reinstate the phone number of a 90-year-old woman, leaving her isolated at home and unable to easily stay in touch with relatives, friends and doctors.
The woman, who lives alone, had been sent home from hospital at the end of last year to die. Her child, who is her sole carer, said it was essential that broadband be installed so a personal alarm could be fitted. The alarm was needed to help keep her safe while she remained by herself.
According to the complaint, BT said the customer would need a temporary phone number while Openreach carried out the necessary work. But the process did not go smoothly, and the reinstatement of the original number was delayed for months.
The result, the family said, was an ordeal that left a vulnerable elderly woman cut off from the people and services she relied on. For someone living alone and in poor health, losing reliable phone access created a serious problem at an already difficult time.
The case highlights the pressure that communication failures can place on older people, particularly those who depend on a landline for essential contact and safety arrangements. It also raises questions about how quickly telecoms problems are handled when vulnerable customers are involved.
In this instance, the delay affected more than convenience. The woman’s phone connection was tied to broader care needs, including the installation of broadband and a personal alarm. Without a working and familiar number, her ability to remain connected to family, friends and doctors was made harder.
The complaint focuses on the time it took for BT to restore the original service after a temporary arrangement was put in place. Three months is a long period for any customer to wait, but the impact is particularly acute when the person affected is elderly, frail and living alone.
For carers and families in similar situations, the episode is a reminder of how dependent day-to-day care can be on basic utility services running properly. A phone line is not just a convenience in such circumstances; it can be part of the support system that helps a person stay safe at home.
The family’s account describes a vulnerable woman left without the easy contact that many people take for granted. It also points to the frustration of trying to resolve a service problem while dealing with the strain of illness, age and care at home.
As the case shows, delays in restoring something as simple as a phone number can have a wide effect. They can delay other services, complicate care plans and deepen the isolation of someone already facing serious health challenges.
BT has been asked to explain the circumstances behind the delay, but the central facts of the complaint are clear: a 90-year-old woman, living alone and reliant on her family for care, was left waiting three months for her phone number to be put back in place after temporary arrangements were made for broadband work.
