Businesswoman's nine month battle with bungling internet providers BT - The Leamington Observer

Businesswoman's nine month battle with bungling internet providers BT

Leamington Editorial 28th Nov, 2015 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

A BUSINESSWOMAN starting up her own company is embroiled in a battle with internet providers BT after it took nine months to get round to installing cables – only for bungling engineers to then forgot to put them in.

Lottie Ellis lives in a secluded barn conversion on Hill Top Farm on Fosse Way.

She is surrounded by glamping tents and cabins which she rents out to holidaymakers looking to enjoy a rural Warwickshire retreat.

Earlier this year she moved from London to run the business on the family farm and also accepted an offer to work from home as a fruit buyer for a drinks company.




The 33-year-old spoke to BT months before the move and asked the communication giant to install broadband at her home so she could start work immediately.

But nine months later she is still without a connection after engineers laid casing for the wires, but forgot to install the actual internet cable.


BT now say she is faced with another lengthy wait to complete the work.

Lottie told the Observer: “I feel helpless. It’s really frustrating. This business requires me to use email, run a website and booking system which are mainly web based.

“I also work part time from home, which obviously means an internet connection is an absolute necessity.

“Luckily my parents only live a mile away but I’m having to go back and forth all the time to use their internet connection which is not ideal.”

When BT first came to lay the cables they told Lottie they had to do a traffic survey and apply for planning permission to close the road. Eventually at the end of August an engineer came to do the work.

But when she was visited by another BT engineer weeks later, he discovered the cables had not been laid.

She now needs to wait for planning permission to be granted again so the wires can be installed.

Lottie said: “It’s an absolute commotion. I feel helpless because it’s not like I can go to another company instead of BT. They are the only ones who work in this area.

“It is so frustrating I could scream. Making the choice to live in a rural community shouldn’t mean you have to go back to the dark ages and communicate by pigeon. It’s meant to be 2015.”

A spokesman for Openreach, BT’s local network business, apologised for the delay.

He added: “This service has proved popular so we have had to increase the number of lines available. Blockages and damaged ducts meant that the cable laying had to be delayed. New ducting is being laid and the work will be completed as soon as possible.”

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