At last, a connection

TANIA MCCAULEY Napier woman Cynthia Cooke is relieved she finally has a working telephone in her new home.
She set a date for the connection with Telecom nearly a month ago, but until yesterday, it was still out of order. Yesterday, a temporary telephone line was set up. Ms Cooke was told by Telecom it would take seven days to fix the fault, which was outside her property boundary.
The pensioner was due to have the last of her belongings moved into the Gloucester Street house today.
Ms Cooke was concerned the contractor, Downer EDI, could not tell her until yesterday whether the fault was on her property or not, and had been worried that she would be asked to pay for the repair before her telephone would be connected. Her biggest worry, however, was that the Hawke's Bay District Health Board would be unable to contact her about her impending hip replacement, which she was due to have anytime between now and August.
"It (the fault) has nothing to do with me. I have never missed a (telephone) bill, and I've had a telephone ever since I have been in New Zealand. I arrived in 1954. I've never given them any trouble," she said.
The house sale went through on May 19, after which Ms Cooke began ringing her electricity and gas companies, Sky, Telecom and others to inform them of the move and what date she would like all the services to be on in her new home.
She originally wanted the telephone on between June 12 and 15, then told Telecom she would rather have it on from June 6 as she was spending more and more time at the new house.
The person she spoke to at Telecom said June 6 would be a suitable day for a contractor to come, and she was given a new telephone number. However, nobody showed up on June 6.
During another telephone call she was promised that someone would come on Wednesday. Ms Cooke and her friend timed the visit by the Downer EDI employee on Wednesday morning at exactly four minutes. When he left, she still had no working telephone.
"I gave everybody fair warning. It has been an absolute nightmare," Ms Cooke said.
Telecom was contacted about her situation but was unable to respond by the time of publication today.
Meanwhile, the man who related his telephone woes to Hawke's Bay Today earlier this week has been contacted by Telecom since with an offer. He has been told that he will not be charged for the days he was without a telephone between June 8, the day service was supposed to be connected, and June 12, the day he received service.