Gran left outraged after BT cuts off landline number she's used for 50 years
A stock image of an old person using a landline phone
GETTY
A grandmother has been left outraged after BT cut off her landline number that she used for 50 years.
Brenda Rowles, 78, called the telecommunications company to cancel her broadband package in a bid to divert funds to cover her husband’s care.
The retired librarian claimed “everybody knows me” by the number that she has had since December 1970.
She also argued BT’s decision to cut her off has caused “chaos”.
A British Telecom handset and the BT logo
GETTY
Rowles, who discovered her landline was cut off when her doctor sent a letter after not getting hold of her, hoped cancelling her broadband would help cut down on the £209 annual package cost.
The grandmother-of-five was shocked when her landline was cut off and later replaced with a new phone number.
BT has not yet provided Rowles with an explanation for the switch.
The 78-year-old got the number when she moved into her Chandler’s Ford home in Hampshire before Christmas in 1970.
She was given the number 6145 but more numbers have since been added.
Rowles said: “Because of the cost of the care home, I decided to cut down and knew I didn't need the broadband. This is where the problem started.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:“I phoned BT and spoke to three people. I pleaded with them to not take away my landline, I just didn't need the broadband.
“When the engineer came last Thursday to set my landline up again, I was given a new number.
“I had my original number for more than 50 years.”
She added: “Everybody knows me by this number.
“It's turned everything into chaos in the last five weeks.”
BT claimed Rowles' issue was to do with an error after a request to terminate her broadband service rather than Digital Voice.
A BT spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that Mrs Rowles’ telephone number has been cut off and her experience has fallen below the high standard of service we aim to provide to our customers.
“Our complaints team have reached out to Mrs Rowles and are working to get her old telephone number reinstated as soon as possible.
Stock picture of a BT phone bill pinned to a notice board.
PA
"We have explained the next steps to Mrs Rowles and will be keeping her updated throughout.”
Rowley’s landline problems come as part of an industry-wide shift away from analogue to digital landlines.
The change means calls are made over the internet rather than by broadband line.
The switch has begun in the East Midlands, Yorkshire & the Humber and Northern Ireland.
Scotland will match the change from analogue to digital next summer.
The decision has raised concerns over whether elderly people may not be able to make 999 calls or raise an alarm via health pendants connected to the existing telephone.
BT said it would not yet force the switch on those with healthcare pendants or without internet connections or mobile phones.