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Perthshire residents ‘tearing their hair out’ after being left without phone signal for weeks

Vodafone customers say they feel ignored.

Penny Kemish.
Penny Kemish. Image: Supplied

Perthshire residents say they are “tearing their hair out” after being left without phone coverage for weeks.

Vodafone customer Penny Kemish, who lives in Straloch – north-east of Pitlochry – says she has been without a signal since October 25.

The issue is affecting both her phone and her Wi-Fi.

Another Vodafone customer, Lesley Smith – who lives in Invergowrie – also claims she has been without phone coverage for weeks.

The issue is thought to be linked to an upgrade on a mast in the area.

Family facing 23 days without phones or internet due to Perthshire Vodafone outage

Penny told The Courier: “We are tearing our hair out here and feel completely ignored.

“As a family, we are all Vodafone customers for our mobile phones and we also use a 4G Wi-Fi box for our home internet services.

“This is due to the landline services being so poor and slow, offering a basic ‘dial-up’ service.

“We did have a notification that maintenance was to be carried out for the day before, but that had been cancelled.

“We have had no service since then. Our Wi-Fi at home was completely out.

Perthshire customers raise Vodafone signal issues
Residents in Perthshire have been left without broadband. Image: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

“The mobile phones do occasionally pick up signals to make and receive phone calls, but it can be hit and miss.

“The latest update I have is that it is likely to be 17 days from October 30, taking us up to November 16.

“That will be 23 days in total if it comes back on then.

“I have had to enter into a new contract with EE for 4G Wi-Fi for our home so my children can do their school work at home.

“All of these extra costs are putting a huge strain on our family.”

‘There are so many people in the same boat as us’

Penny added: “There are many people in the same boat as us – people who are trying to run businesses from their homes, farms and schoolchildren who cannot operate without functioning Wi-Fi or phones.

“The coverage area runs from the tip of Strathardle glen, just before you go up onto Moulin moor, then runs roughly down to the south side of Enochdhu, including Straloch and Dirnanean along the A924.

“This would not happen if we lived 10 minutes down the road in Kirkmichael or Pitlochry.”

Lesley says she has been using coffee shops in Invergowrie to access phone services.

She said: “My mobile broadband went down on October 31 and I made numerous attempts to get online to contact Vodafone.

“I was told it was a planned service outage and they would text when it was over.

“A text came the next day saying it was fixed, but I had numerous failed attempts to get online.

“I was told that was a different issue and my area issue should be fixed by November 18.

“When I asked about a refund I was told to contact them when the issue was resolved.

“I rely on mobile Wi-Fi to keep in touch with family abroad and friends locally.”

Lesley Smith has no phone signal. Image: Supplied

A Vodafone spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to our customers who are affected by issues with their services.

“Our infrastructure partner, who is responsible for the mast, is completing structural upgrades to the infrastructure.

“We encourage our customers to sign up to our network checker to receive status updates regarding network issues.”

A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “We’re currently carrying out upgrade works to one of our masts in the DD2 area to give our customers faster and more reliable services.

“Other masts in the area are working as usual and providing good service.”

Conversation