MY husband and I smiled sympathetically at John Phelan’s experiences with BT (HAS, Jan 17).

We lost our telephone line, through no fault of our own, at the beginning of November. We were reconnected six weeks later. During that time we must have spoken to between 20 to 30 different people, some in India, some in this country, but never until almost the end of our efforts, the same person twice.

All promised to help and failed. We have never spoken to so many helpful, charming, sympathetic and totally ineffective people in all our lives.

Eventually, with the help of good friends who joined in the fight (we are in our eighties and not as able as we used to be) we were reconnected and given a handsome apology – a bunch of flowers and a promise of some rent-free connection.

Of course, when we lost our telephone line we also lost our Broadband connection with AOL. We have still not got this back. In one communication, AOL said they were having trouble with BT… Jean Hartnett, Richmond, North Yorkshire.