Surrey village where people can’t use their phones: ‘A nightmare’ – Surrey Live

People living in a Surrey village are "playing Feng Shui" in the hopes of being able to use their phones after being left without "any signal" for eight months. An O2 telephone has been blamed as the source of the problem in Smallfield, near Gatwick. Angry residents want refunds for the lack of signal and allege to have been ignored by O2 since the problems began.

Even for villagers who arent O2 customers, getting signal is still an ongoing problem. Jacqui Lacroix, who runs her own cleaning business, called Jacquis Cleaning, says she has missed out on clients rearranging appointments because the texts and calls just dont come through.

Jacqui said: I dont get texts if there is a problem, one customer told me not to come and I didn't even get his text. Some people dont have landlines, the thing is O2 dont seem to be working on it. I was told it was because of the trees and they dont have permission to remove them. O2 said they are going to find a new site.

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You cant get signal, it is just a nightmare. You couldnt call 999 in an emergency. My son was ill and I had to walk down the road to get signal. Its affecting everyones lives.

It is tricky for villagers to make online payments for food shops and other orders because they cannot receive authentication messages from their banks. Annalisa Cinque, who runs Bounce Smallfield, said: "I transferred to O2 a year ago as I run my business from the heart of Smallfield and my understanding was that O2 was the best provider. I can get no reception at all, for the three to four hours I am here so am uncontactable which leaves my business suffering as a result of this. It is quite despicable. And no compensation."

Another said: I live in Smallfield, close to the M23. My husband and I are both on O2. Since last September weve not been able to make or receive calls, or send or receive texts due to lack of signal. Reported to O2 and fobbed off with some excuse about trees. This has a massive impact on our lives.

We both have mothers in their 90s who dont live close by and there have been times when we didnt receive calls from the emergency services when there have been problems and likewise couldnt make urgent calls - instead had to drive out somewhere to get a signal.

We cannot use any online sites or apps where a security code is required and sent by text - as we dont receive texts, particularly important for banking. I didnt receive the recent government alert text. My husband did, but only because he was in Horley and I was at home (with no signal). We dont receive medical appointments or reminders or the like as we have no signal for the texts. I work from home which requires a text-generated code. No chance! Have to drive out to receive the code text or play Feng Shui with the phone in the loft of the house to try to get one bar or signal.

Contractors who come to the house to work cannot make or receive calls to their suppliers or offices. Its shambolic that in this day and age a supplier such as O2 can get away with not providing the service theyre so quick to charge for. Maybe Ofcom need to get involved.

Manjinder Singh said: "It has been a massive issue for day-to-day life. If we have relatives, they make fun of the area. My parents have medical conditions and sometimes we need to call an ambulance. But because we dont have any reception, we always worry that if, God forbid, we have to urgently call the ambulance then what will happen? Also, we had to miss so many doctors' phone calls too."

A spokesperson from O2 said: Were aware that some customers in the Smallfield area may be experiencing intermittent coverage issues, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. Unfortunately, weve been unable to access the local mast to upgrade services as planned, so are working on an alternative solution to improve services for local people.

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Surrey village where people can't use their phones: 'A nightmare' - Surrey Live