A group of West Wollongong residents who lost their phone and internet service after last week's storms say they have been left in the dark about how or when the problems will be fixed.
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Pat Mobbs is one of several residents towards the eastern end of Mount Keira Road who has resorted to using pre-paid mobile phones after wet weather crippled service to the area last Friday.
Mrs Mobbs and her neighbours, many of whom are elderly, have contacted Telstra but claim the company has been unable to answer their questions or resolve the problem so far.
"Last week they said it would be fixed by Monday but it hasn't been and I haven't called them since," Mrs Mobbs said.
"I'm just tired of waiting and using up my phone [credit] all the time.
"Everyone has had to get mobiles and divert their phones to those but that can't keep going on ... it has cost me $60 over two days."
The 79-year-old said the outage had coincided with the death of her best friend, making it difficult to contact people and organise things. Another neighbour was dealing with the death of her husband and having trouble contacting family overseas.
Mrs Mobbs said the lack of service was particularly difficult for older residents, who struggled with new technology and were in poor health or living alone.
"My husband has a disability that makes it hard for him to get around and if he has a fall I've got to be able to contact the ambulance and my family," she said.
"You just want the confidence a phone line gives you.
"It's very inconvenient and unsettling for us [not having a land line available], because we rely on them to be there when we need it."