Pensioner left without landline for 12 days

Muriel Wilcox said the line went dead on 12 September

An elderly woman has been left without a landline for 12 days after BT disconnected her, leaving her unable to call for emergency help if she needs it.

Muriel Wilcox, of Malvern, Worcestershire, does not have a mobile phone and has been visiting neighbours to make calls since 12 September, when her line went dead after BT tried to change her phone to a digital service.

Under the digital switchover, landline operators are switching every home phone in the UK to an internet-based connection instead of traditional, copper wire cables.

BT apologised for the delay in providing the landline and said it was working to get Ms Wilcox connected as soon as possible.

Ms Wilcox said BT tried to charge her £70 to reconnect - which BT has since said it would refund - adding: "We've spoken to them so many times… and they're just giving us the runaround. They keep saying 'oh yes we're going to get it fixed.'"

She said an engineer had visited and not found any faults and had called BT to inform them of this.

Ms Wilcox said: "I am fuming. I'm elderly and I don't know how long I've got left. It's not fair."

She became emotional as she described her experience to BBC Hereford & Worcester, and said: "I've had enough. I just can't cope any more with it all."

She said the company should be looking after its older customers, but had instead been keeping her on the phone for hours.

'Many people not online'

Nadine Kennedy, Age UK community policies manager, said many older people relied solely on a landline and 4.3 million people aged 65 and over in the UK did not use a smartphone. She added 1.6 million did not use any type of mobile phone.

"There are a lot of people who are not online and are not confident with using this modern technology," she said.

She said the digital switchover should be straightforward but cases where the process had not gone smoothly were a concern.

"We want to make sure anybody who needs additional support is able to get the help they need," she added.

A BT spokesman said: "We are working with our supplier to get her connected as soon as possible.

"We are reaching out to Muriel and will remain in touch with her until her complaint has been resolved."

BT also told the BBC the company would refund the £70 charge.