Residents put out by net failure

Residents unhappy.

Related links

• Telstra fault infuriates

SHE is an acclaimed author with books published throughout the world, but parts of her latest work disappeared into cyberspace, no thanks to Telstra, according to Sylvia Dickenson.

Ms Dickenson lives and writes in sleepy Miriam Vale, where she can work in peace and quiet thanks to the internet.

However last month it all started to go wrong as her internet service kept going down, interrupting important communications and the transfer of her work to publishers in London.

“It’s been like hitting your head against the wall dealing with Telstra,” Ms Dickenson said.

“This has been going on for ages and they keep me on the phone for hours and get nowhere.

“I feel as if I’ve won a place in the Guinness Book of Records for staying on the phone for at least 12 hours in three weeks.

“I feel I cannot ring them again because it is an endless circle and I’ll explode.”

Ms Dickenson said the faults were not only frustrating and costing her time, they also cost her money, with deadlines not met as her internet service was always dropping in and out.

She said there were a number of other people in Miriam Vale experiencing similar problems, but they just can’t seem to get the right help, experiencing frustrating advice from Telstra staff based overseas.

“There’s one whole street here in Miriam Vale that hasn’t had the net for a month,” she said.

“The council and the post office seem to be okay, but there are lots of private users who are just fed up.

“If this is brought out in the open one would be surprised at how many are so fed up with Telstra.”

Telstra CQ area manager Barbara Wells apologised to the people of Miriam Vale for the problems, but said she had ordered a special investigation into the matter and hopefully it had now been resolved.