Destroyed Payphone Can't Be Removed, Because It Doesn't Exist

from the catch-22 dept

Joseph Heller must be laughing in his grave. From the UK comes a story that could have come straight from Catch 22. A few years back, some vandals ripped out a pay phone, leaving just a shell. Local residents called BT to either replace the phone or get rid of the shell – but BT claims the phone doesn’t exist – because it’s been ripped out by vandals, it’s no longer on their list of phones. So, they won’t send someone to repair it, because they don’t believe it exists. It doesn’t exist… but that’s just because it got taken away by vandals. So, for three years, this shell of a pay phone booth just sits there.


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Comments on “Destroyed Payphone Can't Be Removed, Because It Doesn't Exist”

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4 Comments
Mark Lowes says:

Another Classic BT

Once upon a time we were trying to get a new fixed circuit installed into a customer and were told by BT that they couldn’t install because
“We cannot get a new line down the pipe due to a blockage and we cannot dig up the road to clear the blockage because it is covered with the wrong type of tarmac.”
The sad thing is they’re still the best of the bunch when it comes to Telcos in the UK.

Anonymous Coward says:

In the good old USA this wouldn't be a problem.

First, some interprising lawyer would get a client to “accidently” cut their hand on the un-maintained shell of the phone booth and then the lawyer would sue the phone company for “maintaining and attractive nusance”. After lossing of couple of $100k, the phone company would never let something like that happen again.

Second, some enterprising individual would dismantal the remainder of the phone booth and sell it on eBay

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