Can you hold? ...for 20 hours

BRITAIN: A customer trying to call British telecoms operator BT Group was left hanging on the telephone for a total of 20 hours, The Times newspaper reported.

In a statement, BT blamed long response times on a new calling system which has left a large number of customers in the lurch.

Hannah King, 51, called a company helpline after a BT engineer failed to turn up to install a telephone line at her new flat in Milford Haven, south Wales, according to The Times.

For eight hours in a row, she endured the sound of piped music. She gave up and tried again the next day — and waited another eight hours before putting the phone down.

The following day, she spent a further four hours on hold before hanging up, which took the total time wasted to almost one day.

“I was so frustrated and angry I broke down in tears,” she told The Times. “It is a helpline for goodness’ sake, surely a company as big as BT can answer their phones.”

London, Sunday, AFP