By Cam Lucadou-Wells
It seems like it takes more than one phone call to get simple repair work from Telstra.
Michael Phelps, of Berwick, had been trying for at least 10 months for the telecommunications giant to fix a slipshod piece of work on the footpath in front of his house.
Telstra installed a pit that was not levelled off with cement. It was instead backfilled with crumbling bitumen as well as dirt that washed away.
What was left was a raised edge of concrete – and a tripping hazard for several elderly residents in Hazeldene Court.
“It’s a sign of declining standards and regard for public safety,” Mr Phelps said.
“The workmanship was just terrible.”
An exasperated Mr Phelps rang Star News after what he says was months of haggling and handballing from Telstra.
For several months, Telstra argued the pit was NBN’s responsibility – though the pit cover carried the Telstra logo.
Most recently, Telstra fixed a temporary yellow cover over the footpath and pledged to have the hazard fixed by September.
“They promised me it would be done because they wanted to take the complaint off the system,” Mr Phelps said.
“Now this (yellow pit cover) seems like their final solution.”
After an inquiry by Star News, a Telstra spokesperson said on 18 October that it would aim to complete the repairs by “the end of next week”.
“We apologise for the time it has taken to complete the remedial works around the pit lid.”
When told of Telstra’s response, Mr Phelps said: “Isn’t that amazing?
“Thank you, that’s a good result.”
