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Elderly couple’s landline cut by mower weeks ago, still not repaired

Posted at 7:37 PM, Sep 09, 2014
and last updated 2014-09-09 19:55:24-04

KENT COUNTY, Mich. -- George Riddering and his wife are in their 70s and are without a working landline which they depend on.

The retired Algoma Township resident was just doing a little yard work when he clipped more than just weeds.

Riddering said, "I heard like... maybe I went over a stick."

He said his wife immediately noticed the phone no longer worked.
Riddering found out the hard way that the landline wasn't buried underground like
it should have been.

"Here's the wire that was coming out of the ground. [It] was laying here like that," he pointed out.

So he said he and his wife called AT&T several times to get it repaired starting on day one. That was three weeks ago.

"That was Wednesday, and they gave us a day to come out Monday and they didn't show," Riddering explained each repair date in which a tech never showed up.

For three weeks, he and his wife have relied on a TracFone (cell phone) which they said only work best outside their home. The latest repair date they were given is September 17th.

The couple is concerned about not being able to receive calls in the event of an emergency, and calling 911 from the home phone isn't an option.
So he and his wife reached out to the FOX 17 Problem Solvers.

FOX 17 called the senior public relations manager for AT&T who covers Michigan.

Teresa Mask apologized for the delay and said she could help expedite the process for the Ridderings. She took down the relevant information.
FOX 17 asked about billing, and she took note that the couple hasn't used the service in 3 weeks as the repair keeps getting pushed back.

"I'm sure if that cord had of effected the whole neighborhood, they'd been out here to fix it. I guess I'm not important," Riddering chuckled.

Stay with FOX 17 for the resolution to this problem.

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