This N.L. woman lost her phone number. She wants a better way for seniors to get tech support
Carmelita Butland Bruce says she's lost contact with some family and friends because of service switch
Carmelita Butland Bruce has a beige file folder brimming with around 30 hand-written notes, detailing every interaction she has had with Bell Aliant and Rogers over the last year or so.
She says she's previously had to communicate with both companies to resolve numerous internet, phone and TV issues, but that nothing compares to her current predicament — she lost her old phone number, and for weeks, she's been calling Bell departments "all over the globe" trying to get it back.
"The stress involved was immeasurable," Butland Bruce, who lives alone in an apartment complex in St. John's, told CBC News.
"You feel a loneliness. You feel a little bit, you know, anxious that you're not able to contact people."
Butland Bruce, who is originally from Mount Carmel, says she has had the same landline number for eight years. As an elderly woman living on a single income, she said, she has switched back and forth between Rogers and Bell numerous times over the past eight years, trying to find the best internet, phone and TV package at an affordable deal.
This spring, she decided to switch from Rogers back to Bell. On June 9, she said, she received an email from Bell Aliant with details about her new package — but what she didn't expect was this time she would also receive a new home phone number.
She's been struggling to get it changed ever since.
"Nobody can contact me with the mystery number," said Butland Bruce, who uses her landline as her primary number. "I just gave it to my immediate family. But so many others … all over Canada and in the U.S. and everywhere, they cannot get a hold of me."
Bell Canada says the company recommends customers contact them to let them know they would like to keep their phone number before cancelling services with their former provider.
In an email to CBC News, Bell Canada said it will "be in touch with the customer." Butland Bruce later said the company contacted her and is working on resolving the issue.
Butland Bruce said she has never lost her landline phone number before, despite switching service providers from Rogers to Bell numerous times.
Trouble communicating
Butland Bruce said her daughter and granddaughter have assisted her in trying to get her original phone number back. They have made trips to the Avalon Mall's Bell location to speak with representatives and have made dozens of calls to Bell Aliant in which they've been transferred to numerous technicians and different departments.
She said the company eventually told her the only way she could get her original phone number back was by reactivating her Rogers account. That process, she said, will cost money.
Instead of waiting on the phone for hours, trying to connect with the proper representative, she said, she wishes there was an office in the province that could walk her through what went wrong and offer solutions.
"I'm older and technology wasn't the first thing we encountered growing up. It's not like the present day," said Bruce.
"I'm advocating for myself, but not only myself, for the thousands and thousands of other people here. People are going through nightmares of trying to get answers."
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