Residents of Lancing, Britain’s self-proclaimed ‘largest village’, have been enduring a “nightmare” scenario as they grapple with abysmal phone signal issues that have persisted for nearly a month.
The seaside community in West Sussex has been plagued by connectivity woes since before Christmas, leaving many unable to make or receive calls.
Local businesses are feeling the pinch, with one owner lamenting that the signal problems have led to lost orders and revenue running into hundreds of pounds.
Villagers were particularly frustrated over the festive period, finding themselves unable to exchange New Year greetings, while questioning the value of the service they pay for.
Some residents reported that on the rare occasions when calls connected, voices sounded “robotic” or as if speaking from underwater. As of Friday, January 10th, it appears that the signal troubles may have finally been resolved.
Lifelong resident Joan Sloman, 68, who has called Lancing home for over 25 years, described the signal debacle as a “nightmare.” M.S. Sloman, who is refurbishing a flat in the village centre, found herself both unreachable and unable to contact tradespeople due to the ongoing issue.
On the O2 network, she expressed her frustration, saying: “It’s been going on since before Christmas – about three weeks.”
She added that signal quality varied depending on one’s location within the village and their network provider.
“I’m doing up a flat in the village centre and down there I can’t use the internet or phone at all.
“It’s a nightmare because nobody can get in touch with me when I’m down at the flat and when painters get to the village they can’t use their sat navs to find me.
“Sometimes a text will go through, but I can’t even use my phone at the back of the house. Can you imagine if this was the centre of Brighton or London? People can’t do their banking, can’t phone their doctors.
“I was down at the café yesterday and there were half a dozen people in there. “
Business owner Yatin Semeja, who runs The Coffee Lounge in Lancing, says the dodgy phone signal has cost his business as much as £600.
The 54-year-old said both his Sky landline and mobile have been unable to make calls since before Christmas – meaning customers have been unable to ring up and place takeaway orders.
Mr Semeja, who has run The Coffee Lounge for over 12 years, said though he was able to make and receive calls, the voice on the other end was unintelligible and sounded like a robot.
“It has affected our business,” the father-of-one said. “Customers were ringing the landline, but the voice on the other side sounded like a robot.
“We take lots of takeaway orders, but we couldn’t hear anything so we lost quite a lot of business, to be honest. It has been happening since before Christmas. We have lost at least £500, £600.”
Mr. Semeja revealed he switched to using O2 during the signal glitches, which worked effectively, and his Sky landline and mobile services are now back in action. “So many customers have been complaining about the signal, saying they can’t call anyone,” he highlighted.
Shellie Smith, a lifetime Lancing resident and a mum-of-two who works at The Coffee Lounge, experienced signal loss on her Vodafone mobile just before ringing in the new year. “It has been affecting me since about the 30th,” the 38-year-old shared.
“It was a problem at New Year… We couldn’t call anyone to say, ‘Happy New Year’. The frustration didn’t stop there: “It has gone on for quite a long time, now.”
She disclosed how the service only recently resumed: “Today’s the first time it has corrected itself. ” Reflecting on the faulty service, she said, “You just think it’s a waste of paying for your network charges.”
She described call quality as poor, with connections sounding “calls would connect but it would sound robotic or like it was underwater”.
Addressing the disrupted connectivity, an O2 spokesperson stated: “Our engineers have now fully restored services in Lancing after adverse weather conditions had impacted some mast equipment in the area. We apologise to any customers who may have experienced intermittent issues.”
Sky and Vodafone have been approached for comment.