Day 375: "Dude, Where's My Phone?"

(source:  www.wreckamovie.com )

For the past four weeks at least, Metricon have been trying to sort out all the issues that have been listed in our PCI log, as well as our independent QA inspector's report.  To Metricon's credit, they've been pretty good at complying with what's on those reports and (slowly) replacing scratched glasses, and fixing up minor defects.  I guess, what's frustrating is just the slowness or the turnaround time of fixing stuff.  What makes matters worse is when the replacement also needs to be replaced as it falls below Metricon's standards.  To date, there are still a few things that needs to be replaced and my SM has told me (I don't want to say "promised me") that  the glass replacements will be done tomorrow and paint/stain touchups will be done a day later.

Handover will be done Friday, so they said.  Maybe with some minor outstanding items that Metricon says they will fix post-handover.  Right.  We'll see first what's on that list.

So before we move in or, at least before handover date, I thought I may just get our current telephone number transfered to the new house; and, while I'm there, get that new 200Gb Ultimate Cable Internet bundle from Telstra.  Nice!  We currently have ADSL+, thought we might go for something quicker like cable internet for our new home.  And so I did.

Telstra moved our telephone number to our new address last Friday (with the vision we'll have settlement by the end of July, this year); Thought of calling up our "moved" number, just to test ... and I got this ... "your call cannot be connected, please check the number and then try again" ... hmmmm, I thought it would at least just ring out, shouldn't it?  Called up Telstra Customer Service.  The beautiful voice on the other line said the move has been completed, I presume, successfuly.  Checked the Telstra website, too, given my order number ... Completed.  Maybe I just need to hook up a telephone handset on the other end of the line.  It should still ring out even without a telephone handset connected to any of the phone jacks, right?

Cable Internet guy called me up to say he's coming over to the new house to connect our cable internet.  Woo hoooo!!!  Better call my SM straight away to open up the property.  I'll bring a spare telephone handset to test the phone lines while I'm there.

You can imagine how excited I am at this stage.

Met the Cable Internet guy at the new property.  And while waiting for my SM to arrive to open up the property, the cable guy thought he'll check the underground pit and show me what he's doing.

CiG: Mate, here's where you're underground pit is (opened up the pit with his pit cover removal tool)
Me:  Wow (what should I say?)
CiG: (pointing to a cable) and here's the phone cable that leads-in to your house where your phone box is ...
Me:  Yes, I got my builder to take care of the trenching into the house
CiG: (sifting through the water logged underground pit) er, there's no cable or even a lead-in pipe that comes from the aerial post from the other side of the street (pointing across the road) where the actual phone lines are ...
Me:  Dude, where's my phone (line coming from)?
CiG: Nowhere.

Now everything makes sense ... "your call cannot be connected, please check the number and try again ... B..U..W...Q... your call cannot be connected ..."

At this point my SM arrived, told of the gravity of the situation, and he had assumed that everything should have been in order and all Telstra needs to do is just activate the line.

He assumed wrong.  He's on the phone straightaway to someone trying to salvage the situation.

Handover Friday?  With no required underground telephone cabling into the property, yet?