Mobile phone users in Sandwich are demanding refunds after experiencing a month with little or no signal on the network O2.

Richard and Carol George, of Moat Sole, said their signal cut-out on Sunday, December 13 and this continued for two weeks.

Now they claim it still has an intermittent service and are calling for action.

Last week the Mercury reported that there was a fault with the mast in Sandwich which was causing the problems and a spokesman for O2 said contractors were carrying out tests.

Mr George claims he was told parts of the mast need to be replaced and O2 was not sure when this work would be authorised.

He said: “I visited the mast yesterday and requested the engineers telephone me on my mobile when they had gained a signal which they did advising me further parts were required to complete the repair but did not know when they were available or if the work would be sanctioned.

“This gives me grave concerns about O2 levels of maintenance and cost cutting measures that does not convenience their customers.” - Mr George

“They didn’t do any work on it until after the Christmas holidays.”

Mr George and his wife, who are both on the network, said they could not get any signal until they reached Worth over the festive period.

The couple claim O2 promised to refund Mrs George’s bill from December to January but this has yet to be given to them.

Mr George said: “This gives me grave concerns about O2 levels of maintenance and cost cutting measures that does not convenience their customers.”

He claims in not fixing the mast straight away it means himself and his wife, and other customers in Sandwich, including Andy Style and Dean Macey who spoke to the Mercury last week, are paying for a service they have not had.

A spokesman for O2 said: “Having spoken to our network team, they have confirmed that the intermittent issues with the mast were a result of damaged antennae. New antennae are being delivered to the site and further testing will be done once these have been installed.

“In the meantime we’re conscious of the inconvenience this may be creating for some customers and we can only apologise again.

“With regards to refunds, we review each customer’s claim on a case by case basis. If a customer is having difficulties using their phone in the area, they should call our customer service team to discuss it.

“Specifically with regards to Mr George, our letter to him outlined that we can’t guarantee a fault free service at any particular location. “This in turn means we wouldn’t normally credit a customer’s line rental if and when there is a fault. We did credit Mr George and his wife with a month’s line rental however and apologised for the inconvenience. Mr George has also been made aware of the progress with the site.”

Pic being taken on Monday - 10am