Just heard that a Station Road resident has been told we [Leadhills and Wanlockhead] are a PRIORITY and has been given a JOB NUMBER by Vodafone. Bit like winning the lottery.
Could this be the beginning of the end – or the end of the beginning?
I would love to publish this with a photo of the lucky winner and some personal comments on how he/she managed it and how this might be a life-changing experience, blah, blah, blah……
I have today received a reply to my last email to Vodafone (see Vodafone Update: And Wanlockhead Too). Suffice to say, this has not heralded the salvation of the local network signal – far from it, it seems they know not where we are. Judge for yourselves.
Hello Mike,
Thank you for contacting Vodafone Customer Support. I am sorry to learn that you are unable to access our services for sometime in the signal site in your area.
We aim to provide you with the services at all times, but owing to the nature of mobile telecommunications, it is impossible to provide a fault free service. The quality and coverage of the services depends partly on your mobile phone, partly on the Vodafone network and partly on other telecommunications networks to which the Vodafone network is connected.
The services might be adversely affected by too many people trying to use the network at the same time, physical features such as buildings and under passes and by atmospheric conditions or other causes of interference and may fail or require maintenance without notice.
I can confirm that there is no ongoing issue in your area. I can see that there is variable 2G network in your area (IV27 4RU) [Lairg, the Highlands – 298 miles from Leadhills]. In this case, if you want you can raise a request to enhance the network from the following link:
_http://help.vodafone.co.uk/system/selfservice.controller?CMD=VIEW_ARTICLE&PARTITION_ID=1&CONFIGURATION=1000&ARTICLE_ID=2908&CURRENT_CMD=BROWSE_TOPIC&SIDE_LINK_TOPIC_ID=1012&SIDE_LINK_SUB_TOPIC_ID=1103&SIDE_LINK_TOPIC_INDEX=null&SIDE_LINK_SUB_TOPIC_INDEX=null
I trust this information is helpful.
Kind regards,
****** ********
Vodafone Customer Services
Here is my reply:
Dear Sir,
I will now try to explain the purpose and reality of my previous communications as it is apparent that I am either: misunderstood or: my communications are not being read in full.
1. Leadhills and Wanlockhead are two villages, a mile apart in the Lowther Hills of Southern Scotland – nowhere near the Scottish Highlands.
2. Both villages have been served by Vodafone for many years with a modest to strong signal, depending on the elevation of the location of the user. Elevations within Leadhills vary by up to 150 feet for individual dwellings, in Wanlockhead, by up to 300 feet – the hills are steep.
3. Both Villages are in the ML12 6** area, example post codes are: ML12 6YA in Leadhills and ML12 6UZ in Wanlockhead.
4. Both Villages have had a prolonged loss of service, now standing at 13 days apart from brief periods when signal has appeared over the past two days. Only by climbing up to 600 feet into the surrounding hills can a usable signal be found.
5. This is affecting some 250 households equating to between 500 and 600 local Vodafone users – adults, children and the First Responders teams.
6. I am not a Vodafone customer – I gave my Vodafone away as I hate being permanently contactable and I don’t like Vodafone’s customer relations – I have a Virgin phone that only works 4 miles out of Leadhills..
7. I am making enquiries on behalf of the people who have contacted me through my website: http://www.leadhillsonline.org.uk. They have all, repeat: ALL, complained to Vodafone, they have all been told there is no problem, they have all been told there have been no other complaints, they have all been told their phones are probably the problem. I have been contacted directly by several villagers. A neighbour of mine has found many others with the same complaint; hence the intention of villagers to make a written joint formal complaint.
8. Your last email gives our area as having a 2G variable service, post code IV27 4RU. That mast is at Lairg in the Highlands which is 298 miles away from Leadhills by the shortest road route – so it is clearly NOT our area. Therefore, We fail to see how you can state that there is no ongoing service issue when clearly, you have no idea where we are.
9. My reference to the Clydesdale Wind Farm was made to present for your consideration, the possibility that the construction works ongoing there may be impacting on Vodafone’s service. If you cannot locate Leadhills or Wanlockhead, then finding one of the largest Wind Farm developments in Europe may also be tricky.
10. Needless to say, I am a stickler for documentary evidence and am compiling a dossier of communications, connected with this ongoing service issue, to be forwarded to our Local MP and MSP and to OFCOM.
11. We require that Vodafone properly identify our location, properly identify the cause of service interruption and then rectify the problem or explain to the several hundred local users why this cannot or will not be done.
Finally, I will publish your email along with my reply on my web site – this provides feedback to both affected villages and will no doubt be the source of great amusement with Vodafone’s apparent ignorance of their own infrastructure.
Best regards,
Mike Fuller.
Back now to the waiting game. Anyone in Leadhills or Wanlockhead with problems with Vodafone signal, please contact me with your Name, Vodafone Number and Post Code, for inclusion in the Joint Complaint.
Moves are afoot to revive the Leadhills Panto, but progress is tortuous. Lee Gilmore is fronting these efforts but getting a cast together is proving to be a real challenge. It’s fair to say that there is currently about half a cast and a sore lack of chorus (back stage needed too).
Like many village projects, the Panto is by the village, for the village – in this case for Leadhills and Wanlockhead. The “for” bit is easy, the “by” bit requires a few good souls to give up a few hours a week until nearly Christmas. It won’t happen unless the Panto group can find these souls.
If you are one of these souls (18 or over), residing in Leadhills or Wanlockhead or anywhere else within reason and are willing to supply the “by” bit, please get in touch though our contact form or get in touch with Lee at the Bear shop on Main Street.
Since yesterday, it has come to light that Wanlockhead has been signal free since the 15th July – like Leadhills. Furthermore, the First Responders could be hampered by this lack of signal, being dependent on Vodafone for an important part of their communications – call out.
In the mean time, Vodafone has responded to my email requesting further information – the post code. I replied:
Thanks for your reply.
Leadhills is covered by the post code ML12 6**. Mine is ML12 6YA (Ramsay Road), others include ML12 6XX (Curfew Place) and so on.
Since my last email, I have learned that Wanlockhead, the neighbouring village is also affected (example post code ML12 6UZ, being Burnside Cottages – their Vodafones have also been down for more than a week). Furthermore, this is impacting upon the First Responders, a retained voluntary emergency service. Due to our isolated location, the service was set up to fill the time gap that’s taken for main emergency services to reach the villages of Leadhills and Wanlockhead. The service uses Vodafone to issue emergency calls to volunteers.
On a more positive note, a resident informed me that the signal returned to normal between 10AM and 2PM today; another found the signal present this morning, prior to leaving for work. One possibility that has been suggested is that the works on the Clydesdale Wind Farm at Elvanfoot, may be causing or contributing to this problem – could a judiciously placed 150 foot wind turbine or 30 of the things block a substantial measure of a signal?
I hope the above assists you in getting to the bottom of this affair.
Best regards…….
We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, thanks to all who have answered the call for Vodafone details; but there are many more of you out there. Get in touch with Name, Vodafone Number and address to be added to Angie Purse’s Joint Complaint.
What do Lee, Andy, Sue, Teresa, Angie, Martin and Tom have in common?
They all have Vodafone Mobiles that have no signal in Leadhills.
That was not always the case, it has only been this way for just over a week. But Vodafone it seems, is having none of it. This merry band of Leahillians allege they have also been told that it’s their phones that are faulty and that there have been no other complaints!
Where have we heard that before? Yes that big Water company had a problem with sweeping assumptions too – note the word “had”, they are busy fixing their problems.
Well having had a chat with the wee mob in the square, I suggested a mass, written complaint. It has been suggested that the advent of Vodafone’s internet relay gubbins, for poor reception areas, might be an excuse for letting awkward areas “drop out.” The fact that this would also impact on anyone visiting the Lowther Hills and heaven forbid, getting lost in these hills, would surely make such a policy unthinkable – wouldn’t it? A mass complaint might go some way to clarifying the situation.
Leadhills and Wanlockhead are small communities with strong links with Vodafone; it being the one network that offers workable coverage here – well it did until a week ago. If one were to tot up the Vodafone mobiles owned locally by adults and children, it would likely come to several hundred; many of which constitute life-lines for their owners. So now is not the time for Vodafone, allegedly, to be fobbing users off with thin excuses and evasions.
If your Vodafone is no longer working, please contact me with your name, address and mobile number(s) so that your details can be added to the mass complaint. (Details of and for the complaint will be held by Angie Purse – secretary of the Community Council. No details will be released to third parties under any circumstances.)
Leadhills Miner’s Library was represented at yesterday’s state opening of the Scottish Parliament. The Library was invited to send three representatives, to join 1500 guests from all over Scotland, in the marching of the Royal Mile. The weather was very much with us making it an event enjoyed by all, except perhaps those responsible for security – but that’s another story… It was also an opportunity to rub shoulders with “the powers that be”; which provided some entertainment.
The Library elected to send, James Moffat, Mike Davies and Mike Fuller (me), armed with a large and colourful banner hailing the history and future of Scotland with reference to Southern Scotland and a strong Library bias.
Needless to say, we did wonder if we’d make it onto the telly – we did, but you have to concentrate and no blinking! 1 hour and 24 minutes into the BBC live coverage of the Opening of Parliament, we can be seen on the screen behind the presenter and commentators, strutting our stuff. You can find the BBC coverage here, but only until Friday 8th July.
Here’s a few snaps of our day out….
As part of their bid to raise £1 million for Help for Heroes, The Horses help Heroes team will be passing through Crawford and Abington during the morning of Sunday 26th.
This is but a small stage in their 1004 mile challenge, to drive a WWI ambulance from Lands End to John O’ Groats. Their itinerary gives their ETA at Crawford as approximately 10AM and Abington, thirty minutes later – though this may be upwards of an hour earlier than their actual time of arrival – be patient.
You can help support this effort by being there and/or making a donation. Weather is expected to be good so how about it?
Come Gala day, we are always at the mercy of the elements. This year did not disappoint – depending on your point of view. Despite a dousing, most of the day’s festivities passed off successfully and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves – that’s a result in my book.
But do spare a thought for what goes into Gala, the raw effort needed to make Gala happen and why so much input is needed to make it work. The fund raising events, meetings, planning, bookings, catering, baking, “gophering” and general donkey work runs to hundreds, perhaps thousands of people hours. Gala is for our community, by our community – and do count Wanlockhead in this, having put in just as much as Leadhills.
On that note, here’s a small taste of some of that effort. Around forty people from Leadhills and Wanlockhead spent around three hours on Friday afternoon, getting the field ready for Gala. This short video illustrates two hours of that – in five and a half minutes.
A Leadhills Gala Gallery would be good – can you offer any nice pics and/or videos? Get in touch here and we’ll see what we can come up with.
The plan is pretty simple, News get now posted on Twitter. If you tweet too, you can keep up with what’s happening in and around Leadhills.
LeadhillsOnline can be found under the name @Leadhills.
Sorry for the delay on this one, but I had a load of other stuff to do and I wanted to ensure that the minutes of the meeting have been accepted as true – no complaints yet. Anyway, here’s the latest.
On 26th June, Aileen Campbell MSP kindly took up the reins previously held by Karen Gillon and chaired a follow-up meeting of the Leadhills Action Group with Scottish Water. This was a most productive meeting with much positive input from Scottish Water representatives, Frank Markey, Mark Petrie and Mark Dickson.
In brief, it is the intention of Scottish Water to act upon the findings of their survey of water provision in Leadhills, correcting the issues of poorly installed supply pipes. Their survey, using radar techniques, identified several areas for concern and a number of “unknowns” which will be addressed by directed and exploratory works. Letters detailing these works are to be expected soon. The works are expected to last some six months.
The minutes for the meeting can be viewed or downloaded here. (Adobe PDF format)