Residents in a Moray community remain helpless as they enter a 17th day without lines of communication.
Locals and businesses in Portknockie still have no idea how long it will take to reconnect their internet and phone lines, after disruption caused by heavy storms more than a fortnight ago.
Service providers BT has offered call transfers and the free use of wifi hotspots, but told customers that they must phone in to lodge individual complaints.
One new grandmother inadvertently told a stranger he was a granddad instead of her husband due to BT reconnecting her land line to the wrong number.
A local restaurant owner also said BT thought her shop alarm being connected to her telephone line may have caused her to be disconnected since August 11.
Last Thursday, local barmaid Gwen Telfer told the Press and Journal that she had been left with no way of contacting her heavily pregnant daughter.
After Elaine-Maree Telfer gave birth to a baby boy the next day, phone troubles presented another unexpected hiccup.
Mrs Tefler said: “I tried to phone my husband to tell him the news, and ended up telling a complete stranger he was a granddad because BT connected our number to someone else’s phone.”
Mrs Telfer, 42, added that her husband, Brian, was admitted to hospital on Saturday night, and she had numerous missed messages from the hospital that she still can’t access.
Mr Telfer said: “What’s really getting to myself and my family is my daughter was pregnant and due to give birth and couldn’t make contact with her mother, who was her birthing partner.
“Then, I ended up in hospital, and the hospital couldn’t get in contact with my family.”
Mr Telfer, a 46-year-old plant operator, added: “BT are trying to say that they didn’t know there was a problem and will only deal with individual cases, so everyone with a problem line will have to get it touch in person.
“I called today and was told I can use mobile WiFi spots at no extra cost, and they will divert my house calls to my mobile, but my mobile doesn’t work in the house and we are outwith WiFi hot spots.”
Moira Proctor, 41, who owns Portknockie Chip Shop, said: “It has been a nightmare. I still don’t have a phone or mobile signal, and we don’t get internet or anything. I lost three hours of online work because the internet crashed. It’s horrendous.
“I wasted my whole morning, and BT are now saying that the faults are completely fixed and have been fixed since Friday.
“We’ve only been open since March, and we get a lot of orders over the phone. We are way down on orders from last week.”
BT were unavailable for comment.