PEOPLE left without phone or internet connection for nearly three weeks have slammed “insulting” offers of compensation.

More than 200 people from Cumnor and Appleton were unable to check emails, use the internet and even dial 999 for most of February.

BT compensation, according to the company, is calculated by using customers’ line rental to work out a daily rate for when the company is late in providing its service.

But staff at The Vine Inn in Cumnor said this was not enough as the pub could not take customers’ card payments without making expensive authorisation calls from a mobile, incurring further costs.

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Vine Inn manager and BT customer Chris Gould said: “Originally we were offered £13.30 but we refused and it got upped to £53. We didn’t accept that either.

“£13.30 was an insult really – they said they won’t compensate for loss of earnings but that’s not what we are after. We just want the costs incurred to be covered.

“I had to buy a second mobile and have calls to the pub diverted as we couldn’t take bookings. With no card payments we had to make phone calls to authorise credit card payments which cost 30p a minute – I was topping up £10 every other day. That’s easily more than £53.”

BT did not respond to requests for comment on what had been offered to the Vine Inn.

Compensation is normally paid to customers from their service provider such as BT, TalkTalk or Sky.

Although the cable repair works were being carried out by BT Openreach, this was on behalf of the different phone and internet companies serving the area.

Villager Basil England, who also gets his connection from BT, said: “Some have been offered no compensation, some have been offered a piddly amount.

“One person was offered £6 and another £15 – for nearly three weeks without phone or internet that’s really not good enough. We deserve fairer compensation for the disruption caused.”

The 55-year-old chartered engineer said he had been offered a “pence per day” flat rate plus a £5 or £10 goodwill donation.

It is thought a cable containing 2,400 lines was cut into on Thursday, February 12, by contractors working on a nearby housing development.

Mr England said: “I had to travel 16 miles to a relative in Kidlington just to check my emails every evening.”

Spokeswoman for BT Emma Tenant said: “People affected will have to contact their individual service provider – the company they pay their bill to – to see if they are entitled to any compensation.

It might depend on the terms of their individual contract.”