None of the members of Leeds Asperger Adults (LAA) could get in touch with group founder Margaret Marshall when her land line was frozen for two weeks.

The 42-year-old, who organises regular meetings and events from her home in Bramley, got in touch with the Yorkshire Evening Post after she was cut off again for a further two days last week.

This time BT froze the account after Mrs Marshall refused to pay charges she said should never have been applied. The money has since been refunded and her line switched back on.

"People might have been wanting support and I have not been able to do anything about it – that's my main concern," said Mrs Marshall, who is full-time carer to husband Daniel, who has Asperger's syndrome.

"I am more interested in a proper written apology and some assistance with my internet connection more than anything."

The problem began in September when Mrs Marshall signed up with BT. Weeks into her contract she noticed her broadband internet was not performing well.

Mrs Marshall reported the telecoms giant to Otelo, an ombudsman which investigates complaints against public communications providers.

Then on November 23 she called BT to announce despite her best efforts to resolve problems, she had no choice but to take her custom elsewhere.
Her phone line was terminated.

But during the same telephone conversation it transpired that Mrs Marshall had opted to switch her calls and internet to Sky, and that she would still need to rent a phone line from BT.

In the space of a few minutes she was charged £70 to be disconnected and then £125 to be reconnected after it was explained that it was too late to reverse.

Despite her protests the line went off on November 30 and was not reinstalled until December 13.

Then between December 12 and December 27 she lost all use of her internet. She also started receiving two telephone bills a month for two different telephone lines, despite only having one.

Since speaking with the YEP Mrs Marshall has had all charges refunded, bills cleared and has been offered £75 in compensation.

Administrative errors were to blame, said a BT spokeswoman, who added that they had no record that there had ever been any problems with the internet connection.

"That is exactly the problem," said Mrs Marshall.

"I have been telling them since September that my internet connection isn't good enough. On occasions they have even told me that I don't have a phone line."

Asperger's is a form of autism that affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people.