5 Jan, 2018 @ 14:36
1 min read

British expats on Costa del Sol furious after being left without internet access since December 3

satellite internet
UNDER FIRE: Olive Net

BRITISH expats are demanding answers after being left with no internet for more than four weeks over the Christmas and New Year period.

Hundreds of angry customers have decended on the offices of OliveNet in Marbella when it became clear they would have no internet over Christmas.

They claimed they had been repeatedly promised that the service that went down in early December would quickly be back. It was not.

Lynda Woodin, 70, whose internet access is crucial to her online magazine business, said she was made a ‘priority concern’ in early December, but she has still not been reconnected.

“It’s just not good enough,” she told the Olive Press, “I have a business to run and I have just been passed around constantly.

“After visiting the head offices today I was told it would be sorted by the time I got home, but it hasn’t been yet. “I haven’t been able to video call family in Australia for weeks.
“I asked for an apology but all I got was a shrug of the shoulders.

“They also said if I needed someone to come and fix something that I would be charged, it’s a disgrace!”

Woodin was told again last night that it would be fixed, but within an hour of her internet coming back on it stopped working. OliveNet offered to send someone to her home in Marbella, but said it would cost 40 euros per hour.

“It’s outrageous,” added Woodin, “Considering what we have been through they should be sending out repairmen free of charge.”

Customers were reportedly sent a letter at the beginning of last month explaining that there would be some issues between December 5 and 11 but that everything would return to normal afterwards, but for most that hasn’t been the case.

Another expat businessman claims he had a ‘nightmare’ Christmas period and was also given false promises that it would be fixed within 24 hours on several occasions. “I have no idea what is happening or what has gone wrong, but they are definitely hiding something from their customers,” he told the Olive Press.

The restaurant owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said a protest could have erupted last week at the offices in San Pedro.

“There must have been 200 people there wanting to know why they have no internet, it was utter chaos.”

OliveNet were unable to comment.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

1 Comment

  1. “I haven’t been able to video call family in Australia for weeks…”

    Sure you can, just find a wifi hotspot (there are hundreds in Marbella) and Skype them, or just get a cheap dongle/PAYG SIM from somewhere like Yoigo. There is always another way to get online, so a silly thing to say, Lynda. Most 12 year olds have smartphones these days lol.

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