A young businessman was left hanging on the telephone - after being told he was making too many calls!

Jonathan Howell of Moss Carr Road, Long Lee, was speechless when Yorkshire Cable said he was no longer entitled to use their service because he was making more than £100 of calls a month.And the 30-year-old was even more baffled when he was sent a letter last Wednesday asking him to settle an unpaid direct debit bill for £0.

His confusion then turned to fury when his phone was disconnected the following day for no apparent reason.

Even though he was re-connected on Thursday evening, the communication breakdown left the young entrepreneur bewildered and angry.

Jonathan, who runs his IT management and web design business FNS Limited from home, uses Yorkshire Cable's high user discount scheme.

He says: "Before I received the letter about the unpaid bill I had another letter saying I had an unusually high number of phone calls and they asked me to phone them and explain it.

"I phoned them up and told them I was doing some training over the phone with someone from Ireland and they said that was fine and they wouldn't disconnect me.

"Because I work from home I have had bills up to the £400 before but I have always paid them on time through direct debit.

"I couldn't believe it when they had disconnected me and I was absolutely livid because they hadn't discussed it. They re-connected me that evening but that was only because I kicked up a fuss. The point is I know how to approach things like this but what would have happened if I had been a single mother or young person who needed the phone in an emergency.

"When I queried their general policy of running up no more than £100 of calls a month they claimed it was there to safeguard both customers and themselves. But I believe that if they are introducing new tariffs or conditions they should inform people rather than disconnecting them without consultation."

A Yorkshire Cable spokesman says: "We are unable to discuss the specific details of individual customers' accounts. The company has however apologised to Mr Howell and has now re-instated his telephone service.

"We are also writing to Mr Howell to apologise again and to clarify the company's position. Yorkshire Cable hopes that this matter can be resolved to Mr Howell's satisfaction, and that he will continue to be a loyal customer."

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