A BC woman brought a legal fight against Telus and accused the Canadian telecommunications company of bullying, disrespecting her, and trespassing on her property.
Linda Langston claimed $5,000 in damages against Telus.
In a publicly posted decision at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, Telus defended itself by saying that Langston unreasonably refused access to allow it to relocate equipment.
Telus asked the tribunal to dismiss the dispute, which it did not do.
According to the tribunal decision, Langston lives in an area where Telus offers TV and internet service. Telus was upgrading cables in Langston’s area, and some of this work required Telus to access some BC Hydro poles that just happened to be on Langston’s property.
On two separate dates from early to mid-July 2022, Telus workers and their vehicles were on Langston’s property to access the poles. She told the tribunal that she permitted them to work in those instances. All Langston wanted in future visits was a heads-up so that she could restrain her animals. Telus didn’t dispute this.
On July 29, Telus tried to access Langston’s property for equipment testing. A Telus employee parked in Langston’s driveway and opened her gate, allowing one of her dogs to escape.
The tribunal decision states that after that, “an altercation ensued.”
Telus ended up leaving without doing the testing.
On August 2, Telus contacted Langston again, requesting access to her property. While she initially gave her permission, she revoked it the following morning. Following this, Langston sent numerous emails to Telus complaining about the July 29 incident. Langston said that Telus was trespassing and endangering her animals.
On September 15, another Telus technician parked in her driveway, left her gate open and climbed onto one of the poles by ladder. Telus didn’t dispute this claim but claimed this technician wasn’t aware of the ongoing dispute.
Between November 2022 and January 2023, there were several communications between both parties attempting to find a resolution that would allow Telus to access Langston’s property. These discussions stalled, and no agreement was reached.
Langston filed her dispute on April 27, 2023.
While she didn’t win her claim for $5,000 in damages, the tribunal did award Langston $427.80, including $300 in total damages and the rest in tribunal fees.
The tribunal dismissed her claims of being bullied by Telus workers.