So for three days (ending yesterday) I could not get a hold of my sturdy, independent yet elderly mother. We talk on the phone about once a week but sometimes let it slide a little longer until one of us realizes it's time to check in (me being unhealthy, her being... well... a senior living on her own). Never more than two weeks though. So last week it stuck me it was approaching two weeks since I'd heard from her and called. No answer and her message thingie didn't pick up (the latter is very strange). Fine, she's out or busy or whatever. No biggie. She'll call back... but nope. I called a few more times and nuthin'.
 
Alright so maybe I'll get a call the next day in the morning. Nope. I call a bunch more times. Same deal. Nutin'. Now I'm getting worried but don't want to spazz out and send the cops by to check on her (even though I'm imagining her wiped out somewhere needing help). Being the independent old bird she is she gets pissy when I get all uber concerned son and I just saw her a while ago... totally healthy. Maybe she's off visiting friends (which she would only do for one night because she hates being away from her house and even then she'd likely let me know in advance where she's going). I'll let it be until morning... she's totally gonna call... right?
 
Yesterday, still nothing even after a ton of calls (which would show up on her phone). F*ck this. I go into total creeper stalko mode and start hunting down all her friends (not an easy feat because I have no digits for these people and only know their first names). I start leaving messages everywhere I can dredge up telling people to get back to me (even on machines that I don't even know belong to the actual people I'm tracking down).
 
After hours of doing that, waiting for call backs, talking to some people and telling them to leave messages for other people (like neighbors who can go chek in on her), much to my relief, I tracked her down.
 
She had been at home the whole damned time. Somehow the phone company had f*ck up her line and she had no idea because she hadn't tried to call anyone. She said she only noticed because it had been days without her phone ringing (an odd occurrance in that house).
 
So essentially Bell (one of the 3 massive colluding megacorps that have a stranglehold on all comminications stuff in Canada) did something f*cky to a senior citizen who always pays her bills on time and had no damned answers as to why. These idiots have consistently screwed with her bill (overcharging/"helpfully" changing her phone plans without consent/tossing a ton of confusing ass garbage that someone from her gen has a hard time figuring out/etc). In my mind it's senior abuse and I gotta wonder how many people who are less with it than my dear ole mumsy get burned over that crap because they don't realize they're getting screwed.
 
And now this. I have been totally freaking out thinking the damned worst. She's the only family I've got and we've been through hell and back (individually and together).
 
Anyway, this is nothing new with these dipsh*ts and it seems to becoming the norm more and more with these monolithic POS money grubbing incompetents. I told her to flip the hell out on them and express the angst/worry they caused with this, yet another, screw up so maybe at least she gets comped on her next bill or something.
 
The sad part is that's all these companies know how to do to make problems go away. They'll never really fix these issues and seem to constantly make things WORSE just to save a few more bucks. Comping a bill is nothing to them if they can keep degrading their service (which is really an absolutely essential service... especially for seniors).
 
There is a serious human cost to crap like this. This of course had a happy ending because there was no emergency but I could not think straight for the last two days of this ordeal out of worry so that's lost time. If something HAD happened and she wasn't able to call out... well that's a fooking crime, especially at the ridiculous rates these mufuggas charge for a simple land line.
 
Yeah, rant over but what an awful couple days over dipsh*t corporate bullpuckery. I already had tragedy on my mind over the news of an old friend dying and then this crap.
 
Standards. WTF happened to them?!

I am glad your mother was / is ok, though. 
All the best to you and your mother

I doubt that Canadian utilities will reform because you are upset with them. My US phone company does not routinely test my phone line to be sure it is working, and I have had to depend on people telling me that they can't get through to me. Next time you cannot get an answer, you could try calling the telephone company technical help line and have them run a test to confirm it is a line problem. Google Bell Canada test line.

Zargg71
I am glad your mother was / is ok, though. 
All the best to you and your mother

Ya, man. Thanks. It was a rush of pure relief as soon as I knew she was okay.
 
Funny how the parent/child roles reverse as we age. I don't have kids but I can imagine it's a similar feeling... one which I probably put her through far too many times when I was a dumbass, snotshiz kid.
 
It all comes around. lulz...
 
However some good is coming from it. Because of this I'll have some proper/more recent contact numbers for people that can check on her if this happens again. She's been a little too stubborn/proud to let that occur until now... and I think this made her realize I'll be the one who'll go nuts looking out for her.
 
She's tough as hell though and took good care of herself so she'll be around for a good long time. Just can't let something stupid take her down like a fall or something.
 
Cheers.

slartabartfast
I doubt that Canadian utilities will reform because you are upset with them. My US phone company does not routinely test my phone line to be sure it is working, and I have had to depend on people telling me that they can't get through to me. Next time you cannot get an answer, you could try calling the telephone company technical help line and have them run a test to confirm it is a line problem. Google Bell Canada test line.

Ya, good idea. I hadn't actually even considered the line was screwed though because it rang through fine. No I know better. That's really what I'm pissed about. There was absolutely NO indication the phone line was down.
 
And of course they totally won't reform. They have no reason to because they've got the CRTC (the Canucker equivelent of the FCC) in their back pocket. Like I said... these companies solution to everything is a comp to shut people up. I just went through it with my provider. My line kept going down and I made a complaint (because if I can't call out and I have medical emergency I'm essentially dead... literally). It was meant to add what I can only assume is another complaint on the file for the area so they'd get their sh*t together and they immediately jumped to "WE'RE COMPING YOU!! YES? YOU HAPPY??!! BE HAPPY!!!". I didn't ask for that and that behavior implies guilt.
 
That BTW is another company of the "Big 3" in Canada. Emergency service is why I keep a land line and the service is supposed to ensure that line is next to impervious barring downed wires (not the case).
 
These people are f*cking around... bad, and putting people's lives at risk.
 
Yeah, I know. Pushing water uphill on this. Just ticked off is all.
 
Cheers.

Shame on you Beepster. If the situation is as you explain it, you should be calling her every day to say hello and make sure she's well and eating properly. How hard is it to pick up the phone for for 10 minutes and check in. You've only got 1 mom.

ampfixer
Shame on you Beepster. If the situation is as you explain it, you should be calling her every day to say hello and make sure she's well and eating properly. How hard is it to pick up the phone for for 10 minutes and check in. You've only got 1 mom.

Dude, she's healthy as a horse and would tell me to f*ck off if I did that. lol
 
Seriously that's why I held off on calling the cops to go smash down her door (and if she hadn't called me back when she did they would have been my next call).
 
Don't "shame on me, Beepster"... I dote on my mum as much as she'll allow me to. We're not talking about some crippled up old bitty. She's in better shape than I am ferfracksake. Doesn't mean I don't worry.
 
She was a) really appreciative that I started hunting her down like I did (no one else was) and b) glad I didn't spazz out like I have in the past and have the authorities damage her property.
 
Real nice, John. Accusing me of being a bad son after this. Jesus.

Sorry man, but if you don't want people commenting on your personal life, I suggest you don't post about it.
 
I'm not speaking out of my butt here, I have a lot of experience in a situation very much as you describe. I wish I still had someone to worry about. I don't think you're a bad Beepster at all.

My mom's 86 and I follow ampfixer's style.  I check-in with her at least twice a day over the phone (usually at 9am and 3pm to make sure she's awake and taking her meds).  Plus I visit at least once a week to take care of things.  I've also had phone issues which have had me driving the 25+ miles over the river into Oregon to make sure she's ok.  She doesn't have a cell phone (nor would want to figure out how to use one) so she has a landline with both an answering machine (for screening calls) and voice-mail because I want to ALWAYS be able to leave a message.  Several times now the phone company (Comcast in this case) has messed up the line so all I get is the message: "All circuits are busy, please try again later." and all she gets is a busy signal when she picks up the phone to call.  Now I've had this happen before where you call back immediately and it works, but we're talking about having this situation for hours and hearing that message dozens of times.  That's wrong.
 
Of course, I have to take "missing time" seriously because twice she's fallen and couldn't get up (which is why I tell her to keep her cordless phone with her at all times - both times she was able to eventually reach the phone and call me though once she was on the floor for almost four hours before I could get there!).

One thing to remember, if you can't find someone, call the local police/fire/EMS department. Tell them you are trying to contact your relative and they simply aren't answering. The cops will go to the house and make sure the person is OK, and tell them that you are trying to get in touch.
 
As a medic we would get sent out about once a month on a similar type of welfare check. These were cases where it was usually someone in poor health and the family was living some distance away. Most of the time it is a knock on the door and the person in question answers. Sometimes we find the person has fallen down the steps or in the bathtub and has been there for a couple of days.
 
If you are ever in doubt, call the emergency services folks. That is what we are there for.