'No brains at all': Telephone pole erected in front of Auckland man's mailbox

Auckland man Kent Millar returned home from work to find Chorus had erected a phone pole in-front of the mailbox of his Blockhouse Bay Rd property. Photo / Michael Craig

Kent Millar drove home from work on Thursday to discover all was not as he had left it at his Blockhouse Bay property.

He didn't notice the change in the faltering light, but his wife, who got out to check their letterbox, did. "Oh, I can't get the mail out," she exclaimed.

"I thought there might be so much in there it was stuck, so I got out of the car to rip it out and there's this bloody pole in the way," Millar said.

While the Millars had been at work, Chorus technicians had erected a telephone pole directly behind their mailbox.

The pole almost totally blocks the metal flap at the back, meaning bigger items can't be placed in the letterbox and it is almost impossible for the mail to be retrieved.

"No notice, nothing. It had been erected while we were at work," Millar said.

"I'm not sure what's missing, the common or the sense. Just no brains at all, no thought.

"It only just happened yesterday, but anything more than a letter the mailman won't get into the mailbox," Millar said on Friday. "Anything more than a letter we won't get out of the mailbox."

Chorus has admitted "we got it wrong" in the placement of this telephone pole. Photo / Michael Craig

Millar reported the predicament to Chorus, and in a statement to the Herald on Sunday, the company admitted its fault.

"When replacing telephone poles we first have to install the new pole before moving the fibre and copper service lines from the old pole to the new," Chorus communications manager Steve Pettigrew said.

"This unfortunately means the new pole is never in exactly the same spot as the old.

"We're arranging for technicians to get back out to Mr Millar's address as soon as possible to find an agreeable solution. We got it wrong and we'll make it right.

"On behalf of the team at Chorus, I would like to apologise to Mr Millar for the inconvenience we've caused."

Millar pointed out that they don't even have a landline telephone.