Talk about call waiting.

When Ruth Brown lost phone service Monday, she didn't give it much thought because she was sure the disruption would be short-lived.

But Monday gave way to Tuesday, and then Wednesday.

It was not until Thursday that the North York senior and as many as 400 of her neighbours could use their land lines, a problem that also disrupted computer service for many.

"I was so frustrated really," Brown, a resident of Betty Ann Drive southeast of Finch Avenue and Bathurst Street, said on a cellphone Thursday morning before her service was restored.

"I could take it up to (Wednesday) night. They promised it would be (fixed). But it's ridiculous."

Brown's son, visiting from overseas, could not use the computer for his business, she said.

Even worse, her 90-year-old neighbour has no cellphone. The woman's family had to keep driving over to make sure she was safe and healthy.

Brown said the disruption was made worse by the lack of information and confusing information residents received from Bell.

Her son was eventually told that as many as 200 residents in the neighbourhood were affected by a "network failure," Brown said.

However, another resident who used a cellphone to call Bell was initially told there was no service disruption in the area. She asked to speak to a supervisor, who agreed there wasn't a problem.

A second supervisor finally admitted the phones weren't working.

Bell Canada spokesperson Jason Laszlo said a private contractor cut through a Bell line in the area of Finch and Talbot Road on Monday, disrupting service to less than 400 customers.

"As of (Wednesday) night, service was up and running, with only minor adjustments (Thursday)," he said.

"There could be a few clients who were left unconnected (until Thursday) but the vast majority were up and running (Wednesday) night."

The entire mess could have been avoided if the contractor had checked with the City of Toronto to see where the phone lines were buried, Laszlo said.

He didn't know what, if any, steps Bell will take against the contractor.

"We're in touch with the contractor and we're reviewing our options," he said.