Phone number mix up leaves firm unable to connect

New business owners Debbie and Paul Chapman claim a phone number mix-up has led to them having no telephone sales for two months.
Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express.
Story: Firm has had no sales for three months after phone number mix up. Caravan Parts has had no incoming calls for sales since opening after a mix-up meant all of the firm's calls go through to another house.
Pictured are business owners Debbie and Paul Chapman.
Photo date: 29/09/15
Picture Ref: AB232a0915Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express.
Story: Firm has had no sales for three months after phone number mix up. Caravan Parts has had no incoming calls for sales since opening after a mix-up meant all of the firm's calls go through to another house.
Pictured are business owners Debbie and Paul Chapman.
Photo date: 29/09/15
Picture Ref: AB232a0915
Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express. Story: Firm has had no sales for three months after phone number mix up. Caravan Parts has had no incoming calls for sales since opening after a mix-up meant all of the firm's calls go through to another house. Pictured are business owners Debbie and Paul Chapman. Photo date: 29/09/15 Picture Ref: AB232a0915

The couple set up Caravan Parts and Accessories on Methley Road in Castleford on August 1 and had a phoneline installed by provider TalkTalk.

But Mrs Chapman claimed the company assigned them the same phone number as a house in South Elmsall and more than two months after starting the firm have not had a single phone call.

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She said: “The whole situation is just absolutely ridiculous. It’s so frustrating and it’s having a devastating impact on our business.

“We paid around £1,200 in advertising costs for adverts in newspapers, flyers and a website all of which had the number TalkTalk gave us on.

“We also spent £499 on a new website for the company that has the number on as well.

“That money has just been wasted and we seem to be just getting pushed from pillar to post when we try and sort it out.”

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Mrs Chapman, 57, said the couple started the business after previously running New and Used Caravan Parts on Lock Lane, Castleford.

She said: “We really are at the end of our tether. We’ve had a few sales from people walking in but haven’t even had a single call on our number let alone a sale over the phone.

“It really is the last thing you need when you’ve just set a business up.”

A TalkTalk spokesman said the delays were caused by problems when transferring the number.

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He said: “We are very sorry it took longer than usual to get Mr and Mrs Chapman’s line up and running and we are investigating what caused the delay.

“We aim to provide a good service along with great value, and to learn from incidents like this so we can better serve our customers.”