Salon cut off by phone cable theft

A BUSY hairdresser’s business has been put in jeopardy after a faulty phone line caused her to lose almost £1,000 in trade.

Joanne Bottomley, owner of The Hair Factory, Balfour Street, Clarksfield, first realised her phone had been cut off last Wednesday, when a regular customer came to the salon said she had been trying to call but couldn’t get through.

Joanne contacted the phone company, which confirmed a fault — but it was two days later that an engineer arrived to say he couldn’t fix the problem because copper cabling had been stolen, and he didn’t have any with him.

Other delays followed — and hit the business hard in the meantime.

“In a normal week we would make about £1,200. The week we’ve had without the phone, we have taken just over £300 — simply because people have no way of getting in touch with us.

“We have customers who walk by and have our regulars, but these days most people call to book appointments. This business relies on incoming calls.” Business has slowed so much that Joanne has even had to cut back on staff.

British Telecom said around 70 metres of cable had been stolen from Balfour Street, cutting off seven customers.

“We are now working to replace the stolen cable, but this is quite an involved, painstaking process. Cable theft is a major issue affecting lots of different organisations. We can’t say precisely when services will be restored.”

Joanne has had her phone line rerouted to take calls on her mobile.

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