Dial S for Snobbery
Fury of the £865,000 housebuyers told they can’t have posh dialling code for Bath
WE’VE all heard of desirable postcodes, but for locals in Bath there’s another must-have status symbol – the city’s dialling code.
Owners of new £865,000 townhouses in the city were furious to find that, rather than the Bath 01225 code, they had been given 01761 phone numbers.
Now the neighbours, who live ten minutes’ walk from the city’s Roman baths, are calling for BT to change their landlines to the more upmarket Bath number.
Paddy Doyle, 72, who lives with his wife Liz, said: ‘Some people who arrived after us have been given 01225 numbers. I do consider my phone number to be a part of my identity. It has been part of my identity for 25 years.
‘For 23 years I had my previous Bath number. Normally you can transfer them when you move house but they said no.
‘My next-door neighbours were refused a takeaway delivery because the people refused to believe they lived in Bath.’
Owners, who moved in last year, have also contacted the commu- nications ombudsman after being given the dialling codes for nearby Radstock and Midsomer Norton.
Historian Francis Pike, 62, who bought one of the properties, said if he had known in advance he would have campaigned for a change to the phone numbers.
He said: ‘I would rather have a Bath number. Why would you not want a Bath number if you live in Bath? Everyone I give my number to thinks it’s bonkers.
‘This is a central Bath address. The dialling code is a dialling code for ten miles away which is nuts.’
A four-bedroom home in the development on the banks of the Avon sells for £865,000. It was described as ‘a modern take on the classical terraces of Bath, clad in the pale honey-hued stone that gives the city its timeless appeal’.
Local councillor June Player said she gave BT a list of owners but, though they were told in the New Year that there may be a solution, they have heard nothing since.
She said: ‘I just feel we are being fobbed off and they are not taking the situation seriously.
‘For these people it does have an impact, first of all they are living in Bath and the area codes show where they live.
‘They have had issues with food deliveries, they have had people check their addresses saying it doesn’t correlate, it could impact on small businesses. These things bug people. They’ve spent money, they want people to know they live in Bath.’ BT said it was looking into the matter.