Taking our phone number

treecol

We're still trying to buy our next property, have a good offer in place on our home & need to get something suitable rather quickly. We have found a really nice house just up the road from us but the dialing code is different to our current one as we border the next area. We advertise for work in a little local directory, it gives us plenty of really good work but it's mostly elderly customers who choose us because we have a dialing code the same as theirs currently. We've advertised in the local directories that do not share our dialing code & after 12 months advertising have had no work.
Does anyone know a simple way to be able to leave our current landline number in the advert & yet be on our new number, if that makes sense. I know these accident claims people have called us using a local number even though they are based miles away. I'm not certain a free phone number would work as our local neighbourhood watch discourages calls to these as they may not be genuine.
BT can only offer a recorded message when our old number is called that says "this number has been changed to..." but some of our customers are so frail, I wouldn't like to confuse them further.
It would stop us moving there if there is no way to use the same number. Thanks in advance.

nomoneytoday

Is it possible to transfer the number to a VOIP provider, then it won't matter where in the world you are

Clairabella

Arrange to have calls redirected?

Owain_Moneysaver

Porting the number to VoIP is the only sensible solution.

eddddy

If you google 'virtual phone numbers', you'll see that you can buy a phone number for just about any UK exchange - and have it forward calls to any landline or mobile.

So you could have numbers with dozens of different dialling codes all going to your single landline if you want.

Some of the companies will also let you port (or transfer) your existing landline number across to their service - subject to your current landline provider allowing it.

So the short answer is: it's probably possible to do what you describe.

(It's a bit more fiddly if you want your caller id to show different numbers/dialling codes when you phone people, but it should be achievable with most providers.)

theartfullodger

Surely most people use mobiles for most 'phone calls already: And will increasingly do so. Keeping landline number? No offence but...

Owain_Moneysaver

theartfullodger wrote: »

Surely most people use mobiles for most 'phone calls already: And will increasingly do so. Keeping landline number? No offence but...

A local landline number looks more reputable than a business just advertising a mobile-only number. And older people are still more likely to use their landlines for making calls.

If the existing number gets dropped then not only is the advertising wasted but people may think the business has gone out of business.

TrickyDicky101

theartfullodger wrote: »

Surely most people use mobiles for most 'phone calls already: And will increasingly do so. Keeping landline number? No offence but...

I don't. I don't intend to in the near future either.

G_M

I'd far rather do business with someone I can identify/locate.

Address is good. Landline is good. Mobile only is bad.

EachPenny

theartfullodger wrote: »

Surely most people use mobiles for most 'phone calls already: And will increasingly do so. Keeping landline number? No offence but...

Various bundles (landline and mobile) give free calls to landlines, but calls to mobiles use up valuable minutes (or pounds).

My mobile contract has unlimited calls to landlines for £0/month, so my first choice for calling someone I might do business with would be on their landline. No landline and the other guys might get my business before you.

ciderboy2009

theartfullodger wrote: »

Surely most people use mobiles for most 'phone calls already: And will increasingly do so. Keeping landline number? No offence but...

A business which only advertises a mobile number comes across as a one man band - even in this day & age. A landline number gives a sense of a larger company (even when it is a one man band with all calls diverted to their mobile).

The op also mentions that their customers are mostly elderly - they are the most likely people to distrust a mobile number.