'Lack of phone service means I can't run my cafe'

Cafe owner Katy Field says it is "embarrassing" that she cannot offer customers the option to pay by card

A cafe owner says a lack of mobile phone service has been affecting her business for the past six months.

Katy Field, who owns George's Cafe in Bidford-on-Avon, said she does not have wi-fi at the cafe but relies on a mobile card machine to take payments, which without any service is "useless".

She has had to resort to asking her customers to pay using bank transfers or credit if they do not have cash.

"Technology is meant to make you more efficient and more professional and it's just having the opposite effect," Ms Field said.

She added that it was "embarrassing" and a "massive inconvenience" for both the business and her customers.

Ms Field said that while regular customers who were offered credit were "genuine" and would return the next day to pay, she had undoubtedly lost money as some people had not come back.

'It's affecting everybody'

She added that the problem had impacted a lot of people in the village.

"I know an elderly gentleman who comes into the cafe and he has no signal at all, it really affects everybody."

One of the network providers in Bidford is Vodafone.

In a statement a spokesperson apologised to any customers who had experienced issues with their service.

"Our networks team are aware of an issue at one of our local sites but are working hard to restore services as soon as possible," they added.

'Weeks without signal'

The cafe owner said she had previously used a mobile card machine from Retail Merchant Services, however, it had not had any signal for "weeks at a time".

Despite being unable to use the machine, she said she had been "chased" by the service provider to pay a £400 bill.

The BBC has contacted Retail Merchant Services for comment.

Before she received the bill, Ms Field said she had decided to change provider and use a different mobile card machine so that it searched for more available networks.

She added that she had had "no communication" from any of the network providers in the area.

"I just want to be able to speak to someone face to face and get the job done," Ms Field said.