A chauffeur hire company from Wokingham is counting the costs after the firm’s internet connection was wrongly cut off while new telephone cables were being installed.

The taxi and executive chauffeur hire company estimates they lost £3,000 worth of business during the three day period while the internet connection was terminated.

The executive travel firm, which counts Mizuno and Microsoft amongst its regular clients, relies on the internet to keep in contact with its chauffeurs. All jobs are relayed to their chauffeurs via email, a modern version of the traditional radio system more commonly used by taxi and private hire firms.

But with the internet connection down for 3 days, the company was forced to rely on mobile phone contact to inform their drivers of fares. This proved time consuming and less efficient and as a result, some clients were let down.

The error with the internet connection occurred after a subcontractor of BT wrongly cancelled the company’s broadband subscription when new telephone cables were being installed at the firm’s HQ.

BT have apologised to the private hire firm for the inconvenience experienced due to the mix up.

The chauffeur company is now trying to make amends with clients who were affected by the problem and were unable to obtain the company’s service during this time.