topic Re: Switching Providers in Electronics

Switching Providers

beach-mom — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 23:12:30 GMT

I'm so frustrated. I've posted that we didn't have the same provider for all of our services because of a problem when we moved in.

There was a power outage that impacted phone services. Because we had our home phone service with one provider (Comcast) and our cell phone service with another (Verizon), we had service. A lot of our neighbors didn't.

That probably wouldn't happen now, but we still kept things the same.

Now we have decided to switch everything to Verizon. The installation will happen in January. I was assured our Xfinity services would stay until the installation date.

Our home phone is not working. Someone tried to reach me and couldn't. We want to keep our landline because our number is published.

I called, thinking there was something wrong, because our main base and extensions all said "line in use." There was something wrong. Xfinity disconnected our phone service! Thank goodness our Internet and TV work!

I spent 3 hours on the phone with both companies trying to straighten this out. The three Verizon reps tried to help. The last one told me I had to contact Verizon.

The Xfinity representative, after trying other avenues, told me they could reconnect wirelessly (?), but they would have to change our number. Are you kidding me?

I was honestly ready to hang up. I finally told her this should not be happening. We were assured by both companies we would have service with Xfinity until Verizon came out to do the installation. The rep finally said she would send a formal letter to them.

We still don't have service on our landline.

Re: Switching Providers

SloopJohnB — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:14:58 GMT

@beach-mom wrote:
I'm so frustrated. I've posted that we didn't have the same provider for all of our services because of a problem when we moved in.

There was a power outage that impacted phone services. Because we had our home phone service with one provider (Comcast) and our cell phone service with another (Verizon), we had service. A lot of our neighbors didn't.

That probably wouldn't happen now, but we still kept things the same.

Now we have decided to switch everything to Verizon. The installation will happen in January. I was assured our Xfinity services would stay until the installation date.

Our home phone is not working. Someone tried to reach me and couldn't. We want to keep our landline because our number is published.

I called, thinking there was something wrong, because our main base and extensions all said "line in use." There was something wrong. Xfinity disconnected our phone service! Thank goodness our Internet and TV work!

I spent 3 hours on the phone with both companies trying to straighten this out. The three Verizon reps tried to help. The last one told me I had to contact Verizon.

The Xfinity representative, after trying other avenues, told me they could reconnect wirelessly (?), but they would have to change our number. Are you kidding me?

I was honestly ready to hang up. I finally told her this should not be happening. We were assured by both companies we would have service with Xfinity until Verizon came out to do the installation. The rep finally said she would send a formal letter to them.

We still don't have service on our landline.

I have to say, that out of all the companies I have to deal with when a problem comes up, telephone/cable/cell/internet is/are the worst. Between being on hold, then being transferred, only having to repeat the issue and then accidentally disconnected, it is beyond frustrating. Hopefully you get a good outcome soon.

Re: Switching Providers

Kachina624 — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 01:34:44 GMT

@beach-mom. All I can say is " lots of luck". From what I've heard, both of these companies are nightmares from which to get decent service.

Re: Switching Providers

In-x-s — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 04:43:05 GMT

@beach-mom I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but start accepting the fact that your number is probably gone for good. I've had it happen and I had such a hard time dealing with it as it had been my phone number for 30 years! Like you, it was phone company error but that didn't help.

In order for a number to be ported to another provider it must be an active number. So sorry you are having to deal with this.

Re: Switching Providers

FancyPhillyshopper — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 07:46:51 GMT

I suppose Comcast/Xfinity figures that since you are not going to be their customer any longer, they do not need to go out of their way to offer assistance.

We have a land line with Xfinity, and it is part of our triple play package with cable and Internet. We always receive excellent service.

I do know the companies are very competitive with each other!

Many people no longer even have land lines, so that is starting to be a relic from the past. Good luck!

Re: Switching Providers

gadgetgal613 — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 11:30:27 GMT

@FancyPhillyshopper wrote:

I suppose Comcast/Xfinity figures that since you are not going to be their customer any longer, they do not need to go out of their way to offer assistance.

We have a land line with Xfinity, and it is part of our triple play package with cable and Internet. We always receive excellent service.

I do know the companies are very competitive with each other!

Many people no longer even have land lines, so that is starting to be a relic from the past. Good luck!

Plus, having a phone number with Comcast which uses your internet service isn't a landline. It uses your internet service and a device for you to plug in your handset. A landline is usually in the baseboard or wall and has telephone lines which come into your house. I finally gave up my home phone number when the device it connected to required 5G service and we don't have that in our neighborhood. I had that number for 30+ years and was sad to see it go.

Re: Switching Providers

gardenman — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 13:13:00 GMT

Your problem should be solvable, it just won't be easy. You need to find the right customer service rep to help you through it. I worked as a customer service rep for Frontier Communications and dealt with similar issues. Most reps are judged on metrics and one of the metrics is the speed of resolution. The faster you can get rid of a customer the better the metrics are for you as a rep. Long calls are not good for the rep. Solving this kind of issue can take a while.

In the case I'm most familiar with a Frontier customer was switching providers (like you) to a second company and wanted to take their number with them. Things went wrong and their number was given to someone else who was using a third provider. Frontier was supposed to hold numbers for ninety days before releasing them, but for whatever reason didn't hold his number.

There's a national clearinghouse for phone numbers that ensures each number is unique and only given out once. I had to reach out to his new provider and also that clearinghouse, then the customer of the third service who'd gotten the number and their customer support to get back the original customer's number and have them assign that customer a new one. Then push the release of my old customer's old number through the clearinghouse so it could be reassigned to him and then transferred to his new provider. It became a three-hour multi-party call to get it resolved. It was not fun.

Most customer service reps will punt on any call that will take longer than a few minutes as it hurts their metrics which can affect their standing in the company. A three-hour marathon call to two different phone companies and then dealing with bureaucrats in the clearinghouse is not something they look forward to. It's far easier to "accidentally" disconnect and let some other rep handle it, or simply tell the customer it can't be fixed.

If you can get the right rep, the problem can be fixed. Finding the right rep is the hard part. Most reps like calls asking what the customer's bill is, which they can answer in seconds. It's good for their metrics. A three-hour marathon call to fix a problem is bad for metrics. Especially when the person you're solving the problem for is leaving your company and will no longer be your customer. Companies tend not to like a rep spending three hours helping a former customer leave. Trust me, I know.

Re: Switching Providers

SilleeMee — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 15:09:03 GMT

My home phone service is through Ooma. It's free service. You just have to buy Ooma's internet connection box. If you want to keep your old phone number then pay a one-time fee to transfer that number. It doesn't matter who my internet service provider is b/c it's completely separate with Ooma. You can still use your own landline phones, too.

Re: Switching Providers

Still Raining — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 16:18:11 GMT

You have all my sympathy. I have fought these wars and have been defeated. They have the winning hand.

Re: Switching Providers

karabeth — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 02:09:38 GMT

@beach-mom

Just wanted to tell you I feel your pain and frustration. It can be maddening dealing with these phone and cable companies. And then there are the hours of time wasted that you end up spending on the phone with them trying to straighten out whatever the issue is.

Re: Switching Providers

beach-mom — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 02:38:46 GMT

Thanks everyone for your comments. And thanks for your expertise and explanation @gardenman!

It looks like we're out of luck for now, and I don't have time to deal with it until after Christmas. I have some writing to do before Sunday and Tuesday night.

DH couldn't believe I was on the phone so long. That's why yesterday afternoon's errands were canceled. I know a lot of you have gone through something like this; it's the first time we have.

We switched because Verizon was having a deal, which brought the monthly bill down to about half of what we were paying Comcast. Now I'm regretting our choice! DH says we should have left things the way they were and absorbed the extra cost. I think he's right, but it's too late now.