What to do when they demand a phone bill

big phone company attitude transferring 800 numbersWe activate and release about 1000 toll free numbers per month to almost every major carrier. It may seem surprising to think that a major phone company would be unwilling or unable to process a transfer request properly but it happens more often than you would believe. You also need to follow up on transfer requests, and can’t assume that just because they got the paperwork that they’re going to put it through properly. The fact that your phone company is rejecting your request internally for an excuse like this is proof of that.

We aren’t as big as any regular phone company, but this is all we do and we have the best documentation in the business. Your Toll Free Birth Certificate™ IS legally the “phone bill” for the purposes of transferring toll free numbers. If you’ve given that to them and they’re giving you a hard time, then the problem isn’t really you or your paperwork, and you can’t necessarily take their response at face value and act as if it were valid, because it’s not valid to refuse to even process a request without their idea of a phone bill.

It seems a little Arrogant to Make Up your own Rules

As the primary resporg administrator for Resporg.com (QZA01), I have the final say over what is allowed and not allowed to be released. I have the records, and no other phone company has access to them. I have been personally trained and certified by the SMS. The SMS does NOT require phone bill copies to transfer 800 numbers. Some companies do request phone bills in order to prevent transfer requests from being rejected. It comes from lazy resporgs that use that in lue of bothering to verify the customer information themselves.

Some phone representatives hear that they should request a phone bill and after that gets repeated a couple times it turns into requiring a phone bill. That’s the purpose of our Toll Free Birth Certificate™. Our Toll Free Birth Certificate™ is designed to provide proof of ownership specifically for transferring numbers and it says in writing that it is a bill for purposes of transferring toll free numbers. So if someone tells you that you that you need a phone bill, give them the Toll Free Birth Certificate™.

We do this All the Time

Like I said earlier, we activate and release about 1000 toll free numbers per month to virtually every phone company. Chances are we’ve released toll free numbers to the company giving you a hard time. Not all of the representatives in a phone company know us but the chances are that the resporg administrator(s) know us, or have at least gotten numbers from us before.

It may sound simple for a phone company representative to say that a transfer request was rejected because it needs a current phone bill. But since that is NOT a requirement to transfer numbers, and we did provide our “phone bill” that is not what’s holding it up. So to let the tail wag the dog isn’t going to solve anything.

The releasing party is required to verify the information to insure that they don’t release your number to a third party. The requesting party has no way to actually verify the information. It’s not hard to make up a fake phone bill from some other phone company and they have no way to verify anything on it, nor do they have any responsibility if something is incorrect. Nobody has access or rights to our customer records without a subpoena. PERIOD.

If a representative says “it was rejected” for that they may be implying that it was rejected by the releasing carrier but we will NEVER reject a request for that, ever. That would mean that they rejected it or delayed it internally. A lot of the times, they say that just to make an excuse for internal delays. There is more about what to do if the phone company says your number was rejected for any other reason here.

It may take Communication, Finesse, some Pushing and Persistence

Why would a major phone company intentionally delay or hold up a transfer request from a customer trying to transfer a number to them to service? I have to tell you that even though I run into this more often than you would ever believe, I really have no clue. It is beyond stupid but it happens.

I try to solve that through communication. I will be happy to talk with the rep that you are dealing with or I can call their resporg department and ask their resporg administrator to contact the representative or their boss and ask them to put the paperwork through. The resporg department is usually impressed with another resporg attempting to help a customer transfer away (because nobody else ever does that) and they usually push it straight through.

You have other Alternatives

The last resort is to make sure that the customer being jerked around knows that they don’t have to use the phone company providing their physical line. A lot of people assume that they have to go with their local phone company. However local phone companies, in addition to being more restrictive and more expensive than many of the more competitive companies seem to give customers more hassles too. There are 6 reasons not to use your local phone company. And one way around these hassles is to just make it easy to use a different company. You can probably tell from my website that I try to help educate people as much as possible, but sometimes if you just can’t get though someone, you just have to go a different way.

I don’t do all of this to give any other phone company a hard time. I only want to help our customers get their service running quickly with the company of their choice. We will release numbers in real time, as long as the new company is really ready for them. We have a chart (which we really need to update) that shows the average transfer speeds for different phone companies.

Don’t let them step on you!

Unfortunately, the bottom line is that sometimes you have to push a representative to get the job done. If they say you need a phone bill, tell them that the Toll Free Birth Certificate™ IS the phone bill and the proof of ownership specifically for transferring numbers. If they won’t accept that, you can ask for their boss, you can send them this post, you can call us with them on the phone, you can ask us to call their resporg department (we have to know which resporg they use if they’re not one) or you can use a different phone company. Unfortunately taking them at their word and doing what they say is usually best way to go in circles and accomplish nothing.

    1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
    Loading ... Loading ...

    2 Comments »

    Michael Coleman says:
    May 12, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    Your service is working very well for our company as we continue to serve the hurricane Katrina residents using our call center.

    It will take beyond the 30-day period for us to make the transfer to our selected carrier and I need to discuss extending your support of the number during this timeframe.

    Your documentation states that this can be done on a fee basis.

    Thanks,

    Michael Coleman

      Bill Quimby says:
      May 12, 2008 at 5:28 pm

      We’re NOT allowed to provide the ongoing service. We give customers that forget to transfer their number a one time extension of 250 additional minutes for $25. We can’t provide the ongoing service though, just a one time extension.

      Also realize that phone companies always give the worst case scenario when you ask them how long it will take to transfer the number. So don’t assume that just because they say it’ll take forever that it really will. Here’s a chart of the actual speed of different phone companies. http://www.tollfreenumbers.com/resporg/800-transfer-speed.html

      I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions or need help with anything else.

      Bill

        RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

        Leave a comment

        Random Testimonials

        Testimonial 949 out of 1535

        Thanks so much for your help in navigating this new world and helping us get up to speed without losing time, energy, and resources to bureacracy and greeness. We're very happy customers!

        Elisabeth Bishop
        Wow Send Out



        Testimonial 1233 out of 1535

        Thank you so much for your service. Our bookings from our on line Travel Business (Discrete Elite Travel) has increased over 50% during our first month after posting our 1-800 number. We would like to personally thank you and have reccommended that all our Chamber of Commerce member visit your site. We were really overwhelmed with all the calls during our first month. It was as easy as 1-2-3 setting up our 1-800 number. It was totally hassle-free and we really appreciated the time you took with us explaining just how easy it was to set-up our 1-800 number with the local telephone company. Your business service and customer service is outstanding. Our local business members and friends will be contacting you.
        cruises for groups
        Thanks again
        Dexter
        Discrete Elite Travel



        Testimonial 1160 out of 1535

        Bill ...you are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        Thank you!
        I am so glad that you have been there for me.

        Adele Arnesen



        Testimonial 934 out of 1535

        That is a GREAT service you have! As one who hunted numbers for years, I was pleased to find your website.

        Edward L. Owen
        Owen Broadcasting / WKAG Television



        Testimonial 104 out of 1535

        Thank you for your help. Until I talked to you I was getting scammed by AT&T. They were charging me 27 Cents PER MINUTE.
        What a rip off! Thanks again for your help.

        Josh Trees
        National Decor & Lighting



        Testimonial 648 out of 1535

        Bill thank you so much for making your system available.
        The process was easy. The hard part was choosing a number from the many that you made available through your search and monthly emails.

        Tricia Allen
        Tricia Allen Photography



        Testimonial 888 out of 1535

        In a world where everything seems to be overstated and over promised, YOUR service was incredibly fast and easy. Your service delivered everything that was promised, including the phone ringing to my location within MINUTES !

        Absolutely AMAZING!


        Daniel L DHondt
        PanamaLandRush.com



        Testimonial 795 out of 1535

        This is about the fifth time I've used TollFreeNumbers.com after experiencing years of frustration with my local carrier attempting to secure vanity numbers for my businesses. I want everyone to know that I have no relationship to the owners and/or operators of this Company when I say this, "This is the single greatest marketing tool I've come across in recent years for my businesses." And yes, you can quote me on that. I refer TollFreeNumbers.com to all of my associates.

        Michael Anthony
        President
        Century Capital Partners, LLC



        Testimonial 1219 out of 1535

        I think it was early September when I was searching on line and came across a web site that talked about the 800 advantage and I was instantly interested. I did a goggle search under several key words and it appeared that one site continually showed up and dominated the search engines, TollFreeNumbers.com.

        Your site was filled with so much valuable information and also included a 60 page free ebook which I downloaded and read that night. I instantly went from someone that was very unknowledgeable about anything to do with 800 numbers to someone that could hold my own in a conversation with the best of them.

        I used the Keyword Lookup and Instant 800 LookUp tools on the site and it provided me with hundreds of possible 800 numbers that were either available now or in the disconnect period. I immediately found one 800 number that would work extremely well for my business and back ordered it from your site! I am currently waiting to see if you and your knowledge team can successfully get the number I've back ordered. I know you will do it! Numerous other on line 800 companies told me to Call Bill and he will get the number for you!

        I must say that I am also so impressed by the personal attention you have all provided. I was shocked when I originally called and you actually picked up the phone yourself. I felt like I was talking to the MVP of Toll Free Numbers after reading your book and reviewing all the powerful information on your site. You were very helpful and took the time to explain how to use the tools on the site and even typed in a search that immediately emailed me the results while we were still on the phone.

        I know I constantly email you many questions but I want to thank you for always responding almost immediately. I swear you guys don't sleep. No matter what time I email you I always get something back right away !

        I want to thank you for making this otherwise non-available information easy to find through your incredible network of sites! I would be lost with out this information!

        Thanks again for everything!
        Dave Proctor
        "Your Real Estate Doctor"
        MrPorterRanch.com



        Testimonial 500 out of 1535

        We buy many toll free numbers and offer them free of charge to our clients.
        TollFreeNumbers.com is god sent solution to our problem of finding and activating our numbers. As soon as we make a sale, we visit TollFreeNumbers.com and find a vanity number. No sooner than we have finished filling out the online form, the phone is working and rings properly into the intended number. It is an amazing technology and it is the only way to buy toll free numbers.

        David Sheehan
        FDPINC