Premier Telecom, Inc. phone company disconnects business phone line, resulting in loss of business, money Deerfield Beach Florida
We have had phone service through Premier Telecom for the past 3 years and have worked closely with owners Joe and Martha Vitale, as well as their nephew, German. Since Saturday, 12/1/07, our phone service has been disconnected, and as a result, we've been missing all phone calls. This is our business telephone number, and it is absolutely imperative that customers are able to reach us - without a valid working number, our business is at a tremendous disadvantage.
We've lost a countless number of customers, as well as income, due to this sudden phone disconnection. When we try to reach Premier Telecom, their numbers are not working either - we finally reached Joe on his cellular phone (after multiple messages and phone calls), and he said he would work on it... but we still don't have a working phone number. As with any other business, being reachable is key to our business, and since we cannot get results from Premier Telecom or the Vitales, we are at a loss.
We've attempted to port our number to another phone company, but they've said the number must be in working order before they can port it. It is crucial that we be able to keep our phone number. The resolution we are seeking is two-fold - first and foremost, we need to get our number to function immediately; and secondly, we need to hear from the Vitales or a representative at Premier Telecom. This is poor business ethics and absolutely unacceptable.
Sunshine
Deerfield Beach, Florida
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Ernest
Blanco,Texas,
U.S.A.
Sunshine, start with your Attorney General's office!
#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, December 11, 2007
Dear Sunshine,
You wrote that your telephone service has been disrupted by a private firm. Perhaps it would be to your advantage to report this matter to the Florida State Attorney General's office in Tallahassee at 850-414-3300.
The owner/operator of your former telephone service may be in violation of Federal law(s) regarding your telephone service, which might make it a Federal matter rather than a state matter.
Sorry to hear about your plight, but resolution of these matters are not always quick.
In your attempts to port your number to another carrier, any carrier who tells you what they did, "...but they've said the number must be in working order before they can port it..." is correct. It is because of the very law in the 1934 Telecommunications Act and the 1996 (revision) that the number has to be working before it can be ported. Not only is it a matter of law, but one of technology.
Telephone switches cannot work with numbers that are either not activated, or disconnected (for whatever reasono). It's like trying to run your computer without plugging into an electrical source: it just won't work.
For phone numbers - and this includes cell phone numbers - to be "ported" - or moved - to another carrier or service provider, it must be a working number.
However, this may mean that you may end up getting a new number through a much more reliable carrier. Contact your local telco for options.