tnmats's profile

Mentor

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44 Messages

Monday, December 31st, 2018 11:20 PM

Can't Port ATT Landline Phone to ATT Digital Phone?

I was going to upgrade my ATT Uverse service to ATT Fiber and also convert my 24 yr. old ATT Landline service to an ATT digital phone line at the same time (keeping the same TV service) but ran into a snag quickly on the phone port.

 

When I entered my phone number in the web order page to check if it can be ported I get the basic answer "NO", that the number is not eligible to be ported.  I call ATT, get a customer service rep (he was barely intelligible due to his accent) who verified this was the case, which surprised him also.  He does a bit of further investigation while I was on hold,  he tells me that "my rate code does not match my address".  Huh?  I've had the same number at the same address since May 1994, I was assigned the number by ATT when I signed up for this POTS line soon after purchasing the house.   All I wanted to do was port the number within the same company, at the same address, using the same number I've had for over 2 decades.

 

How is it that my rate code and the address don't match when I've had the same number at the same house looking to stay with the same company??

Community Support

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230.7K Messages

5 years ago

Hello @tnmats,

 

Thank you for bringing your question to the forums! In order for us to further investigate this concern we will need a little more information from you. We will be sending you a private message to your forums inbox. Please locate the message from ATTCares and reply with the requested information. We look forward to being of further assistance.

 

James C., AT&T Community Specialist

Mentor

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44 Messages

5 years ago

I sent the information requested via private message.  Hopefully you can find out why I cannot port the service.

Tutor

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18 Messages

5 years ago

Was this issue ever resolved @tnmats ?  I have a very similar issue as well at the moment.  Good luck!

Mentor

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44 Messages

5 years ago

No, it was a loosing battle.

 

For some reason I was put in the wrong rate center either when the line was connected in 1994 or somewhere along the way over the years someone at ATT screwed up.  I contacted the FCC and the NC Utilities Commission's consumer office for assistance.  Both times it was useless what they did, all they did was ask ATT to look into and would accept whatever answer they got from them.  They're just lackeys for big business, don't even bother dealing with those useless agencies.  I didn't roll over with ATT's answers, I kept at it for several tries and worked my way up the management chain since they made no sense what I was told.  I even went to far as to identify the switch I was assigned to and the rate center but they kept telling me it was not the correct rate center for my address, never explaining how it happened.  They would stonewall with non-answers and only "we can't do anything about it".   Dealing with ATT is like dealing with a brick wall.

 

In the intervening time my phone line acted up and I had to contact ATT.  After they way it was handled, not being able to talk to a single human the entire time and not even being able to find any human to speak to I just snapped and decided "that's it, I need to just dump this line and tell ATT they can go, to" well, you know.

 

I just decided to dump the number and refused to deal with ATT again.  I went to Spectrum and got a new number in the end, dumping my Uverse service also (which has also gone downhill).  ATT won't get a thin cent from me again, this was all of their screw-up but claims their hands are tied.  Couple it with their absolutely indifferent service and that was enough for me to just dump everything at the same tim.  And don't rely on your bought-and-paid-for government to help, they won't, they'll screw you too since they're just owned by big business and big business doesn't care one bit about any consumer.

Tutor

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18 Messages

5 years ago

Yeah that sounds like the service I'd expect from a giant ILEC - Sorry you had so much trouble with it.  I was bounced around this morning between so many support centers and entities, some of whom asked who the RESPORG was for the number I wish to change to?  Like seriously?  You are a phone company - look up the number!  Jeez Louise

Mentor

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44 Messages

5 years ago

The only kudos I can give is when a tech shows up from ATT they nearly always fix things properly the 1st time.  We had the land line fixed last week, the tech was fantastic, he nailed the problem quickly (crackling on the line that was sporadic) and stayed with my wife until both of them were sure it was 100% correct.  No troubles since he fixed the line, it's been about a week now.  He also gave her his business card with a direct line, to call him if we had troubles again.  I've had similar experience with other ATT techs, they know their business, are friendly and thorough and will give you their card to call them directly if you have issues.  Calling in a problem is a hateful experience though.

 

My wife also told him the story of the non-portable line, said we're the 2nd customer he's heard of in that situation.  He said the only recourse is the one we had to go to, dump the line and he hated that it came to that.  He said the only option is to port it to a cell phone but we still won't be able to port it back to any land-based digital service (I found this out myself, so he verified the option was a no-go).  What's the most galling is a neighbor in our development had the identical prefix as us but had no issues porting their number to a digital phone service (local TV cable company).  No one at ATT could explain why I was "in the wrong rate center" when someone 10 houses down from us had zero issue.

 

Doesn't matter now, next week we get new service with a different company, we've already got a new number assigned.   The only upside is maybe the amount of garbage spam calls will go down.  Maybe.....

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