Who’s to blame for Cablevision’s high phone number-transfer fee?

We were surprised recently to hear that consumers who switch to Cablevision’s Optimum Voice VoIP telephone service are charged a one-time $40 fee to keep their old telephone numbers. Posing as a prospective customer, one of our reporters recently asked a Cablevision customer representative for an explanation. The representative said that Cablevision merely is passing on charges imposed by customers’ former companies to transfer the numbers to Cablevision. In this case, the company was Verizon.

Curious, we called Verizon officials, who told us they don’t charge Cablevision or any other company anything to transfer customers’ numbers. A Cablevision spokesman told us he had no idea why his company’s representative blamed Verizon. He explained that Cablevision came up with the fee to compensate for “processing,” “back-office,” and “other costs” associated with arranging the number transfer. He said part of the cost is offset by the company’s $9.95 installation fee for double- and triple-play subscribers, which he said is lower than other companies. (We know of companies that in most areas don’t charge installation fees at all.)

A few days later we called another Cablevision customer representative to see what would happen if we asked the question again. And sure enough, that representative also blamed the fee on Verizon.

After further research, we came up with our own theory about why Cablevision reps are blaming other companies for the fee. It’s embarrassingly high. In fact, most major carriers, including Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T, don’t charge new telephone customers anything to transfer their old numbers. Cox charges about $10 in some areas, though nothing in most. Similarly, Time Warner charges $20, but only in some areas.

And get this: When we told the Cablevision rep that we wouldn’t sign up for the company’s VoIP service unless she ditched the fee, she went off to speak to a supervisor and came back happy to waive it.

Well, we have a suggestion for Cablevision. Do away with the fee for all new customers, not just for those who are savvy enough to ask.

Comments

[Mike]

Nice article but I would suggest a little more research. Let me get you started:

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/numbport.html
Companies porting your phone number to a new provider are allowed to charge a fee to recover their number porting costs. Companies may or may not choose to charge a fee, and their fees may vary. If they do charge, the fees cannot exceed their porting costs. Companies that assess the fee generally charge a fixed monthly fee and may do so for up to five years.

Additionally, some companies may choose to pay the old company’s costs of porting for the benefit of their new customers. Ask your new company whether it has a policy of paying or reimbursing these charges.

http://www.teletruth.org/phonebillindependencereport.html
The reason why Verizon states it doesn't charge the other company is because it fronts the porting charge and then charges the customer for the lifetime of their service. So pay the money upfront or pay the money in a nickel-and-dime monthly fee.

http://www.psc.state.md.us/psc/Info/brochures/telcharge.htm
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that customers be allowed to keep their existing telephone numbers if they change their local service provider while staying at the same location. Known as Local Number Portability (LNP), the FCC authorized local telephone service providers to recover their costs of providing LNP through a monthly surcharge.The FCC approved a monthly LNP surcharge of 23¢ per line for all Verizon residential and business customer accounts. The LNP surcharge is higher for certain multi-channel services. This surcharge has been authorized for no more than five years. Additional information about the surcharge is available from the FCC.

Hope this helps.

[PapaJoe]

Dear Mike,

Thanks for the additional info.

It would appear that cable companies other than Cablevision do not charge the allowable fee because its genesis is inexplicable. Even after reading your articles, the only concrete charge I find is the 23 cents per month Local Number Portability charge. All other expenses are subjective.

Verizon is already charging all its customers this surcharge, I think, so its expenses have been paid. Furthermore, the surcharge was authorized for no more than five years over ten years ago. Surely its viability is expired.

Since I still do not understand what's going on even after being told cogently in print, I can imagine how much time it would take a Cablevision customer rep at their local store front to offer a true explanation. Better to lie.

[bon11bon]

lol it's not a lie, it's what we are told to tell the customer. Somewhere along the line a fee is involved. Cablevision is just expressing the right they have to charge. Make sure you make that clear (that you will not pay of the fee ) up front and you have it in writing or at least say it over and over since all the calls are recorded or make sure your account states that and get the rep's i.d. number. So in the event you do get charged you can get a credit.