potential porting hiccups from QWest

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pkeegan
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Joined:Sat May 02, 2009 8:20 am
Re: potential porting hiccups from QWest

Post by pkeegan » Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:39 pm

I called Qwest 2 months ago to do the change. I dropped the phone line along with the phone package deal that reduced my DSL monthly charge.

I didn't ask whether my 2 year commitment date would be changed. Only the rate of $40.00 per month was referenced when I talked to Qwest about the dry loop of the DSL service. They knock of $10/month of their regular rate when you have a 2 year commitment.
I was informed of a new account number for my DSL service at that time.

If you broke the two-year commitment then they should have charged you ~$200.00 for equipment charges as per the contract.

Have you gotten a bill from Qwest after your change? I received a bill with a credit for the phone line cancellation after the change. Today was my first bill with only DSL (although they did charge me ~$1.50 for phone taxes). On the bill it listed the date at which time my 2 year commitment would be honored. It was the same as when I originally applied to Qwest for DSL.

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scottlindner
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Joined:Sun May 17, 2009 4:47 am
Location:Colorado Springs, CO

Re: potential porting hiccups from QWest

Post by scottlindner » Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:55 pm

My port went through yesterday, and the DSL account switch won't happen until Tuesday. So I am still going through the process.

I am not concerned about the cancellation fee for my two year contract. I verified with them four times that it is clearly stated in the notes that I will not be charged. So even if I am, I can easily call back and have them reference the notes to see that any early termination charge should be removed.

The only thing I am not guaranteed at this point is to continue my Price For Life deal with the new account. According to what they told me that is not offered anymore so there is no way for me to get it on my new account. They emphasized how my monthly rate for the first year will be lower than it is now, but it will go up above my Price For Life Guarantee (even after $10/mo adjustment for not having phone service) after the first twelve months is over. I believe this will be the only thing I will have to contend with once the switch happens on Tuesday.

Scott

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scottlindner
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Joined:Sun May 17, 2009 4:47 am
Location:Colorado Springs, CO

Re: potential porting hiccups from QWest

Post by scottlindner » Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:50 am

My DSL cut over just happened. The QWest tech called me confused. He wanted to understand why he had two work orders for the same address and date for DSL service. I explained the situation. He said, "Oh.. so I don't even need to come out to your address?" We talked more to make sure he understood what was going on, he got it, and made the changes.

I monitored it all while at work. I was pinging one of my domain names, and was hitting a website I host. I was assigned a new IP and my ddclient script is on a 10 minute cycle. Service was down for 6 minutes total before everything was back up and running again. All automatically so I didn't need to call my wife's cell to explain to her how to get things working again. I immediately called my wife on Ooma and it worked just fine. Less than 60 seconds after service was restored.

I was impressed with how quickly it happened. Now I fear the billing issues that might happen.

Cheers,
Scott

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scottlindner
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Location:Colorado Springs, CO

Re: potential porting hiccups from QWest

Post by scottlindner » Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:43 am

I have another update to share that will be important to others in a similar situation with DSL coupled with the number they are looking to port to Ooma.

My Internet connection has been dropping out several times a day since the port. Only for a brief moment. According to my router's log files it is due to LCP errors, which is used as part of PPP to maintain the connection. I called QWest tech support today and they informed me it is due to my PPP username and password being invalid and that I will completely loose service very soon if I do not use the correct username and password. This confirms what i suspected that I would need new PPP authentication with the new DSL account. I had inquired about this in the past but the folks I spoke to at QWest did not know what I was talking about. I suspect you need to wait until the service exists and then you need to call tech support to get the username and password.

One other neat thing happened.

Old DSL account:
Image

New DSL account before using correct PPP credentials:
Image

New DSL account with correct PPP credentials:
Image

I confirmed with customer service I am only paying for 8Mbps service. I hope it stays like this!

Cheers,
Scott

niknak
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Joined:Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:53 pm
Location:Staten Island, NY

Re: potential porting hiccups from QWest

Post by niknak » Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:34 am

...I confirmed with customer service I am only paying for 8Mbps service. I hope it stays like this!
Depending on your distance from the CO you can get better than advertised speeds with DSL! Awesome numbers

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scottlindner
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Joined:Sun May 17, 2009 4:47 am
Location:Colorado Springs, CO

Re: potential porting hiccups from QWest

Post by scottlindner » Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:58 am

niknak wrote:
...I confirmed with customer service I am only paying for 8Mbps service. I hope it stays like this!
Depending on your distance from the CO you can get better than advertised speeds with DSL! Awesome numbers
Yah, I know, but these changes are based strictly on the account change. I have been using DSL with QWest at this residence using the same hard lines and DSL modem for over a year. The only thing that changed is the DSL account. What shocked me is the temporary PPP account has a higher throughput than my previous account, and the new account has the max possible for DSL at 20+Mbps but my account is only for 8Mbps. I am wondering if this will change in a couple of weeks as things get sorted out with the new account.

The important thing to note for everyone porting with DSL is to ensure you request the new PPP username and password to avoid an outtage.

Cheers,
Scott

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