Fairpoint Landline (no) service (2009, bankruptcy, live)

[GrammieLinda]

At about 9:30 AM on Sunday, June 28, I discovered that we had no phone service on our Fairpoint-connected landline phone. I called repair with great concern since my 94-year-old mother has a Lifeline that, of course, will not function without that connection. At 12 noon, still with no phone service, I called again and was told that we were scheduled for repair sometime on TUESDAY. My memory is that, in the past, former phone providers would have had this repaired in hours. Is my memory faulty? Of course this means that someone doesn't go to work today, Monday, June 29, because my mother would be left totally alone, which is not remotely appropriate. And yesterday, we gave our last-minute regrets to the friend who had scheduled a gathering months before.

What is your memory of phone service? What is your current experience? Am I unreasonable in expecting this to be repaired more quickly?

There's more in my blog if you are interested. I don't know if it is possible to link to it from here.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Wow. You got way up on the list. Sometimes it is a month or more to get service, even if you are already a customer. I would get Gram one of those simple cell phones that you put in a drop-in charger every night. Big buttons and the work with hearing aids.

[trailblazer2]

NMLM is right. Tuesday is quick for them. We have had horrible experience with FairPoint. We have lost service phone/internet/email 4 times in as many months. My recommendation to you is to find a local FairPoint service repair building. I stopped to ours which is a couple of miles down the road and got an actual repairman. They have been wonderful "going to bat" for us. Sometimes the problem is right there at the building and they can fix it without going through all the red tape in the business office. It's not always possible, but it can save you some time.

In the meantime, a simple cell phone would be a good backup in case this happens again.

[7th generation]

They were never "prepared" to take on such a big endeavor and because of the price increase, I switched to Time Warner's phone service.
FairPoint could face bankruptcy by year's end: Rutland Herald Online

[reloop]

Originally Posted by 7th generation

They were never "prepared" to take on such a big endeavor and because of the price increase, I switched to Time Warner's phone service.
FairPoint could face bankruptcy by year's end: Rutland Herald Online

And how many people tried to warn of this? Sorry, it simply "torques" me when people who have endless experience with things are systematically ignored and pooh-poohed when they try to speak up.

Sigh....

[maine4.us]

Called a month before I wanted service restored. Landline was okay. Internet never worked. I got a bill for internet service that had never been restored. I finally lost it when, after calling tech support for over a week and nothing. The last time I called, the tech support guy said he couldn't help me because HIS internet wasn't working.....

Somebody should have known better than to let a PODUNK phone company based in North Carolina, take over the phone service in northern New England. Their tech support is located in Texas.
Their customer reps are in New Hampshire. I finally talked to one who was honest and said, if they could find another job they would. They cited management as being totally clueless as to how to deal with issues.

[GrammieLinda]

Originally Posted by trailblazer2

NMLM is right. Tuesday is quick for them. We have had horrible experience with FairPoint. We have lost service phone/internet/email 4 times in as many months. My recommendation to you is to find a local FairPoint service repair building. I stopped to ours which is a couple of miles down the road and got an actual repairman. They have been wonderful "going to bat" for us. Sometimes the problem is right there at the building and they can fix it without going through all the red tape in the business office. It's not always possible, but it can save you some time.

In the meantime, a simple cell phone would be a good backup in case this happens again.

Thank you all for your replies. Trailblazer, any suggestions on how I might find a repair building? We're already considering a cell phone for mom, but it won't work with her LifeLine. Thing is, she has a difficult time figuring out a cordless phone, can't imagine what she'd do with a cell. We're looking into it, though. I'm also going to call Time Warner as we already have cable & Inet through them. They have told me, however, that the LifeLine doesn't work with the digital phone.

[trailblazer2]

I doubt that the business office will tell you where the closest one is. If someone is at ours when I go by this afternoon, I will stop in and ask. I found your hometown in your profile.

[Maineah]

We dumped our landline at the first of the year and have cell phones now. Yes I know they won't work in an emergency if the power is out but we paid $75.00 a month for a landline and never used it. I have no first hand experience with Fairpoint though a friend of mine has had nothing but trouble with the Fairpoint internet he was forced to switch to.

[JC3]

Originally Posted by GrammieLinda

Thank you all for your replies. Trailblazer, any suggestions on how I might find a repair building? We're already considering a cell phone for mom, but it won't work with her LifeLine. Thing is, she has a difficult time figuring out a cordless phone, can't imagine what she'd do with a cell. We're looking into it, though. I'm also going to call Time Warner as we already have cable & Inet through them. They have told me, however, that the LifeLine doesn't work with the digital phone.

If you see a Fairpoint truck, ask the tech where the central office that services you is and where the repair garage that handles your area is. Go to either or and ask to speak to a supv or a tech working there if no supv is at the location and explain your story. These places may or not be close to where you live and the central offices may not be big enough to be manned all day but instead of calling repair service, you can try doing it ths way.

Then call the public utility commisison and file a complaint. A letter to the president of Fairpoint won't hurt. What you have is what was called a "medical emergency" type of report. Those would and should always have first priority and there never was a wait period for those in the past.