My home phone # was 'ported out' without my knowledge

[DDW]

I have just started using Public Mobile. When I filled out the online form, I typed in our cell number to transfer it. There was another box that said 'alternate number' and I thought it was a number to reach us, so I typed in my home phone number. After registering, I dialed the cell from my home phone and it went straight to my home voice mail. Well, I realized 'something' had happened, but had still not figured it out. A few days later and now my home phone does not work. After over two hours with my home phone provider, we realized that the 'alternate' number I typed in for my Public Mobile info. was actually 'porting out' my home phone number! I am not as up-to-date as most folks, so this blew me away. The wording was not clear enough, nor the description of the potential action made clear. All will be fine, if you can change the wording on the forms (to avoid confusing others) and if I can get my home phone sent back to my provider so I can maintain the number I have had for so many years, please. I also cannot find my cell number on my profile page. I should be able to see it there. I did figure out how to get a cell number, and so far, I am happy with the service PM provides. But, I must have my home phone number back. I only use a cell for emergencies, and so many friends, family and emergency contact people have my home phone. PLEASE HELP. Thank you so much!

[lanlin]

Hi everyone,

Glad to report that my issue has finally been resolved after over a month's communication with Public Mobile and Comwave. I got my home phone number back and am much relieved. This has been very stressful but I have to thank the mod team here at PM for their cooperation and helpful suggestions. Thank you Mariy, Abdallah, Abdoulaye, etc. Bravo!

[DDW]

I have sent a third message staing the following:

"Please confirm you have received both of my earlier message responses. I also NEED to know what is occurring to rectify the problem as my situation is quite urgent as stated in my "DDW -medical emergency" message. I MUST know what your intentions are, please."

[Luddite]

@DDW An immediate backup plan if you need to make phone calls is an application like that from fongo.com. It provides free calling across Canada from wherever you are connected to wifi, or on cellular data. It's my fallback option, plus useful when travelling as I can forward my PM number there.

[DDW]

I sent you a detailed reply earlier as well as an additional message. Have you received them?

The second one was titled, " DDW -medical emergency"

[CS_Agent]

Hello @DDW, please reply to the private message I sent you so that we can sort this out.

Thank you 🙂

Aïssata

[Someone_here]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@Someone_here wrote:

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@DDW, as well your home number provider shouldn't have released the number because if it wasn't the number you wanted ported you wouldn't have put in the  account number or any other identifier for them to release the number

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That's true... maybe they used the name as the identifier...?

All in all, I strongly hope it won't be to much of a pain to get everything working again. Hopefully both PM and your provider will be willing to help, in the end it sounds like it's both their fault. 

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Name alone isn't enough to release a phone number.  There are rules in place for number porting. The person requesting the phone number trasnfer must provide infromation to prove that they are the one authorizing the number port.  This would include things such as the account number and address (for a landline), etc.

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Yes, I know, in theory. But sometimes things go wrong, people don't always follow the rules, errors are made, glitches happen... As in these examples with @DDW and @lanlin. 

[DDW]

Thank you for all the feedback. I definitely did not give the info. for any porting. There MUST be some computer glitch. Someone has been in touch with me from PM and I hope we can resolve it. I will let you know. Thanks!!

[stonechucker]

@Dunkman, I do not believe you can leave the alternate number blank - it's there for a reason.  You are required to fill in the previous account number, and the name on the account, click the "I am authorized tick box" and have the alternate number populated.

Always double-check before pressing the 'OK' or other such 'Continue' button.

[Dunkman]

Wow, that is extemely frustrating.  Please let us know the progress of the situation.  I might be porting another line over soon, so I will leave the alternate number blank for now.  Maybe add it on later with self service.  Probably not a common error, but when it happens, it can be a huge hassle.

It seems like an error on both home service and public mobile.  Home service should NOT allow the port if all the necessary information is not provided (ie. home service account number, etc.).  

[lanlin]

Same story happened to me. My home phone number was ported to Public Mobile and my home phone provider thought I cancelled my service with them. They charged my porting fees, early cancellation fees. After many phone calls they reinstalled my home phone service but are not able to port the number (currently on hold with Public Mobile) back. I am put in limbo because in order to port the number back it has to be an "active" number which it is not. The ported home phone number is just putting on hold as I have later on ported my mobile number from another provider to Public successfully. The port out requests from my home phone provider have been rejected several times by Public Moible and I am still struggling to work on that. I really want my home phone number back since it has been with my quite a few years and is associated with my doctors, my business, etc.

Yeh, it sucks!

[stonechucker]

I recall from the time around when I joined Public Mobile, there were some folks having a similar issue.  It turned out to be related to the sequence of data entry.  For whatever reason, the alternate phone number would be copied to the porting number field and if you didn’t notice it before accepting the the completed form, this was the result.

I don’t recall, other than to choose thick box for authorized user first.

[computergeek541]

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@Someone_here wrote:

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@DDW, as well your home number provider shouldn't have released the number because if it wasn't the number you wanted ported you wouldn't have put in the  account number or any other identifier for them to release the number

---

That's true... maybe they used the name as the identifier...?

All in all, I strongly hope it won't be to much of a pain to get everything working again. Hopefully both PM and your provider will be willing to help, in the end it sounds like it's both their fault. 

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Name alone isn't enough to release a phone number.  There are rules in place for number porting. The person requesting the phone number trasnfer must provide infromation to prove that they are the one authorizing the number port.  This would include things such as the account number and address (for a landline), etc.

[computergeek541]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@DDW, as well your home number provider shouldn't have released the number because if it wasn't the number you wanted ported you wouldn't have put in the  account number or any other identifier for them to release the number

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I too, don't know how this happens because you're right. The provider of the alternate number should be outright rejecting the number transfer request because of mismatching account information.  The only way I could feasibly see this happening would be if both phone numbers were on the same account.

I wish someone at Public Mobile could figure out why we keep reading about this.  I think Public Mobile offers great service and prices if you don't encounter prolbems, but I've never heard of a carrier more often than Public Mobile porting the wrong phone number and of other strange system glitches. 

[JL9]

My alternate number is my work number and it actually shows online in my account as such. 

Prob just a snafu that can hopefully be resolved relatively easily for you.

[will13am]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:

The wording is pretty clear, and your understanding of alternate number is correct.  All that is for is a phone number for Public Mobile to contact you should a problem arrise.  That is not the number that is supposed to be ported.

Simply put, Public Mobile does strange things like this sometimes. It's not the frist time I've read about this so I believe this is a software problem in the activation system that sometimes causes this.    The other possibility is that the number were mistakenly typed into the other box by mistake (not saying you did that, just saying that's the other possibility).

The first thing I would do is contact your home phone provider and tell them that your phone number was transfered to another carrier without your consent.  They should be able to reverse the erroneousy number port and restore your home phone service.

After your home phone service is restore, your Public Mobile service might stop working.  You'll then need to contact Moderator_Team (Public Mobile employees) to either port in the correct phone number (if your Public Mobile still works when your number goes back to your home phone provider), or you may have to get a new sim card and start a new account from scratch.  If that becomes necessary, they would have to mark the first billing cycle of your Public Mobile service as already paid.

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@DDW, as well your home number provider shouldn't have released the number because if it wasn't the number you wanted ported you wouldn't have put in the  account number or any other identifier for them to release the number

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+1,000,000!  I was going to say exactly that.  There should be no ambiguity on which number is to be ported.  The associated account number must also be entered.  Any mismatch between number to be ported and associated account number would result in failure to port.  Sorry @DDW, there is definitely human error here. 

With respect to the alternate number, it is just a data field that does not participate in the porting process.  I have seen reports of so many failed ports but I have never heard anyone report that they were called on the alternate number concerning a porting problem.  I see it as a placebo. 

[Someone_here]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

---

---

@DDW, as well your home number provider shouldn't have released the number because if it wasn't the number you wanted ported you wouldn't have put in the  account number or any other identifier for them to release the number

---

That's true... maybe they used the name as the identifier...?

All in all, I strongly hope it won't be to much of a pain to get everything working again. Hopefully both PM and your provider will be willing to help, in the end it sounds like it's both their fault. 

[ShawnC13]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

The wording is pretty clear, and your understanding of alternate number is correct.  All that is for is a phone number for Public Mobile to contact you should a problem arrise.  That is not the number that is supposed to be ported.

Simply put, Public Mobile does strange things like this sometimes. It's not the frist time I've read about this so I believe this is a software problem in the activation system that sometimes causes this.    The other possibility is that the number were mistakenly typed into the other box by mistake (not saying you did that, just saying that's the other possibility).

The first thing I would do is contact your home phone provider and tell them that your phone number was transfered to another carrier without your consent.  They should be able to reverse the erroneousy number port and restore your home phone service.

After your home phone service is restore, your Public Mobile service might stop working.  You'll then need to contact Moderator_Team (Public Mobile employees) to either port in the correct phone number (if your Public Mobile still works when your number goes back to your home phone provider), or you may have to get a new sim card and start a new account from scratch.  If that becomes necessary, they would have to mark the first billing cycle of your Public Mobile service as already paid.

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@DDW, as well your home number provider shouldn't have released the number because if it wasn't the number you wanted ported you wouldn't have put in the  account number or any other identifier for them to release the number

[ShawnC13]

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@DDW wrote:

I have just started using Public Mobile. When I filled out the online form, I typed in our cell number to transfer it. There was another box that said 'alternate number' and I thought it was a number to reach us, so I typed in my home phone number. After registering, I dialed the cell from my home phone and it went straight to my home voice mail. Well, I realized 'something' had happened, but had still not figured it out. A few days later and now my home phone does not work. After over two hours with my home phone provider, we realized that the 'alternate' number I typed in for my Public Mobile info. was actually 'porting out' my home phone number! I am not as up-to-date as most folks, so this blew me away. The wording was not clear enough, nor the description of the potential action made clear. All will be fine, if you can change the wording on the forms (to avoid confusing others) and if I can get my home phone sent back to my provider so I can maintain the number I have had for so many years, please. I also cannot find my cell number on my profile page. I should be able to see it there. I did figure out how to get a cell number, and so far, I am happy with the service PM provides. But, I must have my home phone number back. I only use a cell for emergencies, and so many friends, family and emergency contact people have my home phone. PLEASE HELP. Thank you so much!

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I am sorry to hear this.  The alternate number is for contacting you not porting out.  As well is your home phone number a traditional landline?  Landlines take upto 7 days to port and are never a quick port so not sure how you were able to call the number so quickly after your port started.  Either way you will need a Moderator to assist you.  

To send a private message to a moderator click this link.

In your message please include:

• PM Phone Number
• 4 digit PIN (if you don't remember this then they will need at least 3 of the following to verify your identity)
• account number 
• date of birth
• complete address listed on account with postal code
• email address on account
• most commonly called numbers
• alternate number listed on the account
• last payment date and amount
• last 4 digits of the credit card
• Detailed explanation

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More info on moderators

[computergeek541]

The wording is pretty clear, and your understanding of alternate number is correct.  All that is for is a phone number for Public Mobile to contact you should a problem arrise.  That is not the number that is supposed to be ported.

Simply put, Public Mobile does strange things like this sometimes. It's not the frist time I've read about this so I believe this is a software problem in the activation system that sometimes causes this.    The other possibility is that the number were mistakenly typed into the other box by mistake (not saying you did that, just saying that's the other possibility).

The first thing I would do is contact your home phone provider and tell them that your phone number was transfered to another carrier without your consent.  They should be able to reverse the erroneousy number port and restore your home phone service.

After your home phone service is restore, your Public Mobile service might stop working.  You'll then need to contact Moderator_Team (Public Mobile employees) to either port in the correct phone number (if your Public Mobile still works when your number goes back to your home phone provider), or you may have to get a new sim card and start a new account from scratch.  If that becomes necessary, they would have to mark the first billing cycle of your Public Mobile service as already paid.

[Someone_here]

Hi @DDW,

This sucks, and I would assume as well that "alternate" phone number wouldn't be ported. This is weird ans shouldn't have happened.

You'll definitively need the help of a moderator. Click this link to know how to contact them.

Hope everything gets sorted out soon!

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Out of curiosity, what's happening now when you call your home phone number? Does it rings? If it has been ported out, it should still be ringing and you should be able to answer...? 

I am not sure I understand... You want to have you old cell number on your new PM account, right? But now you have a new number on your PM account, your home phone number is gone and your old cell number is gone as well?