Q: Can a consumer sue a VOIP phone service provider for interfering with my ability to receive incoming phone calls?
In May I changed VOIP phone service providers. A few weeks after I made the change, my old provider ported back my number without telling me or anyone else that they'd done it, or why. This provider has admitted that this error was their fault. I had dial tone and caller ID made it appear that calls were coming from my number, but my phone had actually been re-routed to a temporary number. I was unable to receive incoming calls for about 8-10 weeks. During that time I was also unemployed and thus unable to receive calls from recruiters or potential employers. To my knowledge there are no local, State, or Federal departments or agencies that regulate VOIP phone service.
A: Hello. Do you have a copy of the service agreement? You may possibly have a claim for breach of contracts, e.g., you promised to pay for voip service in exchange for their promise to provide service properly and let you keep your number if you changed service; you kept your promise, but they broke theirs. But you should check the service agreement to see if there's anything in there that lets them off the hook. You also should check if there is mandatory arbitration clause in there.
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