Winback- Article no. 1105
Introduction
- Astound phone customers requesting to port their number to another landline or cell phone carrier must place an order with the company they want service with
- When our company receives the order, the Port Out team enters a work order in ICOMS to let us know the customer is porting out to another company
- Do NOT cancel these Work Orders or disconnect the phone line! The number must be active (not disconnected) to port to another provider
How to identify a Port out (Winback) Work Order
- Work order is entered as an Internal Order / Downgrade
- Work Order comments provide this information: name of phone company, customer's phone number, due date and PON number
- Example: AT&T 570-222-1234
DD 10/25 PON: ABC12345678
- Note: we do not require a PIN for a customer to port out to another company
- Winbacks / Port Outs are handled by CSD_Port_Outs@astound.com
- Related article: Porting Phone Number Issues
Winback Definition
An existing telephone customer wants to take their active phone number with us to another phone company
- Customer must call the other phone company to place the request
- Their phone line must be active to port their line to another company
- Do not disconnect phone number or enter a disconnect work order for a later date
- Agents cannot make this request for a customer
- We receive the request from the other phone company after customer places their order
Winback Process
- Customer lets us know they are porting their number to another company
- At this time, the new carrier sends us a Local Service Request (LSR) to release the phone number so it can be ported to the new company
- The new carrier provides us with the date they intend to take over the services for the phone number, in accordance with Winback Business rules
- Our Port-Out team reviews the LSR. If the information is correct*, They initiate a Service Change or Disconnect work order
- The work order is scheduled for one day after the requested release date to avoid loss of dial tone
- Work order comments state: CLEC name WB and phone number; due date (dd) and PON number
- Notes are entered by one of these Port Out Team members:
- Donna Peters - Manager
- Sheryl Pavlacka - Lead
- Irv Brandon
- Jackie Christine
- Timothy Garnes
- *If the LSR information is not correct, it is referred back to the new company and will not be processed until corrected
Do Not Enter a Phone Disconnect on a Winback
- Make every attempt to retain the customer to our service
- Never enter a disconnect work order for WinBack
- Customer lose dial tone and lose their phone number if we disconnect the number before the Winback takes place
- Advise the customer not to return any phone equipment until the Winback is completed
- Returning equipment prior to the change may result in a disconnected number and a rejected Winback order
- We must receive a correct LSR from the new company
- If phone equipment is removed from the account, a Service Now Ticket will need to be submitted to place a facilities phone code onto the account
- If the customer reconsiders and wants to stay with us: they must call the other company to cancel the order, we cannot cancel the order
- The company must send us a cancellation request
Order Rejected - Freeze on Line
Winback Order Rejection Reasons
- Missing account number - the new provider did not include the active customer account number (full account number on bill)
- Mismatch zip code - must match the live service address
- LEC freeze - Local freeze must be removed from the phone number before the order can be processed
- Pending work order - If the number is pending a customer requested disconnect or pending any customer requested change
- Orders can also be delayed when placed by a third party
- If there is missing or incorrect information, the third party vendor rejects the order before it reaches us
- The customer must call the vendor or phone company they placed the order with
- If there are no notes in BOLT that say WINBACK, we haven't yet received the order
- If a new customer has already moved into the address and a reconnect cannot be processed:
- Send an email to CSD_Port_Outs@astound.com team
- Type in Subject Line: Reco for Port Out Purpose Only
- Include in body the account number and telephone number(s) that were not ported
Customer Claims We are Not Releasing Their Phone Number
- If there are no recent notes in Bolt, we did not receive a request from the new provider
- The order may have been rejected; See Winback Order Rejection Reasons
- The customer must call the new provider determining the Winback date
- When the new provider re-issues a corrected request, we can confirm the request to port the number
- If there are notes in Bolt and a Winback disconnect is in place, advise the customer of the date
- The requested due date is decided by the new provider; not the Port Out Team
- If the customer insists that this error is caused by our company, advise the customer to have the new carrier send the LSR request
Timeframe to Release Number to New Provider
All phone providers are aware that if they submit an error free LSR request to our company on a normal business day before 1 PM (EST), they can usually have their request confirmed for the next day
- See Bolt comments for the confirmation date entered by the Port Out Team
Customer Claims the New Company is Servicing their Phone Number Now
Verify LSOA to find out what company now services the telephone number
- If we are still servicing the number:
- Inform the customer the new provider may have completed the physical install, but the Porting process is not complete
Article ID: 366
Created: February 19, 2024
Last Updated: February 19, 2024
Author: shekhar-retail@teamhgs.com [shekhar-retail@teamhgs.com]
Online URL: https://agentx-astound-kb-qa.hgsdigital.com/article.php?id=366