We’re all told that the number porting process is highly regulated and that there are time frames for each step of the process. It should all be very predictable and well-defined. But that is often not the case. The reality is sometimes it goes smoothly and other times it goes completely sideways.
With that being said, you have control over some the common mistakes that are made right out of the gate.
Avoid making these 3 porting mistakes to port like a boss:
1. Authorized name only – No company names
Having the correct authorized name on the port order the first time you submit helps prevent certain rejections due to inaccurate names on the account and can significantly reduce the time it takes to get an order on the Flowroute network.
What do we mean by authorized? When submitting a port order, the authorized name needs to be the FIRST and LAST name of ONLY one individual. In our experience, from working with other carriers, company names and/or multiple names are not considered acceptable authorized names and will lead to your port order getting rejected.
If you don’t know what the authorized name is for your phone numbers, your best bet is to reach out to your current provider to confirm before submitting your new port order.
2. Address – No PO Boxes
Placing the correct address on the port order saves time by making sure the first submission is as accurate as possible. Rejections for Address Mismatch can cause up to a five business day delay.
The address that needs to be submitted on the order is the service address on file with the numbers on the port order. This may or may not be similar to the billing address. Often it is best to reach out to the current service provider to verify the service address.
Sometimes the list of numbers provided will have multiple service addresses. This is indicative of multiple accounts and/or sub-accounts for this port order, and it is best to split the order into multiple orders that each contains one service address.
3. Mo’ accounts, mo’ problems…sometimes
Often customers will place a list of numbers on an order that reside on multiple accounts or sub-accounts with their current service provider. When this happens, carriers will immediately reject the order, which is commonly known as Port TN Mismatch.
Port TN Mismatch causes the most delays as it requires our customers to find out which set of numbers belong to each account, gather the documentation proving this, and then splitting the order by account. The orders will then be sent per account and often result in resubmission fees.
It is extremely helpful to submit one port order per account or sub-account. Unfortunately, Flowroute does not have insight into which numbers are on an account because we cannot obtain authorization from the losing service provider to act on behalf of the Flowroute customer with this information.
Help us, help you
Porting your numbers away from your carrier doesn’t have to be a painful experience. Taking a few simple steps to ensure you are submitting accurate information will greatly decrease the chances of your port being rejected.
SEE ALSO: Why is my port taking so long?
