said by TKJunkMail :

But preventing them from trying to convince customers not to switch goes too far in my opinion. As long as Verizon doesn't slow down the port process, they should have their 1 chance at convincing a user not to switch. After all, cable does this all the time - trying to keep users from switching their TV & internet service to a telco.

said by yepyup :

Comcast does the same damn thing no matter what service you have with them. Cable TV, internet, phone... if you call them up to cancel your service they offer you all kinds of crap to stay with them. Even six months of internet service at a ridiculously lower price.

said by TKJunkMail :

Verizon went too far by DELAYING the phone number port process and that should be prohibited. But preventing them from trying to convince customers not to switch goes too far in my opinion. As long as Verizon doesn't slow down the port process, they should have their 1 chance at convincing a user not to switch. After all, cable does this all the time - trying to keep users from switching their TV & internet service to a telco.

said by inslyx :

[] Gets the point of this thread.
[] Makes valid points.
[x]Doesn't get it.

said by rizzo2dial :

Precisely. This needs to be spelled out in idiot proof terms. Verizon, AT&T, Embarq, Qwest, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel, Comcast, TimeWarner, COX, Cablevision, etc. all have retention departments that YOU the customer get transferred to when you call to cancel service. Their job is as their name implies: to try and retain you as a customer by offering you unadvertised deals.

The HUGE DIFFERENCE in this case is that a customer signs up with a new provider (i.e. the cable co), where the new provider submits a PHONE NUMBER PORT REQUEST to transfer the customer's phone number from their old provider (i.e. Verizon) to the new provider (i.e. cable co). Once ported, the number no longer belongs to the old provider, which results in the old provider losing yet another customer.

Verizon has been pitching unsolicited retention bids to their about to be gone customers after they've received the PORT OUT REQUEST from the customer's new provider but before they've completed the PORT OUT itself. By delaying the PORT OUT REQUEST and marketing retention offers to the customer, this is the improper (i.e. unlawful IN MY OPINION) behavior on Verizon's part.

To clarify, it's perfectly OK for Verizon to try and "win back" the customer after he/she has left, but to DELAY the PORT OUT PROCESS and market retention offers to the customer is a completely unfair competitive advantage on Verizon's part and now ruled by the FCC as being in violation of NUMBER PORTING rules.

Note: I have no love for either Verizon or the cable co's. They're necessary evils, but that's not germane to this topic.

said by GeekJedi :

From the Article:

"Verizon has argued that upholding the cable companies' complaint would put it at an unfair disadvantage and would deny customers full information about their options."

Since they've only been offering the "save" pricing to potential defectors, it seems to me that it's their own fault that they're at a disadvantage. Price yourself competitively in the first place, and you won't bleed customers.

said by Turbocpe :

What is the issue with a company offering their customer, as they are still technical a customer of theirs, from offering deals?

said by Turbocpe :

The point has been tossed around that there is a difference between the customer contacting the business, and such as this case, the business contacting the customer. However, what about those emails, calls, and mailings that so many current customers receive? I fail to see the issue with the business contacting the customer to make a last chance offer, when businesses call, email or send mailing that basically do the same thing. In those cases, the customer is not contacting the business.

said by rizzo2dial :

Nothing, so long as it's not done in violation of porting rules. If Verizon were to proceed w/ the PORT OUT while simultaneously pitching the "final retention offer" to their customer, different story. Clearly they're not though, as previous articles on this topic state that Verizon simply cancels the PORT OUT requests of customers they manage to retain via this tactic. Operating in this manner is a completely unfair competitive business practice and is also in violation of porting rules.