When people switch from one phone provider to another, even for landline service, they’re supposed to be able to port their phone number from their old phone company to their new one. That didn’t happen for one new Comcast customer, who lost her phone number of 15 years when she switched from AT&T.

To transfer service over from the former carrier, you need to set up the new service first, then cancel the old service and have the number ported. Comcast says that this is her fault, since she canceled her AT&T service before moving to Kabletown. The customer says that this isn’t the case: she didn’t cancel her AT&T service beforehand.

Whatever the sequence of events, Comcast wanted $100 to get her old number back and port it so she can keep it. “She was very lucky that AT&T didn’t assign it to someone else,” an expert from the Utility Reform Network told CBS Sacramento. Fortunately, the involvement of a TV station miraculously encouraged Comcast to get the customer her old number back for free.

She isn’t pleased that she is missing phone calls, including news about the death of a family member.

The lesson here: make sure to establish new service and port your old number before canceling with your old phone company.

Call Kurtis: Why I Can’t I Keep My Phone Number? [CBS Sacramento]

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