YOUR COMMENTS

To Thomas in Manchester and Allan in Rochester: I have to say if you want to attack Fairpoint as a company or the PUC that is fine but when you start going after the working employees of the company I get a little angry.

If either of you had a brain you would realize that most of the employees of Fairpoint are the same people that were there when it was Verizon. Most of the union employees did not want this sale to go through and they were very vocal about it. They wrote letters, they appeared in front of the PUC, They knew from the beginning that there would be problems. They are now the ones that are working hard to correct what they can.

My husband works for Fairpoint and he is out there face to face with people and on more then one occasion he has had to deal with a very angry customer, he has worked with the customer one on one to try and get the issue fixed. Yes sometimes Thomas this may mean calling in on his cell phone to talk with some one. He also will be on his cell phone talking to a truck down the street because as he says they need to send tone to find out where the break in the line is. So until you know who is talking to and about what you have no right to make the accusations that you made.

So yes go after the PUC for letting this sale go through go after Fairpoint as a company for not having the capability to run the company and you can even go after Verizon for some of the slimy things they did when they sold to Fairpoint BUT DO NOT GO AFTER THE GUYS OUT THERE WORKING TO TRY AND FIX THINGS FOR YOU!
To Thomas in Manchester and Allan in Rochester: I have to say if you want to attack Fairpoint as a company or the PUC that is fine but when you start going after the working employees of the company I get a little angry.

If either of you had a brain you would realize that most of the employees of Fairpoint are the same people that were there when it was Verizon. Most of the union employees did not want this sale to go through and they were very vocal about it. They wrote letters they appreaded in front of the PUC. They knew from the beginning that there would be problems. They are now the ones that are working hard to correct what they can.

My husband works for Fairpoint and he is out there face to face with people and on more then one occasion he has had to deal with a very angry customer, he has work with the customer one on one to try and get the issue fixed. Yes sometimes Thomas this may mean calling in on his cell phone to talk with some one. He also will be on his cell phone talking to a truck down the street because as he says they need to send tone to find out where the break is.

So yes go after the PUC for letting this sale go through go after Fairpoint as a company for not having the capibility to run the company and you can even go after Verizon for some of the slimmy things they did when they sold to Fairpoint BUT DO NOT GO AFTER THE GUYS OUT THERE WORKING TO TRY AND FIX THINGS FOR YOU!
- Amanda, Merrimack

As far as what is needed, it's really time. There are the right number of resources and committed people doing the work and now a management team that cares (rather than before). Just relax.
- Jeremy Hitchcock, Manchester, NH

Their billing practices.
I'm not sure are legal, for Verizon didn't bill this way. I have 5 cents a minute long distance. If I don't make enough long distance calls I have to pay the difference between $9.99 and what I use. Some months they are 2 months behind on billing my long distance calls. So I'm billed extra for not making long dist. calls. I have to then call them for a credit. Thinking of changing to Time/Warner phone service.
- Burt Williams, Effingham, NH

And to think we gave Verizon $600 million to sell to a small company (FP). The SEC, The Dept of Justice and the IRS should investigate Verizon. They had to know this would happen but they lied through their teeth
- Steve, Bedford

I wonder how much the cable companies had a sway on the PUC to approve this mess. They are maknig a killing on all the new phone customers they are getting.
- Mike, Manchester

I'm striving for brevity, but I've got a few things to say.
I work as a repair/service technician for the company and look customers in the face every day. Despite what some may think about the role of the union in Fairpoint's workforce, I work with many capable, caring, dedicated people. (To Thomas in Manchester, don't know your tech, but I'm the skinny, fit tech doing whatever I can to fix some difficult issues, even if it means spending hours on the cell phone with my offices. Furthermore, there are a number of smaller telephone companies (BayRing, Granite State, OneComm, the cable companies, Vonage etc) doing business all around the state, so Fairpoint is hardly a monopoly.) The electrical union members were firmly against the sale, and it is a tough row to hoe now, dealing with many of the very issues that we warned against if the sale went through.
If it isn't plain by now, by far the biggest issue is the new software/data system that the company is using. It is plain that much of the automation that the legacy Bell systems had is gone, or has yet to be implemented into the new software. Many orders, trouble reports, account changes and other functions have to be hand-assembled, and the employees doing that work are often thrust into new roles and have to learn procedures on the fly. The unfortunate consequence of the inadequate system is the holds and delays that our customers are experiencing. I take pains every shift to make sure that the promises that I make to customers get attention and I try to babysit orders that I have to pass to other departments. My crew and I deal with issues and problems way beyond our job descriptions. I am grimly anticipating improvements, just like the ratepayers.
- Dan, Dover

Kel, Maine :: wrote .. "Verizon wasn't kicked out. Verizon was LEAVING New England" .. that is news to all the Verizon customers in Mass, and RI and where ever.. Verizon dumped NH/Maine/Vermont because the PUC's in these states let them. To make matters worse, Verizon created FP to cash out. If a reputable company such as Frontier Comm. was the take over company, then at least NH would be in the same shape it was before FP. Someone should be going to prison for the mess this sale has created.
- tommy, manchester,nh

Verizon wasn't kicked out. Verizon was LEAVING New England. FairPoint was the only company that would even attempt to manage their network once they left. With that said, I had problems with their billing system as well. My biggest issue was they wanted to blame me when the issue only cropped up when the switchover took place. Since the initial mess, I haven't had any problems. Killing FairPoint now may actually be the same as shooting ourselves in the foot.
- Kel, Maine

We are switching over to comcast for our phone service tomorrow..can't wait..No more Fairpoint..
- kbarber, bedford

Verizon will buy it back on the cheap and all will be back to normal
- Frank, Manchester

I was happy enough with Verizon (just as I was quite happy with NYNEX and New England Telephone before that). Fairpoint has been so-so as of now. I've had a few issues with my internet/e-mail, but nothing major. I just hate the fact that some invisible force gets to decide who will provide my service. We were supposed to enjoy the benefits of increased competition when all this buying and selling began, but I think our options are extremely limited. I like the sound of Vonage, but you need internet service. I do have internet service, but it's through FairPoint, at a bundled rate. If I switch to another provider for that, the cost is a lot higher, so I really don't have much choice.
- Molly W, Manchester

I've decided to drop Fair Point after my bill went up this month by $14 and without notice. Called to see if I missed notification and found I hadn't.

Person with whom I spoke was rather abrupt, indignant that I wasn't happy to pay more for less.

No alternative for residential DSL when cable is not available. Feel like the PUC, which does not regulate broadband, allowed Fair Point a monopoly in residential DSL. Wireless communications is in my future.
- Mike, Amherst

Running out of time? I'm surprised they haven't run out of customers!
- Catherine, Manchester

There were many posts in the Union Leader and many other venues from dissatisfied Fairpoint customers well before the PUC allowed the sale of Verizon’s Landlines to Fairpoint. Virtually everyone knew just how horrible Faipoint’s service really was and how they would be financially unable to handle what they looking to get themselves into when they asked the PUC for permission to allow the purchase of Verizon's landlines to go through. So it should be no surprise to witness the results now? Verizon made out like bandits in that for years they enjoyed property tax exemptions and other incentives from Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont. They also promised high tech services that we would undoubtedly already have now had the PUC not allowed that sale to go through. Yet now we expect the same PUC that brought us this colossal mess to now make things right? This whole headache is the PUC’s own making! I find it hard to believe that they didn’t know how things were going to turn out from the beginning. I strongly suspect that certain palms were greased to push the deal through and now we are getting the short end of the stick.
- Rob, Manchester

Hey all you Fairpoint haters, are you emailing from the union offices or do you do it from home. Keep the government out, fire all of the disgruntled union or ex-union rifraf and hire some of the people who really want to work, anyone can do this work. This is blatant sabotage by the unions.
- Allan, Rochester

Their time should have run out the moment they couldn't even get email (gmail/yahoo/hotmail) to work when they first opened up. Absolutely pathetic company!
- Ryan, Plymouth

Every day I see Fairpoint Employees doing NOTHING. They stand around, yaking. Ha Ha Ha, they laugh. Well? How about we taxpaying citizens of NH, are we laughing? Oh Nooo.. we got shafted by the PUC. And, I for one, want an explanation. How the xxxx did this happen? Who is responsible for allowing a creation, FP was never a land line company until Verizon made it one, get the MONOPOLY of telephone service for NH? Has FP cut expenses? If yes, I haven't seen it. The big fat guy standing next to his big fat truck outside my house is doing nothing, he hasn't done a thing since 9am. He has made a few phone calls on his cell phone, that is it. NH deserves a telco company that is not stuck in the past, a NEW company that is run efficiently, not one with a fat guy talking on his cell phone for hours at a time!
- Thomas, Manchester, NH

I was just as worried as everybody else when Fair Point came to town. But I have had nothing but great service so far. My bill was incorrect the first month but since then, no problems. They even had to come to the house to fix a phone line on the pole. While there, they also looked at the lines in my house and brought them up to code - at no charge. Very courteous and polite. I think people might be looking for the nearest bandwagon to jump on.
- Julie, Manchester

Go to a cellphone! House phones in NH are not worth it! OR go with Comcast. Fairpoint is no good!!! Costumers have to wait more than an hour sometimes for a human to get on the phone!! If I did my job as well as they do theirs I would be out of work! SOOOO glad I have not had a landline in 3 years!
- Lisa, Manchester

Quit fooling around. Dump them, get Verizon back, get FIoS to businesses so we can compete.
- Mike R., Bedford

Another reason I'm glad I don't have a wired land line in my home anymore. Having just a cell phone allows me the ability to select which company I want to use. Plus not having a house phone saves me a bit of money.
- TMAN, Manchester

Who's responsible for cutting the deal with Fairpoint and letting Verizon go? Feeling kinda dumb now huh? Imagine all the people out of work right now and you still have a job! What a shame no one is ever held accountable, instead they will probably promote you! Just business as usual, hey maybe it's not too late to bring back Adelphia cable!!
- John James, Merrimack

The PUC is useless. What did they do to the electric companies that took too long to get help in the ice storm. We froze, worse than billing mistakes. But this gets more press.
- Jack, Hudson

FairPoint admits they screwed up, they're getting better (see stats in other media), they have more to do. What about that do you critics not understand? I guess your new computer systems work great right away.
- Amanda, Hooksett

The finger pointing should be towards the PUC and any Legislators that pushed the sale. They were warned over a year in advance, that these problems would occur. Now who has to take responsibility?
- Tony Fernandez, Warren

For those with broadband internet, Fairpoint is NOT the only game in town. Most cable companies have a phone offering and Vonage (and similar firms) work just fine.
- Bill, Moultonborough

If I remember correctly, wasn't it the PUC who OK'd the Fairpoint purchase of Verizon's landlines? The answer , of course is yes. Why would the so-called "Consumer Advocate (love the caps)" expect that the PUC could do anything to fix the problems? They never did their due diligence before the purchase. All the PUC did was drag out their big old rubber stamp that says "DONE DEAL.....without vetting all the weakness of Fairpoint.
- gr chase, Exeter

My Fairpoint bill recently shows my DSL service is a "new customer rate" and will jump $5 a month next week. I called Fairpoint and told them this was a bundled rate I had with Verizon years before they purchased the franchise. Lady didn't care and was fairly dismissive of me. So I sent a letter to the new CEO and of course got no acknowledgment at all. Only a matter of time before I switch to alternate means of computer access. A lot of us told the PUC this would happen but the high priced lobbyist Fairpoint hired, well connected in Concord, drowned out our counsel which in light of post-purchase events has proved to be right. A another "diss" on the people, another unfortunate win for power and access. Fire the whole PUC and get some people in there who give a damn about the average citizen in New Hampshire.
- John Linville, Wolfeboro

Way to go unfair point. Also your ads stinks. Cut down wait time. How about fixing the problems.PUC shut down unfair point now.If I was the governor I would.
- MO bAXTER, PLYMOUTH