Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Internet Phone

Mitch and Ali Corton liked their little white house in Framingham, but one Sunday as they went around the corner, past the roses and the lilacs, past the house with the problem grass, past the big fence and past the swing set, they spotted the brown house for sale and backed up to get a better look.

"It was sort of a spontaneous move," Ali Corton said.

Move is the word. They said, "We'll take it," and soon after moved in their red couch and a new refrigerator and a new dishwasher and called it home.

"So we moved less than half a mile around the block," Ali said.

They switched their electric, heat and water bill and also decided to switch from a regular phone to a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

"I was very excited that we were going to be moving to the age of technology," Ali said.

They could even keep their old phone number.

"We were told it was very easy to get our new number ported over to the new house, no problem," Mitch Corton said.

Three weeks went by, then six, then nine and then 12. Their phone still did not work.

"I was furious," Mitch said.

Friends and family tried to call, but no calls were connected.

"It would just ring and ring and ring and go nowhere," Mitch said.

The Corton’s phone was silent.

"I was thinking that it was a little crazy," Mitch said.

They emailed and faxed and used their cell phones, asking why the switch was stalled.

"Everyone basically just placed the blame on the other person," Ali said.

Then, Ali called on her husband.

"He’s definitely the calm one, I have the temper and I knew that he would get a lot farther in this process than I ever would," Ali said.

And ‘the calm one’ did have a plan.

"(I) finally called Help Me Hank," Mitch said.

Now you'd think this number switch would turn out to be a newfangled glitch only the techno-savvy could translate.

But we found that it was an old fashioned failure to communicate. The old phone company had only Mitch and Ali's old address; the new phone company only had their new address.

Since they didn't match, the phone number transfer system was flummoxed, and the Cortons were cut-off.

"Once they figured out what was happening on the different accounts I think it moved pretty quickly," Mitch said.

And now the phone is ringing, the sound they missed for months.

If you need to call Mitch and Ali at their new home, now they can answer.

"I’m happy people can call us again," Ali said.

A quick reminder about Internet VoIP phones: their 911 emergency system may not work the way you expect. To be safe, check with your service provider.

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