Since we are considering switching from a dedicated FAX line - do any services allow a customer to bring their own phone number (as you can do when switching cell phone carriers)?
Yes, there are several online fax services that allow you to bring in a pre-existing phone number. This process is called "porting" a number. Most of these services charge a fee to do so, but it usually only costs between $15 and $20. Below are the services we've reviewed that have this capability. <br><br>Free Porting: RingCentral, eFax, eXtremeFax, FaxPipe, and Interfax <br><br> Porting for a Fee: MyFax, MetroFax, Nextiva, SRFax, Faxage, FaxFreedom, jConnect, and UnityFax.
You can add FaxLogic to the list. We can port almost any local or toll-free number for a one-time fee of $15. Note that some Internet Fax providers do not let you port a number away from them, if they originally assigned you the number. To be clear, FaxLogic does not have this policy--any number added to your FaxLogic account, whether ported in or assigned by us, belongs to you and can be ported out if you so choose.
Be careful as many of these services will not allow you to port numbers out once you had them ported in. They may have you sign an LOA (letter of authorization) allowing them to take ownership of your number.
It's true what rozenfeld says, but rarely if you are porting an existing number in--usually just if the provider assigns you a number; in any case, just read the "fine print" first to know for sure. Also, the "LOA" is typically needed any time a number is ported. It does not by itself mean the provider is "taking ownership" of your number; rather, it just gives them the legal right to request the number from the current provider (i.e. the phone company). And to be clear, at FaxLogic, we have always had the policy that the customer owns the number, whether you port it in or we assign it to you. Something else to consider when switching from a dedicated fax line to a service: If you'd still like to continue using your fax machine (i.e. for sending paper documents), FaxLogic offers a service that gives you get the best of both worlds: Internet fax (fax-to-email, email-to-fax, web-fax, online archiving, etc.) while still supporting one-step faxing of paper documents from your existing fax machine or all-in-one. All faxes are captured and stored in your online archive, whether sent or received electronically or from your machine, all at a fraction of the cost of the phone line you have now. Note: Most customers configure their account to route incoming faxes to their email and/or web portal, but you do have the option of having faxes print on your machine if you prefer.
You really must educate people about this deplorable business practice. What kind of company would consider extortion a good business practice? Since MyFax got bought up by J2, I think they changed their "no porting" policy to match that of eFax (at least if it has been their policy all along, I certainly was not aware of it). But that's just the point: people expect numbers to be portable--they have been for years, for cell phone, for land lines, so there is no reason to even think about them not being portable for fax services. And that's eFax's and MyFax's point: bury this little tidbit in the "fine print" where nobody will notice it, assuming that portability is a non-issue, and then if you ever want to move your number, surprise! you can't. Bottom line for anyone considering a fax service: know before you buy--ask any provider you're considering what their policy is on number porting and make them show it to you in writing! I got bit by this and I'm not happy! --TJ
Hi TJ, I'll have our Research Team look into porting again for <a href="http://online-fax.choosewhat.com/internet-fax-service-reviews#MyFax" title="ChooseWhat's MyFax Online Fax Review">Myfax</a> and <a href="http://online-fax.choosewhat.com/internet-fax-service-reviews#eFax" title="ChooseWhat's eFax Online Fax Review">eFax</a>. Our previous research shows that porting charges were as follows: * MyFax: $20 to port in, $20 to port out * eFax: free to port in, free to port out Typically, you can only port out numbers you have ported in. By the way, we also have an entire article dedicated on 'How to Port Your Existing Number to an Online Fax Service' - http://www.choosewhat.com/blog/how-to-port-your-existing-fax-number-to-an-online-fax-service
I had our Research team look into porting again for MyFax and eFax. Here's what they found: * <a href="http://online-fax.choosewhat.com/internet-fax-service-reviews#MyFax" title="ChooseWhat's MyFax Online Fax Review">MyFax</a>: $20 to port in and doesn't allow you to port your numbers out * <a href="http://online-fax.choosewhat.com/internet-fax-service-reviews#eFax" title="ChooseWhat's eFax Online Fax Review">eFax</a>: free to port in and $40 to port out
