There have been many people and companies alike who have accused some of the Baby Bells of doing everything they can to stop people from switching to another company. One of the Bells has made a concerted effort (so it seems) to not play by the rules," I was told by another company's employee.

"They are preventing other companies from competing fairly in the region and they are doing everything they can to stop their customers from using the competition," said an employee from another phone company.

It was explained to me this way, "They are prolonging transfers of accounts indefinitely. There are disruptions in phone lines. People have been without service altogether. And they blame it on the new competition; the company you have decided to choose instead of your company. They want you to believe it's the other company's fault so you will think, 'Wow, this sucks! I better go back to my old company.' "

This has to stop. Anyone who has had or is having a problem should consider telling these companies that you will take them to court, tell the F.C.C. report them to the Better Business Bureau, and even tell your congressperson that you want something done. If more and more people take a stand against unfair and anti-competitive actions from large corporations such as the Baby Bells (RBOC's), there would be far less problems.