Corporate dispute leaves customers in limbo

NetTalk’s phone service was cut off by its Canadian carrier, which says it is owed about $2 million by the U.S. company

About 75,000 Canadian NetTalk subscribers’ phone numbers were in limbo Wednesday because of a billing dispute between the American telephone company and its Canadian carrier.

NetTalk Inc., headquartered in Miami Gardens, Fla., notified its voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) customers on Sunday that their service had been cut off by Markham-based Iristel Inc. because of a contractual disagreement.

Iristel says NetTalk owes it nearly $2 million, a claim that NetTalk’s CEO denies.

NetTalk’s DUO box plugs into a computer or wireless router. It allows users to make and receive calls in the U.S. and Canada using their home phone for a $60 yearly fee.

Les Smith was one of the thousands of Canadians caught up in the corporate billing war. The 62-year-old retired oil worker, who lives on Dufferin St. near Rogers Rd., noticed a service disruption last Friday. He still couldn’t receive calls on Wednesday but could dial out.

“Quite frankly, now I’m a little ticked off,” said Smith, who switched his landline number over to Net- Talk’s VoIP home phone service three years ago. “I’ve still got one year’s service to go and I don’t have a phone.”

Jeff Tomlinson, a data analyst in Aurora, also lost his number. The 33-year-old persuaded his brotherin-law to move his existing number to NetTalk in 2013. Tomlinson’s parents did the same last year.

Now, in the eyes of his family, “I’m looking like a bad guy at this point,” he said.

NetTalk provided him with a temporary 905 number, but it’s not very useful to him because he would have to update all his contacts, he said.

“It’s definitely frustrating. It’s like when people go on strike — like when teachers go on strike and the students are caught in the middle.”

Takis Kyriakides, CEO of NetTalk, said Iristel is punishing his company “for no reason.”

In a brief phone interview, he also denied that NetTalk owes its carrier $2 million.

In a Facebook message on Monday, NetTalk said it believes “this tactic by Iristel and its affiliates is in violation of the contract, is unprofessional and, most importantly, leaves innocent customers like you in the crossfire.”

In its own press releases, Iristel accused NetTalk of not paying up for almost two years.

Iristel president Samer Bishay said he gave NetTalk notice before cutting off service.

“Of course they put the blame on us, but we’re not holding anything hos- tage,” he said.

Iristel is working with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to find a solution, and NetTalk customers can expect to get their numbers back “in the next 24 to 48 hours,” he told the Star in an interview.

The CRTC doesn’t usually get involved in contractual squabbles, said Patricia Valladao, a spokeswoman for the federal broadcasting and telecoms regulator.

But in this case they appear to have made something of an exception.

“We have reached out to the relevant parties in order to facilitate discussion so they may be able to limit the disruption that has impacted Canadian consumers in the past few days,” she said.