Frequently Asked Questions

Sales

What telecommunications services does Ernest offer?

  • Local and long distance telephone services with a focus on multi-location businesses and payphone service providers. Ernest service features include: billing consolidation, customizable billing formats and exceptional customer service.
  • Currently our company focuses only on multi-location business customers and payphone providers. We are not accepting new residential customers at this time.

Does Ernest have a minimum number of business lines that they will carry per customer and/or location?

  • Every business is unique and our strength lies in our ability to respond to your individual requirements. There may be occasions where we can’t meet your service requirements but where that happens we can probably provide an excellent referral.

What services can Ernest provide other than local and long distance services?

  • We are currently focused on local and long distance services. Ernest is always looking to add new offerings to our product set. If you have something you specifically require in addition to your local and long distance service, please contact our sales department to discuss your needs.

How do I contact the Sales Department for more information or pricing requests?

  • Call Ernest’s toll-free number at 800.456.8353 or contact us directly at 770.242.9069. Ask to speak to member of our sales team.

Customer Service

What is customer care’s direct line and how do I contact them afterhours?

  • The fastest way to get to a Customer Care Representative is to call our main line 800-456-8353 and our receptionist will ensure you get to the correct account manager or account team.
  • Call 800.456.8353 and choose option 1 to get our afterhours call center

What are Customer Care’s office hours?

  • Monday through Friday 9:00AM to 5:30PM Eastern

Do we have Spanish, Korean or Chinese speaking representatives that work at Ernest?

  • We can accommodate Spanish speaking customer needs with some advance notice; unfortunately, we do not have anyone on staff that is able to communicate in Korean or Chinese.

Do I have a contract with Ernest?

  • Ernest does not require contracts and the majority of our customers are not subject to a contract. To confirm, please contact your Account Manager or Billing Analyst.
  • From time to time, we may offer term agreements for business customers; contact our sales department for more information.

How do I move my service to another location?

  • Please call our Customer Care department. A Customer Care Representative will be happy to walk you through the changeover process.

Can I submit a trouble ticket online?

  • This functionality is not yet working on our portal, a notification will be sent to all customers with instructions when this functionality is working.

How/where do I logon to the client portal?

  • Go to www.ernestgroup.com, click on “Client Portal” from either the bottom of our main page or from the left menu on the Support page.

Billing & Collections

Do we have E-bill capabilities?

  • With our new portal, customers have the ability to download their invoice electronically in PDF format.
  • We cannot send your bill to your banking institution to be combined with your online payments through your bank.

What are ECI’s payment terms?

  • ECI’s standard payment terms are NET 15 days.

Do I have a contract with ECI?

  • ECI does not require contracts and the majority of our customers are not subject to a contract. To confirm, please contact your Account Manager or Billing Analyst.
  • From time to time, we may offer term agreements for business customers; contact our sales department for more information for.

What do I need to set up an account?

  • Invoice Number from most recent bill
  • Account Number

How do I change my paper bill to an email bill?

  • You will need to enroll for electronic billing via our client portal and elect electronic billing. This will stop your paper invoices. If you wish to turn your paper invoices back on, use the portal to re-elect paper invoicing.

How do I get my call detail or usage data?

  • Call/usage detail is now available via download from the client portal. You will need to create a new account to access and download your call detail in .csv format.

Can I download an excel version of my invoice from the customer portal?

  • This functionality is still currently in production, we expect it to be available in the fourth Quarter of 2010.

What is your cancellation policy?

  • To cancel a line, lines or features, please send an email to orders@ernestgroup.com with the phone number and account information for the line or features to be cancelled. Cancellations are generally processed and completed within 7 business days of receipt of the order.

What is your refund policy?

  • For refunds to existing accounts with active lines, refunds will be credited to the account on the next billing cycle after the billing changes are completed. The refund will reduce the current monthly invoice. We do not issue separate refund checks for active accounts with current charges.
  • For refunds to closed accounts with no future billings, refund checks will be mailed via US Mail on your corresponding bill cycle, the 10th or 20th of each month after all lines have successfully disconnected.