Customer Service Information

Area Codes
Area Codes (in Numerical Order)
Area Codes and US Time Zones
Arkansas Relay Service, Inc.
Arkansas DO-NOT-CALL Service
New Customer Information Brochure
Rates
Billing
Billing Schematic - How to Read Your Bill
Bill Payment Options
Dialing Instructions
Going on Vacation or Absent Due to Illness?
What Happens If I Can't Pay My Bill On Time?
View Your NATCO Bill On-Line
Equal Access
Customer Rights & Responsibilities
Problem Resolution
Directory
International Dialing Codes
Use of Residence Telephones for Business Purposes
Stopping Service
Telephone Fraud
Responsibility for Payment of Long Distance Service
Obscene, Harassing or Threatening Calls
Ownership of Telephone Numbers
Disclosure of Customer Billing Name and Address
Statement of Nondiscrimination

Arkansas Relay Service, Inc.

Arkansas Relay Service (ARS) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the hearing-impaired. There is no extra charge for using ARS. Do not call ARS for emergency help unless you cannot reach 911.

Arkansas “DO-NOT-CALL” Service

You may list your telephone number with the National Do-Not-Call registry to object to and avoid receiving commercial telephone solicitations. There is no charge. Call toll-free 1-888-382-1222, or for TTY access call 1-866-290-4236, or online at www.donotcall.gov.

Rates

Rates for all services are on file with the Arkansas Public Service Commission and
are available to our customers upon request at our business office. The monthly rates for
basic service are as follows. Rates became effective April 1, 2004.

Billing

Dialing Instructions

• Local Calls - Dial the seven-digit telephone number of the person you are trying to reach.
• Calls Between Exchanges - Calls between exchanges are Toll Calls with one exception: Calls between Lead Hill and Diamond City customers are Extended Area Service (EAS) calls.
• Direct Distance Dialing Calls - Within the 870 area code: Dial 1 + 870 + 7 digits Outside the 870 area code: Dial 1 + area code + 7 digits
• Person-to-Person, Collect, or Calling Card Calls - Within the 870 area code: Dial 0 + 870 + 7 digits Outside the 870 area code: Dial 0 + area code + 7 digits
• Directory Assistance - Dial 411
  All NATCO Exchanges (toll charges may apply to calls connected outside your service area.)
• International Direct Distance Dialing Calls - Dial 011 + country code + city code + local telephone - number.
• For Operator Assisted International Dialing - Dial 01 + country code + city code + local telephone number. Calls to Canada, Puerto Rico, and many Caribbean countries are dialed like interstate U.S. calls.
• To Obtain Distant Area Codes - Area codes for cities and states can be found here. Country and city codes for international dialing can be found here.

If you plan to be out of town when the bill is normally received, arrangements should be made with NATCO to avoid being considered delinquent. Several payment options are available during an extended absence.

Going on Vacation or Absent Due to Illness?

If you plan to be out of town when the bill is normally received, arrangements should be made with NATCO to avoid being considered delinquent. Several payment options are available during an extended absence.

What Happens If I Can't Pay My Bill On Time?

Residential customers may designate a consenting third party to receive a copy of the termination notice. If you are unable to pay your bill by the due date, please call a customer service representative. Delayed payment agreements are available both by telephone and in person through the business office. Delayed payment agreements will be based on the customer’s ability to pay, the size of the unpaid account, the customer’s payment history, and the reason that payment is late. Customers qualifying for delayed payment agreements must pay 1/4 of the amount as a down payment and may pay the balance in three, equal, monthly installments. For further information feel free to contact a customer service representative.

If a serious medical condition exists in any permanent resident of a household, a physician’s certificate of medical emergency may be provided to NATCO to postpone suspension or reconnect service which has been suspended. This certificate is valid for 30 days and may be renewed for one additional 30 day period.

When a previously identified customer who is 65 or older or handicapped notifies NATCO that they cannot pay a telephone bill, that customer may:

1. arrange a delayed payment agreement
    
2. name a consenting third party to receive a copy of all shut-off notices
    
3. or contact a federal, state, or local bill payment assistance agency. A customer service representative can provide you with the names of these agencies.

NATCO will make two attempts to contact a previously identified customer who is 65 or older or handicapped before suspending that customer's service.

Normal responsibility for payment of the telephone bill rests with the party having the telephone. If for some reason you have authorized a friend or relative to handle your payment, please notify a customer service representative.

NATCO customers can now view their bill on-line. Contact our Customer Service Center for instructions on how to sign up. In Flippin dial 453-8800, or outside of Flippin dial 1-800-775-6682.

Equal Access

Equal access is a service that allows you to use the long distance company of your choice with ease of (1 +) or (0 +) dialing.

Equal access is available to all Northern Arkansas Telephone Company telephone customers. Not all long distance companies will choose to provide this service to our area. To assure your correct long distance carrier has been properly selected you may call, toll free 1-700-555-4141.

Customers have one free initial choice of a preferred long distance carrier company. After customers have made their choice, there will be a charge for each subsequent change made in long distance carriers.

Please advise a NATCO customer service representative at 453-8800 in Flippin, or (outside of Flippin) 1-800-775-6682 when you change long distance carriers.

Customer Rights & Responsibilities

A NATCO customer service representative is responsible for answering your questions and resolving problems with your service. Northern Arkansas Telephone Company’s number is 453-8800 (in Flippin), or outside of Flippin 1-800-775-6682.

Problem Resolution

If you are not satisfied with the response the company provides, you have the right to file a formal complaint with the Arkansas Public Service Commission. The Arkansas Public Service Commission’s Rules are on display and available in NATCO’s business office Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The PSC can be reached by calling toll free 1-800-482-1164, 1-501-682-1718, or by writing. The address is:

Arkansas Public Service Commission
Consumer Service Office
P.O. Box 400
Little Rock, AR 72203

Directory

Even though every effort is made to compile this directory accurately, errors sometimes occur. The companies assume no liability damage arising from errors or omissions in publishing this directory. (Please report incorrect listings to the Customer Service Department promptly so that we may change our records and do whatever we can to protect your service in the meantime.)

Use of Residence Telephones for Business Purposes

Residence telephones are installed with the understanding that they will be used for normal social or domestic purposes.

A residence telephone will be changed to business service if:

• residence telephone number is used primarily or substantially for business purposes; or
   
• residence telephone is advertised in connection with the sale of products or services; and
   
• the subscriber has no business service elsewhere within our system.
  
  Stopping Service
  
  A customer who wants to stop service must notify NATCO by telephone or in person at the business office at least 5 working days before the requested disconnection date. If the request is mailed, the notice must be mailed 8 days before the requested disconnect date. NATCO will close an account 7 days after service has been suspended by the company.
  
  Telephone Fraud
  
  Charging long distance calls to another person’s number without their permission is illegal and could lead to prosecution or termination of telephone service, or both.
  
  Responsibility for Payment of Long Distance Service
  
  You are responsible for all long distance charges made from your phone. The same is true for collect calls, calls answered by answering machines, and calling card calls. If you dispute the calls are yours or you have lost your calling card, please contact a customer service representative immediately. You may request blocking for collect or third number billed calls.
  
  Obscene, Harassing or Threatening Calls
  
  It is illegal to place harassing calls according to Arkansas Statute 41-2910. Contact your local police or telephone company for help.
  
  According to Statute 41-2910, a person commits the offense of harassing communications with purpose to harass, annoy or alarm another person if he or she:

Offenses involving use of telephones may be prosecuted in the county in which the defendant was located when he or she used a telephone, or in the county in which the telephone made to ring by the defendant was located.

Harassing communications is a class A misdemeanor.

Ownership of Telephone Numbers

The ownership of telephone numbers is vested in the telephone company and it reserves the right to change the telephone number, central office designation, or both whenever it deems necessary in the conduct of its business.

Disclosure of Customer Billing Name and Address

In accordance with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, your billing name and address information will be provided to all requesting interstate service providers in the following two instances:

1. Whenever you use the calling card issued by the company to pay for services obtained from a telecommunications service provider, and
    
2. Whenever you accept a third party or collect call to your home or business telephone number.

Statement of Nondiscrimination

Northern Arkansas Telephone Company is the recipient of Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

The person responsible for coordinating this organization’s nondiscrimination compliance efforts is Deanna Sullivan, Secretary/Treasurer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call toll free (866) 632-9992 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (relay voice users). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.