FairPoint: Debt payment delay not needed

FairPoint Communications has withdrawn its request for a three-month delay on an $11.25 million debt payment, a request that had increased criticism of the company at the same time that complaints continued to mount over FairPoint's faulty transition from Verizon Communications systems in New England.

FairPoint said public regulatory hearings that were set to begin today in New Hampshire regarding the request for a delay are unnecessary because the company now has its bill collection procedures under control--many bills had been delayed since transition problems became known at the end of January.

Upon acquiring former Verizon properties one year ago this month, FairPoint agreed to a debt repayment schedule under which its first payment is due by the end of this month. Regulators in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont continue to hound the company over its transition challenges and with questions regarding its financial stability.

For more:
- The Nashua Telegraph has this story [1]

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FairPoint finally offered customer credits after transition-related outages [2]
FairPoint asked for the debt repayment delay a few weeks ago [3]