March 2, 2008
How Vonage makes telcos look like nice guys
Vonage sucks! When you compete with a monopoly, that last thing you should do is treat customers worse than it does. While I feel that the telco’s lawsuits against Vonage are largely unwarranted, I feel little sympathy for them. I’m truly astonished that a company that continues to use such questionable business practices and downright fraud has managed to remain in business. If you’ve been a long time reader, you may have caught my eluding to having trouble ending service with Vonage. It seems that I am not alone, and things have only gotten worse:
It’s been reported again and again that Vonage makes it difficult for customers to cancel their VoIP service once they’ve signed up. However, recent cases are pointing to the fact that people who don’t even sign up for Vonage service are having difficulties with the company. Russell Shaw at ZDNet has been reporting on just such a case this week in which Vonage managed to assign a Packet8 VoIP customer’s phone number to one of Vonage’s new subscribers. This left the Packet8 subscriber without phone service
Vonage apparently told the customer that Packet8 would need to be responsible for taking the number back. Packet8 hasn’t been particularly helpful in the situation given that they have told the customer that he needs to contact the company that got the number in order to get it back from them. The case is now being handled by attorneys. (from Broadband Reports)
As for myself, I canceled Vonage over 2 years ago, and successfully had the number ported, but they continued to bill me. When I called thay told me service was cancelled I should not be being billed, but it continued, in spite of assurances that it would stop. Every month, I successful contested the credit card charge and every month, the charge was made again. I finally resolved the problem by canceling the credit card account. A few months later, Vonage ported the number back to themselves. Again, I called and got the run around, and started using a different number with my current provider. I’ve recently received a letter form Vonage that my account has been suspended and turned over to collections. The saga continues, and that’s my Vonage commercial - 26 months after leaving Vonage, the are still part of my life! Would anyone care to share their experience with Vonage? Please add your comment.
Filed under VoIP by admin
Comments on How Vonage makes telcos look like nice guys »
D. Dog @ 11:47 am
I am a vonage customer and THAT does stink! Which is a shame as Vonage could be the choice for those who hate the Telco’s. But you won’t get that treating customers like dirt.
D. Dog @ 12:02 pm
One other point for our readers. When you close a credit card is it really closed? According to MBNA and Chase not really. If the consumer has permitted automatic withdrawal then those two banks ’suspend’ the account. But ACH and autocharges remain in effect. Such BS. The only defense is that the consumer make sure any automatic withdrawals are turned off. Which itself is a hit or miss affair.
That is why I try to avoid automatic withdrawals.
admin @ 1:21 pm
To be fair, Vonage’s VOIP quality is very good. They should be selling that long and hard instead of playing games.
Dr. Dog @ 6:02 pm
No doubt Sir.
V. Tyner @ 9:03 pm
I just cancelled my Vonage service today about 55 days after I signed up for their service/hell. My trouble started about three weeks after I signed up. The Vonage box started dropping the internet to my router. I called Vonage and they insisted it was my broadband service’s problem. I then had my cable company out (Comcast who provides my high speed service) and they checked everything and no issues. But they gave me a new modem just in case. But my internet continued to get dropped. I took the Vonage box out of the mix and returned my hookup to what it was pre-Vonage which was modem, router and computer… no issues. I called Vonage and they continued to insist it was my internet’s problem. And by the way… I had to wait 30 min to an hour on hold to talk with one of their overseas agents each time I called. That in itself was enough to drive me crazy. Anyways… after about 3 calls and 6-7 hours of holding and troubleshooting with them, they admitted it was their box’s problem. But their idea to rectify it was to send me a new box out within 7-10 days and I had to pay to send them faulty box back. I told them no way. They needed to overnight or 2 day express it to me with a paid return envelope. They refused. I then decided forget it… I’ll go back to my old service. I then called up Comcast to go back to my original VoIP with them. When they showed up two weeks later to reconnect me, Vonage refused to release my number. Said they needed two more weeks because Comcast hadn’t requested the number to be ported correctly. I then had to wait another two weeks for them to release the number… and they finally released it today. Comcast reconnected me today and when I called to cancel with Vonage, I got the run around. The whole ’sorry sir… let us give you a month free and connect you with one of our highly trained techs to resolve your issue’. After I told the rep THREE times I did not want this and all I wanted was to cancel my service and get the original charges refunded to me since I’m within the first 60 day trial period, she then told me I would have to pay a 39.99 de-activation fee. I then told her how if you disconnect in the first 60 days, you didn’t have to pay this. She insisted that I did. I then persuaded her to ask someone in her office and they confirmed I didn’t have to pay it permanently but I would have to pay it until I returned the faulty Vonage box to them. So now I have a 39.99 de-activation charge on my credit card along with the ~$50+ activation fees. She finally said they would refund all the fees to me after they get the box back but I have a feeling that won’t happen. I can’t believe a company like this exists still. My experiences with them have been absolutely horrible. I advise everyone out there… DO NOT SWITCH TO VONAGE!
Vinny @ 8:46 am
DO NOT SIGN UP WITH VONAGE!!!!!
I AM BEYOND PISSES OFF!!! HOW MANY TIMES, AND HOW MANY PEOPLE DO I NEED TO CALL TO CANCEL MY ACCOUNT???? UPON SIGNING UP, I WAS TOLD I WOULD BE RECEIVING A $100 GIFT CARD, WHICH I NEVER DID, AND THAT THERE WOULD BE NO CONTRACT OR CANCELLATION FEES. I WAS LIED TO, NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE!!! AFTER NUMEROUS REPEATED CALLS, I HAVE REACHED THE END OF MY ROPE!! THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME $158 TO DISCONNECT!!! I WILL PURSUE THIS MATTER BY CONTACTING THE TV MEDIA, AS WELL AS MY LAWYER!! IS THIS COMPANY THAT RETARDED???? DO THEY NOT REALIZE THAT WITH SO MUCH BAD PUBLICITY (I SHOULD HAVE READ ALL THESE REVIEWS PRIOR TO SIGNING UP) THAT EVENTUALLY, THIS COMPANY WILL FAIL!!!???? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR, AND LEARN FROM SOMEONE ELSE’S MISTAKES, BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR OWN!!
VONAGE CAN GO TO HELL!!!!!!!!!!