Unethical VOIP Practices by Vonage

BuffaloJack

[BuffaloJack]

In late October I switched my VOIP phone service from Vonage to Verizon's Voice Wing. The reason was a few features not offered by Vonage and the price was the same as with Vonage. It took over a month and several phone calls to Vonage customer service before they would release my phone number to Verizon. They then put a block on my phone number, without telling me, so that my phone cannot be accessed by any Vonage customer. It took me several weeks and help from friends with Vonage service to figure out what Vonage had done. I called Verizon to ask for help with this Vonage block, but they said that I would have to take it up with Vonage. When I called Vonage they wouldn't actually admit to the block but said that I can have all my services restored to original if I switch back to Vonage. Has anyone else had this experience? I spoke to the FCC, but they said they only deal with traditional landline phone service.

[Rick.Donaldson]

I have several friends that have used Vonage, but I’ve never heard of these issues before.

[goodnesswins]

bump for later

[msg-84]

I have several friends that have used Vonage, but I’ve never heard of these issues before.

But did they ever switch from Vonage to a VOIP competitor?

Everybody I have that I know who has tried Vonage, eventually went back to a landline phone. I have never know somebody to go with a different VOIP provider though.

[Cagey]

I have been using Vonage for six months now and the only difficulty I had was in the beginning because they were using customer service agents based in India and communicating was difficult, to say the least. I then asked for the next level of service and was routed to their New Jersey headquarters and since then all has been fine.

However, I am still concerned about their financial stability as they have lost a major lawsuit to Verizon. I would consider switching to my cable provider but the most lines I can get with them is two and I need three lines because I have a dedicated fax number.

Try asking for second tier support so you can get connected directly with their corporate customer service group.

[steve86]

Packet-8 was near perfect for us. Had to cancel after three years for reasons having nothing to do with service or satisfaction.

[ASOC]

HAve you considered that due to technical issues (poor programming) that they cannot actually ‘give’ your number back to you, but can only block it within thier system?

When dealing with telephone companies (I used to work for one) keep in mind these famous quotes:

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity

You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity (HT to RAH)

Since you are no longer a customer, don’t expect much.

[GovernmentIsTheProblem]

I use Broadvoice and the service is great.

$30 a month (business line) for unlimited calls in north america.

The consumer service is $20 and includes western Europe!

[cerberus]

I've had Vonage for around 3 years now and I am very pleased with it.

Much less trouble in fact than my previous landline phone which required frequent service calls due to exterior line problems.

[blasater1960]

I have been using them for years and have been happy with it. I doubt that is their policy, the PR would obviously not be good.

[Rick.Donaldson]

No, honestly I don’t know anyone that has had them and switched. All I’ve ever heard was “good things” about them.

I don’t use voip myself, for several reasons. I can’t even get decent DSL on my land lines, so having VOIP isn’t going to be good.

I used Sprint Broadband at home, which is a wireless connection going up to a mountain here. It’s very fast, but recently they have become “broken” and there are long dropouts so I can’t even game without mass frustration.

I can read and send emails and look at web pages without much problem, but nothing else including voip will work right now.

I’m considering firing them and getting a cable (for internet only) provider. (I use Direct TV and am not going to switch from them).

[Old Professer]

What about those trying to call him? Would it help if they called Vonage to complain?

After all, unlimited service should include all valid phone numbers.

[Rick.Donaldson]

No, honestly I don’t know anyone that has had them and switched. All I’ve ever heard was “good things” about them.

I don’t use voip myself, for several reasons. I can’t even get decent DSL on my land lines, so having VOIP isn’t going to be good.

I used Sprint Broadband at home, which is a wireless connection going up to a mountain here. It’s very fast, but recently they have become “broken” and there are long dropouts so I can’t even game without mass frustration.

I can read and send emails and look at web pages without much problem, but nothing else including voip will work right now.

I’m considering firing them and getting a cable (for internet only) provider. (I use Direct TV and am not going to switch from them).

[jimtorr]

I spoke to the FCC, but they said they only deal with traditional landline phone service.

Call them again, and if you get the same answer ask for a supervisor. While it may be true that the FCC does not regulate VOIP services, they do regulate how any company handles telephone numbers. I think the law covering this is contained within The Telecommunications Act of 1998.

Vonage must release your telephone number. I think all they have to do is notify Verizon in some fashion that the number is available. Full Disclosure: I have Vonage service myself. I find it nearly essential. With Vonage I can talk to my brother in Thailand all we want at no additional charge. If Vonage folded, I'd have to try Skype.

[kalee]

ping

[BuffaloJack]

> What about those trying to call him? Would it help if they called Vonage to complain?
Two of my friends with Vonage have called Vonage to complain. Vonage says that if I return to Vonage the problem will go away when the service is restored.

Actually I had no problems with Vonage when they were my VOIP provider; the problems came after I left them for Verizon’s Voice Wing.

[edzo4]

I like skype
free calls to other skype users and toll free #’s
and free video calls to skype users with a webcam

comes in very handy to work from home
or video call other employees at differnet offices in the US
and can’t beat the price
FREE

[sbryant2000]

I researched many different VOIP providers for two years and settled for Lingo, and I have been using them now for almost 4 years with no issues. They have been, and still are, several dollars less expensive than Vonage, and they provide, as of November 2007, an International free calling circle including 22 western countries. In addition to most of western Europe, I can also call Australia and South Korea for free too.

There are still VOIP competitors and alternatives to slick Vonage, and one of the main reason I switched was because Lingo offered to support my home number with area code, something Vonage still does not support, even nearly 6 years after I initially started my quest for the anti-Qwest phone service.

-Scott

[TNCMAXQ]

I’ve had Vonage for about 2.5 years and have been pleased, though the cost has mysteriously risen a few times. Still it costs me a lot less than the $36 a month I was paying with ATT. I rarely use the phone so I wanted to save money. I went with Vonages 500 minutes a month plan, which started at 15.99 I think. Now I am paying about $19.50 a month. Still lower than what I was paying before. The only drawback is that when there is a cable outage I lose my phone service too. But that happens very rarely.

[Cagey]

The only drawback is that when there is a cable outage I lose my phone service too.

If you have a cell phone you can direct calls from Vonage to your cell if the cable or your own network should go down. I've done that and it works fine even if the power should fail I won't miss any calls.

[ASOC]

I doubt it would make any difference.

The company I worked for had a VoIP product it sold as an alternate to POTS. I was the network reliability guy, for lack of a better description. I refuse to use VoIP products for the simple fact they are unreliable.

Like sausage, VoIP is a messy thing - so it would be no surprise that VONAGE is just unable to fix the problem as it is buried somehere in the code they use.

The FCC is really involved with VoIP issues see http://www.regnumgroup.com/voip_providers.php?gclid=CKi97-TFy5ACFQUOYAodfhQyRA for more data.

[dglang]

I am currently using MagicJack from a company of the same name. One must purchase the device for $39.99, but the first years service is free. Each succeeding year after the first year costs only $19.99 for the entire year.

The device plugs into a USB2 port on a WIN Xp based computer.

I used to have Vonage and I was pretty much satisified with their service until my bank changed debit card providers and one months fee wasn’t paid die to the card number change.

I received a call from Vonage about the missing payment and I gave them the new card number. I asked them to wait a couple of days before debiting the account to allow a recent deposit to clear, but they immediately debited it after promising that they wouldn’t.

The end result was that I was hit with a couple of NSF charges and I eventually cancelled the service. They claimed that I then owed another two months from after I cancelled the service.

I recently was considering restoring the service before I purchased the MagicJack device, but they demanded that I pay for the two months that I didn’t have service.

It took almost a full year before I was even willing to consider Vonage again, but their demand that I pay for the two months I didn’t have service totally soured them for me.

Talk about bad business logic, They not only lost over 12 months trying to extort for two months, but they also totally lost me as a future or return customer as well.

At this point after all the grief and expense that they caused by their lying and extortion attempts, I would never recommend they to anyone.