Vonage gets pummeled in court again

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

Lawrence Hutchinson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:37:10 GMT

I cancelled my vonage service today after 6 years. Over the last several months I have had frequent problems with loss of (mostly outgoing) audio. I called technical support several times and was finally told that I needed a new telephone adapter. I was led to believe that I would not be charged for the device if I returned the old device within one month. Neverthelss, in May 2009 I was charged $32.48 on my vonage account (after receiving a $49.99 rebate on the old device). The new device did not solve my audio issues. After yet another call to technical support, a "test call" was accomplished and this, of course, went off without a hitch. I continued to have loss of audio so I called again and was eventually transferred to "advanced technical support" This time, the audio went out in both directions during the call! The vonage technical staffer called me back on my cell and eventually admitted there was no solution to my problem. I asked to be transferred to accounts and asked to discontinue service. I was told that I had just paid for service up until July 24 and then I would have free call-forwarding through August 23. I was told I would need to call on August 23. I did not understand why I needed to call back but, after more than one hour on the phone I was ready to hang up. The next day I was emailed a customer satisfaction survey which thanked me for deciding to "continue my service." I called accounts and was again told that I could not cancel my service until July. I was promised that "notes would be put in the system" indicating that my account should be cancelled in July. I called the next day after seeing an additional charge of $75.71 on my account. I was told this was because they never received the old adapter. I indicated I thought it preposterous and unfair that I would be charged for a device which I had been told was needed to resolve my audio problems and which did not help in the least. I again insisted I wanted to cancel my account. I was eventually transferred to another representative and after several minutes of heated discussion on my part was offerred a refund on the new adapter if I would return it (which I did about an hour later). I again asked to discontinue my account and after placing me on hold for several minutes the representative came back on the line and agreed to cancel my service, which was immediately done. She repeatedly refused my request for a refund for the remaining month of service for which I had been charged. Later that day, I received an email notification that I would be chaged a disonnect fee of $39.99 (for disconnecting a service which did not provide its promised function!) I understand the internet issues that apparently are at the root of my audio issues are out of vonage's control, but as a loyal customer for more than 6 years, I would expect that the technical staff would have told me this months ago before I wasted more time, and lost countless more calls, not to mention paying for a device I did not want or need. I am advising friends and colleagues to give this company a wide berth.

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

Ann Taylor — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:37:50 GMT

Ihave had Vonage for a few years now. I have had some minor issues, but nothing that would possibly make me quit Vonage. I figure that with the price they charge, I'm not going to complain. Besides, I had issues with the other companies as well, and their customer service wasn't any better. They have been a breath of fresh air!!:-)

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

Mike in Virginia — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:16:37 GMT

I've had Vonage for several years now and have had no trouble with their service. Any interruptions were due to my cable company. My wife calls her brother in Italy for no extra cost. I've called to Ireland for no extra cost. We have a "virtual phone number" in Wisconsin that rings in Virginia.

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

morris hayman — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:20:35 GMT

vonage is a modern day pirate.they dont have thier own network to deliver thier services,the cable co.has to foot the bill to build and maintain thier networks.it is possible to have issues with vontage and not substanaly interfer with your internet.so why would the cable co.spend money repairing a product that is thier rivel.sort of like riding to work with someone and not helping with the cost.

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

Dan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:44:54 GMT

I have had vonage for five years. I have not had any problems with them during this time. I have moved to three different states during that time, and kept my same phone number the whole time. I hope they dont go out of busines.

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

Ed — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:16:51 GMT

Vonage has been integril to my growing business. While it hasn't been perfect, it has improved dramatically. Compared to similiar services through ATT I'm paying only a fraction of the cost for two lines and a fax line (Under $80!) I hope they stick it out.

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

Noreen — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:04:55 GMT

I have Vonage for over two years, and it is the best thing that's out there for your money right now. I have no problems with voice quality and it is still better than

comcast voice.

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

Lapper — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:58:03 GMT

I've had Vonage for about 3 years. In the beginning I've had a few dropped calls, but that improved before I had time to consider if it was worth the inconvienience.

Vonage has problems with some "Baby Bell" phone companies. If I call the house next door, I get just enough of a delay to make it difficult to talk to someone who doesn't know to anticipate the delay, so I just use my cell phone to talk to everyone in my local land line exchange. I use Roadrunner for a service provider (formerly Adelphia in this area).

Vonage is cheaper than using call phones or land lines. In the Bush economy, Vonage provides a reasonable level of service for a lot less money than my other options here. I'll stick with them because I can save a bunch of money by doing so. It's well worth the minor inconvieniences.

Vonage's IPO was a joke. They sent me a prospectus and as a customer I was offered Vonage stock at about $17.00 a share. Now it's trading at what, 96 cents a share.

To sum it up, I see Vonage as a great phone service and a lousy investment.

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

Charmaine M.L. — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:54:46 GMT

I was interested in changing my internet service to a more economicaly feasible carrier. So I phoned Vonage on 12/23/07 to request their services. Immediately, they asked for my credit card info which should have been a red flag to me. However, I continued with listening to their script and asking what I thought were relatively geniune consumer concerns. Near completion of the order the customer rep began to read the contract to me and informed me to simply reply yes or no. When I stated my answer was no to allow them to have authority to have automatic debit from my account and requested to be billed by paper or notified via email so that I could make payment I was then informed that wasn't an option and that the order couldn't be completed. I was then informed that the start up cost of $46.89 had been applied to my credit card. I asked for the money to be refunded due to their not being able to give me services because I didn't agree to have automatic withdrawl. I was told that I would have to call back. I insisted on having the money returned just as promptly as they had deducted it. I insisted on being giving a cancellation number for confirmation and the operators ID number for future reference. I was informed by the rep that the account had been cancelled and to use the cancellation number as a reference. She went on to inform me that the the device had been cancelled that was needed to operate the service and not to worry as it was the holiday and the device would not have made it to me anyway within the allotted time so that made it "easy" to cancel.

Well, after a few days I noticed that the money had not been placed back into my account. I phoned the company and told them of the situation and gave them all of the cancellation numbers that they had given me and asked that the money be refunded. I was told that they couldn't refund me the money until they had received thier device back. I informed them that the rep told me she had cancelled it and that I had never received it. They then placed me on hold and tracked the device with UPS and told me that UPS still had the device because the address they had was not deliverable. I told them to have UPS return the device to them since they now were aware where their product was and that I didn't have it. The manager informed me that I must call UPS allow them to deliever the device to me and then return it (AT MY EXPENSE) to them to receive my refund with in the 60 day allotted time frame. I informed them that I didn't want their device and I wasn't willing to take responsibilty for it and pay to have something returned that I had never received and that they were fully aware of where it was. I was told that if I didn't return the device (that I do not have in my possession) that they would place my account in collections. This makes no sense to me as I do not have thier product, I have a cancellation number that they gave to me and they KNOW that their product is with UPS. It is my plan to take this to small claims court. I am however, going to contact UPS and locate the device and return it to sender (and do their job for them). But I am also going to contact the corporate office and notify them of this situation, as all I could get out of the manger was a continual "we can not do that and you must return the device."

re: Vonage gets pummeled in court again

philip — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:37:10 GMT

i love vonage its reliable and cheap and simple ive never had a problem with it no different packages to get features nothing like that. you get everything for one price.