As many before me have posted, I wish I had come here to view the reports prior to getting involved with this company. I would say to anyone interested in Vonage (they certainly are spending enough on advertising), beware. Here is my story to date.
January 1st I saw ads for Vonage on TV. I receive my internet via Direcway so I was concerned about whether Vonage would work since it requires high speed internet, they said, DSL or Cable modem. I called knowing that upload speeds via satl. Are much lower than high speed. Sales person I spoke to said, yes, Vonage worked on satl. And yes it worked with Direcway. She also said I would be issued a full credit if I wasn't satisfied within 30 days. I took the deal, waited about a week for the equipement to arrive and set it up with much anticipation.
Well, it doesn't work with Direcway, or I should say, doesn't work well with Direcway. I could hear very clearly who I was speaking with, but my conversations back were completely garbled. This was something I was afraid might happen.
I located a voip testing site and ran their tests. The tests came back totally unacceptable on the voice out side. They had a very comprehensive set of tests and the results which they let me email to my service provider, Vonage. I attached a note and asked them to contact me via email or phone. I received no response to my email.
January 16th I called to cancel my subscription. I was told nobody was there to handle cancellations. They issued a cancellation notice and told me I would be contacted. I wasn't
January 23rd I finally decided to call again. My account was still active. The customer service person did see that I had called the previous week and cancelled my subscription and verified that I would be issued a full refund. I got an Email a bit later showing that I had cancelled AND CHARGED ANOTHER $41.19 AS A CANCELLATION CHARGE. Now I'm out almost $84. I called back and the customer service person passed me on to another person (Credit or Supervisor, I'm not sure).
This second person asked if I had returned the equipment yet. I told him no, I had just received instructions on where and how to mail it. I asked him again about a full credit on my charges. He said yes and agreed to send me an email stating that along with the need for me returning the equipment. We agreed that I would send him the tracking number in a return Email. I went to the post office, priority mailed the device and received a tracking number. I waited all day for the email from him that never came.
January 24th I called again and got pushed up the support ladder. I recounted the previous day's conversation and he agreed to send me the email that I would return the tracking number in, again verifying my credit. That email never came.
January 25th again I called. This time the lady I spoke with gave me her name, said I'd get a full credit when the equipment had arrived at the location, but couldn't send me an Email. Why, I don't know. She checked the tracking as I did on my end, and the package had not arrived. She told me to call her or she would call me as soon as they received the equipment and she would immediately deliver a credit.
January 26th, I checked USPS tracking and found that they had tried to deliver the package the day before, but there was no one there to receive it. It now had to be picked up at the post office or it would be returned to me. I immediately called Vonage support and asked for the gal as I was told to, but the support person didn't know who she was. I got someone else.
Got his first name, but not his last (for security reasons he said). I told him the story, he said no credit can be issued until the equipment was returned, checked out and them informed that everything was okay. This would take 5 to 7 days. Not only that, but if the equipment was returned to me, I was responsible for mailing it out again. It cost $9.00 the first time and I don't think it's my responsibility to make sure they accept their mail. I asked to speak to his supervisor. She was in a meeting. I asked that she call me after the meeting. I still have not received that call.
I just talked to the PO where it was dropped off. Vonage did not pick up their deliveries yesterday (someone sick I was told) and that the package should be picked up today removing one of my fears. Apparently they have truckloads of equipment coming back to them.
I'll follow up on this post after the final resolution. I believe I'll get my refund, but I should never have had to devote this much time to doing so. I should never have ordered their service based on my environment. That was the sales person's problem.
I should have received a response to my customer support question three weeks ago, which I never received. A customer support problem.
I should have been cancelled nearly two weeks ago, another customer support problem.
Finally, I should not have had to call four straight days this week and gotten a different story each time I called and still not received a credit. Again a customer support problem.
All in all Vonage needs to grow up pretty fast if they want to be a viable company.
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