Vonage
Beware of Vonage. Terrible Foreign Tech support, Hidden Charges, Lies to sign you up

I feel that Vonage is a less than honest company. After seeing their ad on TV I called Vonage June 21st to inquire about Vonage service. At that time, they told me I did not have to sign any contract at all and that there was a 30 trial period and if I did not like the service I could, for any reason, cancel it with no charge and no questions ask, so I told them I wanted the service.

As a new customer, I received the Vonage VDV21 box in the mail and attempted to hook it up this morning. My DSL system is rather complicated with a video phone and vidio router hooked up to it, so I attempted to call Vonage Tech Support for assistance in hooking their box up to my complicated system. I was connected to a foreign Tech Support, it sounded like India, and I could't understand what the person was saying as I have a hard time understanding a heavy foreign accent. After I ask, they connected me to a Tech Support person in the USA and she was helping me hook up the Vonage box to my DSL equipment when right in the middle of the conversation we were disconnected. The call had been routed to the foreigners and then back to the USA. I called back again, and again I received a foreigner that I could hardly understand. I politely asked to speak to a Tech support person in the United States. This made the foreign person angry and she ask me why I would not use a foreign tech support person and I explained to her that my system is very complicated and that I cannot understand a heavy foreign accent well enough to set up this complicated hook up. She gruffly said she would connect me to a Tech Support person in the United States then she sent me to a dead line. I called back 4 times and 4 times a foreign people connected me to a dead line after I asked to be transferred to a Tech Support person in the United States. It is obvious to me that the foreigners didn't want me using a Tech Support person in the USA. They wanted me to use their Tech Support.

After wasting most of my morning trying to get a Tech Support person, that I could understand, to help me hook up my Vonage box to the internet, I still wasn't hooked up. Finally I was transferred to Canada to a Early Assistance Team person.By this time I had Googled Vonage and saw many many complaints on the internet about Vonage, so when I reached the Early Assistance Team person I told them I wanted to cancel my Vonage service under the agreed to 30 day trial, full refund, agreement I had made with the original Vonage sales person. She started talking and I couldn't hardly get a word in and finally I just flat told her that in my opinion Vonage isn't a very honest company and I want to cancel my service. She then informed me that there will be a $50.00 disconnect fee and that they would send me a label to send the Vonage Box back, but I had to pay the postage myself to send the box back, and that after they received my $50.00 disconnect fee, and the box back, they would refund my $9.95. I told this person that originally I was told by the Vonage sales person that there was no hidden fees, no disconnect fees, no contracts or anything like that, and if I did not like the service I could, within 30 days, just call a telephone number and cancel, for any reason, and they would refund my $9.95 no question ask. There was no mention of any $50.00 disconnect fee in fact they told me there was no disconnect fee. She told me that, that it is the way it is, I have to pay the $50.00 fee and it can't be waved and I also have to pay the postage to sent the Vonage box back. So I told her I want to discontinue the service and hung up.

I then called the Missouri Attorney General's office to make a formal complaint against Vonage and was told by that office that there were many complaints already in to their office about Vonage and that they are investigating the complaints and they added my complaint about Vonage to the many others they have already had against Vonage.

I had to originally give Vonage my credit card number so they could take out the $9.95 sign up fee and now I am worried that they will use the credit card number to take another $50.00 for their disconnect fee. If they do I will call the credit card company to cancel payment and add the attempt to my complaint to the Missouri Attorney General's Office. I also plan to call the Federal Trade Commission and The Federal Communications Commission to complain about Vonage.

I would recommend Vonage to no one. They are not truthful to the customer. Hooking up their system is complicated for an ordinary person. Their Tech Support is the worst I have ever seen. They are, according to their own people, a "multi-national company" that uses mostly foreign agents.

Their Foreign Tech Support people are rude and in my opinion do not want to use USA Tech Support people and want to keep the jobs in foreign countries not the USA.in my opinion, Vonage stinks! I hope Missouri bans them from Missouri.

It is too bad Vonage is what it is. The idea is a great idea, an internet telephone company like that is a great idea. I hope some American comes up with an internet telephone company that uses good ol Americans as Tech support people. I am so sick of being connected to foreigners that can hardly speak English. Globalization stinks!

Company: Vonage
Country: USA
State: New Jersey
Address: New Jersy
Phone: 8882887435

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