Vonage
Incompetence

I called Vonage on a Saturday evening on the recommendation of a friend. I had (and still have) Verizon land line phone and wireless internet. The girl who originally took the order kept me on the phone for well over an hour, going over and over the same questions and information. She had a very heavy mid-east accent and communication was quite difficult. She assured me that there was nothing I had to do as far as Verizon was concerned; Vonage would take care of the phone and DSL transfers and I could keep my current phone number. This was a special advertised at $24.99 with 2 months free for me and the friend who recommended Vonage.

The next day, a Sunday, I received several e-mails from Vonage and realized that I had been signed up for 2 accounts. I called Vonage; they apologized and said that one of the accounts would be cancelled. On Monday, I received another e-mail saying that I needed to contact Verizon regarding the DSL. I would need a special type. I called Verizon, who said that they encountered this problem quite often with Vonage. Since I had a Verizon "bundle" the internet service cost would double and my internet service would not be the same. Verizon said that if I chose to stay with them, I could keep my current bundle and my account would be discounted $10 a month. I chose to do so.

Before calling Vonage, I checked my on-line bank account and found that they had charged not only the tax amount of $6.14 which I was aware of, but they had charged it twice, once for each of the 2 accounts initially set up in error.in addition, there was a $39.99 cancellation fee.

After numerous phone calls and e-mails and my actually getting to the point of screaming at the "customer service" person that I wanted a supervisor, Vonage finally agreed to refund all charges, but it would take several days. I pointed out to them that it only took them minutes to charge my account and asked why it would take days to refund my money.

The other issue was the "equipment". I was told that the 1st "box" had been cancelled in time. But the 2nd had already been processed and sent. I explained that I would return it as soon as I received it and would have been happy to throw it at them if I had a strong enough arm and knew where to aim. They did send me a return label for the box and a threatening e-mail that if I did not return the equipment by a certain date, I would be charged for it. It's nearly two weeks later and I have still not received the "box".

This company's staff is, for the most part, incompetent, and one department doesn't seem to know what the other is doing. This little adventure cost me many hours on the phone with Vonage as well as numerous e-mails. They actually sent me 2 Customer Satisfaction Surveys to fill out on-line. Although tempted, I didn't trust my vocabulary and chose not to complete the surveys.

Company: Vonage
Country: USA

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