How do I get Vonage to reverse the porting of my number?

Posts: 10 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jan 07, 2006 Posts: 10

I signed up for Vonage 12/27 and began receiving emails about the upcoming service. On January 2, my phone stopped working (Qwest is the carrier) - no notice from anyone.

I called Qwest and they said a request had been filed to port the number on January 9, but that it appeared Vonage had ported it early and that all calls were going directly to a Vonage voicemail box.

Vonage was adamant for four days that the phone number had not been ported, but could not explain why all calls were going to their voice box (???). I received the router Saturday, January 7 and it was dead upon arrival (did not work out of the box).

I spend eight solid hours trying to get this worked out yesterday, including being on hold for over 3 HOURS STRAIGHT (I can print the cell phone report and Vonage's ACD would show it as well).

The only solution to this huge mess was to tell me they would send me another router to arrive some time next week (likely Wednesday), and that I would have to pay to send the bad one back (this is beyond believable I know, but I have emails to prove they want it back and are making me pay to send it).

After all this I decided to stop the process. As of 3:30pm yesterday they were still telling me their system showed that the number had not been ported (again without explaining how it rang to a Vonage voice mail for nearly a week prior), so I put in a stop-order to cancel the porting of the number so I could get service back up with Qwest and gets some breathing room from this fiasco. I was issued a stop-order ticket by McKinsey (a woman) at 4pm Saturday - Ticket Number 365-5361.

Today I received the following unbelievable emails just one minute apart:

EMAIL #1 - 1:53PM
-----Original Message-----
From: Vonage LNP Customer Care [mailto:numbertransfer@vonage.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 1:53 PM
To: Chuck Blakeman
Subject: Your Transfer Has Been Scheduled for 1-(303)-470-xxxx

We are pleased to inform you that your request to transfer 1-(303)-470-xxxx from your current carrier to Vonage was accepted on January 8, 2006. The process of moving your number to Vonage is almost complete.

Your expected transfer date is January 9, 2006.

When the transfer is complete we will inform you immediately by email. Thank you for your business.

EMAIL #2 1:54pm
From: Vonage LNP Customer Care [mailto:numbertransfer@vonage.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 1:54 PM
To: Chuck Blakeman
Subject: Your Transfer of 1-(303)-470-1662 Complete

Dear Charles Blakeman,

1-(303)-470-xxxx is now your permanent Vonage telephone number.

We have successfully ported your existing phone number to your Vonage account. .... ETC, ETC.

EMAIL #3 - 10 Minutes after the first two:
From: Frank M. [mailto:dslreports@vonage.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 2:12 PM
To: Chuck Blakeman
Cc: richard.gale@vonage.com
Subject: [vonage.com #3655639]

I am support engineer with vonage who has read over all your concerns
and problems regarding our service. Etc. - no resolution, simply telling me the number has been ported.

The transfer emails came to me today at 1:53 and 1:54, and the stop order ticket #365-5361 to stop the transfer was issue to me at about 4pm yesterday. This should invalidate the transfer.

How do I get this whole process reversed and get as far away from Vonage as possible as quickly as possible? Please help.

Posts: 1123 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 1123

First of all, for security reasons, I would have NEVER posted my real first and last name, AND the actual phone number.

Secondly, when your first one was DOA, did you come here to ask questions? How did you determine it was DOA? This is a wonderful site that Mr Conner runs, and usually most problems are fixable with the fine group here. Did you run www.testyour voip.com? Did you try the speed tests?

Yes, you have to pay to return an adapter. It's a change from before, but I think it's listed in the pesky User Agreement document if I'm not mistaken. I thought I read it somewhere.

Bottom Line: Vonage is not bad, even though tech support has issues, once the service is working, it's fine for the most part. 11 months, no issues here.

Posts: 10 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jan 07, 2006 Posts: 10

Thanks for the privacy lesson, but no thanks for the lack of help and shameless cheerleading for Vonage. I came to this site to get help, not to bash Vonage (and yes, if you had bothered to read the post, I did it the same day the device arrived to me).

What I didn't come here for is to have someone ignore an obviously extremely bad customer service experience and simply reply "Vonage is not bad". I expect that out of a 10 year old defending his daddy, but on a professional site like this from a "senior member" I would expect a) that you would read the post and know what you are responding to, b) that you would not immediately assume that anyone with a problem with Vonage is clearly the one at fault (couldn't possibly be even a mutually shared problem), and c) would actually offer some constructive, helpful direction in getting this done so they could get on with their love-fest for Vonage by actually helping solve the problem.

If someone else out there has some actual constructive help, I would appreciate it. I assumed this site was objective and rational about Vonage - I'm still assuming that even though my experience so far doesn't support it.

I need the following:

1) An escalation beyond the 1st level CSR who has the power and authority to deal with issues like this that are clearly not in their script.

2) Help in getting Vonage to respond to the fact that they issued me a Stop-order ticket 22 hours before they sent me a notification that they were going to begin the process of porting my number, and that they went ahead and ported it anyway. That should be illegal and I need to find out how to get them to work with Qwest to back out of it (shouldn't be up to me to do this with Qwest, I already have the Stop-order from Vonage).

3) Help in getting someone at Vonage to agree that if they kill my phone service for a week, then send me a dead router that will keep me from having service for another half week, that I shouldn't have to pay to send it back. If "Vonage is not bad", then they would be mortified to ask someone to do this under these circumstances.

4) Help in getting the replacement router shipped back on their dollar, too, once it arrives later this week. It was ordered and shipped after the Stop-order was issued to me - I should not be responsible for this one either. This "not bad" company is clearly trying to ram the service down my throat after having screwed up this installation in epic proportions, so that I can't back out of it. Sending me the replacement after the Stop-order is just another evidence of this.

5) Help in getting them to nullify the first month's charge and startup charge. Again, if "Vonage is not bad", then they would understand that anyone who has been through what I went through, especially if it never happens to anyone else, would deserve to walk away from this with no more wounds than the dozens of hours I've spent on this.

A "good company" would look at this situation, be appalled that it happened, understand that no matter how good they are, things like this still happen to potential customers because there are human beings in the process at Vonage and they make mistakes. This "good company" would do everything they could to reverse this process for that one customer who had the only bad experience with Vonage.

A "bad company" would never apologize or show the least empathy for having screwed this up so royally (not once in the 8-10 hours I've spent on the phone has someone apologized - an engineer finally did yesterday via email for the first time - Frank M - thank you Frank). A "bad company", having screwed things up completely, would then expect their customer to pay for the screwups. A "bad company" would attempt to hold a customer to a one month contract even though non-performance has clearly nullified it, and make that customer chase them via forums and even legally to get satisfaction.

A "good company" would get this resolved without costing the customer anything for this non-performance and would get the process fixed so that customer could walk away and shake hands.

Let's see which one Vonage really is. Google's mission statement is "do nothing evil". Vonage has a choice to respond to me either way - I'm still hoping they will choose well, and prove your statement that they are a good company.

Posts: 400 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: May 05, 2005 Posts: 400

Unfortunately, at this point to reverse the # porting is to port it back to another phone service. I'd keep this service until your # is ported back. Also, if the replacement comes by DHL of Fedx you can refues the package and it will be sent back at no additional charge to you.

Posts: 339 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Dec 04, 2005 Posts: 339

Quoting the top of the page "Vonage VoIP Forum is an independent support site providing news, reviews and forum discussions about Vonage the Broadband Phone Company". If you want an official response from Vonage, you're not likely to get it by coming here.

Here's how the number transfer process is supposed to work:

1. You submit the letter of authorization, permitting Vonage (or whatever carrier) to request the number from your previous carrier.
2. Vonage (or whatever carrier) submit the request to your previous carrier.
3. Your previous carrier considers the transfer. They can approve it or deny it (for specific reasons). If approved, the carrier provides a FOC (firm order confirmation) date when they intend to release the number to port.
4. On the FOC date, the national number database is updated to show that Vonage is the carrier for the number.

Now, that is how it is supposed to work. It looks like Quest released the number prior to the FOC date. Vonage can't just "take" the number as Quest told you, they have to release it first. Quest is notorious for either releasing the number early or releasing it without notifying Vonage. In a way, you're somewhat lucky that the process went rather quickly (especially considering it spanned a holiday weekend). Other carriers have their own "special ways" that end up fouling up transfers too, so Quest isn't alone.

(In most cases "Vonage" referrs to Vonage's PSTN carriers who do these things on Vonage's behalf)

Call Vonage, explain the problem, let the person on the phone look into what happened and, if necessary, ask to speak to a supervisor if your questions aren't answered to your satisfaction. Simple as that. If the number was already transfered, you couldn't stop it (its like trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube). If you want to go back to Quest, you would have to call them and start a transfer of the number to Quest.

Posts: 1123 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 1123

I think you are confused, my friend. Judging by your other posts in the LNP section, etc, you are under the impression that this is an official Vonage community. Incorrect. It is run by a dedicated person attempting to help others. There are some Vonage employess on here, but they are on their own time. They will speak up if they want to. And as for Vonage cheerleading, if I have never had an issue (maybe because I can troubleshoot myself) why shouldn't I rah rah rah? Very Happy

Posts: 423 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Oct 03, 2005 Posts: 423

There are a lot of agents who peruse these forums (like me) who have the ability to help you with your problems, and even with your oh so well-deserved credit, but after reading your posts with their petulant, insulting demeanor, I'm not going out of my way. You'll have to call tech support and hope you don't get me on the other end.

Posts: 10 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jan 07, 2006 Posts: 10

So cold gin has never apparently been frustrated by a company's lack of ability or willingness to help solve a problem. I'm described as "petulant", dictionary definition - cranky: easily irritated or annoyed. I am not at all easily irritated or annoyed - it took 10+ hours of email and phone (including 3 hours on hold) of Vonage people telling me I had no problem, and pay us to send back the device, etc., with no apologies, no empathy, etc. During this whole period I never once used a swear word or raised my voice. This not "easily irritated or annoyed".

Since we're throwing around character assassinations instead of trying to solve problems, Cold Gin appears to be "dismissive" - definition - showing indifference or disregard. I've had a real issue, a serious problem, a week without phone coverage, three days of no one responding, and I doubt that anyone including Cold Gin would have the presence of mind to stay any cooler than I have.

But it appears this is the developing scenario on this forum. A) If you love Vonage, say so. B) If you've had problems with Vonage, there is something personally wrong with you and rather than admit and face the issue, we will attack you as being a deficient human being not worthy of Vonage's support. This is a quick way to dismiss someone, but not a good customer service way to run a company.

You may or may not remember Telocity, whose assets were swallowed up by Hughes when it went belly up, but that DSL exhibited the same arrogant, cavalier approach to their customers that I've been getting on this forum so far. As Google believes (their mission statement is "do nothing evil") the bully never wins in the long run. Vonage needs to take a lesson from them so they don't end up like Telocity.

I'd still really like to get some constructive help if there is anyone out there who can offer something other than character assassination or mindless cheerleading.

Thanks,

C

Posts: 1123 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 1123

I think you should:
1) Wait for the port to be completed fully.
2) Call Vonage and tell them you're done,
and you want to send it all back, and not pay
for anything.
3) 5 minutes after the Vonage call, call Qwest
and request new service and the port.

RAH RAH RAH Lol

RAH RAH RAH Lol

Posts: 61 · Full Forum Member Joined: Dec 29, 2005 Posts: 61

Quote:

There are a lot of agents who peruse these forums (like me) who have the ability to help you with your problems, and even with your oh so well-deserved credit, but after reading your posts with their petulant, insulting demeanor, I'm not going out of my way. You'll have to call tech support and hope you don't get me on the other end.

You work in customer service? Hard to tell.