Cancellation problems

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: May 14, 2007 Posts: 1

This note is in regard to my interaction today with Vonage. There are a couple of things that happened that I think you should be aware of.
Back in the beginning of April, I needed to cancel my Vonage account. Now, let me preface by saying I have been a Vonage customer for several years (and so is most of my family) and very happy with the service. But, I have changed residences and I no longer need the service. So, I followed procedure and went to the Vonage web site and filled out the customer service form indicating my request to cancel. It then brought me to a page that says to contact us (in hypertext) and I clicked on that and was taken right back to the original email form. Thereby creating an endless loop that I couldn't get out of except by calling the customer service line - which I did. I spoke with a rep named Stephen (rep ID #25156 - he wouldn't tell me his last name). He handled the call well in the beginning. And tried to salvage the account with special offers - as I am sure he was trained to do. However, I asked for a one month credit on my account as I was not only frustrated by the endless loop, but I had cancelled no less than 4 times on the Vonage site back in April. And, they hit my credit card even though I had cancelled. But, I was willing to let the charge go, but then my account never got cancelled. So, the rep tells me (with a profound Indian accent) in order to get the credit, I have to call back in to the toll free and wait and talk to billing. I asked him to transfer me to billing and he said he couldn't. To wit I said "you mean to tell me that Vonage - the leading Voip technology company cannot execute a simple call transfer from one department to another?" And, he said no he couldn't do that. Then I asked to speak to a supervisor. And his response was "why do you want to talk to a supervisor - they will tell you the same thing as I did". Now, this set me off. I asked to speak to a supervisor no less than 10 times and each time the rep said that the supervisor couldn't help me and I had to call the toll free. But, he could let me speak to someone else - not his supervisor. In call center land (in which I have lived for over 20 years) this is a big no no. If a customer asks to speak to a supervisor (especially more than once), the rep should comply. But, this rep not only did not comply, but he proceeded to ask me what I wanted to speak to the supervisor about (as if he was afraid of the consequences of my speaking to the supervisor).
Well, now I have to go and call in again to billing and see what happens. See you in a couple of hours.

Posts: 414 · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 1:29 pm Post subject: Re: Cancellation problems

glennw280 wrote:

...but I had cancelled no less than 4 times on the Vonage site back in April.

Vonage does not let you, and has never let you cancel online you have to call them or notify them in writing(not-email). Any other method and you were not actually canceling. In-fact in their TOS it actually states that the only way to cancel is if you send notify them in writing at least 10 days prior to the billing cycle you wish to terminate your account in. There are a bunch of threads on this exact topic floating around the forum, and there is one just a few posts below yours at the moment.

As for the asking for a supervisor part, in my experience if you ask Vonage for a supervisor and they actually do "transfer" you, you will just end up talking to the rep sitting next to the the rep you are currently talking to. I was told on calls to Vonage that their supervisors don't take phone calls and that they just hand you over.

Also, this forum is not an official Vonage site, so posting the the name and ID of the rep you spoke with will not help you at all.

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

xcrunxc wrote:

glennw280 wrote:

...but I had cancelled no less than 4 times on the Vonage site back in April.

Vonage does not let you, and has never let you cancel online you have to call them or notify them in writing(not-email). Any other method and you were not actually canceling. In-fact in their TOS it actually states that the only way to cancel is if you send notify them in writing at least 10 days prior to the billing cycle you wish to terminate your account in. There are a bunch of threads on this exact topic floating around the forum, and there is one just a few posts below yours at the moment.

As for the asking for a supervisor part, in my experience if you ask Vonage for a supervisor and they actually do "transfer" you, you will just end up talking to the rep sitting next to the the rep you are currently talking to. I was told on calls to Vonage that their supervisors don't take phone calls and that they just hand you over.

Also, this forum is not an official Vonage site, so posting the the name and ID of the rep you spoke with will not help you at all.

That's all well and fine but any reputable company will have their CSR comply with a customers request. Who gives a damn about their TOS because the fact remains he requested multlple times and was basically stonewalled.Plain and simple you should not have to jump through 10 hoops to cancel any service. My advise is I would challenge every charge from day one of calling period.

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: May 16, 2007 Posts: 1

These guys are going to destroy their reputation with customers if they keep ripping off people who cancel. It is like they think it is a pot of gold that they have a right to. Little do they know they are poisoning their reputation in the marketplace. They are trying to take me for 3 months billing. Will not work as the credit card they are charging to is no longer valid!

Posts: 27 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Oct 02, 2006 Posts: 27

To be completely fair, Vonage also is very generous with regard to issuing credits for customers who call in with problems, sometimes to the point of being foolish. The coin does have two sides.

Posts: 208 · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 10:20 am Post subject: Re: Cancelling

gerryg43 wrote:

These guys are going to destroy their reputation with customers if they keep ripping off people who cancel. It is like they think it is a pot of gold that they have a right to. Little do they know they are poisoning their reputation in the marketplace. They are trying to take me for 3 months billing. Will not work as the credit card they are charging to is no longer valid!

Uhohs.

You're going to be contacted by a collections agency which will also affect your credit because there's an outstanding payment. Seen it happen on the forums over the last year or so. You need to call them ASAP and figure this out once and for all.

Pro Tip: Ask for someone in the US.

Posts: 6 · New Forum Member Joined: Feb 05, 2007 Posts: 6

I just canceled Vonage with no problem. I didnt call. On monday I sent them a cancelation letter regular mail. Today I got e-mail conformation that they canceled my account. They billed my card the $40 cancelation fee and $40 for the rebate I got. That is what I owed and they got it right. Any one who wants to cancel just write them, sign your letter and do it at least 10 days before your billing cycle.

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: May 17, 2007 Posts: 1

I have had the same issue (with a little twist) as the originating poster. I was told in December that they could NOT cancel my account because the new phone service provider must initiate the phone # transfer as well as the cancellation on my behalf. They have now made 3 unauthorized payments on my credit card and one is pending due to me losing my card a few weeks back and ordering a new one. When I called in today for a credit to cover the 3 months my account was charged and NOT used due to the transfer being complete and account not closed they said, "Sorry but our systems do not allow us to credit customers back." What a load of BS. They they told me the info I received in December was wrong because after the transfer was completed I had to call back to complete the cancellation. They admitted that I was given bad info but they still could not assist me. I then asked multiple times for a supervisor and was told over and over that the supervisor would say the same thing. Anyway, why should cancellation be a 2 part process? What good is an active account without a phone # attached to it??? IDIOTS! I'll give them one more chance, then my attorney will take care of it and make it worth my while in the process.

Posts: 152 · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:11 pm Post subject:

I've had several experiences with Vonage, one of them was to cancel service. I can't say much about their first-line Cusomer Service, but once you get past the initial "gatekeepers" the problem(s) are handled quite well.

The cancellation was for new service that simply would not work. It turned out that it was a faulty adapter, and it was getting close to the initial 30-day, no cancellation fee period. It was easier to simply cancel the service and start over (which I did).

Yes, the TOS does require "written" notice, which was easy to do. Given time for the faulty adapter to be returned, everything was credited as promised.

Note, I have now been with Vonage for well over a year, and am very pleased.