After 8 months trying to get Vonage to work I'm quitting.

Posts: 5 · New Forum Member Joined: Nov 17, 2006 Posts: 5

I had real hopes when I switched to Vonage 8 months ago. I was not expecting perfection but a decent reliable service. Unfortunately, despite numeral calls to the help centre and getting good advice through this board, I was never able to get a reliable decent service.

I was ready to cancel several times over the past months but I always convinced myself that I should keep trying just a bit more and that I would eventually succeed. I hate to fail! I had tweaked the QoS to the best, have an ultra fast Internet, had followed all the recommendations...

It just did not work for me. Sad

In fact the quality of service is even worse now that it has ever been over the past months. It is to the point that my doctor's office hangs-up on me when I try to make an appointment as they can't understand a word of what I say and that my friends suddenly don't hear my voice, while I can still hear them, after a just few minutes of talking on the phone. I call them back and the problem reoccurs within minutes!

Using a phone should not have to be that difficult and frustrating. So I am cancelling my service for good this time and have sent my cancellation notice to Vonage. I wish I had done it several months ago instead of procrastinating and trying to make this work. The only reason I did is because I know the system CAN work and it does for some people, including my son in Toronto. But it certainly did not work for me!

I guess I'll have to wait a few years until VoiP matures a bit more before giving it another try!

Incidentally, I find that the $50.00 charge applied by Vonage when you cancel the service to be a total ripoff. IF they had been providing GOOD service and I had decided unilaterally to cancel, that would make sense. But applying a penalty for leaving a company which has NEVER provided an adequate service to me at any time during the contract seems just barely ethical!

Anyway, I want to thank all those on this board who have providing me help and good suggestions and continue to help many other users. And good luck to all those who are presently struggling to get their system working, like I have been during the past 8 months! I wish you to be more successful than I have.

Adios!

Pat. DuBois

Posts: 1320 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 1320

Take care, too bad you couldn't get it to work properly.

Are you using Cable or DSL?

Posts: 5 · New Forum Member Joined: Nov 17, 2006 Posts: 5

I tried both high speed Telus ADSL and Shaw cable. Surprisingly, I actually got better results with Shaw than with Telus, even though ADSL should have been better. I had the highest speed available in my area for both.

Thanks!

Posts: 1320 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 1320

I have only tried Vonage with cable, I use Cogeco Cable. I had DSL before Primus and Sympatico and they couldn't compete with cable as far as internet went.

Posts: 5 · New Forum Member Joined: Nov 17, 2006 Posts: 5

As one who has been trying really hard for over 8 months to get my Vonage service going I have now switched to Shaw digital phone and I thought I would give a final update. I had really hoped I would not need to have to switch to SDP as Shaw was definitely not my first choice for several reasons!

I was a bit put off by the fact that long distance calling (besides Canada and the US) was limited to 1000 minutes while Vonage had unlimited minutes for the country I called the most: France. However, after analyzing my traffic over the past 8 months I realized that I never exceeded 350 minutes a month, so that should not really be a limiting factor.

Another point which was not in favour of Shaw was the price. Basically it's $15 more per month. However, I had to get super high speed cable to get Vonage to work somewhat, while I really only need regular high speed for my Internet use. So I dropped back to regular high speed and saved $10 / month over super high speed Internet. Shaw also provides a free distinctive ring. I was paying $4.95 / month on my Telus other line to have my fax machine on it. I cancelled that and now use the Shaw free distinctive ring for my fax, so another $5 saving. By doing that my final cost is exactly the same as Vonage as I was able to save $15 a month. So the cost is even, as long as I don't exceed 1000 minutes a month (Canada and US are unlimited). I can also call Taiwan, where my son lives part of the year, within the 1000 free minutes while I had to pay extra with Vonage.

Altogether Shaw digital phone did not turn out such a bad deal after all. I must say that since I have switched, my phone is back to crystal clear clarity and my friends are once again accepting to call me (they were really put off by the very poor call quality I had before)! I have similar features to the Vonage contract I had before and I also get enhanced 911 and 4 hours battery back-up in case of power outage.

I still wish I could have stayed with Vonage as I could take the box with me when I am travelling and I also liked the free call feature for other people calling a vonage number. And I liked the idea of not being with a Shaw monopoly. Unfortunately, Vonage did not work for me and I am at least glad that I can get good quality with Shaw digital phone for a similar cost.

I know Vonage works well for many people (I personally know several of them), it just was not the case for me despite a huge amount of time spent trying to get the system working. So, the ONLY two things I am still upset about my Vonage experience are:

1/ the $49.99 charged by Vonage to terminate the service while the reason of me leaving them was not my choice but the simple fact that they could not deliver a good service in MY case. I do think that this a very unfair policy and it is almost unethical. I think such a big company should look at cases on an individual basis and apply its discretion about the disconnection charge, instead of saying "we apply the disconnection fee no matter what".

2/ the way Vonage deals with emails and letters. Over the last month I have sent 2 snail mails and 6 emails, not getting a single reply to either of them! Something is really missing in the customer support department...

Based on my experience, my advice to new Vonage customers is as follows:

- make sure your system works perfectly fine before the end of the 30 day free trial.
- Don't believe technical support when they recommend that you continue trying beyond the free trial period. If you do so, like I did, you will have to pay the $49.99 disconnection fee, no matter what!

I really wish none of those reading this will have to go through the frustration I experienced with the Vonage quality of service. Unfortunately, it is statistically probable that at least some will! Good luck to all!

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 06, 2007 Posts: 2

Our service has been so unreliable (with a very fast Cogeco connection) that we have given up as well. I just ordered service from Unitz and downgraded our service from Vonage for the transition (for which they exacted a fee of $13!).

I cannot find on Vonage's site map any link to information on what they require to transfer a telephone number and then to discontinue service. Is there a URL?

Posts: 1320 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 1320

If you want to cancel your Vonage service you need to call them.

Posts: 5 · New Forum Member Joined: Nov 17, 2006 Posts: 5

Unfortunately, this is correct. You need to call them, contrary to their own Terms of services!

Article 2.1(a) of the Vonage Terms of Services specifically says that you have to give them 10 days WRITTEN notice prior to the end of the service term.

Quote:

Subsequent terms of this Agreement automatically renew for the same Service Term unless you give us written notice of disconnection at least ten (10) days before the end of the applicable Service Term.

Nowhere in the Terms of Services does it say that you have to contact them by phone. If you follow their Terms of Service and send a letter to the Toronto head office, then they DON'T cancel your service! Great respect of their own policy!

The reason they want you to phone is to try to lure you in continuing the service. I was on the phone for over 45 minutes with someone who kept reading me a list of arguments to keep me with Vonage, wanting to troubleshoot my system (which had been unsuccessfully troubleshooted 300 times already) and then starting to give me perks: "we will send you a new box at no charge" (I had requested one over 4 months ago but they refused to exchange it), "we will give you 2 free months if you stay with us"... This was an awful experience, like having a beggar holding me by my clothing and not letting me go! After 45 minutes of keeping saying, "no thanks, it's over" only to receive another argument or offer, I must have exhausted the list of pre-scripted text as the lady finally accepted to close my account!

On a positive note I just received one reply to the multitude of emails I had sent and I am getting a $10.00 refund on the termination fee as it had been misquoted (they had quoted me the US amount instead of the Canadian one).

Posts: 1320 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 1320

My 1 year anniversary is coming up in October, I am happy with Vonage, but maybe I might call them and say that I am thinking about canceling, might get a couple of free months to stay!