No help from customer service/account management

Posts: 152

I have two Vonage accounts, both have been working great! Each is using their own Motorola V1005 adapter, one used at home (on the annual plan) and the other for travel (on the 500 minute plan).

I am no longer using the second one for travel, so I called customer service to ask about having the second number transferred to the other telephone port on my Vonage adapter (I cannot use two adapters at the same time with my LAN configuration and wiring).

This was supposed to be no problem, but here is my history:

Fri 11/02 10:52am (8 minutes) called Account Management, spoke to Ria... call was cut off.

Fri 11/02 11:01am (20 minutes) called back, spoke to Mary. Got two months free, changed the account to a "hold" status ($4.00/month, no outgoing minutes, unlimited incomming minutes) and was told that someone would call me back within 30 minutes to confirm the number transfer to my primary Vonage adapter.

Fri 11/02 5:15pm (12 minutes) Got no call-back so called again, spoke to Ann. She confirmed that the order was placed and again told that someone would call me back within 30 minutes to switch the number.

Sat 11/03 3:44pm (6 minutes) Called again but spoke to Kay. Was told that this change actually takes two days and that someone would call me back to confirm the change within the next two days.

Mon 11/05 8:03am (55 minutes) No call, so I called again and spoke to Orville in Account Management who confirmed that the order was placed and assigned me a case number. I asked to speak to a supervisor/manager and was tranferred to Paul who told me that the request to engineering would take another 24 to 48 hours.

Wed 11/07 11:30am (23 minutes) Still no call-back, so called again. Was transferred to Christopher in Account Management and told that the merge order had been placed and would take an additional 3 to 5 days. Asked for a supervisor and was switched to Elton who said that they would try to merge the accounts within a week.

Fri 11/16 12:06pm (6 minutes) Didn't get the name of who I talked with, but was told to call back to account management (I guess they couldn't trasfer the call).

Fri 11/16 12:12pm (26 minutes) This time I talked to Riks (?) who said that she would "escalate" this issue, assigned me a new case number, but still said that it would take another 24 to 48 hours.

Now I am of the opinion that all this isn't worth it and I might as well cancel this second account. After all, having the second line really isn't necessary or that big of a deal for me. I doubt that anything will happen within the [additional] 24 to 48 hours, so guess I will call on Monday and cancel that second number. (Sure hope they don't mess up my main [home] number.)

Sign me,

Frustrated

Posts: 42 · Full Forum Member Joined: Aug 12, 2007 Posts: 42

If you check the FAQ at Vonage.com it states that currently you cannot merge the numbers from 2 accounts into one.

Posts: 448 · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:31 am Post subject:

From his problem description, I think he wants the 2nd number transferred to port #2 on his primary adapter-- not 2 numbers merged into one line. He said he cannot use 2 adapters on his network.

Posts: 42 · Full Forum Member Joined: Aug 12, 2007 Posts: 42

rebus wrote:

From his problem description, I think he wants the 2nd number transferred to port #2 on his primary adapter-- not 2 numbers merged into one line. He said he cannot use 2 adapters on his network.

I think my answer was not clear enough. I get that he simply wants 2 different numbers from 2 different accounts merged into 1 account using both ports of 1 adapter.

And according to the FAQ's @ vonage.com that is still currently not possible. I wanted to do it 2 or 3 months ago and was told that it wasn't yet possible so I simply run with 2 adapters.

I don't know that I care about it for my own situation any longer. I was concerned with the 2 boxes on the same network causing an issue and it hasn't yet.

Posts: 152 · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 10:58 am Post subject:

dualsub06 wrote:

If you check the FAQ at Vonage.com it states that currently you cannot merge the numbers from 2 accounts into one.

Not quite,... at least I couldn't find the FAQ that you refer to. However, I did find this FAQ:

Vonage FAQ wrote:

I have more than one Vonage line already on two separate accounts. Can I merge these into one account?

At this time, we are working on plans to allow customers to merge multiple lines into single accounts. You can still use your Vonage Online Account to setup features such as Call Forwarding and SimulRing.

But you are right here:

dualsub06 wrote:

... he simply wants 2 different numbers from 2 different accounts merged into 1 account using both ports of 1 adapter.

I have no great attachment to the second number; it could be cancelled as far as I'm conserned. However I assume that it is possible now as this was suggested from the Account Management representatives in order to have a great monthly rate for an existing number. The end result will allow me to have the second line for incoming only calls at the "$4.99 Residential Account Hold Plan" (as opposed to a higher rate for one of the regular second number plans).

Posts: 42 · Full Forum Member Joined: Aug 12, 2007 Posts: 42

xnewuser wrote:

Not quite,...

What do you mean not quite? That is it EXACTLY. You have 2 lines, 2 adapters and 2 accounts. You want the same 2 numbers on 1 adapter on 1 account.

-->At this time, we are working on plans to allow customers to merge multiple lines into single accounts.<--

That means that right now, you can't do it. I had the exact same issue only my other adapter wasn't used for travel, it was simply at another location. When I called they pointed me straight to that exact FAQ entry and said no, not yet.

Posts: 448 · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:16 am Post subject:

Maybe we should ask more pointed questions to the original poster. Which of the following is true, for your situation?

1) I have 2 separate accounts, and each account has 1 phone line.

2) I have 1 account that contains 2 phone lines. I got a separate adapter for each line.

Posts: 42 · Full Forum Member Joined: Aug 12, 2007 Posts: 42

rebus wrote:

Maybe we should ask more pointed questions to the original poster.

He spelled it out clearly already

xnewuser wrote:

I have two Vonage accounts, both have been working great!

And then:

xnewuser wrote:

But you are right here:
dualsub06 wrote:
... he simply wants 2 different numbers from 2 different accounts merged into 1 account using both ports of 1 adapter.

He has 2 lines, 2 numbers and 2 accounts. He wants same 2 lines, 1 adapter and 1 account. Currently not possible.

Posts: 448 · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 12:26 pm Post subject:

If you ever directly supported end users, you'd know that people use terms very loosely, and do not always say what they mean. In my day job I am a network administrator/engineer, and over a 20+ year career have supported more users than I care to remember. Here are a few "customer said" examples along with their actual translation.

"I have 2 servers with you." Translation: I have 2 virtual domains hosted on your web server, not 2 "servers".

"I have 5 accounts with you." Translation: I have 5 email addresses in my account.

Way too frequently, people on cable broadband refer to hops in a traceroute as "nodes" even though that term is absolutely wrong.

So when the original poster says "I have 2 accounts", it's entirely possible he actually means "I have 2 phone lines." Or it could mean that he actually has 2 separate accounts.

Bottom line is, NEVER ASSUME. Ask direct questions until you have absolute clarity.

Posts: 152 · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 1:35 pm Post subject:

dualsub06 wrote:

He has 2 lines, 2 numbers and 2 accounts. He wants same 2 lines, 1 adapter and 1 account. Currently not possible.

Yes... I have 2 lines, 2 numbers, 2 accounts, on 2 adapters (in case that wasn't clear. And yes... I want the same 2 lines (numbers?) in 1 adapter on 1 account.

The FAQ does NOT say "currently not possible." It says they "are working on plans to allow customers to merge multiple lines into single accounts." Customer service and account management and engineering say it is possible and offered me that option.

Are they wrong? How dated is that FAQ?