is it free when I forward my calls to Hong Kong(landline)?

Posts: 86 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Mar 29, 2008 Posts: 86

I will be visiting Hong Kong in a couple of weeks. My friend now
works there and I'll be staying in her apartment.

If I go to Vonage's website and forward my home Vonage number
to her Hong Kong(landline) phone number, will I be charged
anything?

I assume it will be free, since I have the Basic World plans which
includes Hong Kong... but I just wanted to double-check.

THANKS! Smile

Posts: 881 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Nov 05, 2005 Posts: 881

No, you should NOT be charged anything since China is included in your calling plan. When you setup the call forwarding to your friends landline number, be sure to enter 011 followed by the country code, area code and local number.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:59 pm Post subject:

According to the Vonage FAQ on Call Forwarding:

Call Forwarding lets you easily forward your calls to your cell phone or any number in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico at no extra charge! You can set it to ring your home phone first for up to 50 seconds then forward the call – it doesn’t matter, because we give you the power of flexibility.[/B]

And in the Advanced FAQ:

Can I forward my calls to an International phone number?

Yes. You can forward your calls to any phone number you choose. Rates for International Call Forwarding will be the same as making a call to that location.

Please ensure International Calling is enabled to use this feature.

I'm unclear on what exactly that means, but I strongly suspect that forwarding a call, rather than initiating one, will incur the long distance rates. Vonage doesn't like it when you forward a lot of your calls to start with.

Of course, since Vonage doesn't LIST international rates any more, it's tough to say what that would be. Every time I go to look up international rates for my $15 limited plan, it gives me the 1 cent per minute China rate for the Unlimited plan. Sigh...

Posts: 1327 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 1327

I would contact Vonage to find out for sure. Since you are on a plan for international calling then it shouldn't be a charge.

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Apr 11, 2008 Posts: 1

China and Hong Kong are different. It costs 4 cents/minute to dial to Hong Kong. China costs 1 cent/min.

Posts: 433 · Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject:

Chart says under Basic World Plan that Hong Kong is an included country. The users who pay per minute are those who do not subscribe.

Am I correct?

Posts: 86 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Mar 29, 2008 Posts: 86

I am now confused. Smile

Just got off the phone with a very nice Vonage rep. Explained to
her what I wanted to do and she said my forwarded calls to
Hong Kong will be bille at the per minute rate. She said she did
see that I have the Basic World Plan which included unlimited calls
to Hong Kong. But she said that's only for calls that I dial from my
home phone line(of Softphone), not for forwarded calls... !!!???

I plan to call again later and see if another Vonage rep will say the
same thing... Sad

Posts: 830 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Jun 08, 2007 Posts: 830

If all else fails and you have broadband where you are going to be at, bring your laptop with Vonage talk installed.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:06 pm Post subject:

kiersten wrote:

I am now confused. Smile

Just got off the phone with a very nice Vonage rep. Explained to
her what I wanted to do and she said my forwarded calls to
Hong Kong will be bille at the per minute rate. She said she did
see that I have the Basic World Plan which included unlimited calls
to Hong Kong. But she said that's only for calls that I dial from my
home phone line(of Softphone), not for forwarded calls... !!!???

I plan to call again later and see if another Vonage rep will say the
same thing... Sad

I suspected that might be the case, and you'll probably get a consistent answer if you call other reps, or a nasty surprise when you get your phone bill if you end up with a rep who gives you the answer you want.

Vonage doesn't even (according to a number of threads on this forum) like you to use forwarding "too much" to start with. A few people have mentioned being changed to a different and more expensive plan when they used forwarding a lot.

Posts: 86 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Mar 29, 2008 Posts: 86

[quote="NateHoy"]
I suspected that might be the case, and you'll probably get a consistent answer if you call other reps, or a nasty surprise when you get your phone bill if you end up with a rep who gives you the answer you want. [/quote]

Well... I spoke with two more Vonage reps today. Both said the
same thing as the one that I talked to yesterday.

Even if you have Basic World Unlimited Plan, you will be charged
the per minute rate if you set your home number to forward
incoming calls to Hong Kong...

I think this is just wrong... but since it came from three different
Vonage repa, I'll just live with it... Guess I better bring my Vonage
adapter with me to Hong Kong then... Very Happy

Oh well.........