Don't replace your phone - Vonage not ready for Primetime

Posts: 60 · Full Forum Member Joined: Apr 21, 2005 Posts: 60

I was a relatively happy Vonage user for a few days over 3 months. I told everyone I knew that Vonage was the best of breed and that anyone would be crazy to keep paying the exorbitant rates that the telephone company charges. I contracted a second line connected to the same PAP2 and a virtual number in Mexico City. In other words, I was a satisfied customer.

Last night, I lost dial tone on my two phone lines and the adventure begins. Using a cellphone, I called Vonage "customer care" and after waiting a good bit a spoke to technical support. We went the whole route, unplugging the ATA, router, and cable modem. Resetting each and everyone of them several times. Resetting the ATA back to factory defaults using **** and the code etc. nothing. The support rep said that he gave up and I would have to return the PAP2 to the retailer (Staples) or to Linksys and when I got a new one I should call Vonage back and ask for a MAC swap.

The next day, I checked with Staples and they would only accept returns on items purchased within 30 days. I would have to return the PAP2 to Linksys. That needless to say would take a minimum of 6 working days.

Next call to Vonage asking them if there was an alternative to not having phone service for more than a week. I was put through even more plugging and unplugging, setting and resetting and 120 minutes later (on my cell phone) it was determined that yes, the problem is my PAP2 (duh!!) and that they would ship out a new Linksys RT31P2 at no cost to me. They would also credit me one months usage of my primary line (not both). I also reminded him that I had yet to receive my rebate from Staples but did receive an email saying that I wasn't eligible to receive my $65.00 rebate he also promised to get that resolved. Thinking everything was well, I hung up.

Just got an email from Vonage confirming my "purchase" of a Linksys RT31P2 and a charge against my credit card of $156.78. My statement of account did show however a credit of $19.99 for "customer satisfaction". By the way, still no rebate.

The net results: I paid approx. $86 for the PAP2 at Staples in the beginning of April with the understanding that I would receive a $65.00 rebate. I'm on my 2nd day with no phone service. I've probably used up all my minutes on my cell phone and only received $19.99 for "customer satisfaction" and now I've been charged for $156.78 for a new router.

Upon calling back Vonage, the person that I spoke to was not available and according to the support person on line, there was no supervisor available either.

Now what?

I don't expect anyone here to help me but thanks for letting me get this off my chest. Needless to say, I'm no longer a satisfied customer and will not be recommending Vonage or any other VOIP provider. They tend to be good only in fair weather. When things get tough, they get going.

The next

Posts: 192 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 192

dcongrav wrote:

They tend to be good only in fair weather. When things get tough, they get going.

Thats funny, you just described yourself.

Posts: 1424 · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:26 pm Post subject:

dcongrav:

I think I understand the issues in your post, and I don't think I concur with your conclusion.

While I agree the high cost of repair/replacement of a failed router and the amount of time that you will be out of service until that replacement can be accomplished should be factored in to any decision, that should not automatically dissuade people from switching to Vonage.

While I don't want to discount your other issues they didn't seem to be a problem for you until this outage happened. The rebate issue is certainly an insult following injury, but it is not central to your main problem. As far as customer service goes, the trend from recent posts indicates that customer service is actually improving.

I think Vonage/Linksys could do more to make the central problem you faced less urgent. They could either use overnight service or local retailers to set up a loaner program for adapters that cease to work. Vonage could coerce Linksys to pay the loaner costs for adapters under warranty and the cost for loaners during non-warranty repair/replacement could be built added to the repair costs. (Since most routers would be replaced you would basically be buying the loaner.)

As far as your current problem, they may intend to credit you for the RT31P2 when you ship back your PAP2. I would call Customer Service and see what their story is.

As far as using up your cell minutes, one option might be to add SoftPhone onto your account and use your computer for calls while your adapter is down.

Posts: 60 · Full Forum Member Joined: Apr 21, 2005 Posts: 60

Thank you for a very well thought out reply.

Perhaps what annoys me most is that I told almost everyone I know that VOIP was the way to go and specifically Vonage. Not having phone service for the time it takes to replace faulty equipment is not transparent. I and most everyone else is purchasing telephone service with Vonage (and every other company as well) and we are not purchasing equipment except as a requirement for phone service.

You are right that the rebate issue is a separate item and your phrase "insult following injury" is certainly appropriate.

I don't know if it's their intention to refund me the $156.78 upon my returning the PAP2 and when I called technical support the technician wanted to go over everything again for the third time and could not put me into contact with the person who authorized the shipping of the replacement router nor could he put me in touch with a supervisor.

All of your suggestions are excellent and something similar will eventually have to be put into place to avoid losing phone service for weeks at a time. Otherwise no one will want to replace their existing telephone but just get it as a second line.

Contracting a Softphone for the "just in case" of ATA failure is an additional expense of $12.99/mo plus headset and/or USB phone. I have no other NEED for a softphone.

Ideally, as you've suggested, they should establish better relationships with retailers so that they could switch out the ATA and replace it with no questions asked or at the most an authorization number.

Thanks for your interest

Posts: 1424 · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:06 pm Post subject:

dcongrav wrote:

Contracting a Softphone for the "just in case" of ATA failure is an additional expense of $12.99/mo plus headset and/or USB phone. I have no other NEED for a softphone.

No, I was thinking that since Vonage was willing to give you a service credit that that credit could go towards the activation and first month of a SoftPhone account. Possibly you could cajole them into activating it for free. Then you could offset the cost of the headset purchase with the credit. I am unaware of a termination fee for SoftPhone, but if there is one then that would affect the math.

The SoftPhone account could then be used instead of expensive mobile phone minutes.

The $12.99 figure threw me until I realized this was the Canada forum. I assume that is the cost for SoftPhone from Vonage Canada. Headsets were going for not much more than US $10 several years ago when I bought my last one.

I was also thinking of this as a generic solution for the user who may not have a mobile phone and needs to have some means of communication. For example, Vonage could offer to let you use SoftPhone while your adapter is being shipped as opposed to the loaner program outlined above. This would obviously depend on Vonage's cost to provision a SoftPhone.

Posts: 60 · Full Forum Member Joined: Apr 21, 2005 Posts: 60

Thanks again Stephen. Your comments are welcome and the idea of "lending" the use of a Softphone until the ATA or router can be replaced is another bright idea.

Is anyone from Vonage listening to these pearls of wisdom???

And sometimes you wonder why startups fail......

I believe that there is a figure that says it costs 10 times more to gain a new customer than retain an existing one. Obviously someone at Vonage hasn't heard of that concept.

I was a happy, satisfied customer.

Posts: 110

dcongrav wrote:

Next call to Vonage asking them if there was an alternative to not having phone service for more than a week. I was put through even more plugging and unplugging, setting and resetting and 120 minutes later (on my cell phone) it was determined that yes, the problem is my PAP2 (duh!!) and that they would ship out a new Linksys RT31P2 at no cost to me.

They said they'd ship you the adaptor at no cost to you, yet they charged you $150+.. what is that about?

Also, why should he purchase the softphone for issues like so.. because if he has to do any trouble shooting and has to disconnect from the internet, he'll get disconnected from his call.. so that doesnt' resolve the issue neither.

Sorry to hear about yer struggles.

Posts: 60 · Full Forum Member Joined: Apr 21, 2005 Posts: 60

Thanks for the moral support djino.

I wish that I got some kind of support from Vonage. By the way I have called Vonage support 5 times since my original message and after going through hitting the #3 key, then #2 key and then listening to the recording regarding the 10 to 15minute wait and waiting 20 minutes and more on each call until my ear is numb.

The call quality is also very variable and the voice volume gets lower after each step until I can barely hear the recordings.

As a recap: I originally paid $89.95 + $12.59 GST/PST for a total of $102.54 for a PAP2 with no rebate in sight. Now I'm asked to pay $156.78 (inc GST/PST) no mention of rebates, returns, credits or anything. In other words my total outlay if I accept their router, will be $259.32. How about that for a low cost telephone system. And what's worse is that there is no one to talk to. And even worse...I liked Vonage and bragged about it.

Posts: 110 · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:24 pm Post subject:

Dear lord. I definently know what I'd do, if I were you, but I'm not sure if I could say/suggest it in these forums. Smile

If you are thinking of switching providers, I can give you a few options. Let me know what happens Smile

Posts: 60 · Full Forum Member Joined: Apr 21, 2005 Posts: 60

Thanks djino. Because I absolutely must have a virtual number in Mexico City, only Vonage (Canada) offers it in this country. If I were in the US then Lingo also offers virtual numbers in Mexico including Mexico City. There are no other providers at present in Canada that offer virtual numbers outside of Canada.

An update. I called Linksys and asked about their support policies vis a vis the PAP2 adapter. After explaining to them that Vonage requires a payment of $156.78 for a new router with no mention of an exchange policy they said that they normally do not support Vonage branded adapters or routers but because of what they consider extremely poor service by Vonage, they will look at sending me a new PAP2 adapter with the requirement that I send my defective one upon receipt of a new one. NO CHARGE.

They will be confirming with me tomorrow. They reiterated that it is their understanding that this is what Vonage should be doing according to their agreements and do not understand why Vonage is showing such poor customer service.

I'll let you all know tomorrow if they confirm the shipment of the new PAP2.

If this all works out, Kudos to Linksys and unprintable words and gestures for Vonage.