Tom Keating's Blogs 311 by Vonage

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Comments

[RonL]

I just had an interesting customer service wake-up call with Vonage. I've been using them for the last few months, but due to the unreliable service we have from Adelphia, we've chosen to canel Vonage. Gird yourself for a real rip once you choose to do this. While you can open a Vonage account on the web, cancelling it requires a phone call to a number that puts you on endless hold. When you do cancel, you find out quickly that you do not get credit for the amount you've prepaid for the service for the month. To do that, you need to call back on the exact day of your renewal (assuming you'd know that) and once again wait for an agent to answer. This can not be done online. Lastly, your credit card is billed for the device + tax immediately until you return the modem. Only then will you presumably get the credit waived.

Lastly, don't try and call the billing department to contest any of this. You'll receive a message that says "We're experiencing heavier than normal call volume, yada, yada, yada." They do not place you in a queue, they simply tell you to call back later!

If I wanted to be treated badly, I would have gone with Bell South in the first place. Vonage may have an interesting price advantage, but it is definitely at the expense of any decent level of customer service. Once you factor in the startup fee and the cancellation fee, there is little advantage to their lower rates. Add in the factor of the disadvantage with 911 calling and the lack of reliability of your cable provider, and you may well choose to go back to your traditional POTS provider. We certainly did.