Comments on: Vonage now charges 29% in fees (at least for me)

By: Joan Daly

Joan Daly — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:03:32 +0000

I’ve had two business lines and paid the $49.99/month for almost 3 years…they’ve never given me anything for any of the inconveniences, huge fees and taxes and outages. They’re rude and I’m now shopping around for Magic Jack, Ooma or Google voice.

Vonage better get over themselves, the competition is coming now and they actually give a damn about their customers.

By: Dwayne

Dwayne — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:28:02 +0000

I do not trust Comcast sales people. I’ve been lied to about setup fees. I specifically asked about all the fees for setting up new service and when I got my first bill.. yes, there were fees.

When I called to ask about about the fees, customer service told me, “Oh, They were mistaken” and would not reverse them.

This has happened to me twice.
Now I always count on hidden fees.

They only tell you what you want to hear so you will sign up.

Vonage has been the same price for me for years. They have horrible customer service but I have only needed to call them once or twice in 4 years.

Overall, I am happy with Vonage

Oh ya, the Vonage web site is extremely slow.

By: ed56

ed56 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:36:53 +0000

Yeah, none of the phone companies bother to notify you when governmental fees and taxes go up. Guess they figure that if you have a problem with it, call your congress person.

By: Roger Ulrich

Roger Ulrich — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:31:38 +0000

On April 22, 2009, I checked my bank account to find a slight increase of $0.32 bottom line. I went further into the fees and noticed they raised the Federal Program Fee by $.30 which increased the tax by $0.02…… Not a huge deal, but I never received a phone call, snail mail, email, text, nothing….. Inflation, Inflation, Inflation

By: mike

mike — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:08:38 +0000

i have had vonage over 6 months with very good service…

By: ed56

ed56 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:32:44 +0000

This all depends on what state you are in and how the company is rated by the FCC, a teleco (telephone) company or an ISP.

In some cases Comcast does charge additional fees (see discussion at http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21854111-And-Comcast-is-right ) and they may be regualted as a telco in the future since they run their VOIP service over a separate layer:
“They’re also arguing that because their Digital Voice service rides on a different layer from their broadband service and is not impacted by congestion management, it’s technically a telecommunications service — and subject to regulation and assorted fees.” see ( http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Doesnt-Like-Comcasts-New-Treatment-of-VoIP-100311 )

By: latonja eppinger

latonja eppinger — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:38:28 +0000

I recently, subscribed to vonage attracted by their outstanding promotions! withen the first month of service i had three weeks of technical issuesand called almost everyday to make resolution of the matter, i would get tranfered and put on hold for 20 minutes or more, then my credit card was charged almost 200′00 when i advsed the supervisor i was not pleased with the technical issues, static conversations many ,many problems i am a person of quality and customer service is so important this company has not demostrated how to service the volume or customers Please do not fall into the promotions trap you will have many problems… you get what you pay for exspecially in the service instrustry……. beware !!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you dont want to get unauthorized charges on you credit card statement…… switched to comcast great service and product

By: Melissa Mendoza

Melissa Mendoza — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:25:31 +0000

Hello!

If you are interested in making the switch to Comcast, email our team at We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com. We’d be happy to assist.

Kind Regards,
Melissa Mendoza
Comcast Customer Connect
National Customer Operations
We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com

By: Tech Guy16

Tech Guy16 — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 07:01:37 +0000

If you would like to avoid the fees you just need to register your e911 address in the state of Deleware. te is little or no extra tax charged in this local. Your taxes are based on you “physical location” which Vonage determines fromn you e911 registered address. When you call 911 from vonage it goes to thier routing center and you can then tell them where you require help. Judt an FYI though..Vonage is a very poor solution for contacting emergency services. You should get the local emergency police, fire numbers and use them if you are using VOIP anyway. Happy Savings!!

By: Enzo

Enzo — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:21:22 +0000

I dropped Vonage because of those fees. I replaced it with Skype In + Grand Central Number + Linksys CIT400 Voip Phone. It works beautifully. My total phone bill is only $96 / year. Sticking to the man without Vaseline.

By: JarOfSonicMen

JarOfSonicMen — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:58:02 +0000

All of that BS listed as ‘x fee’ is something CHARGED by the government to the company, and the company passes is on to you.

Yes, TelCo lobbyists are probably responsible that Vonage gets charged these fees (since the traditional TelCos get charged them as well). Isn’t it fair to level the playing field?

Honestly I am surprised that AT&T hasn’t bought Vonage yet. My Grandfather was right – Judge Green will have to break ‘em up again someday…

By: henry uri

henry uri — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:32:38 +0000

I have Magic Jack now since they updated it with Mac compatibility.

The computer needs to be on when using it but it saves a whole lot! $40 for the device and first year, and $20/yr afterwards.

Overpriced Voip is so 2008.

By: Ed Hudson

Ed Hudson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:52:34 +0000

I might also add, Ooma’s International rates are considerably higher (in most cases) than Vonage.

By: Ezekiel

Ezekiel — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:52:31 +0000

I’m sure you can thank the TelCo lobbyist for this! I hate it when the behemoths squash innovation, using the government to do their dirty work.

I have the same plan in Cali and my fees went up as well. I think I actually got a notice for it a month or so ago.

Still love my Vonage though. Might just switch to unlimited for a few bucks more and support the company I actually like. F the TelCos!

By: Ed Hudson

Ed Hudson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:30:58 +0000

I have been with Vonage since Aug 2007 and have had no problems, nor have they increased my rates as you mention in this article. I am on their unlimited Residential plan for $24.99. That’s what it was when I signed up, that’s what it is today. I must also mention the only time in two years that I’ve had any billing issues whatsoever, they actually gave me a one month credit for my inconvenience, something they didn’t have to do, but they did anyway. Have been very pleased with Vonage, and even if they did charge a bit more, the reliable service and many features they offer, to me, are worth it.

By: Stack

Stack — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:15:42 +0000

I ditched out of vonage 2 months ago and made the switch to ooma exactly for these reasons. Very happy with the one time $200 charge.

Thanks crunchgear for the introduction! Make the switch Matt.