I switched to Vonage because of the low monthly rate of $30. It was a great bargain because prior to this I was paying about $80 a month. However, the cost is not justified. Vonage service had went down hill since I had them. Bad connections while talking and phone dropped consistently. I understand that this is part of internet phone service because I am actually an IT guy but this was ridiculous! Customer service is TERRIBLE. You stay on hold for about an hour and then you get someone you can't understand and who don't really know what they are talking about. They always refer you to the online documentation. Needless to say, I canceled them and went with Comcast Phone service. However, to make matters worse, Vonage charged me for disconnect of $39.95 and they charged us for the last month service that was not even being used! Vonage charges you in advance so this really was a rip off. They told me that if we stayed with them than we would not be charged. Yeah right! I have read a bunch of reviews on Vonage and the majority are not good. I would not sign-up with Vonage. If you do...Be prepared for big issues!

I would not recommend this company until improvements are made on the customer service side of the company.

Vonage are Liers, I wanted to transfer my number over to a homeline for a T.T.Y. system. Vonage said yes, That it would be no problem at all to transfer my Number. On that note, I waited for 3 weeks and complaint with 3 phone calls. After each complaint, they assured me that my number will be activated within three days. After being lied to several times, I called to cancel with total dissapointment in their service and honesty . I also told them not to charge me any fees at all because i will not pay or anything that i didnot recieve or i will take further actions. I have already spread the word and will keep on spreading as much as i can

My story starts with a simple request to vonage for phone service. On 8-28-07 we were mailed an advertisement for phone service with many options included in the $24.99 Per month rate. We were disconnected in about three days after which we made a few calls to their help line due to very poor call quality, muffled words, dropped words, extra sounds on the line as well as dropped calls. Our fax machine also would not function as it had previously. We informed them that we could not use their services after it was not resolved but would not disconnect until 9-21-07. We would then return their router and expect a refund of @$14.99 Shipping and handling due as there was a money back guarantee as well as one free month service., Which was due to expire on 9-26-07. That same day our phone was disconnected by 3pm!!!

We contacted their service department and after numerous phone conversations and countless different information scenarios, it was told to us that they were sorry for the misunderstanding and they could reactivate the router they had deactivated but that we needed a new account, another $14.99 Charge that would be refunded in 24 hours and that ou phone number of the last 14+ years could be reinstated. After getting off the phone last at 3am the next message received was that we would get service with a new number plus we were charged another$42+ for the cancellation which was never requested by us and never witnessed by the 3rd party required by any phone service changes in the past. After yet another call to the service dept. Of vonage, we were told to call back Monday to see if indeed we could negate the last charge as well as to confirm that our old number would be available for our new carrier to pick up but only if the number was active which is required. We are presently in contact with our bank so that we are not charged for any of these "free" charges.

At the time of first opening an account with vonage, we were told payments occur automatically every month and that this would be reflected on-line. We never truly received complete service undisturbed as well as we also were given a money back guarantee if we were not satisfied completely. We were not at all satisfied and never given that same directions twice as we also had to use our cell phones to call them (no phone service) and use valuable minutes in their cause. We also explained that we needed our phone service due to family member illness as well as pregnancy complications and shower that we absolutely needed our service and our phone number back..

The bottom line is that we still do not have phone service and have been promised all day that it would be reconnected and it never happened. There was no communication between any of the operators as well as any consistent information given to remedy the situation plus no warning about charges until you received an e-mail. How can a phone company stay in business when the operators either can't speak English fluently and they are located in india or the philippines (sp) and they miss words spoken!!! This issue has already taken up more than enough of my time and energy and caused enough stress for my family .

Please investigate this matter to prevent any other free speaking citizen some real grief in simply trying to establish phone service to insure the safety and security of their loved ones!!!

I am appalled by the treatment of my mother, who is a senior citizen in Long Island, NY by the phone company, VONAGE. She signed up for service in December, promptly cancelled service and returned the equipment, but they keep billing her monthly for service she doesn't have.

Frustrated, she called me to ask for my help. I was sure I could straighten this out, but incredibly, and just like my mother said, they actually REFUSED to cancel the service when we called them. In addition, there was no record of her calling to cancel the service prior to this phone call. I was simply stunned. I asked again and again, "Are you saying that you will not cancel service and refund this woman's money for services she never used?" Not only did they refuse the refund, but they said they would charge her a cancellation fee and an equipment fee, for an additional 99 dollars.

I begged and pleaded with the rep, who claimed she "couldn't do anything to help", but incredibly kept pushing to have my mother sign up for a cheaper monthly service plan. No matter what I said, this rep continued to push the plan!

Exhausted, we hung up the phone and my 80 year old mom went to the bank to close her account, since it seems that is the only thing she can do to get them from charging her monthly fees.

I went to the consumer affairs website and apparently, lots of other customers nationwide have experienced this same scenario. There should be a news expose on the terribly business practices of this company! People should know before they make that call to start service.

I attempted to transfer my phone service to Vonage in good faith, and followed all of the instructions provided by Vonage. And as a result I am now out $11.00 for nothing.

Very, very poor business practices indeed. Not only will I never become a customer of Vonage, the relatives and friends that I was intending to recommend your service to will never hear a whisper from me. And I intend to file complaints with all regulatory agencies available to me.

All this trouble for a simple refund of $11.00. In hindsight, once my service had been canceled, the customer service representative should have initiated a paid return label for the adapter. It's not like I have been using your service, and then decided to change plans. The fact is, I NEVER transferred my service, and could not do so without incurring additional costs. The whole reason I requested to change plans was to save money, which ultimately I could not.

Do you really think it reasonable to burden a prospective customer with unforseen charges when attempting to become one of your loyal customers? You may want to revisit your marketing plan. Seems very strange to me.

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From: [email protected] <[email protected]>

I understand that you wish to receive refund for the shipping charges for returning your Vonage phone adapter.

As per the Money Back Guarantee policy, customer is responsible for shipping the phone adapter. Once the phone adapter is returned to Vonage, Vonage will issue refund for the charges made on your account. However please note that we do not have an option to issue credit for the return shipping charges as our system will not allow to issue refund higher than the charges made on the account. I appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.

To check our Money Back Guarantee policy, please visit the following web link:

http://www.vonage.com/features.php?feature=guarantee

If you have any questions, your Vonage team is available to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Contact us whenever and however it suits you!

- On-Line Support Center at http://www.vonage.com/support.php
- Contact Us at http://www.vonage.com/help_contactus.php
- Or call Toll-Free at 1-VONAGE-HELP (1-866-243-4357)

If you call us for Technical Support, in order for our highly trained specialists to successfully assist you, it is highly recommended that you are near the Vonage phone adapter you are calling about and in the location you intend to use your Vonage service.

Thanks again for choosing Vonage, a better phone service for less!

Sincerely,

Mani
Vonage Customer Care