“People Do Stupid Things........."
Written: Jan 23 '06 (Updated Jan 24 '06)
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People Do Stupid Things…
“People Do Stupid Things”, Like sign up for a VoIP service that is not ready to be considered as reliable service.
First how to sign up & what you get:
I signed up by buying a wireless VoIP Linksys Vonage router at a big box electronics store.
The initial charge was $ 150. But I did get a $ 50 gift card & $ 100. rebate (which you don’t get back until you have been on Vonage for 90 days, plus an additional 12 weeks for them to process and send your rebate check).
You set up the router after your cable modem. You then plug a house phone into the router, since all your calls are made through an internet connection. The set-up for me was easy, except for the forty-five minute call to customer service to finalize the set-up.
Once set up my monthly bill with tax, came out to $ 27.40 a month.
Features included:
--Caller ID – see below for comments
--Call Waiting- a tone five times louder than what you are used to on regular phone service.
--Call Forwarding- you can set to call another number when your service is down.
--Three-way calling- never used.
--Voice mail- can email when you get a call. you can check your voice messages online.
--You can also add addition lines, 800 number service, virtual numbers
--E911- is a service that is becoming available across the country- You enter your address into the E911 setup, and every time you dial 911, the call will be routed to the nearest 911 facility. You may still have to give your address to a dispatcher, as it may not come across their ID, like regular phone service does (see my comments below about E911).
Making & Receiving calls is just like a regular phone, except instead of setting up number of rings, you set up number of seconds. The phone will still ring like normal, but will go to voicemail based on how many seconds (10, 20, 300 ect..), you want it to wait (see my comments below on calling issues).
There is no software to install for Vonage, it is all handled through the service and router.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE VONAGE SERVICE:
I signed up for Vonage in July of 2005. Ever since then, I have documented every issue I have encountered.
The first problems started in July, when I was unable to make calls to cell phones. The phone would ring about six times and then there would be silence. –Vonage acknowledged the problem and after an hour and a half on the phone with customer service, software trouble shooting, the problem was somewhat fixed. As of January 2006, I still have trouble calling cell phone numbers twenty-five percent of the time.
Problem two, unable to send & receive faxes. This was resolved with a software upgrade.
Problem three, calls have delay and echos. This was resolved in mid August of 2005, but as of January 2006, the echo has come back on twenty-five percent of my calls.
Problem four, unable to complete calls. This started in September of 2005. I was told by Vonage tech service, they were aware of problem and a software update was coming. The problem was resolved for the most part, by November 2005.
Problem five, no caller id. This was always a problem since I signed up. Vonage said they would have a fix sometime in December. As of January 2006, I have caller id on seventy-five percent of my incoming calls. The ID comes up, “out of the area” when caller ID is not working. NOTE: I am able to receive caller ID on my cell phone on all the calls that my Vonage line can’t ID.
Problem six, loss of service. I have lost total service, seven times between, July 2005 and January 2006. Outages lasted from one hour to six hours. NOTE: If you lose your internet service, you lose Vonage. So even if it is not Vonage’s outage, you will still lose Vonage service, if your Cable or DSL service gose out.
Problem seven, Quality of Service. Because the service relies on an internet connection, my calls get a little choppy if someone is using the internet. I find I miss words said or people miss words that I say. All my calls, incoming and outgoing have a delay before connection. Meaning, I cannot hear the caller for a second or two when I receive or make a call. This gets frustrating when someone says “hello”, and you don’t hear them until they say it a second or third time.
Problem eight, Customer service. I have made over twenty calls to Vonage, not counting the hang-ups, after hearing “due to the volume of calls, your call will be answered in approximately twenty-five minutes.
When the call is answered, it is an outsourced customer service. I have had a hard time understanding the broken English of the customer service agent. Though I have had some friendly and helpful CSA’s, most have sounded angry and impatient, especially if you are calling about service issues.
For those of you considering Vonage, things to consider:
1. 911 service is different. You may have to tell the 911 dispatcher your address. This might be an issue if the person calling 911 is under stress or is guest that might not have it memorized.
2. When internet service is down, Vonage is down.
3. Vonage will slow your internet speed, especially during calls.
4. No guarantee, all your calls will go through, especially to Alaska.
5. You will have to get use to a delay before connection.
6. Vonage Customer Service, is probably the worst I personally ever had to deal with. 1. Hard to get a hold of. 2. Hard to understand. 3. Often rude.
7. Canceling will be a workout. I have already switched back to my old phone company. Vonage originally told me they would credit for partial month. But then I was told they do not credit. (Payments are via automatic credit card charge). Be prepared to cancel in writing and by phone. There is a $ 39.99 dollar cancel charge, if you cancel before twelve months.
Summary,
Though Vonage, Voice over IP saved me five dollars a month over my regular phone service, and included free long distance. Most cell phones plans include free weekend long distance calls, (some even have free evening long distance). Quality of service becomes an issue when you don’t have service, can’t complete a call and have intermittent use of features, that are supposed to make it a great $$ deal.
VoIP is a great concept, and over time as the technology gets better, either it, or some other communication technology might be the ultimate solution to cheap & reliable phone service.
I do not recommend Vonage as a VoIP service or as a reliable phone service.
Recommended:
No
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gst88
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Reviews written: 9
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