Review by johnlvs2run 
Posted: 1.7 years ago
member for 2.3 years, 55 visits, last login: 102 days ago
 Santa Maria,Santa Barbara,CA
 $30 per month (12 month contract)
 about 30 days
 "None"
 "Deceptive advertising"
 "They aren't honest. Avoid them at all costs"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
I signed up with VT 7 months ago.
Immediately after signing up they posted a bill that was $100 more than I'd signed up for and had been advertised on their site.
I called a rep and he said the price on their site was only for "illustrative" purposes, then tried to push me into going ahead and paying the $100 extra, or else a high monthly rate.
I was very upset with them trying to screw me and cancelled immediately. I had to request a confirmation email of the cancellation, as the guy just wanted to get off the phone. Then it didn't arrive by the next day so I called again and finally got it. I read stories on dslreports of others having the same problems and not getting the refund when they didn't get the price that was advertised.
To sum up, in my opinion VT is a bad company -- they gave me a bad feeling by signing up with them and I couldn't get away from them fast enough. I am still angry at them 7 months later and feel sorry for those who have been deluded and keep getting charged to pay more. If you look at the fine print on their site even now, you can see there are a number of ways they can add more on to your bill and jack it up higher.
My advice is to stay way from VT, and sign up with someone else who is honest.
I have been with SR for 7 months, at $13.26 a month and am very happy with them.
Followup comments:  
discjoker
join:2002-02-18
Billerica, MA
 ·PHONE POWER
·ViaTalk
edit:
November 18th, @06:48AM
| Can You Explain? What exactly were you charged extra for? I paid one lump sum for 2 years (buy one get one free) and haven't been charged extra. Each month I get a zero balance invoice.
Added Later: Okay, I think I figured it out. I am thinking you saw a monthly price on their homepage and signed up thinking that was the price month to month or for a shorter commitment. Viatalk has tiered pricing where the monthly price gets lower the longer you commit and prepay. So the monthly price advertised on their homepage is based on the longest commitment. This pricing is clearly laid out for you as you continue on with ordering. If you go for a shorter term, the lowest pricing is not available for you. Is this what happened? | |
|  | 
ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:
·ViaTalk
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: Can You Explain? said by discjoker :What exactly were you charged extra for? I paid one lump sum for 2 years (buy one get one free) and haven't been charged extra. Each month I get a zero balance invoice. Added Later: Okay, I think I figured it out. I am thinking you saw a monthly price on their homepage and signed up thinking that was the price month to month or for a shorter commitment. Viatalk has tiered pricing where the monthly price gets lower the longer you commit and prepay. So the monthly price advertised on their homepage is based on the longest commitment. This pricing is clearly laid out for you as you continue on with ordering. If you go for a shorter term, the lowest pricing is not available for you. Is this what happened? Which of course makes sense to rate them of call quality, reliability, ease of set-up etc... 
--
"A religious war is like children fighting over who has the strongest imaginary friend."
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage? »www.venganza.org/index.htm | |
| | | johnlvs2run
join:2006-04-08
Santa Maria, CA
·magicjack.com
·ViaTalk
| Explanation - Stop the Excuses said by ptrowski :Which of course makes sense to rate them of call quality, reliability, ease of set-up etc... The VT call quality was terrible. I could hardly hear the rep, kept telling him this and asking him to speak up or turn up the sound. He would reply, "how's this?", which was no better. He said a lot of people were complaining about not being able to hear them.
The last time I checked, call quality is call quality?
The easy of set up obviously sucked big time. It was not easy to set up at all. In fact, I cancelled with them, because they weren't measuring up to the misleading statements on their web site.
IMO that is not reliable.
In any case I cancelled with VT, and went with a company that IS reliable, i.e. SunRocket and I am very happy with them. Every part of their operation, service, call quality, reliability and helpfulness has been excellent and continues to be such.
I had a bad feeling with VT, from them trying to screw me in the seconds right after I had signed up with them to even now today, long after I cancelled the order. If you want the same then go ahead and do business with them.
However, if you want to be happy with the company you have signed up with, then I'd stay far away from VT.
Personally I am very happy with SR, and plan to stay with them for a very long time, as long as they are maintaining their excellent standards.
Good luck. | |
| | | |
ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | Re: Explanation - Stop the Excuses Did you ever receive your adapter? | |
| okieopie
Premium
join:2004-02-06
Alexandria, KY
edit:
November 18th, @01:23PM
| These kind of reviews need to be deleted So, you're ticked off because you didn't understand that to receive the cheapest rate you had to prepay for a year? I don't think that justifies rating the company down for quality of service -- especially since you never seem to have used them. And it's been 7 months??? Get over it! | |
| | johnlvs2run
join:2006-04-08
Santa Maria, CA
·magicjack.com
·ViaTalk
| Honest reviews have a right to be here That is the kind of response that you get when you sign up for VT.
I signed up for a year, and paid in advance for a year.
Yes I used them for the couple of days that it took to cancel. In the meantime the call quality sucked big time. I could hardly hear the rep on the other end, except the one who tried to switch me into paying double the price for the same thing I had already paid for and that was advertised on their web site.
I haven't made any rating for any company since the time I signed up with VT, cancelled with them, and then signed up with SR. I have been with SR since then, very happy with them, and haven't been back to the forum since that time BECAUSE of being absolutely happy with SR, no problems or issues at all.
Contrast this with all the problems you see on the forum about VT, and the same people who were here 7 months ago answering EVERY message and trying to blame you because you expected to get what they advertised.
Now they don't want to allow any ratings that tell the truth about the VT misleading advertising and poor service.
Buyer beware!!!
When truthful ratings are not allowed, then you can't believe what is posted in the ratings.
Well this rating is an honest one, and it is your choice to believe it or not, or to believe the ones who try to cover things up and disparage you when you find out the real truth about VT.
But you don't have to bother with that. I am telling you exactly what happened right here. This is an honest rating about VT. I suggest staying far away from them, or else the responses you will get when there is a problem will be much the same as you see the responses to my rating of them on this thread.
I hope you pick a company that is good. And that won't be VT.
I suggest going with a company that HEARS your concerns and takes care of them. Not one that tries to delete them.
All the best. | |
| | | okieopie
Premium
join:2004-02-06
Alexandria, KY
| Re: Honest reviews have a right to be here Honest reviews??? I would hardly say that your review is honest. If so, why didn't you mention in your initial review that the call quality was horrible? Methinks your story has too many holes and you're just peeved because you didn't understand that the price per month that ViaTalk was advertising was the cost when averaged over the term of the commitment.
I had SunRocket for almost 2 years and consider that company a great value. However, ViaTalk had several features that SunRocket did not have. The call quality has been very similar between the two. The uptime for ViaTalk has been significantly greater. The customer service that I've received at ViaTalk has been multiple times better than that at SunRocket.
My point about deleting the review is not to say that you have no right to express your opinion. You have every right to inform the people in this group about your experience. However, because you're ticked about a misunderstanding about price should not be reflected in your review about the quality of service, ease of installation, website, etc. Rate down the customer service if you like, but don't rate things you have no clue about. | |
| | johnlvs2run
join:2006-04-08
Santa Maria, CA
·magicjack.com
·ViaTalk
| When it smells like a fish, it's a fish. I signed up and paid for 1 year in advance, at the price that was advertised on their web page.
At the end of the sign up process, a screen popped up confirming my order, except it was not the price advertised, it was quite a bit more. I posted on the forum about this at the time, and quite a few others were having the same problems with VT, i.e. they advertised one price to suck you in, then they jacked it up and switched you to something else during the sign in process.
Trying to tell me I signed up for one month, when I paid the full price in advance for a year is ridiculous, and the type of misleading and deceptive advertising at which VT apparently excells.
Don't be fooled by VT reps posting here in the ratings and also on the forum. They were doing the same thing when I signed up 7 months ago and are still doing it here now. The VT web site is also much the same as it was then.
Don't be fooled by their deceptive advertising.
And take a look at the ratings. The VT per month rate is suggested as being very low but it isn't. The SR rate is much lower.
I went with SR and am very happy with them. After reading through all the complaints with VT and Vonage jacking up the prices, I'm convinced there is no better company out there than SR.
Another thing is that if you signed up for a "free 2nd year" with VT, beware. A VT rep told me after I had signed up that I could only get the so called free year if I signed up for another yearly term before the end of the first year. Then after I had signed up for an additional year, they would give me the free year. Also the rep was confused about this - though most of the confusion seemed to be trying to explain it to me. Sound confusing to you????? You bet it is.
I have chosen to go with a company that is honest, and will never deal with someone like VT.
Who you deal with is your choice. Good luck | |
| | | chas3
join:2004-12-03
Dallastown, PA | Router can make a big difference I discovered that the type of router can make a huge difference in voice quality. With a Dlink router, viatalk was unusable. Switched to a Zyxel X-550 and now viatalk is near perfect. | |
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