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guppy_fish
Premium
join:2003-12-09
Lakeland, FL
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to KC9FOI
Re: BB B(s)
Viatalk has had issues for over two years, the Sunrocket excuse chooses to ignore the service has never been very reliable, does everyone know they STILL have beta servers and look for beta testers ... just look at the recent postings. I don't see Vonage/Call Vantage and the like doing this.
Viatalks key issue is technical, they decided to have all IP traffic go thru their servers, all other providers only route the call, then the actual call is direct. This was done for some of the features they promote, yet don't even have ( call recording is one I recall )
Viatalk also uses third party hosting companies for their severs sprinkled around the county and is a constant shuffle of how/where the servers are located and with whom. This seems to cause random routing issues as they are all 3rd/4th tier companies and not direct to the Tier one IP backbones.
The service is what it is, nothing more, nothing less, a beta level service that is lower cost than POTS. Until Viatalk goes with servers they have on site with redundant dedicated pipes and routes traffic like everyone else, it will continue to have issues and people file complaints. | |
Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
 ·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| How many people go to the BBB as their first attempt to correct a problem? Very few, I suspect. By the time someone resorts to complaining to the BBB, doesn't that usually mean they've not gotten a satisfactory response from the company?
Though I agree that it could be considered unfair that many complaints, even if they are all resolved, could result in 'de-accreditation' by the BBB, I have to agree with you ( guppy_fish  ) that this situation is not some malicious anti-ViaTalk campaign through the BBB. I've spoken favorably of the company numerous times in the forums and have long hoped they'd pull themselves together to offer a feature-rich, inexpensive, top-notch quality VoIP service. The signs of the ship going the wrong way really started in earnest with the first buy-one-get-one offer--long delays to open an account, to receive equipment, to reach customer support/get tickets resolved, etc. Such an event could be chalked up to the unexpected volume of business--once. But it happened with the next BOGO sale and then again with the SR collapse...
Other issues fanning the flames of discontent: the E911/regulatory recovery fee (probably wouldn't have been necessary if they weren't constantly running the BOGO deal), frequent dramatic changes in pricing, an obvious lack of adequate support procedures, and (worst of all, IMO) their practice of collecting the RRFs from customers who had subscribed to prepaid plans BEFORE the RRF was added to the TOS and acting as if that was the plan from the beginning... The point is, their BBB accreditation was bound to be revoked sooner or later.
Yes, I had a ViaTalk line--kept it for 15 mos, but didn't use it much. I was able to reproduce many of the complaints I read about in the forum of features not working, etc (not all, of course). But even at its best, VT didn't have the 'polish' (or 'solid quality feel', however, you want to word it) to me that my current provider does, so there was no real chance of switching to them for primary service. (Or, in the words of guppy_fish , they have the feel of "a beta level service.") Then, once I could no longer renew for under $9/mo, it wasn't worth keeping the line open... | |
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