tcallan
join:2007-07-18
Clifton Park, NY
| Reupped
I know that on these forums, the people with the irritations are usually the loudest, and that makes sense.
To keep balance, though, as a SunRocket refugee, today I reupped ("upgraded") VT at the 18 for 12 month price.
I have had to call VT maybe four or five times, and they have often been helpful, though the best help I got here when a VT rep looked into the "Calls To Canada Ending After 12 Minutes" thing. In that one, I didn't have to do the whole stupid dance where you have to run though the "let me check your connections thing."
Of course, this is after the SR bubble passed through; that was a mess.
The biggest boon has been a QOS device between the old router and the cable modem (HBB1) which calmed down many call issues. We still get too much echo sometimes, but that isn't a repeatable issue.
I let them provision me. Better they have to fix it than I do.
I don't like the new taxes and fees deal, which is why I waited until the last moment to upgrade, but I do see it becoming more common out there. I'd rather pay a lump sum, though.
And I want to own my damn ATA after a term, whatever that is; two years, two paid years whatever. I have been keeping the damn box around so as not to get dinged in the return for bitty parts, and that's a pain.
In the end, it came down to how much better another provider would have to be to justify the reinvestment in configuration. I have the call routing rules set up, and a large CallerID/Contacts setup the way we like it.
Lower cost providers often don't offer those routing/ID features, which keeps me from them. Many of our calls are to Canada, which kept me from even considering Ooma.
There are other providers out there, but none of them had such an amazing price, or amazing & unique features to make it worth changing.
VT does the job, with few complaints, has a reasonable price, so relearning/reconfiguring a new system just didn't seem worth it.
At least that's where I came out this morning.
Will VT screw up the renewal billing and piss me off? Maybe. The future holds no promises.
But all in all, no divorce here. |
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unknvoip
WWJID?
join:2006-07-25
Rochester, NY
 ·ViaTalk
| reply to tcallan
Re: Reupped
Thanks for sharing your analysis. There certainly is value in a setup that works for you and has the configuration you need without having to invest the time and effort to make changes. Others have jumped ship to chase a few pennies and/or catch the latest cool VoIP craze, with variable results. Unless things take a dive, I will be joining you in a month in signing up for another term. |
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nycityny
Premium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY
·PHONE POWER
·VoicePulse
 ·RCN CABLE
·ViaTalk
| reply to tcallan
tcallan: I was in your situation but took a different view. I was a SunRocket refugee and my two years with ViaTalk has a July 16 expiration date. I have generally been happy with ViaTalk's service. Their added fees are a different story.
One difference for me is that I used ViaTalk as a back-up service and use VoicePulse on my "main" line.
Rather than take the 18 months for the price of 12 and pay ViaTalk's taxes/fees, I jumped over to PhonePower. They offer 2 years for $199, have fewer fees and bill them up front for the first year. Their bells and whistles are not as complete as ViaTalk's but they are good enough. And I even let my ViaTalk number go and just took a new number with PhonePower. Easier that way.
I would say that ViaTalk taxed me away. |
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tcallan
join:2007-07-18
Clifton Park, NY
| You are correct; the VT seems worse on taxes and fees than other providers.
If had your criteria, both not caring if I kept configuration or phone number, and not having any real commitment to VT as a primary carrier, then yes, I would have shopped around and probably moved on.
But we have had the number for almost two decades, and the configuration has a cost.
I understand the mindset of the early adopter, and have GrandCentral/Google Voice, have tried a Dlink Skype phone, a couple of ATAs with some providers and a MagicJack. I have set my family up on Cordia and F9.
I'm just wondering what VT could have done to keep you, other than maybe being the cheapest provider. You don't care about all the bells and whistles, seem to have little investment in providers other than cash. That's fine; just not my case.
The taxes and other details are annoying with VT, I agree. But I suspect that taxes and fees are the way of the future, sadly. I considered PhonePower, but read here that they are also changing their tax/fee structure. |
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | It is becoming the way of VoIP which is too bad. The states and feds ll want to get their hands on a piece of the pie. Some areas are obviously better than others, but I think the "pay one price" without tax providers willl do the way of the dodo. |
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SuperHemp
join:2007-08-15
Burnt Hills, NY
1 edit | Last I knew the attorney general, of NY, was looking into the charges voip taxes and that should be desolved, but I have not heard anything after that. |
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | It would be nice to get a win but I would be extremely surprised if that happens. |
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44402812
Hack The Planet
Premium
join:2006-08-28
Plattsburgh, NY
| reply to tcallan
said by tcallan  :You are correct; the VT seems worse on taxes and fees than other providers. If had your criteria, both not caring if I kept configuration or phone number, and not having any real commitment to VT as a primary carrier, then yes, I would have shopped around and probably moved on. But we have had the number for almost two decades, and the configuration has a cost. I understand the mindset of the early adopter, and have GrandCentral/Google Voice, have tried a Dlink Skype phone, a couple of ATAs with some providers and a MagicJack. I have set my family up on Cordia and F9. I'm just wondering what VT could have done to keep you, other than maybe being the cheapest provider. You don't care about all the bells and whistles, seem to have little investment in providers other than cash. That's fine; just not my case. The taxes and other details are annoying with VT, I agree. But I suspect that taxes and fees are the way of the future, sadly. I considered PhonePower, but read here that they are also changing their tax/fee structure. How do you like your Dlink Skype phone? How is the reliability? For 36.00 for Skype out and 18.00 for a skype in number it is a very cheap way to make and receive calls. Since they don't have many DIDs one could pick one close to them for a very reasonable or in my case free with GrandCentral. |
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mogulman
Premium
join:2002-09-09
Parker, CO
·ViaTalk
·Comcast Digital Vo..
·Comcast
1 edit | reply to nycityny
said by nycityny Rather than take the 18 months for the price of 12 and pay ViaTalk's taxes/fees, I jumped over to PhonePower. They offer 2 years for $199, have fewer fees and bill them up front for the first year. Their bells and whistles are not as complete as ViaTalk's but they are good enough. And I even let my ViaTalk number go and just took a new number with PhonePower. Easier that way. I would say that ViaTalk taxed me away.
I've given up on trying to find decent service with no taxes or no fees. Initially a few years ago it was a sticking point. Now most providers have some kind of fees, or their higher prices include it.
You just have to figure out if the pricing is good for you with the fees/taxes. Add it up monthly or yearly and compare between providers based on the services they offer you. |
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Aveamantium
join:2006-10-02
Loveland, CO
·ooma
·ViaTalk
| I seriously considered extending another term with VT since I've been happy with them for the last three years but all they offered was the 18 months for $199 which after fees would cost me about $263.
I decided to save some money and put my bets on ooma. For $200 up front I'm getting free calling to the US, Call Waiting, Caller ID and Voicemail "for life" (you can also get the second line, call block and other features for $100 per year). Now this all depends on if ooma's business model can survive (which seems to be a hotly contested topic) but if I can get just over a year with it I'll break even as compared to what I was going to spend with VT. After this it is all gravy! The biggest drawback to ooma so far is they don't have failover as of yet but that is supposed to be coming out soon.
Just my $0.02 |
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nycityny
Premium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY
·PHONE POWER
·VoicePulse
·RCN CABLE
·ViaTalk
| reply to mogulman
said by mogulman :You just have to figure out if the pricing is good for you with the fees/taxes. Add it up monthly or yearly and compare between providers based on the services they offer you. Exactly. For me it was about $17/month for ViaTalk and $11/month for PhonePower. PhonePower includes no additional fees for the first year. ViaTalk's charge is subject to change at any time and their contract lock was for only 18 months vs 24 months for PhonePower.
I came very close to re-upping with ViaTalk because it would have been easier (though mailing back ViaTalk's adapter wasn't so difficult). But with a 35% savings the switch was justified for me. |
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44402812
Hack The Planet
Premium
join:2006-08-28
Plattsburgh, NY
| reply to mogulman
said by mogulman :said by nycityny Rather than take the 18 months for the price of 12 and pay ViaTalk's taxes/fees, I jumped over to PhonePower. They offer 2 years for $199, have fewer fees and bill them up front for the first year. Their bells and whistles are not as complete as ViaTalk's but they are good enough. And I even let my ViaTalk number go and just took a new number with PhonePower. Easier that way. I would say that ViaTalk taxed me away. I've given up on trying to find decent service with no taxes or no fees. Initially a few years ago it was a sticking point. Now most providers have some kind of fees, or their higher prices include it. You just have to figure out if the pricing is good for you with the fees/taxes. Add it up monthly or yearly and compare between providers based on the services they offer you. Welll Said... Changing providers is a PITA and the only time I would jump ship would only be if they raised there rates dramatically or in my case I feel the service and support took a nose dive. True my VoIp provider may not have all the bells and whistles but reliability and support have always been rock solid. |
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tcallan
join:2007-07-18
Clifton Park, NY
| reply to 44402812
Re: Skype Phone
Didn't really like the Skype phone, like the Magic Jack.
Skype thinks in Skype contacts that have to be chosen from a menu or dialed with a plus sign.
Magic Jack thinks in phone numbers that can easily be stored or used.
If I was using the phone to other Skype members, that might be different, but it was easier to teach the family a phone that acts like a phone. |
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jester121
Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
 ·surpasshosting
·ViaTalk
| reply to tcallan
Re: Reupped
I just got my renewal notification the other day, they went ahead and charged my credit card the $199 for 12 months, at least I received the e-mail.
I'll be cancelling once I figure out what I'm going to do -- thanks in large part to Viatalk's crap service over the last 2 years, we hardly use our home phone any more, I may just port the number onto one of our cell phone accounts just to avoid the hassle of switching.
Now what did I do with that Linksys box? |
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tcallan
join:2007-07-18
Clifton Park, NY
| reply to tcallan
Credit Card Company Checking On VT Charges
Apparently, there must be many ViaTalk users who ended up disputing their charges, especially for renewal.
The credit card company sent a e-mail to call an automated number, and even after we did that, they called to ask if we authorized the two charges to "a telecommunications company" (monthly fee & reup charge)
I guess enough people get auto-renewed and then dispute the charge that they have become proactive.
A worrying turn, there. |
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:
1 edit | That sounds more like a bank service. Fidelity does something similar from time to time. |
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VTBrendan
Viatalk
Premium,VIP
join:2005-06-27
Clifton Park, NY
| reply to tcallan
said by tcallan :Apparently, there must be many ViaTalk users who ended up disputing their charges, especially for renewal. The credit card company sent a e-mail to call an automated number, and even after we did that, they called to ask if we authorized the two charges to "a telecommunications company" (monthly fee & reup charge) I guess enough people get auto-renewed and then dispute the charge that they have become proactive. A worrying turn, there. This is becoming more and more standard practice for banks everywhere. We perform a lot of online transactions ourselves due to the nature of our business, and I get calls from our bank weekly just to verify transactions and make sure everything is as it should be.
-Brendan |
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44402812
Hack The Planet
Premium
join:2006-08-28
Plattsburgh, NY
| reply to tcallan
said by tcallan :Apparently, there must be many ViaTalk users who ended up disputing their charges, especially for renewal. The credit card company sent a e-mail to call an automated number, and even after we did that, they called to ask if we authorized the two charges to "a telecommunications company" (monthly fee & reup charge) I guess enough people get auto-renewed and then dispute the charge that they have become proactive. A worrying turn, there. My fiend got a package from Lingo a few year back ordered fraudulently with his CC number. VoIp unfortunately is becoming a high fraud area just like cell phones were in years past. |
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jay_rm
join:2002-04-12
Netville
 ·Fox Valley Internet
·ViaTalk
| reply to nycityny
Re: Reupped
said by nycityny :I would say that ViaTalk taxed me away. My VT taxes & user fees are less then $2/mo.
Guess I live in a 'friendlier' tax area then NYC (that wouldn't be too hard...)
Per the OP, my VT service just works and works and works...
--
3500/512 5.7 GHz Motorola Canopy Wireless; FoxValley.net
'It looks just like a Telefunken U47 !' |
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