SLW1Premium
join:2005-03-18
Minonk, IL | [Packet8] P8 switching us to Business2000.unlimited overuse I've been lurking this forum since we made the decision to go with P8 in January. So far, we had really good luck and never had to call Customer Service. We had our POTS service disconnected a few weeks ago (due to the horror stories, we didn't even bother going through porting and had no real ties to our old POTS number).
Our reason for going to VOIP was due to our family of 6 breaking the bank in long distance bills and went with the Freedom Unlimited plan...unfortunately thinking the unlimited plan meant unlimited calling. Our account is always in use by someone here.
We get this email from P8's accounts receivable dept saying that as of 4-1, they are going to switch us to the Business 2000 plan because of what they call "Exceeding Normal residential Usage".
We looked under what this Business 2000 plan entails...$35 a month with a 2000 minute limit and then 3 cents a minute afterwards. So, we're going to end up paying more for less. I can get a 2000 minute calling card for less than $35.
We looked under this section 10 they referred us to in the Terms and it looks like they can decide what they deem is normal residental usage and that unlimited calling does not mean unlimited calling. What residental services are they basing their normal limits from? Quite honestly, if they want to be basing normal residental services, they should be basing it on families like us with teenagers in the house. If they don't, they'll be losing lots of customers.
I honestly feel like I'm being screwed. P8 is the only service that has any numbers in our area code.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do to keep our Freedom Unlimited account?
We even thought we could go as far as setting up another account and spitting it between the two. I'd rather spend $40 a month on two Freedom Unlimited accounts than $35 on one B2000 account.
Has anyone else been forced/threatened to the B2000 account? If so, what did you do?
I did email P8, but of course from what I've read out here, it will be a cold day in .... before I'll get a response.
HELP!!!
Sorry for the novel....
Sherry |
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| Well, Sherry in general you'd should take this up with Packet8 and explain to them your situation - also, out of curiosity, how many minutes did your family use in the last few month?
-Sky |
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 Nate425Premium
join:2005-02-03
Charlottesville, VA | Re: [Packet8] P8 switching us to Business2000.unli I haven't been in that situation, but I would call them and talk to a supervisor (during off peak hours of course) and explain what's going on. Hopefully they'll realize it is better to keep you as a customer, than have you shop somewhere else. It just seems like they should be able to work something out for you...but really, who knows what they'll do. |
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 joakoPremium
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null
kudos:5
 ·Comcast
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In the past it seems Packet8 was very lenient about this and they would deal with it on a case-by-case basis, so if it appears you are not using it for business (IE: making long calls to the same few numbers vs making short calls to many different numbers primarily during business hours).
Packet8 has even stated in the past that if you are using a residential plan for light business usage, it would be acceptable.
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I'm joakimsen and I approve this message.»sveasoft.pifiu.com |
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SLW1Premium
join:2005-03-18
Minonk, IL | reply to SLW1
Quite honestly, we use a lot of minutes and always have.
Keep in mind that I have teenagers in the house before your big gasp (also keep in mind what we were paying for long distance and cell phone over minute usage before going to P8).
Last months usage was....drumroll.....8500 minutes. This month we're already over 5000. I understand it is excessive. Life was easier and cheaper before boyfriends and girlfriends got into the picture. Obviously no business going on here.
For some stupid reason, I thought having teenagers would be easy...I'm now getting smacked upside the head (and pocketbook) for saying that now. I must call my mom to apologize for everything I did as a teen. |
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joakoPremium
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to SLW1
Right but it is clearly personal use no? Latenight conversations with girl/boyfriends and such? As I said, the the past it was Packet8's policy to determine usage on a case-by-case basis based on calling patterns, not just the number of minutes you use.
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I'm joakimsen and I approve this message.»sveasoft.pifiu.com |
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SLW1Premium
join:2005-03-18
Minonk, IL | reply to SLW1
So, when's the best time to call them? Anyone have any experience when they're the best help or I could get better results from them? When's their peak time (during day or evening)? |
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1 edit | reply to SLW1
What area do you need a phone number for? Area code and first 3 digits? |
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SLW1Premium
join:2005-03-18
Minonk, IL | reply to SLW1
Our current account has a Bloomington, IL number (nobody has one for our town). |
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SLW1Premium
join:2005-03-18
Minonk, IL | reply to SLW1
(309)807 is our current number through P8 |
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| reply to SLW1
Lingo has a number there and should not give you any hassle with minutes used. I checked Sunrocket and Broadvoice but they do not have numbers. |
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 digiblurGot Sipura?Premium
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana | reply to SLW1
said by SLW1:Our current account has a Bloomington, IL number (nobody has one for our town). Who have you checked?
Were most of the calls incoming or outgoing? I don't think it matters with Packet8 though since they count the incoming minutes as minutes used too.
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FWD#64466 - »[Sipura] Make your Sipura Speak! - Step by Step |
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Nate425Premium
join:2005-02-03
Charlottesville, VA | reply to SLW1
Try to give 'em a call either very early morning, or late at night...11 o'clock or so your time. Hopefully you won't be on hold forever when you call then.
If the first person you talk to isn't sympathetic, continue on to the supervisor. |
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1 edit | reply to SLW1
Re: [Packet8] P8 switching us to Business2000.unlimited overuse said by SLW1:I honestly feel like I'm being screwed. P8 is the only service that has any numbers in our area code. Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do to keep our Freedom Unlimited account? We even thought we could go as far as setting up another account and spitting it between the two. I'd rather spend $40 a month on two Freedom Unlimited accounts than $35 on one B2000 account. As others have said, you might be able to get Packet8 to change their mind, if you politely talk to a supervisor (and explain how your family use really is residential).
OTOH: If you are already OK with getting two accounts, I should point out that you only need a "local number" for INCOMING calls. For OUTGOING calls, any number should work. This means you really only need a local number on ONE account, and it doesn't even have to be an account with good rates for outgoing calls (because you can use an account with a non-local number for outgoing). So you could get one carrier (with a "local number") for your "inbound" line, and a totally different carrier/number for your 2nd "outgoing" line (and the 2nd line does NOT have to be "local" to you, so you can go with any VoIP provider you like for "line 2").
In fact, I do something very similar here. We also have teenagers, so one phone line doesn't cut it. At the same time, we are forced to pay the telco for a costly POTS line, if we want to purchase DSL from them (which is pretty much the only broadband option in our area). So what we do is use our POTS line (which doesn't even have LD service enabled on it) as our main "incoming" phone line, and we also use it for "local" and "toll free" calls. But then we use our Packet8 line (which has a number that is NOT local to us, it's homed in a city 35 miles away) for most of our outbound LD calls.
The result is that we get most of the benefits of two phone lines, even though one line (the POTS one) doesn't do LD, and the other line (the Packet8 one) doesn't have a local number! And remember, any minutes spent on our POTS line (i.e. almost all incoming calls), don't show up as minutes used on Packet8 (which is probably the only reason our family has kept it below 3000 Packet8 minutes per month)... |
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SLW1Premium
join:2005-03-18
Minonk, IL | reply to SLW1
Re: [Packet8] P8 switching us to Business2000.unli Here's the scoop....
I called P8 customer service and explained this to them. Apparently, if you hit over 3000 minutes, it starts throwing flags.
I requested being transferred to a supervisor...was told that a supervisor cannot overturn/help anything the Receivables dept does and I must take it up with that dept.
I asked to be transferred to that dept...was told that it's hard to get calls in through to them as their lines are always busy (wonder why?). But, the rep gave me the name and email address for the person supposedly responsible over this dept.
So, I email this Kevin Reid at the email address give...guess what...bounced back as undeliverable (tried .com and .net). I ended up emailing receivables@packet8.net again (the same I responded to last night). I guess I'll email them a few times a day till I get a response or get too close to the 4-1 switchover date. Do they respond quicker if you send more emails?
The rep I talked to did mention that we could get a virtual number, which then gives us a total of 6000 minutes a month before setting flags. At our rate though, we'll need two virtual numbers.
So, for anyone wondering, Freedom Unlimited calling=3000 minutes a month. Why don't they just call it Freedom 3000?
Thanks to everyone that's offered their comments so far. I appreciate all the help! |
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Nate425Premium
join:2005-02-03
Charlottesville, VA | Just a random though, could you try calling corporate headquarters directly, and asking for Kevin Reid? If he's the head of a department there, they should at least be able to transfer you over to him...just act like you know the guy  Their number is 1-408-687-4120. |
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SLW1Premium
join:2005-03-18
Minonk, IL | reply to SLW1
Lingo was the only place I didn't look. The last time I did, they didn't have a Bloomington number. They require their own router, don't they? Or, is there a way to get around that with our NetGear router? |
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joakoPremium
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to SLW1
SLW:
It has been my experience that Packet8 "conveniently ignores/looses" messages and that sending them a few copies seems to make the messages "appear" and get responded to.
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I'm joakimsen and I approve this message.»sveasoft.pifiu.com |
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SLW1Premium
join:2005-03-18
Minonk, IL | reply to SLW1
That's what I figured...I'll just frequently resend the messages until they get responded to. |
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Test99Premium
join:2003-04-24
San Jose, CA
kudos:1
1 edit | reply to SLW1
It would certainly be better if all your numbers were local. But, as DracoFelis said, it's not strictly necessary. You could, for example, give each person their own BroadVoice number with unlimited in-state calling for $10 per month. BroadVoice doesn't have numbers available in the 309 area code, so you would still need one local number.
Of course, there's always »QuantumVoice.com . They offer a toll-free number for $42 per month that gives you unlimited incoming and outgoing calls. But I don't know if there are limits on their unlimited service.
Any chance the girlfriends/boyfriends could be persuaded to use »Skype.com or »FreeWorldDialup.com ? That could really cut down on phone usage. |
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