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story category How To Flee SunRocket
Print out your statements and port!
(old news - 10:10AM Tuesday Jul 17 2007)
tags: business · trouble · VoIP
As we've been mentioning for five days now, SunRocket has terminated nearly all of their employees, and the lobotomized network is now simply stumbling around waiting for the inevitable end. Resident SunRocket users have been abandoning ship to other providers, while terminated employees have been helping in our forums where possible (in between filing for unemployment and looking for other gigs).

Users are starting to figure out how to unlock their gizmos, while one ex-employee has been operating a blog that's helping people understand the number porting process:
Porting a number is [a] "pull" process most of the time. This means that there need not be anyone alive on the other end to release the number. The only system that will still see the number at its original location is the system that you have ported from. In SR's case, they'll be "bricking" or killing their ATA's today sometime, so this won't be a problem. Secondly, SunRocket never bothered going through the registration to get its own numbers for a number of reasons (good for everyone, as it turns out), so proof of number ownership lies with the upstream number providers anyways: Global Crossing, Qwest, Broadwing.
Fleeing users need to print out a SunRocket statement from the website, open a new VoIP account elsewhere, tell them you'd like to port your number and send a copy of the printed statement. Some customers have started contesting any SunRocket billing charges with their credit card companies (some tips on this here). Note: you'd best hurry, since invoices are now mysteriously disappearing.

All of this and still absolutely no official word from the company (or its liquidation agent) to the public or any of its customers. If you need help choosing a new provider or porting your number, the folks in our VoIP forums are absolutely the best in the business.

Related:
  1. Vonage Faces Patent Infringement Claim by Nortel
  2. Multi-Day Vonage Outage Doesn't Help Longevity
  3. Gloomy Predictions for the Future of Skype
  4. Vonage Tries to Keep Customers
  5. Vonage Hates To See Customers Go
  6. Customers Lose VoIP Numbers to Slamming
  7. Vonage Fights To Avoid Bankruptcy
  8. VoIP Blamed in Death of Canadian Child
Forums » How To Flee SunRocket
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ITALIAN926

join:2003-08-16
Stratford, CT

another bombing voIP co ???

Or........ go back to having a reliable landline
Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·AT&T CallVantage

Re: another bombing voIP co ???

said by ITALIAN926 See Profile :

Or........ go back to having a reliable landline
While that option may be the best for some, one should realize the SR never had a good business model. If you take the time to read the uber-thread in the SR forum, you'll find some interesting tidbits about how much SR planned on paying per subscriber in acquisition costs. Hint: It was well over the $200 they collected for a year or two of unlimited domestic service.

It is quite unfair to classify all VOIP providers as unreliable (which you may not have directly said, but the implication was certainly there) based on the poor business model and blatant crony-ism under which SR operated.

Contrast outfits like VoicePulse, which has had its doors open to those fleeing POTS lines (and other VoIPs, of course) for well over three years now and, while small, consistently gets extremely high praise from their user base. Unless regulated out of existence and/or until wireless communication solutions take over the voice communication market, VoIP will certainly maintain a solid market, IMO.

BTW, as a satisfied ATTCV customer, I'd also commend CallVantage in the class of reliable VoIP providers, but they're not an independent company like VoicePulse...
chemaupr

join:2005-06-06
Alexandria, VA
·SUNROCKET
·AT&T CallVantage

This executives are a bunch of idiots.

Non of the remaining executive should land a job in any service related corporation. I understand the secrecy of the situation while trying to sell the company, but now they OWE, at a minimum, to their customers a "you have X days to find someone else".

The lack of consideration towards their customers is, at least for me, unprecedented.

I would not hire any of them and will probably (if I have an option) terminate services with whomever hire this idiots.
NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
·VOIPo
·Verizon FIOS

Re: This executives are a bunch of idiots.

said by chemaupr See Profile :

Non of the remaining executive should land a job in any service related corporation.
I would not hire any of them and will probably (if I have an option) terminate services with whomever hire this idiots.
While I agree with you, I have seen it over and over and over again. They slash and burn and still manage to get employed. Cronies, Good old boy/girl network where you appoint someone based on their friendship.
Think of what would happen to the medical profession if there were not licensing requirements.....

TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast


edit:
July 17th, @10:03AM

Looks like it is now official - news services say SR is done

Reuters: »www.canada.com/topics/technology···&k=63285

NY Times
»www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/busin···=5087%0A

AP
»www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/ap-v···7681.htm

Sunrocket customer service provider closes their facility devoted to Sunrocket:
»www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dl···344/1007

--
--
Internet News
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My Web Page

N3OGH
They both suck, we're so screwed
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: Looks like it is now official - news services say SR is done

Tried to call a friend I know has Sunrocket, and I got the dreaded "fast busy".

Sunrocket is as dead as Judas Iscariot...

I know it was said earlier, but:

Everyone has different calling and service needs, so a land line isn't for everyone.

But, I can't remember the last time I picked up my POTS phone and didn't hear a dial tone.
--
Welcome to cat noise Wednsday!!

TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: Looks like it is now official - news services say SR is done

said by N3OGH See Profile :

Tried to call a friend I know has Sunrocket, and I got the dreaded "fast busy".
But, I can't remember the last time I picked up my POTS phone and didn't hear a dial tone.
A local online newspaper in California lost dialtone on all their phones. »www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.c···?ID=5701
We’ve finally figured out what happened to the dial tones on our phones in the newsroom – they’ve flown the coop along with the rest of the SunRocket VoIP phone service.

But on Monday afternoon, odd things began happening with our phones – unable to dial out but could get incoming calls.

Calls and e-mails to the company failed to provide any answers.
And yet Sunrocket's web page is still up and without any notice of ceasing operations. The mgt of Sunrocket are all probably just a step ahead of the process servers on their way in to hiding.
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Internet News
My BLOG
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N3OGH
They both suck, we're so screwed
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

Re: Looks like it is now official - news services say SR is done

WOW, was that a bump in the number of people booking flights to the Cayman Islands with bulging money sacks?!?
--
Welcome to cat noise Wednsday!!

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:

why

Well if the service is mostly still running then I think they don't have to say anything until they know D day or when they could be sold. With all this publicity they can limp along until someone buys them up.

Why are they going belly up anyways?
--
www.LakeSemaJ.com

caddyroger
Premium
join:2001-06-11
Graham, WA
·Comcast

Re: why

said by jgkolt See Profile :

Well if the service is mostly still running then I think they don't have to say anything until they know D day or when they could be sold. With all this publicity they can limp along until someone buys them up.

Why are they going belly up anyways?
They did tried selling the company but no one would buy them.
They gave away a lot of thing free when they sighed people and spent more then they received. And they all so had billing problems
--
Caddy

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:

Re: why

How far in debt are they? I wonder if they can sell thier customers without passing the debt onto the buyer.
--
www.LakeSemaJ.com

N10Cities
Is it quittin' time yet?

join:2002-05-07
Podunk, AR
clubs:
·World Lynx
·Cox HSI

Re: why

said by jgkolt See Profile :

How far in debt are they? I wonder if they can sell thier customers without passing the debt onto the buyer.
That would be fine and good if the customers hadn't pre-paid for service. So any buyer would basically be taking on liabilities to their customers (in the form of basically a free phone connection since the customer isn't going to pay AGAIN) and no income potential from these same customers until their subscription expires...

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:

Re: why

very true i overlooked that. then viatalk is doing the best it can and trying to grab the customers without buying the debt. SO it looks like no one will be able to buy them or want to. Too bad for their employees. How can viatalk have the same deal and be in business with less customers where sunroickets is 2x as big and going under?
--
www.LakeSemaJ.com

davoice

join:2000-08-12
Saxapahaw, NC
·RoadRunner Cable


edit:
July 17th, @12:48PM

Re: why

said by jgkolt See Profile :

How can viatalk have the same deal and be in business with less customers where sunroickets is 2x as big and going under?
Simple...

1) V/T isn't paying asininely high salaries to executives that can't deliver.

2) They work pretty hard to limit and lower their operations costs - i.e. not using stupidly expensive hardware.

3) And they're not paying $75-100+ out on the backside for every customer acquisition. SunRocket was paying out it's hinee to affiliates and such who were pumping their products. You can see that in the mega thread about people who were making multiple thousands each month signing people up and now complaining about getting stiffed for recent payments. Those are the same people who are now complaining that it's "nearly impossible to make money with Viatalk's program".

To which I say... well duh! There's not a crapload of profit in $200 for a year's worth of phone service. Get a grip! It takes fiscal discipline to run a sustainable business on that kind of model. And part of that discipline involves not paying out 1/2 of what you got from a customer to someone else.

Edit: I personally have 4 VoIP lines. 1 from each of: ViaTalk, Vonage, Covad and Skype.

}Davoice

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·Covad Wireless


edit:
July 17th, @06:20PM

A shameless shilling of ViaTalk

After trying Sunrocket, Broadvoice, Vonage and ViaTalk I must say I'm VERY pleased with ViaTalk's service thus far. It's very reliable, has lots of controls/features and is fairly priced.

In my experience VTBrendan See Profile runs a great service.

I don't think any Sunrocket users would be disappointed if they switched to VT.
--
Macintosh Users Group Serving the Inland Empire
mozillafans
Premium
join:2003-12-07
82020

Re: A shameless shilling of ViaTalk

not so sure....
seems like they are trying to cash in on people fleeing
sunrocket....

they even removed their buy one get one free plan....

what do you make of that....

hey how is packet8 now...

are they stable.....

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·Covad Wireless

Re: A shameless shilling of ViaTalk

Viatalk changes their sales all the time and yesterday they even gave notice on their site that the recent sale was ending.

I've never tried Packet8 but alot of users here have.
--
Macintosh Users Group Serving the Inland Empire
mozillafans
Premium
join:2003-12-07
82020

Re: A shameless shilling of ViaTalk

what do you make of it... seems fishy to me....
trying to cash in on misfortune of sun rocket users

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·Covad Wireless


edit:
July 17th, @06:21PM

Re: A shameless shilling of ViaTalk

Again, they start and stop sales ALL THE TIME including the 2 years for 1 plan.

They're currently running yet ANOTHER sale, unlimited calling (their idea of unlimited is apparently 5100min/mo) plus up to 6 month contract buyout for $17/mo ($200/yr prepaid) or $22.95/mo no prepay. It also includes two incoming lines using the same number so that you can accept two calls to the same number at the same time without call waiting. It's an odd feature but handy for someone else at home to take a call to the same number while you're still on the phone.

How that is "cashing in" on the misfortune of Sunrocket users, I'm not sure. It looks like a pretty good deal to me.

sunrocket _cya

@cox.net

Re: A shameless shilling of ViaTalk

ViaTalk offer is down to 3mo contract buyout (from 6mo yesterday and 1 year free last week it sounds like from this board). Also, there was a free equip shipping coupon that has also expired. Unfortunately, now that my SunRocket service is really dead, I didn't bite in time to get the better ViaTalk deal

Still a better deal than the one Vonage is offering former SunRocket customers (2mo free) and ViaTalk's pricing is same as SunRocket and feature set looks better than SunRocket's or Vonage's.

But with the potential of Packet8 taking over and I have 9mo left on my SunRocket contract I might wait till the end of this week to see what else pops up and rely on cell phones for awhile.

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:


edit:
July 17th, @10:10AM

Sad

It is sad to see them go even though i don't plan to switch to them. I know people around here have switched a while ago from sunrocket to viatalk. I saw this in one of the links above.

"ViaTalk, a rival to SunRocket based in Clifton Park, New York, issued a statement offering a contract buyout to SunRocket customers.

The company added it was offering a coupon for free shipping of ViaTalk phone equipment to customers looking to switch services, although it did not lay out the what the overall cost to SunRocket customers would be.

ViaTalk offers a similar $199 per year calling deal. ViaTalk was founded in 2005 and is an offshoot of a Web hosting company, HostRocket.com. Spokesman Tom Nardacci said the company had between 50,000 and 100,000 customers."

»www.canada.com/topics/technology···&k=63285

»www.viatalk.com/internet_phone_special.htm

--
www.LakeSemaJ.com

Transmaster
Onward Through The Fog

join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Well for you former SunRocket Employees.....

Check out here.... »www.usajobs.opm.gov/

I was looking throught the jobs available and there are a bunch of good tech' jobs open, good luck
--
Remember safe sex does not prevent crabs.

elios

join:2005-11-15
Springfield, MO

Re: Well for you former SunRocket Employees.....

most of them were collage kids here in Springfield MO not alot you can do

cant really relocate

Transmaster
Onward Through The Fog

join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Re: Well for you former SunRocket Employees.....

Well for college students the goverment has real cool and good paying summer work. In the National Park service, BLM, Forest Service, etc.
--
Remember safe sex does not prevent crabs.
Techie714

join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA

Sun Rocket Charged me 199 on 7/16

Even though all this is going down Sun Rocket charged my credit card the 199.99 annual fee just last night! I'm calling my CC company to dispute it.

BTW: I signed with Viatalk wish me luck.

N3OGH
They both suck, we're so screwed
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: Sun Rocket Charged me 199 on 7/16

said by Techie714 See Profile :

Even though all this is going down Sun Rocket charged my credit card the 199.99 annual fee just last night! I'm calling my CC company to dispute it.

BTW: I signed with Viatalk wish me luck.
Dude, that makes my ass THROB, and I'm not the one that lost the money.

I sure as HELL would dispute that one. What a crock!
--
Welcome to cat noise Wednsday!!
Techie714

join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA
·ViaTalk

Impressive Credit Card Encounter

This maybe a little off topic but I called my CC company to dispute the 200.00 charge that Sun Rocket made. It was WAY less painful that I expected. The lady was super nice & I explained my story to her & what happened. She said "No problem sir I'm going to credit you back right now & Citi Bank will take care of the rest". She gave me a case number & said have a nice day. I was expecting this to go one for weeks with phone calls & faxes/E-mails trying to prove my case. Those of you with Citi bank should have no issue getting your charges back. =)

MPScan
Premium
join:2001-08-24
Boston, MA

Re: Impressive Credit Card Encounter

Credit card disputes are typically always easy. The burden of proof is with the company that charged the credit card .. since there is nobody left at SunRocket to prove the charges, credit card companies will simply reverse the charge and issue a chargeback to the merchant that SunRocket used to process the transaction... if there are enough, expect the merchant to sue SunRocket.
Techie714

join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA

Account Statements Gone!

It appears that you are now unable to view any account statements. Sun Rocket wants to make sure you don't have access to those statements for credit card disputes. If you have a chance to view your statement download it & save it.

vonage_new

@eds.net

Re: Account Statements Gone!

good news...
vonage might price match via talk.....
viatalk might be another sunrocket.....
who knows....
sacred about companies who look to take advantage of stuff..

did u see viatalk removed the 1 year free.....
man what do you make of those
Awwc

join:2004-02-17
Vancouver, WA

Re: Account Statements Gone!

said by vonage_new :

did u see viatalk removed the 1 year free.....
man what do you make of those
Can you blame 'em?

/happy VT customer for almost a year now.
mozillafans
Premium
join:2003-12-07
82020
any other alternatives other than viatalk...
they seem fishy......
why not packet8 or vonage which is more stable...

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:

Re: Account Statements Gone!

I make of it that they always change their sales...
qworster

join:2001-11-25
Los Angeles, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·Vonage
·DSL EXTREME
·EarthLink


edit:
July 17th, @12:10PM

Actually, their business model wasn't that bad....

The numbers I hear is that they lost about 40 million dollars. Forty Million divided by 200,000 (customers) works out to a back office cost of 200 dollars per customer. This is not unusually high. I think that they underpriced their service. A good price point for VOIP seems to be about $17-25 dollars a month or about 200 dollars per year (in advance).

Their commissions for associates were also WAY too high! 50% commissions are only normally used for big markup items such as extended warranties.

I would also think that a big share of their downfall sits in the lap of Lisa Hook. I'm not affiliated with Sunrocket, but based upon what I've heard here, it seems that she spent an awful lot of Sunrocket's free cash flow on things like trips and giving cronies' jobs. She also obviously had BIG plans for Sunrocket, building a 200 person call center. Only problem is, 200 CS employees for 200,000 customers is WAY too much! I see parallels with AOL all over the place.

The problem is that every time another Sunrocket dies, VOIP looks more and more Mickey Mouse. Tomatovine also died (withered?) a while back and I'm sure there there are (many) others that have met their demise in the past year or so....
pflanigan

join:2007-07-17

Sunrocket HELP!

I signed up for sunrocket a week ago and paid them $200 for the yearly membership. Now I hear they're going out of business? What can I do? How can I get my money back when I paid with my visa check card?
Techie714

join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA
·ViaTalk

Re: Sunrocket HELP!

said by pflanigan See Profile :

I signed up for sunrocket a week ago and paid them $200 for the yearly membership. Now I hear they're going out of business? What can I do? How can I get my money back when I paid with my visa check card?
Try & get your statement from your Sun Rocket account. Then call your credit card company & explain the situation to them. Tell them you want to file a formal dispute with Sun Rocket. If it's Citi bank you wont have any issues. Make sure you tell them that you E-mailed thm & called there 800 number. There 800 number is out of service by the way. Good luck!

Banker

@comcast.net

said by pflanigan See Profile :

I signed up for sunrocket a week ago and paid them $200 for the yearly membership. Now I hear they're going out of business? What can I do? How can I get my money back when I paid with my visa check card?
Even if it was a debit card, if it carried with it a visa or mastercard logo you should still be entitled to the same protections as a regular credit card customer would. (sometimes however the period you have to dispute it is shorter than it would otherwise be with a credit card)

I would suggest you immediately contact your bank and dispute the charge.

Do so by first calling them, advising them via phone of this situation. Then, get an address and send in a written dispute. Include with that a statement / invoice along with information such as SR's phone # now not taking any calls.

If it's only been a week, you shouldn't have any problems getting this reversed.

NewUser

@mchsi.com

Criminal Case

So can we get someone thrown in jail over this? per the numbers thrown around on here millions are missing. someone should be responsible.

See 7 replies to this post

HowardP

@comcast.net

Visa Check Card

Not sure since most debit cards do not afford the same protections that a credit card does. Call your debit card provider ask them, they may still have time to reverse the transaction, other that that you may be out of luck.

onsitede
Hot Hot Hot

join:2000-11-24
Broad Brook, CT
clubs:

Re: Visa Check Card

I called my bank and file a dispute. I was told I had 60 days to file from the date of purchase. this was with a MasterMoney (Mastercard) debit card.

HowardP

@comcast.net

Re: Visa Check Card

That is why I said call the issuing party. I admit this was 2 years ago, my bank visa debit card did not provide me protection the same as my credit card, both from the same bank. I now use the debit card on purchases I am not worried about, credit card for all else, which is a battle with PayPal since they always want to charge my debit card. And yes I do understand why.

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:

vonage buyout. - service is still up!!!

Would vonage be able to use sun rockets technology so that dont have to battle with verizon? or is it the same technology?

I would also like to note that sunrocket is still up and running with no disruptions in the northeast ohio area.
--
www.LakeSemaJ.com
BANDITT9

join:2000-06-05
Cleveland, OH

Re: vonage buyout. - service is still up!!!

Sunrocket is down for me in the Cleveland area....or at least for me.
oldswampdog

join:2007-07-05
Boca Raton, FL

Re: vonage buyout. - service is still up!!!

My service just died here in Southeast FL, just signed on with VT.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

Set the controls for the heart of the Sun

.... The Rocket is flying it's last flight....
Techie714

join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA

So Cali Up!

As of 9:00 AM PST Sun Rocket was working fine. In fact I used my phone to call the credit card company..hehe.

tannman
Premium
join:2002-09-12
Oxnard, CA
clubs:

Re: So Cali Up!

Not this part of So Ca (Oxnard) still blinking red

tannman
Premium
join:2002-09-12
Oxnard, CA
clubs:

Question

I am signing up with another VOIP. Do I need to formally cancel my SR service so they dont bill my CC for this month or just unplug the Gizmo??
Techie714

join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA
·ViaTalk

Re: Question

said by tannman See Profile :

I am signing up with another VOIP. Do I need to formally cancel my SR service so they dont bill my CC for this month or just unplug the Gizmo??
You can no longer "cancel service" because there is no way to contact SR. There phone lines are dead & there E-mail system just sends automated responses. Call your CC company & tell them to make sure there are no charges from SR allowed.

tannman
Premium
join:2002-09-12
Oxnard, CA
clubs:

Re: Question

ok ty
lrowland

join:2005-05-22
Baltimore, MD
·Believe Wireless LLC

Someone has to sue these guys

My two year renewal occurred two months ago and now they just turn it off. Also, I can no longer get to my invoices online. I tied calling the credit card company but they said since the charges occurred two months ago they could not dispute them.

I'm really fuming over this. I was about to sign up my elderly friend for this to save her money - boy am I glad I did not since she would have been really in a mess.

If anyone decides to sue or if any Attorney Generals need witnesses to put these bastards in jail, let me know.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Someone has to sue these guys

What are you going to sue them for?

networkguru

join:2005-09-03

Re: Someone has to sue these guys

yahh.. what are we going to sue them for ?

I was able to dispute my charge on my Discover card.
The charge was from back in february 07. Discover happily gave me temporary credit and said they will investigate.

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:

working in wadsworth, ohio

as of today

Mazakman

join:2001-06-24
Webster, NY
·FrontierNet Intern..
·SUNROCKET
·AT&T CallVantage

Re: working in wadsworth, ohio

Working great here in Webster,NY. Just dialed out fine and also dialed in. Wish that they would just shut the darn thing off so that I can get onto going with another company. I think that is may be AT&T Call Advantage. Going to stay away from the Via Talks and Sunrockets of the world.

dontcallme

@comcast.net

Calling your credit card company

Just called Amex they will check and try to see if they can give me a prorated amount back. It cost nothing to try at this point.

Good luck to you all
Forums » How To Flee SunRocketpage: 1 · 2

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