  RickPremium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT | Huh? "The company is saying that this is a billing error and that those who oppose the charge will have it remedied."
Does that mean that those who don't oppose it, won't have it remedied?
Hopefully they'll be going back on their own and fixing this.
As for their customer service issues after the sunrocket exploded in mid air...I'd probably cut them some slack on that. Something that big and unexpected would be difficult for any company to absorb the remnants of, much less a smaller one like theirs.
My biggest complaint with them is their overall business model which is too much like Sunrockets and which raises questions as to whether they can survive when the upfront fees paid in advance dry up.
I think that folks need to ask themselves..how can a Vonage have to charge what they do..and still not make money and even break even..but along comes these others who supposedly can?
The "magic" might just be in those yearly fees paid in advance.
--
The Coyote captured the RR! Roadrunner Rick is now Comcastic! | |
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 | Reviews:
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·ViaTalk
| Re: Huh? This was no billing error. Brendan clearly says he intended to charge the Free year the fees all along. Despite the fact the accounts were purchased long before the fees went into effect and despite he promised all prepaid accounts will be honored. 1 year later that changes to All account will be billed after the 1 year grace period.
Now he is doing damage control. Offering anyone that feels the contract was broken can get the fees refunded. If you try this you still get the runaround from Viatalk staff. My PM to CEO and trouble tickets so far have gone unanswered.
He should honer what he said and just refund everyone effected. Not just the want that complain about it.
This is prepaid service that is not truly prepaid nor price locked in. | |
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| |  koamPink PeckerPremium
join:2000-08-16
East Puddle | Re: Huh? Is ViaTalk refunding the $2.50 to prepaid customers or not? | |
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|  chakeyPremium
join:2004-06-14
Gladstone, NJ
 ·Verizon FiOS
| They will survive as long as their parent company, HostRocket, can afford to keep them around. I would not count on them being as easily sunk as Sunrocket. If they stop doing business, it will likely be because HostRocket no longer thinks they are a viable venture. | |
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|  GreggEThinking - ThinkingPremium
join:2003-06-01
Mid Tenn | said by Rick:"The company is saying that this is a billing error and that those who oppose the charge will have it remedied." Does that mean that those who don't oppose it, won't have it remedied? Yes, that's exactly what it means. If you don't call in you get nothing but a monthly bill for a prepaid contract. From what others have posted, you have to call into CS, argue with them for a few minutes and then send them a link to his post on this forum. After you have jumped through this ring of fire to get the fee reversed, you can start your plan of attack for next month to do the same. (I'm sure it will accidentally happen again)
VT added these fees to people that should have been exempt as well as some that had prepaid the fees. I sent in a ticket about a charge in July and it took until October to answer back. I sent one in for this "mistake" as well but by the time they read it, I'll have waited on hold and canceled my remaining contract. I tried calling the other day and I was #94 in line and after 30 minutes on hold, their glorious system hung up on me.
I will eat the 50% penalty at this point because of this "billing error". I just don't use that phone enough to justify this new charge on a prepaid contract. It's not that I'm bitter - but when I prepay for something during a specified timeframe, it should cover everything during the time I have purchased through. The whole point of paying an upfront cost (other than a discount) is to avoid any monthly fees. Well I thought anyway  | |
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| |  RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY | Re: Huh? said by GreggE:It's not that I'm bitter - but when I prepay for something during a specified timeframe, it should cover everything during the time I have purchased through. The whole point of paying an upfront cost (other than a discount) is to avoid any monthly fees. Well I thought anyway More importantly, it is to pay for service prior to delivery (and thus before the company has earned its charges) with the promise from the company that any changes they make in month-to-month fees will be considered to be waved and paid-in-full in exchange for access to the unearned money that the prepaid fees represent (ie: That you have loaned the company in exchange for their not yet delivered service). | |
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| | I read a few revised and new reviews I think they need to get their act together. I guess there billing system was designed by the Three Stooges. Wait, that's an insult to the Three Stooges. You know, maybe Citron designed based on his former business?
I guess they need to upgrade their one billing computer. Adding another HD isn't going to cut it. Am I saying it is half-witted run? If you had any doubts, reread it.
--
Saving the world keeps me busy. However, I find Earth very primitive from my home planet of Krypton.
-Supergirl | |
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| | | Re: I read a few revised and new reviews "I guess there billing system was designed by the Three Stooges. Wait, that's an insult to the Three Stooges"
It wouldn't really be an insult if you had said it was built by Joe Besser, nobody considers him a stooge anyway!
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Burn a tire, but make sure you buy that carbon offset! | |
|
poolek
join:2003-11-04
Austin, TX Reviews:
·AT&T U-Verse
·ViaTalk
·RoadRunner Cable
| Things are a changing... I've been a customer for a couple of years and have always been very pleased with the service. It's been stable, feature rich and the price is great.
The last couple of months haven't been so hot, though. Stability hasn't been up to par, the discount you get for referring people to the service turns out to not be so much of a discount after all, and now these silly billing snafus.
My biggest concern is that if their billing system and controls are so lax that it can't determine who owes and who doesn't - who has paid and who hasn't - etc - then how secure is it? A charge of $2.50 a month is a annoying - having someone steal my credit card info because Viatalk is running a second-rate billing operation is a real pain.
I hope these are just growing pains and they get back to being the same boring, dependable provider they were the first couple of years I was with them. If not, I think I'll find a different solution when my renewal is up next June. | |
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| Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| Re: Things are a changing... said by poolek:...the discount you get for referring people to the service turns out to not be so much of a discount after all... That is if you even get credit. I referred two people who clearly noted I was the one who referred them. One even went so far as to call them about it. No credit.
Both prepaid one year. | |
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| | hmmm strange as I am on a two year pre-paid mine ends like July 08 and I wasn't charged the fee.... | |
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|  ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
kudos:4
·VOIPo
| Re: hmmm said by SteveLV702:strange as I am on a two year pre-paid mine ends like July 08 and I wasn't charged the fee.... I was not charged, and it was because in April of 2006 I paid $198 for two years instead of the BOGO free. I prepaid two years and was not charged. | |
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| | | | Re: hmmm I was charged, and have not reached my bogo year yet (June will end "paid" time). Initially signed up in April of 06, too... Extended with bogo offer in June 2006 | |
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| | poolek
join:2003-11-04
Austin, TX | I purchased a year,then extended for another year shortly thereafter - and was charged. I'm still waiting on any action on the ticket I submitted. | |
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| | billing system oh and they use ModernBill v4 as their Billing System.... | |
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| | Other errors Not to mention all the people that got threatening emails falsely stating they had invoices 5 days overdue. | |
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| Reviews:
·ViaTalk
| Re: Other errors said by Bluethunder:Not to mention all the people that got threatening emails falsely stating they had invoices 5 days overdue. Not to mention the apologetic emails sent out the same day regarding those erroneously sent past-due notices.
Dear Customer,
Earlier today, an errant email regarding the overdue status of invoice related to your ViaTalk account may have been sent to you. This email is incorrect, and can be disregarded. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused you.
-The ViaTalk Team Oops, I forgot. You weren't going to mention that. | |
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| | | | Re: Other errors said by Medic63:said by Bluethunder:Not to mention all the people that got threatening emails falsely stating they had invoices 5 days overdue. Not to mention the apologetic emails sent out the same day regarding those erroneously sent past-due notices. Dear Customer,
Earlier today, an errant email regarding the overdue status of invoice related to your ViaTalk account may have been sent to you. This email is incorrect, and can be disregarded. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused you.
-The ViaTalk Team Oops, I forgot. You weren't going to mention that. Oh ok, that apology makes it OK to mail bomb me with threatening emails. No, it doesn't. Not to mention, I got another threatening mail after that. Yes, they sent out a form apology. But "I'm sorry" isn't always a cure all in the real world, especially when the actions continue. You're OK with it, and that doesn't bother me. I have a difference of opinion. If you don't like it, that's OK with me too. That's life. | |
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| | | | How about we start with an apology for getting knocked off the hold que at the #1 position after three hours of sitting on hold on the third call of the night?
--
Retaking our country one election at a time. | |
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 The BeerI Love It When A Plan Comes TogetherPremium
join:2001-07-24
Atlantic, IA | I gave up I am a 2 year deal customer from over a year ago, I have not used the service in at least a year.
I got the $2.50 charge and told them to close my account.
They sent back a email explaining the charge and that it's fees they are required to collect.
I asked AGAIN, please close my account, don't charge me or I will charge it back.
3 days later, they charged my card.
I am now charging it back.
What a PITA.
I don't even use their service, I got it to play with and now they are just charging customers at will. | |
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| | | Still Waiting for Refund After 5 Months! Cancelled this summer due to service issues, and still have not received refund check after multiple tickets and phone calls to billing support.
What a company! | |
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| | | Re: I gave up "fees they are REQUIRED to collect..." a blatant lie used to justify this bill. Brendan and his entire staff are two bit thieves. That E911 and USF are not mandated to be paid by the customer, it is a cost of doing business for them. Don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining... | |
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| | one thought man what an "american douchbag"..
I guess collecting that $2.50 lobster lunch fund really bought you some nice stuff didn't it? | |
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| | | Re: one thought I'm so glad that I went to Lingo over viatalk. I had originally signed up with viatalk but it took them so long to even process my order and Lingo had me up in running in two days. | |
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 batterupI Can Not Tell A Lie.Premium
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ | Could it be?
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| | | Re: Could it be? I am glad I got out right as the issues started happening with all the influx of SR folks.
I went more than a week with no incoming calls. All my tickets went unanswered. Call queues were ridiculously high all the time.
I will say this though. Their features were many compared to what other companies offered for a decent price. But in the long run if you can't deliver reliability then what good are all these features?
Hope you treat your current customers the right way Mr. CEO, or they will look else where also like many of us did. | |
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| | You should look at MagicJack.com Unlimited VOIP for $20 per year.
MagicJack.com
Still in beta, but it works most of the time.
You can't beat the price. | |
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| | | Re: You should look at MagicJack.com That's what I got | |
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|  Hookem99Deep In The Heart
join:2007-07-18
Pflugerville, TX
kudos:1 | how can they stay in business for 20/yr?? | |
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| | ycats
join:2003-01-05
Carver, MN | Re: You should look at MagicJack.com They display advertisements on your computer from what I can tell from their FAQ. | |
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