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Dogfather
Premium
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA | Re: Couldn't happen to a nicer company It's like these retention agents are paid by how many people they retain. | |
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| | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: Couldn't happen to a nicer company said by Dogfather  :It's like these retention agents are paid by how many people they retain. ... you think?? | |
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spamd
Premium
join:2001-04-22
Rockford, IL
 ·Insight Communicat..
| Tell them you are moving out of their service area.
I canceled my XM radio account that way. I told them I was moving to Germany. Guess what XM doesn't have service in Germany. How ever the XM csr did ask when I would be moving back to the States! LOL.. I told him never.
But none the less I was able to cancel my account with very little hassle. | |
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Dogfather
Premium
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA | Re: Couldn't happen to a nicer company With VOIP they would say "it worked on the internet, take it with you". | |
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| | keyboard5684
join:2001-08-01
Youngsville, PA | I called to cancel. Took 2 minutes, no retention crap.
Did something change? | |
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| Corydon
Cultivant son jardin
Premium
join:2008-02-18
Denver, CO
clubs:
·Comcast
| The sneaky thing about canceling with Vonage is that there's a loophole in the FCC number portability regulations for VoIP providers that they exploited.
When you port a number from a telco, they cancel your service automatically. You don't need to call them or anything (unless you have other services you want to keep with them like DSL). You pay your final bill and you're done.
Not so with Vonage. They'd keep on charging you until you called in to cancel, when you'd presumably get the treatment that Skeedatl experienced. I've also heard of Vonage refusing to port numbers and holding you hostage until you called in to chat with their friendly retention folks.
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"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too." | |
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Dogfather
Premium
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA | Re: Couldn't happen to a nicer company Guess they were accurate when they called themselves "the internet phone company". | |
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| | nitzan
VIP
join:2008-02-27
 ·ViaTalk
·Comcast
| Correct. We've had multiple incidents where Vonage either simply refused, or did anything they could to delay ports. Eventually we managed to pry the numbers out of their hands - but not without a fight....
--
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation | |
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canceled
@optonline.net | they are as bad as aol when trying to cancel | |
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cahiatt
Premium
join:2001-03-21
Smyrna, GA | Hey Vonage. Leave me alone. Maybe they can save some money by not mailing me solicitations every week since I dropped my account five years ago... | |
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| phills_suck
join:2004-10-11
Burlington, NJ |  Re: Hey Vonage. Leave me alone.
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dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus
join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI
1 edit | Customer service is lacking I still have them and have had them for many years now. The service is without flaw. Well at least after I upgraded to the nice Zyxel Zywall 2+...
I REALLY do not like that you can add any service you like from their web interface with ease, but if you want to cancel you have to call in. That is BS.
Also, I downgraded my service, and they charged me like $20 for the downgrade and did not tell me. When I called in to complain, I said I might as well keep the same damn service if they will charge me $20 to downgrade and the agent agreed. Next month I had $20 for the downgrade and $20 for the reinstatement. After I went all "Too $hort" on their asses they removed the reinstate fee, but kept the initial $20.
The service is fine, the customer service reps are intelligent English speaking folks who know what they are doing. Unfortunately, their instructions are obviously to annoy the hell out of the customer.
I was trying to buy their stock before they even went public. However, when they went public, I was not too inthused. Seems like with Apple stock high, and Google stock high, people wanted to believe Vonage would go high. I never bought it and I don't think it ever went high. If its down now that will definitely affect their ability to get loans. | |
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| Rob2647
join:2008-08-12
Rochester, MI
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·Vonage
·Comcast
| Re: Customer service is lacking I'd have to agree. I had to call customer service to drop to the 500min/month plan. The outsourced customer service began to drive me nuts. And the fee's. I had to pay an additional $9.99 action fee for the switch on a line that has been active for the past 13 months. Part of me now feels they should go under. If I want VOIP I can get it with U-verse. | |
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footballdude
join:2002-08-13
Imperial, MO | go away If it means I won't have to see those smug, smarmy commercials all over the place anymore, I say let 'em die.
--
It's a trick. Get an axe. - Ash | |
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| satellite68
join:2007-04-11
Louisville, KY
| Re: go away said by footballdude :If it means I won't have to see those smug, smarmy commercials all over the place anymore, I say let 'em die. Hey, 1978 called...they want their TV remote back. | |
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footballdude
join:2002-08-13
Imperial, MO
| Re: go away said by satellite68 :Hey, 1978 called...they want their TV remote back. The two seconds I see before I can change the channel is enough to justify my hatred.
--
It's a trick. Get an axe. - Ash | |
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| | | satellite68
join:2007-04-11
Louisville, KY
| Re: go away said by footballdude :said by satellite68 :Hey, 1978 called...they want their TV remote back. The two seconds I see before I can change the channel is enough to justify my hatred. That's some intense hatin'. Perhaps golf or tiddilywinks would serve you well...:) | |
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phoneboy3
@shawcable.net | Re: go away He probably works for the phone company. You know, 100 year old infrastructure and attitudes. Still think they don't have to earn customers.
If not then at the very least they deserve each other. | |
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footballdude
join:2002-08-13
Imperial, MO
| said by satellite68 :That's some intense hatin'. Perhaps golf or tiddilywinks would serve you well...:) I'm a mix of German and Cherokee blood. I can't help it. And Vonage so desperately has it coming.
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It's a trick. Get an axe. - Ash | |
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| pvera
join:2001-12-01
Reston, VA
| Re: This could be very, very bad I am one of those SunRocket refugees, I tried Comcast digital voice for a year, then switched to Vonage when my triple play bundle discount ended.
Now my company decided to buy a VoIP PBX, so each of us (we all telecommute) has a VoIP line paid by the company. This means my Vonage line is no longer critical for my work.
Just to add insult to injury, AT&T 3G coverage in my house is finally enough to be able to use our cell phones inside of the house. And almost everyone in the family use AT&T, so most calls are free.
Suddenly there's no reason for us to have that VoIP line. If Vonage fails, then I don't see the point of picking up service elsewhere. | |
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | Yet another Vonage is a goner article... How many times has this been predicted and they are still going?
Wake me up if they actually die. | |
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CO_Chris
Premium
join:2001-08-28
Broomfield, CO | Re: Yet another Vonage is a goner article... I agree. HOW are they alive still? DIE all ready . | |
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| | | jester121
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | Re: Yet another Vonage is a goner article... Naw, it's just a hit to the Vonage business model where they pay huge dollars to acquire each new sub and hope/pray that they'll stick around for 2+ years to complete the payback. | |
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| | | | nitzan
VIP
join:2008-02-27
·ViaTalk
·Comcast
| Re: Yet another Vonage is a goner article... said by jester121 :Naw, it's just a hit to the Vonage business model where they pay huge dollars to acquire each new sub and hope/pray that they'll stick around for 2+ years to complete the payback. Totally agreed- their "business model" is completely flawed, which is again why they're neck-deep in debt.
However I do agree that if they fail it'll be a huge blow to the VoIP industry as a whole. Possible ramifications:
1. Mainstream consumers less likely to buy independent VoIP.
2. Regulation to flat out PREVENT independent VoIP providers from operating.
Kinda like the "you can't sell banking stocks short" thing they're doing right now. A bunch of bankers went wild, and the government thinks limiting the stock market is going to help. Don't be surprised if when Vonage fails we'll get a "you must be a CLEC to offer VoIP" or some other such anti-independent VoIP regulation.
--
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation | |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
1 edit | said by ptrowski :said by CO_Chris :I agree. HOW are they alive still? DIE all ready . Good god no... If Vonage crashes that is a HUGE hit for the VoIP industry. Vonage is maybe 15% of the VoIP industry( not counting skype ) and that % is falling. Both Comcast and TW have more subscribers and Cox isn't too far behind. | |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| Re: Yet another Vonage is a goner article... said by ptrowski :It's not a matter of percentage wise, it is the most well known independant VoIP company. People know Vonage, and that would tarnish VoIP as a whole. Most people don't know what VoIP is or even heard of it. | |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| Re: Yet another Vonage is a goner article... said by ptrowski :said by BF69 :said by ptrowski :It's not a matter of percentage wise, it is the most well known independant VoIP company. People know Vonage, and that would tarnish VoIP as a whole. Most people don't know what VoIP is or even heard of it. I would deabte that. When I menion VoIP to people, they usually say "oh, like Vonage"? Come to my town and ask "What is VoiP"?. If you got more than 10% to know what it is I would be shocked. Even people with VoiP don't know what it is. | |
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ExitWound
Porsche Snob
join:2001-12-13
State College, PA
·Vonage
| The Oddball I'll be the one of few comments so far that will state that I've had no issues with Vonage (since I traded in the faulty router I originally got) at all. Rock solid service, price has only jumped once due to a new PA fee. 100% uptime. I hope they continue operating as normal because I do NOT want a cell phone, and landlines cost a great deal more than what I'm paying for Vonage's 500m plan. It's hard enough surviving in today's economy. I don't use the phone enough to warrant a higher bill than $19.02/month.
--
»www.theexitwound.com | |
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mrbum21
@frognet.net
| Re: The Oddball I agree, phone service for 19 and change rules....
My cell doesn't work at my house but Vonage does. Any of you silly stupid fools that are rooting for At&t and TW over the scrappy upstart are silly.
VOIP pricing from established networks will go through the roof once they remove their biggest competition. | |
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Kiryu
join:2005-07-21
United Kingd | Well there's skype Using skype exactly like Vonage, have an online number and all that. Couldnt be happier and its all prepaid, honestly, they won't be missed, really? | |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| said by Kiryu :Using skype exactly like Vonage, have an online number and all that. Couldnt be happier and its all prepaid, honestly, they won't be missed, really? Well except you can't call 9-11 on skype and you can't port you old number over. | |
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AlexNYC
join:2001-06-02
Edwards, CO
|  The Telcos win ?!
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| | Austinloop
join:2001-08-19
Austin, TX
| Re: The Telcos win ?! Granted, competition is good. To have competition, both sides of the equation must have viable business models. I realize that may be questionable for the telcos. However, it is definitely questionable for the pure VoIP businesses, such as Vonage. They appear to be in continuous financial trouble and may go under at sometime in the future. (Anyone remember SunRocket?)
I am not seeing a viable, long term competition at the moment. And, yes, I would suspect that Vonage, or most other companies, will have a difficult time getting loans in the near future.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but has Vonage every turned a profit? If not, I suspect that could be a deterrent to loaning them money. | |
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knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN
 ·AT&T DSL Service
·Comcast
·Vonage
·Speakeasy
| Been using their service since 2004, in all of the 4 years, I've only had one or two issues. One related to the ISP I was using at the time, the other related to Bellsouth (before it became AT&T) that made outbound local calls not work for a few hours.
I use the service for 4 fax lines and 2 main lines, never any downtime from what I can tell. As long as my ISP was good, the service was always rock solid and has been nearly half a decade now. 911 is a non-issue here, used it many times over the years.
I had a land-line from Bellsouth (err, AT&T now) that was ok, but it had more downtime than all my Vonage lines put together. I finally got rid of it last year, it was costing too much for practically no features at all except local calling and pulse dialing (yeah, touch tone cost extra, the bums). 
The money saved over the last 4 years was well worth it.
--
Fight NebuAD and the like:
Click Here to pollute their data | |
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CrazyT
join:2008-10-08
Irving, TX | Observation Amazing how many posters complain about lack of competition, yet celebrate potential exits from the market.  | |
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mb
join:2000-07-23
Washington, NJ | I'm satisfied I cancelled Vonage (without any hassle) then came back. In my case, they provided superior service to Sunrocket, ViaTalk and VoicePulse. I am still getting a lot of bang for the buck from Vonage. | |
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Staplegun
join:2005-04-20
Flower Mound, TX
1 edit | Re: I'm satisfied Verizon Voicewing is just as good or better, especially on the FiOS...
Who is Crazy T making Observations anyway? It's only funny if its the same people.  | |
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WildCat
@vonagenetworks.net
| Found this on the Vonage Forum!!!
"Today, 9/30/2008 the Account Management department, also known as Retention pulled all but TWO agents off the phone to reduce Churn and avoid any customer cancelation request. Obviously these two agents left on the phone could not handle a large number of calls waiting to cancel their service. It piled up to the hundreds and hours of waiting time for Vonage customers, In an attempt to reduce churn for the 3rd quarter Vonage corporate office in Holmdel, NJ would NOT let any of their customers disconnect their service. Not by trying to persuade the customer into staying by offering free months of credit or a lower rate plan, they simply let their customers wait on hold until they eventually were forced to hang up!
So, any customer that was on their last day of the 30 day money back period and tried to call in today they will be forced to stay or pay a Rebate Recovery Fee for the device ( up to $79.99) and a $39.99 disconnection fee to cancel"
This is proof to me that Vonage is in some serious trouble. There has to be some type of legal action that can be taken against this? Wonder what would happen if the FCC knew | |
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| Seaboogers
join:2004-11-01
Sarasota, FL
| Re: Found this on the Vonage Forum!!! said by WildCat :
"Today, 9/30/2008 the Account Management department, also known as Retention pulled all but TWO agents off the phone to reduce Churn and avoid any customer cancelation request. Obviously these two agents left on the phone could not handle a large number of calls waiting to cancel their service. It piled up to the hundreds and hours of waiting time for Vonage customers, In an attempt to reduce churn for the 3rd quarter Vonage corporate office in Holmdel, NJ would NOT let any of their customers disconnect their service. Not by trying to persuade the customer into staying by offering free months of credit or a lower rate plan, they simply let their customers wait on hold until they eventually were forced to hang up!
So, any customer that was on their last day of the 30 day money back period and tried to call in today they will be forced to stay or pay a Rebate Recovery Fee for the device ( up to $79.99) and a $39.99 disconnection fee to cancel"
This is proof to me that Vonage is in some serious trouble. There has to be some type of legal action that can be taken against this? Wonder what would happen if the FCC knew
Hey...I heard Bill Gates was giving every person on the planet that sends him an e-mail...$100.
It has to be true...because I saw it on a forum on the internet. | |
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| | Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Pittsburgh, PA
| Re: Found this on the Vonage Forum!!! said by Seaboogers :Hey...I heard Bill Gates was giving every person on the planet that sends him an e-mail...$100. It has to be true...because I saw it on a forum on the internet. Do I have to say I'm a PC to get the money? | |
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| fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| There is another way to cancel service in this lazy, helpless, internet society...
You write a letter and send it certified to the company stating you are canceling the service. I don't care what any TOS statement says. Your WRITTEN and MAILED statement/letter to cancel is going to trump their illogical & broken cancellation, I mean, retention system.
Many younger people here will likely flame me for this because they know no better and will make every excuse because they think that everything should be able to be handled with an email or phone call. but anyway..
...another thing to mention, why in the world wait until the last minute to cancel? If someone is taking the full 30 days to cancel, then it seems to me there was always an intent to cancel and get something free in the first place. I can tell in the first day, even week, if the service is going to work for me; should be the same for anyone else. To wait until the last hour is plain silly and causes much of people's own aggravation when their plans are foiled. | |
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dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus
join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI
| Re: Found this on the Vonage Forum!!! A letter followed by my prompt refusal to pay will get the account ended quite nicely. Just remove your credit card from their billing system.
I bet it cost them more to open and process your written request that it does a web request (which they dont have) or a phone request.
--
dnoyeB
"Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard. " Ecclesiastes 9:16
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elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA
·SONIC.NET
·Verizon Online DSL
·RoadRunner Cable
·MM INTERNET, INC.
| Voip is as Voip does Vonage is perhaps the premier consumer Voip company.
But consumer Voip will not survive, so long as its only marketing feature is price, and its performance is dismal. As Vonage, et al, are required to pay the same taxes and overhead that real landline companies do, and as their service quality fails to improve, they will simply fade away.
Cable-Voip and ilec-voip have the advantage of operating on a local network, not the Interet, and thus, could be made to perform well. Whether the cable industry or telco chooses to truly promote and enhance their product line, well, that's doubtful.
I'll cling to my POTS. | |
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| satellite68
join:2007-04-11
Louisville, KY
| Re: Voip is as Voip does quote:
and its performance is dismal
Says you. It's all very dependent on your particular internet connection - solid connection, good Vonage. Bad connection, bad Vonage. Simple.
quote:
I'll cling to my POTS
And I'll save myself $1200 per year not using POTS. | |
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| | hormonx
join:2006-02-01
Canada
·Callcentric
·Bell Sympatico
| Re: Voip is as Voip does said by satellite68 :Says you. It's all very dependent on your particular internet connection - solid connection, good Vonage. Bad connection, bad Vonage. Simple. I would have to disagree with you to some extent. Connection is not always the problem as it my case. I have very stable 5mb dsl connection and i was with vonage for the longest time, about 3 years or so. I have to say voice quality was bad to say the least. On may occasions i could not hear the other side, as noise on the line was very bad. Problem was in my option with the equipment provided to me by Vonage as well as lack of QOS an TOS by them.
I have been on the phone with technical support numerous times and they were unable to help me, never were able to fix the problem. Excuse always was that my end, line, modem or connection is at fault. That is why i moved. I am happy customer of another voip provider my bill is about 25% of what i have paid with vonage and voice quality is just superb ... life is good. 
Greg | |
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| cryptmagic
Premium
join:2006-06-26
New York, NY | Re: I'd like my Vonage well done please. Most companies have bad service when you cancel, I only pay 20.77 after all fees for 500 minutes phone service. Its still well worth the deal, i mean you save half. Time Warner charges between 30-40 a month | |
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Third Pipe
@rr.com
| This company deserves to die! My efforts to cancel with these crooks resulted in months of continued billing after service ended. A year later they started billing me again, and then sent a collector after me and put a negative entry on my credit report that they will not remove. The management of Vonage should rot in hell! | |
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pkorx8
join:2003-06-19
San Francisco, CA
| What are my options? I've had 2 lines of Vonage for years now, and because these two lines get minimal use, I don't have to deal with much interaction with their customer service.
One reason why I keep these lines active with Vonage is to keep the number alive.
So, what other VOIP services are out there for $20 a month per line? I know Comcast and AT$T's lowest tier VOIP service are more than that. | |
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| hormonx
join:2006-02-01
Canada
·Callcentric
·Bell Sympatico
| Re: What are my options? I was with Vonage for about 3 years ... cancelled just recently to lover the cost of my phone bill. As per alternatives, i have signed up with another provider Callcentric, unlike Vonage customer service and tech support is amazing. All by e-mail but response at times within minutes of initial e-mail. Phone line stars at $1.99 a month, and i use per minute billing, saves me $40 a month.
This is just one alternative, but there are more ... many more companies worth a look at. | |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ | This company hasn't turned a profit since day one.
and dont even think of calling in to cancel(they're as bad as AOL when it comes to cancelling)
--
When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee | |
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xxzone
@wavelink.com
| Dumb Great example of why you shouldn't mess with stocks unless you know what you are doing...purchased at 7.50 and it's down to 67C...or less. So yeah...luckily it was only 3k I had from a 401k, but that's gone now.
I'll think twice next time I want that nice tv, but don't want to get hit with the tax penalty for the early withdrawal. Would have been way better off doing that at this point.
I've decided to sink with the ship in hopes someone bought them out and I got some money back...maybe not now. | |
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Is Vonage's Goose Cooked?
Re: Yet another Vonage is a goner article...
·