Vonage has made it NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to close my account!

Posted Thu February 14, 2008 4:59 pm, by Keith C. written to Vonage

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In September of 2007, I moved to a temporary residence where I would be unable to use my Vonage service. At that time, the Vonage device wad disconnected and I have not used it or the service since. I attempted to cancel my service at that time--a day or two before the next billing cycle--only to discover that while customer service is open 24 hours, order cancellations could only be taken over the phone at more limited hours.

When I reached your cancellation (more aptly, retention) department the following Monday, the new charges had been applied. I explained the situation, and asked that the charges be reversed--which they mostly (but not entirely) were. I also requested to cancel my account at that time. The representative told me that there would be a $39 "cancellation fee." He suggested that, since my move was temporary, I should go on a limited "zero minutes" rate plan for $4.99/month. As a further enticement, he offered "three months free" of the reduced rate plan. Against my better judgment, I accepted. The "three months free", as it turned out, didn't fully cover the three months, once taxes and other fees nearly doubled the monthly charge. Had the representative been more candid about the actual charges with taxes and fees, or had he informed me that the "three months free" was not really three months free, I would have declined and accepted the $39 "cancellation fee."

In late December, I decided that the approximately $8.50/month was too much, for a service that I wasn't using (and couldn't use without additional cost, given that it is a zero-minutes plan). I was essentially paying to keep my account open. I again tried to cancel my account. This time, I wasn't told of a $39 "cancellation fee," but was instead told that I would be liable for the value of a "gift card" that I received. I did receive a $50 gift card, for referring a friend (who in turn referred yet another customer). That was a referral bonus which, to my knowledge, has no bearing on my service or contract. I had also received a rebate when signing up for Vonage, and suggested that perhaps the representative had confused this with the gift card. If indeed I had to maintain a years' service to meet the terms of the rebate, I could accept that. But the rep was fixated on the gift card, and kept citing a dollar amount (as I recall, around $100) that represented neither the gift card nor the rebate.

It quickly became clear to me, why I had to call within regular business hours to speak to a "highly trained representative." They obviously are trained in obfuscation and harassment, to keep customers from canceling their service. I spent two to three hours of my valuable time, going back and forth with various representatives on this last call. I was told varying and conflicting stories, and spent a considerable amount of time on the "gift card" nonsense. As I became increasingly irate at the run-around, I stated emphatically over and over that I wanted to cancel my service, and that I have no intention of ever using or recommending Vonage again. I only wanted a clear and supportable answer regarding what amount I owed and why. Despite my clear intentions and my absolute resolve, the representative relentlessly pushed for retention, asking leading questions in an effort to convince me to stay--or frustrate me enough that I'd just give up. Unfortunately, I had to do just that for the last month and a half. Work demands made it impossible for me to make a full-time job of canceling my Vonage account. That does not, however, free Vonage from the responsibility of honoring my request.

This month marks my one year with Vonage. You now have no more excuses. You are to cancel my service immediately, and I would expect--as a courtesy, and to (minimally) compensate me for my time and frustration--a credit of the remaining balance of $11.11.

I further suggest that you give serious consideration to these strong-armed "retention" tactics. America Online once used such tactics, and while it may have boosted their bottom line in the short term, it ultimately earned them a reputation not just as customer-unfriendly, but openly hostile. Once the public at large became aware of AOL's tactics, the enticing sign-up offers became something to be extremely wary of. Vonage has apparently followed the same business model, with enticements to sign up, and strong-armed tactics to keep customers once you have them. AOL was forced to abandon their retention practices. It's time for Vonage to do the same.

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Another follow-up: Finally Over? by Keith C. Posted Fri February 29, 2008 @ 4:45 PM After my last post, I again wrote to Angela at Vonage's "Executive Response Team". Today I received this response from Cory at Vonage: "I have gone over Angela's notes and the account history, and as of this morning your account is disconnected. You may have already received a billing notification that an invoice was processed for $242.79. I placed a credit equal to this amount on your account before the invoice processed, so the charge did not process to your MasterCard." $200 of that is presumably for the value of the non-existent gift card. I don't know where the remaining balance of 42.79 came from, as my last known balance was a little over $18. I checked the Vonage web site, and it does show that my service is disconnected. But it also lists a "Next billing date" of March 30. It would APPEAR that this is over, but if I've learned anything about Vonage, it's that you can't take what they say at face value. What's more, others have written to Vonage via PlanetFeedback, complaining of charges accruing AFTER disconnection. The "next billing date" makes me wary of that. I'm going to wait and see, before proclaiming this mess "over". Reply I spoke too soon with the follow-up. THEY DID NOTHING! by Keith C. Posted Thu February 28, 2008 @ 5:56 PM After my other experiences with Vonage, I should have known better than to take their representative at her word, when she said she'd credited my account. I just received an automated email that my account has been "suspended" and continues to accrue a balance. I checked my account online, and verified as much. SHE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, besides WASTE MY TIME AND PATIENCE! Reply Follow-up (Not over yet) by Keith C Posted Thu February 21, 2008 @ 2:30 AM I find it discouraging that few OPs offer any follow-up on their letters. I vow not to follow that trend. I think it's important to know how companies respond, so we get a more balanced view of their performance. Yesterday, I received a phone call and email from Angela, of the "Executive Response Team" at Vonage. I was initially not able to reach her by phone, so we exchanged several emails. Her responses, though cordial and indicating a desire to help, didn't seem to indicate that she understood my concerns or the resolution that I expected. We exchanged several emails, during which the bogus gift card (now at $200!) was a central issue. That has been a point of frustration for me from the start, as I never received a $200 gift card. She also said that I'd need to call Vonage to cancel my account. I reminded her that the intent of my letter was to convey my cancellation request--and that I had no desire or intention of engaging the maddening retention department again. To her credit, Angela was very responsive in both emailing promptly and trying to reach me by phone (we kept missing each other). She also was pleasant and professional. Yet I felt that in the emails, that we weren't getting anywhere. Finally, we spoke by phone and things went more smoothly. She said that, though the gift card reference may be in error, she has no way of removing it. I've worked with corporate software enough to know that it can be inflexible, so I understood this--but I still expected a resolution. She said that my one year would not be up until March 31 (I could have sworn it was Feb 31, but I could be mistaken). She offered a credit to carry my account through March 31, at which time the bogus gift card is supposed to expire from the system. She then said again that I'd need to contact retention (my word for it, not hers) in early April to cancel my account . When I refused, she said that if I called her again at that time, she would take care of it. Though I was a bit frustrated by the email exchange, and that this will drag on for more than another month, I am now "cautiously optimistic" that a positive resolution is in sight. Ideally, I'd like to see a resolution that spares others this frustration, but I suspect that it will take more time and complaints before that happens. I will post again if/when this is truly over, with my account canceled, and with no bogus claims against it. Reply Re: Vonage has made it NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to close my account! by Steve-Oh Posted Fri February 15, 2008 @ 2:26 PM I can believe they use strong arm tactics. Just yesterday I got a call from them, soliciting my business. When I told them I was not interested and asked they put me on their "do not call" list, the rep said - "Why? Don't you want to save money?" I could not believe that my polite response was an opening for him to challenge me on how/where I spend my money. I told him that if they couldn't respect me when they are trying to get my business, I highly doubt they would respect me when I am bound to them by contract. Good luck. I'm sure you'll post the follow-up. Reply