Russell Shaw of ZDnet received an e-mail from a Packet8 customer (note, a Packet8 customer, not a Vonage customer). Here’s the gist of it:
I don’t subscribe to Vonage, I use Packet8 for my VOIP. Somehow Vonage assigned my Packet8 phone no. to one of their new customers. I called Vonage and they told me that since they had a request to “port” the number, they did it.
I called their customer that received my phone # and advised them that Packet8 was in the process of taking back the #. They advised me that they didn’t ask for the #, Vonage gave them a random phone #. Today is Wednesday. I have been without phone service since Monday. When I called Vonage today, the rep advised me that they won’t be taking any further action on the matter.
Full story here:
Reader: Vonage assigned my Packet8 number, and I’m not even a Vonage customer | IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband | ZDNet.com
Hey Vonage, assuming this reader is correct, you screwed up! Saying you won’t be taking any further action on the matter is entirely the wrong answer. More than likely, he’s not just going to go away – he wants his phone number back! And if you won’t give it to him, he might contact the F.C.C. or the Better Business Bureau, and eventually you may wind up being forced to give the number back, and then your customer (the one you gave the number to) is going to be unhappy. So why not admit you screwed up, and fix the problem while your customer hasn’t yet developed any emotional attachment to the number? You might have to give your customer a month of free service or something in compensation for the inconvenience, but wouldn’t that be better than getting called out as a bunch of screwups in various blogs and online forums?
Vonage can run all the cute TV ads they want, but when people go online to research their service and see things like this, that gives them a reason to consider Vonage competitors (as well they should – in my humble opinion, there are better deals in VoIP service to be found, whether you are shopping on price or on quality of service). Vonage needs to fix this problem post haste!
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