Voipo

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
THE AD ON THEIR MAIN PAGE CLEARLY STATES THAT THERE IS A 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE! THIS IS CLEARLY BAIT AND SWITCH ADVERTISING. I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WILL BE STICKING TO THEIR GUNS AND NOT OFFERING A REFUND. BECAUSE OF THEIR STUBBORNNESS, I WILL BE TELLING EVERYONE ON ALL VOIP FORUMS ABOUT THEIR LIES. Revdex.com - PLEASE REGARD THIS COMPLAINT AS UNSOLVED, AND UNSATISFACTORY AND ADJUST THEIR RATING ACCORDINGLY.
Regards,
[redacted]

The 30 day guarantee on our website is for residential/small business accounts only.  These are the only accounts we offer that provide equipment, which is why the guarantee states, "just return the VoIP adapter we send you within 30 days and you'll get a full refund."
The customer in question signed up for a cloud account, which is a number that does not require equipment and is used mostly for forwarding purposes.  A phone number was ordered for the customer (###-###-####), so VOIPo did provide services.  As you can imagine, it does cost our company money to order these phone numbers from our carrier.  Therefore, we are unable to provide a refund in this case. 
As stated in the terms of service, which were agreed to by the customer, all services with VOIPo are prepaid at least one month in advance and any partial months are rounded up to a full month for refund purposes.  This customer is not due a refund. 
The terms of service can be found here: http://www.voipo.com/tos.php.  All customers can view the terms of service before ordering and MUST agree to them before the order is processed.
Please let us know if we can provide anything else.  Thank you!
Best Regards,
[redacted]
VOIPo.com
[redacted]@voipo.com

Hello,
We're very sorry to hear about the customer's trouble with our service.   It sounds as if some troubleshooting was attempted, but did not clear up the issue.  We would have been more than willing to try further troubleshooting, but...

it looks like the only notes on the account refer to a remote session that was set up back in April 2013.  Despite our best efforts of troubleshooting, VOIPo does use the public internet to provide phone service, so we cannot guarantee it will work the same for all customers.  Most customers do not experience issues, as shown by the less than 1% of our entire customer base needing to contact us for support.  However, there are so many factors that can affect call quality and uptime, including the customer's own network set up, that we cannot guarantee uptime or
availability of service for all users.
The billing notices are sent out automatically by our billing system whenever an invoice goes overdue.  The customer did fill out the cancellation form, but it was after an invoice had already been generated.  Per the terms of service, which the customer agreed to: "Users are responsible for paying service fees until the adapter is returned to VOIPo or purchased."  Since the device had not been returned, the invoice was valid.  After any valid invoice goes unpaid, our billing system automatically sends messages to remind the customer and also to warn them that the account could be suspended.  We're sorry if this seemed excessive to the customer. 
Once the phone adapter was received, the pending invoice was cancelled and the account was closed.  There have been no further emails since that day.  
If there is anything else we can answer for the customer, they can certainly contact me directly at [redacted].[redacted]@voipo.com or they can give us a call at 949-829-4200.  We'd be more than willing to answer any questions or concerns they may have.
Thank you!
Best Regards,
[redacted]

This response is related to complaint ID [redacted], customer: [redacted].  The customer signed up for service on May 11, 2014 and used PayPal to set up the account.  Unfortunately, PayPal timed out when sending the customer back to our website, so the payment was received, but the...

account had yet to be set up.  I contacted the customer on May 12 to set up the account manually.
 
Unfortunately, rather than replying to open support tickets, the customer decided to open a new ticket each time they wished to contact us.  There was some confusion with the original set up of the account, but all was sorted out pretty quickly.  The customer filled out a letter of authorization, authorizing us to transfer the number to our network.  I still have a copy of the document, which the customer signed and dated if you need it.
 
Since the customer signed the document, they agreed to the following excerpt listed on that page:
 
“Once this form is submitted, the porting request cannot be canceled for ANY REASON.”
 
A blank copy of this document can be found here:  http://www.voipo.com/Porting.pdf
 
After going over the ticket history for this customer, it becomes clear that they were notified on multiple occasions that the number would transfer to our network on 05/19/2014, regardless if the account is cancelled or not.  A completion date was set before they cancelled the account, which means a contractual agreement between carriers to move the number was agreed upon.  A cancellation of that date would cause hefty fines on both sides.
 
We advised them multiple times to hold off on cancellation until they were able to transfer the number back out, since only active numbers can be transferred between carriers.  We even advised that, after transferring back out, we could still issue the full refund.  However, these requests were ignored and the customer called us to finalize the cancellation of the account on 05/16/2014.
 
The account has been cancelled and the refund has already been issued back to the PayPal account, so I'm not sure I agree with the “money grabbers” sentiment the customer has.  I personally had multiple email exchanges with the customer, offering all I could do to address their concerns.  However, instead of replying to my emails, they continued to open NEW support tickets, which would then be assigned to other support techs.  This is probably why the customer believes we have different “departments” instead of just one support team.
 
I would be more than happy to attach screenshots of the email exchanges with this customer if you'd like.  Please advise.  As stated previously, if they wish to move the phone number to another carrier, the number must be reactivated on our network.
 
Best Regards,
 
[redacted]
VOIPo.com

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The "corporation is engaged in selling absolutely dead air time.....passes the buck, states "that's no my department, steals money when no product is even beginning stages of "transitions"  VOIPo stands directly in the way of benefits for paying customers; where confusion.
 
What type of corporation would even considering putting in "irrevocable and permanent clauses"  This is the prevailing culture of VOIPo.....what a draconian, unethical manner in which to make customers prisoners rather than buyers who have a choice to ......
 
It would be splendid to review VOIPo customer service communications, from Corporation to Consumer.  YES!  Let's all have a look, and I believe there are notes / names on them. YES!!
 
Regarding VOIPo nasty assertion that "Customer opened many tickets) when the fact is that EVERY personal contacts is ineffective with VOIPo......couldn't helped me with issue...instead of being a time water.  As far as how they organize the work process regarding withe SOLVING problems.  One person, just ONE person, could actually coordinate customer solutions.  This is indicative of how VOIPo is operated  "Blame somebody else...the customer is ok if needed," state "That's not my department, you can use chat, the upper level technicians are not available....and not inadvertently.  Something is wrong, badly wrong, at the folks and practices I have experiences with VOIPo.
 
Thank you, Revdex.com, for the alacrity and accuracy with which you were able to review and receive response.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. I have sent the attached letter and image to the Postmaster in Newport Beach hoping to encourage the return of our package so I can immediately return it to VOIPO, LLC. It contains the properly functioning VOIP telephone adapter that was sent to us two years ago.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
It would be exhausting for all of us for me to outline why VOIPO, LLC is wrong about their assertions that the Terms of Service on their website offer an answer to my complaint. I never agreed to the Terms of Service on their website., nor can VOIPO, LLC unilaterally impose that agreement upon me.  Our agreement was made on November 15, 2012 and the terms are outlined on VOIPO Invoice number [redacted]. However, my complaint has nothing to do with legal arguments and everything to do with fair and honest business practices.
 
VOIPO, LLC is now withholding $49.95 until I return the adapter. I have returned the adapter and fulfilled my responsibilities as defined by their posted TOS. As proof I have offered
A copy of my shipping receipt from the USPS with tracking number
A photo of the correctly addressed shipping package 
The tracking results showing that the USPS attempted to deliver the adapter, not once but twice.
VOIPO, LLC now argues that
That they moved to a new building two weeks prior to my cancellation contradicting the billing departments assertion that they moved on November 17, 2014. (More dishonesty.)
That they inadvertently gave me the wrong return address for the adapter because of their recent move
That they failed to properly forward their mail received from the United States Post Office
VOIPO, LLC was clearly negligent in multiple ways where a better business would never be, yet they require extraordinary diligence from me.  If the USPS returns the adapter to me, I fully intend to return the adapter using the prepaid label I was sent.  However, that is above and beyond my requirement under the TOS that VOIPO, LLC is so eager to enforce.  VOIPO, LLC should immediately refund the balance of the renewal fee, $49.95 as I have done exactly what they asked me to do; return the adapter for a full refund.  VOIPO, LLC will find no honor in extending this argument.
 
Please make my complaint public. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Unfortunately the customer is incorrect in his assertion that he did not agree to the terms of service.  ALL customers must agree to the terms of service before ANY service is provided.  Not only are IP addresses logged upon sign up,  but you can also see this requirement on  the bottom of our order page here: https://billing.voipo.com/voiporder/
 
Fair and honest business practices, in my estimation, mean adhering to the terms that were agreed to upon creation of the account.  This means that we must follow the terms of service exactly for all customers, not playing favorites or picking and choosing which terms to follow. 
 
The equipment remains the property of VOIPo.  The reason we do not refund when receiving a tracking number is due to the fact that customers can (and have in the past) returned empty boxes or damaged/malfunctioning equipment.
 
I do understand the customer's frustration regarding the change of address.  The exact date of which we moved is not entirely important, however, since there was an overlap of a few weeks.  This was not something we were dishonest about, it's just the fact that there isn't a clear cut date of the move.  Both offices were operational at the same time for several weeks.
 
With all of that being said, as a courtesy to the customer and in an attempt to end this dispute, we've refunded the additional $49.95.  However, if the device is not returned within 30 days, we will be forced to charge the card on file once more for that amount.
 
If we can be of any further assistance to the customer, we invite them to contact our support team via email using [email protected] or by calling us directly at 949-829-4200. 
 
 
Thank you!
 
 
Best Regards,
 
Travis Newman
VOIPo.com

As stated in the terms of service, "Any prorated refunds due in accordance with our refund policies will be calculated based on the monthly rate being charged for service used and partial months will be rounded up to the nearest full month. Refunds will be calculated only based on funds paid to...

VOIPo as VOIPo-issued credits and coupons have no cash value for refund purposes [...] Standard pricing for residential VoIP and small business VoIP accounts $149 [+$36 in taxes/fees] annually for annual plans and $15 [+$3 in taxes/fees] monthly for monthly plans."These terms can be found here: https://voipo.com/tos.php .  The customer agreed to these terms upon sign up, which you can see is still the case on our order form here: https://billing.voipo.com/voiporder/VOIPo does not charge a cancellation or early termination fee, but the promotional rate no longer applies if the full 2 years are not used.  I do apologize if the customer was misinformed regarding the cancellation and refund policy, but the refund issued is in accordance with our terms of service.  The early renewal invoice of $185 for Nov 2018 - Nov 2020 was refunded in full.  The invoice for November 2016 - November 2018 was used for 9 months.  The refund should be as follows: $185 paid - (9 months used * $18/month) = $23 refund.  I'm showing that the invoice is a bit too old to refund directly to the credit card, so a paper check refund is being sent for the additional $23. If we can provide anything else, please let us know.  Thank you! Best Regards,[redacted] NVOIPo.com

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
 
I have reviewed the response made by the business in
reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed
action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the
offer I reviewed appear below.
Regardless of the "letter of the regulations," the corporation misled
me (telling me they WOULD hold my number, due to their bungling set of administrative / technical errors).  Additionally, the corporation
stated that "We can not give you a refund until you return our device, we
already mailed."   
There was no device mailed; indicative of the unethical,
untruthful, discourteous, flippant pollution espoused by the company.
 Intentionally, they held my money submitted in good faith, as the company
continued to proprogate the reprehensible behaviours which define their
corporate culture. 
At this juncture, there is no need to further discuss the issue.
 Because of the intentional delay, we have accept the lies of liars of
VOIPo, and we will move on with more important things than arguing with known
criminals. 
I request Revdex.com administratively close the complaint as
unresolved.   
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
" COMMON THOUGHOUT the INDUSTRY?"   That's untrue, Ooma, MajicJack, and other leaders provide quid pro quo."  VOIPo provided NOTHING.  Any reason they can't behave ethically by charging a customer on date a product ships?
 
There is an economic term, proven over the centuries,  called the "Time Value of Money."  In VOIPo case, they deprive customer of their own money (a huge loss) BEFORE providing any product or service.  To the detriment to customer's coffers, VOIPo makes sure they TAKE the money, to keep "time value of money" available to them while they do little other than stall.  Their intent?  Greed, and once VOIPo has customer's money, they have NO INCENTIVE to provide service / product promptly.  And until a customer lets VOIPo know there is an issue, rest assured that VOIPo does NOTHING.  And worse, they are good at it.
 
VOIPo has taken my number.  I want my number, which will be transferred to a different carrier soon.  Allow me to predict, against what VOIPo has written in their response, the newest problem.   "The account is not active at VOIPo, so sorry; we can't release a 10 digit phone number for "port over" since there is no associated account.  We are truly sorry." (In other words, ha ha too bad; we have NO INTENTION of providing any assistance. That's how we roll.)
 
The paragraph above, NOT HAPPENING during the month of May, allowing me to retrieve my 10 digit phone number without MORE VOIPo hassles, excuses, and affixing blame for balderdash such as "it is industry standard."
 
Please provide a name of a supervisor, their # and extension at VOIPo, who has the authority to release my phone number, POST HASTE, upon request from my new carrier.  Let's conclude, and I ask cooperation from COIPo.  Revdex.com please retain case open until May 30, 2014 unless you deem otherwise, or hear again from either party.
 
Isn't it interesting how VOIPo backed off on providing communication (all the emails they mention, yet when one calls their bluff there is NOTHING there to help them at all....preponderance of documents is something VOIPo doesn't really want to do....and how this time it seems they did not vilify  others in a clandestine attempt to obscure their unethical behaviour, business lack of structure, and so forth??
 
To resolve:  Give my ten digit number, [redacted], promptly and without excuse (or nonsensical "reasons"), to my new carrier (Ooma) as they will be requesting this number very, very soon.  Provided me the actual name (not VOIPo Support team, as it often done to insulated the company at expense of customer).  I need to know who to speak with, who Ooma will soon speak with (need name, phone number, and extension) and follow thru that situation come soon be resolved.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
[redacted]

All accounts with VOIPo are prepaid at least one month in advance.  This particular customer was up for renewal on 11/15/2014.  Invoices are generated about 5 days in advance and payment is attempted about 2 days in advance of the due date to avoid any disruption in service. ...


 
As the customer stated, refunds are only processed once the equipment is either returned or purchased.  This customer had done neither and therefore still owed the renewal payment.  Please keep in mind that all customers must agree to the terms of service.  Here is that excerpt from the TOS:
 
Before a cancellation can be processed, users must return the provided VOIPo phone adapter. If a user wishes to cancel service without returning the VOIPo phone adapter or service is disconnected for non-payment, a $49.95 fee for the purchase of the adapter will be charged. Users are responsible for paying service fees until the adapter is returned to VOIPo or purchased.
 
Those terms of service can be found here: http://www.voipo.com/tos.php
 
With that being said, I can certainly understand the customer's frustration with the change of address.  We moved offices about two weeks ago, so the timing for returning equipment is not ideal.  However, USPS is supposed to be forwarding all mail to the new address, so it seems they dropped the ball on that end.  In an attempt to help with the situation, our supervisors sent the customer a FedEx return label so they did not have to pay for further shipping.  Here is that FedEx tracking number: [redacted]
 
As a courtesy to the customer, we've issued a refund for their invoice, minus the cost of the adapter ($49.95).  Once the device is received by our shipping team, the additional $49.95 will be refunded.
Best Regards,
 
Travis Newman
VOIPo.com

From my years of experience with our banking client, funds are not withdrawn until the paper checks we send are deposited or cashed.  Unfortunately not all banks provide a copy of the check once it's deposited.  In addition, if the check is simply exchanged for cash, the screenshot of the...

check might also not be sent.  Therefore, we don't have a copy of the check itself, but it was sent to the customer's name and billing address.  I've attached a screenshot from our billing client, showing that the amount was removed from our account on 11/23/2015, the day that the check was delivered.
In fact, upon checking a different refund case, my contentions hold to be true.  A customer did not receive a refund we sent in July 2015.  The funds were never removed from our account.  When we sent an additional payment in December 2015, the funds were removed within days of delivery.  Since those funds were never removed from the July 2015 payment, this proves that the funds are ONLY removed once the customer deposits or cashes the check.
To further appease the customer, I've gone ahead and opened an inquiry with our banking client. However, we are unable to issue any further refunds at this time since the funds were removed from our account.  If our banking client confirms that the check was not deposited and is able to refund the $77 amount, we'll be sure to issue another refund right away.  
If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me here: [redacted]
Thank you!
Best Regards,
[redacted]
Operations Manager
[redacted]

Complaint ID [redacted]
Hello Ms [redacted],
Thank you for getting back to us so quickly.
The account has been cancelled and the refund has been issued back to their PayPal account at their request, so I'm not exactly sure what the customer would like for us to do.  The account is cancelled, but the phone number remains on our network.  Only active numbers can be transferred, so the customer would need to
contact us directly to get that number reactivated if they wish to move
it to another carrier.  This isn't a VOIPo policy, this is an industry wide standard and is listed on the porting section of the FCC website.
Here is a direct copy of the email I, personally, sent the customer on 05/15/2014:"Hello [redacted],
VOIPo is a prepaid service, which is why payment must be received before anything with the account is set up.
Like I said, we can certainly cancel the account and refund you
immediately. However, the transfer of your number to our network is
going to happen on the 19th either way. If you cancel now, you will
likely lose that phone number. So if you wish to keep your phone
number, you will probably want to keep the account active until you can
transfer it back out.
To keep the number active, there must be an invoice paid. At this
point, you paid $185. If you'd prefer, we can change you to the monthly
bill of $18 and refund the rest. Then, when you're ready to cancel
after transferring the number back out, we can refund the additional
$18. Is that how you wish to proceed?"
Pointing the finger at who's to blame won't get us anywhere in this situation.  The customer believes they received poor support, but I disagree and also have the email exchanges saved to prove it.  I'd be more than happy to provide those if you need them.   Again, they also signed a letter of authorization that authorized us to transfer their number.  If you'd like to see a copy of that, please send me your email address and I can send it to you directly.
If they wish to keep the number, they'll need to contact us to reactivate the account.    Other than that, the account cancellation has already been finalized and the refund processed.
Best Regards,
[redacted]
VOIPo.com

Despite this customer's claims of cancelling the account years ago, the cancellation form was not submitted and the leased equipment was not returned.  As I stated in my previous reply, it is listed in our terms of service that a cancellation cannot be finalized until that equipment is returned or purchased.   The customer's excuse of not reading the terms of service is not a valid one.  If they agreed to the terms of service, they agreed to them in full, whether or not they read it all.
There is no way our support staff would tell the customer to "ignore" any future emails.  If they did request cancellation, the cancellation form would have been filled out.  If it wasn't, a ticket would have been created at the very least.  Neither of these things happened.  Unfortunately we do not record all of our support calls.  Recording all calls would send the calls through a different server of ours, which could threaten call quality.  In our eyes, good quality to our support line is more important than recording each and every call.  I'm sorry to hear of the customer's troubles in trying to reach our support line.  Our support hours are limited to Monday - Friday, 8 am - 4 pm PST.  Our average hold times on the support line have not exceeded 5 minutes this week, so I'm not sure why the customer could not reach us.
With all of that being said, I've been informed by our CEO that we will grant the rest of the refund as a one time courtesy for this customer.   $135.05 was refunded yesterday and we advised we would refund the additional $49.95 once the leased equipment was returned.  However, we've gone ahead and refunded that amount as well.   If the customer is able to find the equipment (that is technically still property of VOIPo), please return it to the address below.  The device is a 'Grandstream' phone adapter and the MAC address listed on the bottom should read 00:0B:82:35:B6:A5.
VOIPo LLC
4500 Campus Dr Suite 525
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Thank you!
Best Regards,
[redacted] N
VOIPo.com
[email protected]

Review: I placed an order for VOIPO phone service on 8/22/13. I receivedand activated the equipment on 8/27/13. I paid $185 for twoyears of service. I immediately had many problems, requiringfrequent equipment reboots to have any service at all. Whencalls were connected, the audio quality on the outbound side wasso poor that it was impossible to have a conversation. Thisrendered the service completely useless. Multiple tickets wereopened with tech support, but they only blamed my internetprovider, Wow, claiming no problem with their device or network.I contacted Wow, who verified no problems with my Internetconnection. VOIPO tech support ignored my offer to swap out theequipment, and refused to do any further troubleshooting. So Iterminated service on 11/19, requesting a FULL REFUND, since theyhad provided no useful phone service over the nearly three monthperiod.There are three aspects to my complaint:1. I was refunded only $131. They claimed the $54 not refundedwas for 3 months of service. Since the service never worked, Ifeel I am entitled to a full refund. This is the major point ofmy complaint.2. At $185 for 24 months, the monthly rate is $7.71. VOIPOexplains the $54 charge as being based on a rate of $18 permonth, the rate normally charged for pay-as-you-go accounts.That was NOT my account type, so I don't believe they have anyjustification for attempting to charge me at that rate.3. VOIPO also bases the $54 charge on 3 full months of service,starting from the date the order was placed (8/22). Since myservice was not activated until the equipment was received on8/27, and I canceled my service on 11/19, again they have nojustification whatsoever for attempting to charge me for days that they clearly were not providing service.To summarize: I am requesting a full refund of the remaining $54,since VOIPO never provided me with a working product, and did notmake a good faith effort to correct the problems.VOIPO order number: 6[redacted]Desired Settlement: Refund of the remaining $54 I paid, as no working phone service was ever provided.

Business

Response:

Although the customer believes that a valid service was not provided, our support team tried troubleshooting the issue several times. That being said, a viable, consistent internet connection must be present for our service to work properly. Our network checks showed inconsistencies with the customer's network, so we advised them to contact their internet provider to improve some audio quality issues.

The customer signed up for service on 08/22/2013. The service begins the day you sign up, which allows for us to not charge for things like ordering numbers, shipping/packaging costs, etc. When the customer signed up, they agreed to our terms of service, as all customers must do before any services are provided. Those terms of service can be found here: http://www.voipo.com/tos.php

The service was then cancelled on 11/19/2013. Therefore, the customer's account was active almost 3 months, with all partial months being rounded up to the nearest full month. Here is a relevant excerpt from our terms of service:

Any prorated refunds due in accordance with our refund policies will be calculated based on the monthly rate being charged for service used and partial months will be rounded up to the nearest full month.

The monthly rate of service is $18/month. The customer paid the promotional rate of $185. Therefore, the refund was calculated as such:

$185 - ($18/month * 3 months) = $131 refunded on 11/22/2013

Please let us know if we can provide any further information. Thank you!

Best Regards,

VOIPo.com

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

As they have done all along, Voipo continues to distort the actual facts of the complaint, and refuses to take any responsibility for failing to provide the quality of service they advertise. They imply I did not contact my ISP regarding Voipo's claim of problems on the ISP end. That is false. I contacted them and they found no issues.

Review: The company sent me an adapter for my phone to use with the computer. I was not under contract with the company, but they continued to charge me "late" fees while disallowing me to use the service if I didn't pay. They should not have charged me fees at all for the days that I was not using their service. This cut me off of all phone access (I do not have a cell phone or a land line.) The company refused to accept my payment on a weekend, which was the first opportunity (usually) I had to pay because I receive once monthly payments from Social Security. I was charged a late fee in spite of refusal to accept my payment. (Due to the weekend) I was also informed that I'd have to go without phone service until the following Monday. When I told the representative that I wished to cancel using the company's services, and asked for an address to return the converter box, the representative refused to give me an address until I filled out a form with VOIPo requesting cancellation of services. On the form, it stated that it may take up to 40 hours (it does not specify business hours) to review the cancellation. I was informed that once the form was completed, I would receive an address to return the adapter. It also informs me that I will be charged $50.000 for non-return. I filled out the form on May 10,2014, with no response back from the company. Today, I sent them an e-mail stating that if they refuse to send an address to which I can return the adapter, it will be legally understood that I not only will not have to return it, but that I will also not have to pay for the adapter. The phone service was erratic (I expected what I paid for, cheap product, very cheap service) it cut out often, had delays, and had often to be "rebooted." While I did not complain about those things previously, I find it ludicrous that a company would refuse to accept payment, deny phone service and yet justify a late fee.Desired Settlement: I would like the company to revise it's late fee policy and charge only for the days it allows service to be used. I would also like the company to desist the complicated "quitting services" policy when no contract is part of the service. The company should have a payment plan set up to allow people to pay outside of business hours since phone service is usually necessary and required for a number of reasons in the U.S.

Business

Response:

Complaint ID: [redacted]. Customer: Echoe [redacted].

Please see attached document. If we can provide anything else, please let us know. Thanks!

- [redacted] N

VOIPo.com

Dear Ms [redacted] or whom it may concern,

This response is related to complaint ID [redacted], customer: Echoe [redacted]. This customer had a

renewal payment due on 05/04/2014 that went unpaid. Multiple emails were sent regarding the invoice

and the declined payment. Finally, on 05/08/2014, the account was put in a suspended status due to

non payment, 4 days AFTER the invoice was due.

Please note that all customers must agree to the terms of service before signing up for the account. Per

the terms of service,

“If you do not have a credit card on file and use another accepted payment method such as PayPal

which may require manual payments to be made, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have a

positive account balance at all times. VOIPo is a prepaid service and does not provide a grace period

for billing. If invoices are not paid by the due date, your account may be subject to immediate

disconnection and a $5 late fee.”

This, along with the rest of the terms of service, can be found here: http://www.voipo.com/tos.php/

VOIPo's live support hours are from Monday through Friday, 8 am – 4 pm PST and are clearly listed

on our website. When an account is suspended, it must be temporarily unsuspended if the customer

wishes to update the credit card information. The customer wanted to do this over the weekend, but we

do not offer live support on the weekends. Unfortunately it does not make sense for us to unsuspend an

account and simply trust that the customer will update the card information at some point.

However, as an alternative, we advised the customer they could send a payment from PayPal, which

could be applied on the weekends. Instead of looking into a PayPal account, the customer opted to

request for cancellation. We then sent the customer the cancellation page at

http://www.voipo.com/cancel/ and advised her to fill out that form. Once that form is completed, the

return address is presented for the leased equipment.

Unfortunately, it looks like that cancellation form STILL has not been filled out by the customer yet.

That being said, one of our support team members sent her the address on 05/16/2014 and the address

is clearly listed in our 'Contact Us' section of our website as well. If the customer wants to contact me

directly, I'll fill out the cancellation form for them.

It is unfortunate that our support hours do not coincide with the customer's schedule. That being said,

around 8 emails were sent to the customer regarding all of the failed payments for the invoice in

question. We did not receive a reply to any of them until the account had already been suspended. The

customer had ample time to update the payment information before the account was suspended.

If I can provide any information, including email exchanges with this customer, I would be more than

happy to. Please advise.

Best Regards,

VOIPo.com

Review: I was a customer of VOIPo from November 15, 2012 until November 10, 2014 when I cancelled my service. On November 10, 2014 VOIPo emailed me an invoice in the amount of $185.00 for an additional one year of service with the service beginning on November 15, 2014 (account anniversary date) and ending on November 15, 2015. The price was double what I had paid in 2012 which made me consider the value of their service as compared to using my cellphones. Later that day on November 10, 2014 I cancelled my service using the cancellation form on their VOIPO.COM website. Later that evening I received an email telling me that my cancellation had started, and that if I didn't return the VOIPo adapter within 30 days that I would be billed for its cost. On Wednesday November 12th I received an email notifying me again that I must return the equipment. The equipment return address in the second email was different from the first. I corrected the address on my shipping package and mailed the equipment later on the November 12th and then forwarded the tracking number with the shipping receipt to VOIPo billing by email. Later that evening, November 12th, my credit card account was billed for $185.00 for an additional one years service beginning on November 15th, 2014. I complained via their support line, multiple times in fact, and the only response I received was that they would refund any money due me when they received the equipment.

First, the account was cancelled, the equipment was in the mail, and they had the tracking indicating a November 15th delivery. Second, I did not authorize the charge to my Visa card nor did I expect to be charged for an additional one years service. Third, the invoice was not due until November 15, 2014 so VOIPo billed two days early.Desired Settlement: I want a full refund of $185.00. The fact that they renewed my service now makes me subject to paying a prorated service charge which is a minimum one month. (VOIPo service received in any period, no matter how short, rounds up to a full month.)

Business

Response:

All accounts with VOIPo are prepaid at least one month in advance. This particular customer was up for renewal on 11/15/2014. Invoices are generated about 5 days in advance and payment is attempted about 2 days in advance of the due date to avoid any disruption in service.

As the customer stated, refunds are only processed once the equipment is either returned or purchased. This customer had done neither and therefore still owed the renewal payment. Please keep in mind that all customers must agree to the terms of service. Here is that excerpt from the TOS:

Before a cancellation can be processed, users must return the provided VOIPo phone adapter. If a user wishes to cancel service without returning the VOIPo phone adapter or service is disconnected for non-payment, a $49.95 fee for the purchase of the adapter will be charged. Users are responsible for paying service fees until the adapter is returned to VOIPo or purchased.

Those terms of service can be found here: http://www.voipo.com/tos.php

With that being said, I can certainly understand the customer's frustration with the change of address. We moved offices about two weeks ago, so the timing for returning equipment is not ideal. However, USPS is supposed to be forwarding all mail to the new address, so it seems they dropped the ball on that end. In an attempt to help with the situation, our supervisors sent the customer a FedEx return label so they did not have to pay for further shipping. Here is that FedEx tracking number: [redacted]

As a courtesy to the customer, we've issued a refund for their invoice, minus the cost of the adapter ($49.95). Once the device is received by our shipping team, the additional $49.95 will be refunded.

Best Regards,

Travis Newman

VOIPo.com

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

It would be exhausting for all of us for me to outline why VOIPO, LLC is wrong about their assertions that the Terms of Service on their website offer an answer to my complaint. I never agreed to the Terms of Service on their website., nor can VOIPO, LLC unilaterally impose that agreement upon me. Our agreement was made on November 15, 2012 and the terms are outlined on VOIPO Invoice number [redacted]. However, my complaint has nothing to do with legal arguments and everything to do with fair and honest business practices.

Review: In October 2015 I terminated the Voipo service of two telephone lines. I was informed that I would receive a refund after Voipo received the return of two line adapters. Voipo acknowledged receipt of the adapters and I then queried the status of my refund.

Voipo claims that they issued a check to me and their records indicated I had received and cashed said check. I did not receive a check from Voipo and I contested the fact that I had received the check and cashed it and requested banking proof of said transaction.

copy of email from Voipo:

Hi [redacted],

Unfortunately we don't receive much information in the way of which institution is was deposited to. The best documentation I can provide are a couple of screenshots from our online banking client (attached).

Normally if the check has been delivered but not deposited, the funds will not have been removed from our account. As you can see in the first screenshot, it states that funds were removed from our account on 11/23/2015.

If we can answer anything else for you, please let me know.

Best Regards,

[redacted] VOIPo.com

All of Voip's responses are based upon their internal financials and cannot/have not provided any proof showing my signature on a cashed check. My bank can show signatures on cashed checks why can't theirs? Non of my financial institutions show a direct deposit from Voipo and I have not received a physical check. The dollar amount ($77.00) is small compare to the principal.Desired Settlement: Acknowledge their mistake and provide my refund.

Business

Response:

From my years of experience with our banking client, funds are not withdrawn until the paper checks we send are deposited or cashed. Unfortunately not all banks provide a copy of the check once it's deposited. In addition, if the check is simply exchanged for cash, the screenshot of the check might also not be sent. Therefore, we don't have a copy of the check itself, but it was sent to the customer's name and billing address. I've attached a screenshot from our billing client, showing that the amount was removed from our account on 11/23/2015, the day that the check was delivered.