William got an email from Vonage yesterday telling him they’re raising his bill starting in February.

He writes:

I’ve been on one of the cheapest plans from vonage for several years, and generally happy with it. I probably use less outgoing minutes on it than I do on my cell phone, and hardly ever go over the 500 minutes allocated. On christmas I got a nice new email from them saying that they were changing my rates from $14.99 to $17.99.

I know that this is only a $3 increase, but when you are staring at all of your expenditures, it can be a tipping point. I also find it interesting that what they claim is their most popular plan got no increase in fees.

Here’s some key passages from the email:

At Vonage, we’re committed to providing exceptional phone service at a great value you can rely on. On December 1, 2008, the price of our Residential Basic 500 Minute Plan increased from $14.99 to $17.99. The new price will be reflected in your February 2009 bill. We’re proud that we remain one of the most competitive choices among home phone providers.

…

As an option, you might consider the Residential Unlimited Plan for only $24.99 a month. For just $7 more you will get…

Vonage remains a cheap alternative to a traditional landline, but we wish they’d just do away with the cheap plan and grandfather in existing customers instead of slowly letting the price creep up to push customers into higher plans.

The Christmas day email was a nice touch, though. If you don’t like Christmas.

Remember, if you’re on the cheap plan and don’t want to pay the higher rate, you have to cancel by the date when the increase goes into effect, or Vonage will assume you agree to it.

(Photo: raymaclean)

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