"at least as far back as a year (I was in the bummer tent after that, so I didn't look further."

So we're unsure whether this feature has always been active or if it was recently added? If he's had it all along then it might be mentioned somewhere in his initial contract and paperwork, no? If not and they randomly added it somewhere along the way then this is truly sneaky.

FWIW I have Vonage and that feature is not enabled by default. I get an email and a .wav file but that's free.

Perhaps it's a matter of word choice fail, where "add visual voicemail" should have been "configure..."

But that might lead people to think it's something they're paying for and... oh, I see what they did there.

@TinkishDelight: I agree. It can be a long since after the fact situation or a silent, sneaky addition. But knowing Vonage to a certain extent (based on what I've heard from others), I'm willing to give Daniel the benefit of the doubt here.

Daniel, the best of luck with your case. I hope Vonage at least offers you a credit that matches the amount that you were unknowingly billed for what became essentially a mandatory "optional" service. Next time, do be more mindful of the bill details (it is what the Consumerist consistently advocates, after all)

Daniel, change providers, and be very clear about why you're doing it to the retentions representative. (Assuming you've been a customer long enough to not have an ETF, I guess.)

If you just roll with this, then you're oking this sort of predatory and dishonest sales tactic.

Perhaps the retentions person will effect a credit you can live with, but if not, you can shop for a new provider with more up-front sales and billing practices.

I don't think he has much of a leg to stand on with the previous 11 months, as he had is bill and could have verified the charges. Even the recent one would be tough, since Vonage could argue that he had been placed on notice over the past year through the charges and that he failure to complain was agreement enough. However, he did report the discrepancy as soon as he observed it, and the screenshots seem to have been designed to avoid giving him notice. I say he should get $1.50 plus the same charges from the previous statement.

But, would it be worth the negative coverage and loss of (at least one) customers to avoid reimbursing $1.50?

@2719: I used to have Vonage and received the same emails as you describe. But "Visual Voicemail" is a different feature -- it actually transcribes the voicemail, then sends the written transcript to a destination email or SMS address.

@TinkishDelight:
So we're unsure whether this feature has always been active or if it was recently added?

Yeah. It sounds like it may have been enabled since he opened the account, which the CSR's e-mail leads me to believe is normal for all accounts.

And not to blame at all, but please, look into alternate VoIP providers. They're plentiful these days, many more reliable and less expensive than the V.

Viatalk.com FTW...

I've opened a number of vonage accounts over the last few years, and the feature has never been turned on automatically. When you enable it, the e-mail field is blank and must be filled in.

We don't see Daniel's e-mail to Vonage, but I don't think the CSR meant that it was automatically enabled. If Daniel asked Vonage to disable the feature on his account, the CSR's reply makes sense:

"The "Visual Voicemail" feature is not disabled automatically, it needs to be done manually. To verify the same, please visit the link given below:"

--------------------------------

While I agree the message on the web page is very misleading, the Vonage bill is very clear. Every statement and account status has a very good breakdown listing the charges in an easy to read format. I wish my cell phone bill was as easy to understand.

This is a crock...I have Vonage and just logged into my account to make sure...when you click on the add or learn more about visual voivemail it takes you to a page where you have to enable it and it says right there that they charge you for it.

"Maybe I should have been looking at my bills more carefully"

Of COURSE you should have been. After everything else that gets posted on the Consumerist, you're going to take ANY company at their word that your bill is correct, and don't worry about it?

That said, just because you've paid the bills doesn't mean you're legally responsible for them, and it doesn't mean Vonage isn't still liable for what amounts to a fraudulent charge. The tough part is going to be proving that they added it without your knowledge or consent. But if you've got all of those bills and there's no mention of it, and they can't demonstrate a recording of your request, you've got a good start on it.

But seriously, folks: read your bills. Read your contracts. Don't sign or pay anything you haven't actually looked at. Come on; this is "how to live your life 101" stuff. It doesn't matter if there's something in the contract that won't hold up. There are often 10 other things that will. Sure, it's unethical for a company to charge you extra, hidden fees. Sure, it's sleazy for them to raise rates without notice. But after all is said and done, if you don't even look at it, you've got no one to blame but yourself.

I had Vonage back in 2006 and had a problem with them then. In Sept of 2006 I canceled their service and my bill was paid up to date. They posted on my credit report that I owed them $90.00. Great company! Everyone should just tell them to F off. They're not worth the money you save.

I was a Vonage customer for about 2 years when I "canceled" my service since I moved 3000 miles, and the new ISP I was with couldn't figure out how to do a Dry loop DSL line (don't ask).

4 years later I started recieving bills from them again. I called them after the second time (the first time I assumed it was a fluke). They said I never canceled, but only opted to have my account put on "hold" for 3.99 a month or somesuch small amount, and that they had attached a credit to the account to last for 3 years.

They agreed to cancel the account, and drop the charges. 3 months later I started to get the calls from a collections agency for an $8 bill. We were looking into buying a house at that point ... so I just paid it off with the assurance no ding would be seen on my credit reports.

They kept their end of the bargain ... but I will never be a vonage customer again ... especially now that I knoew they started adding taxes.

@nbs2: I think this is the correct solution, and the one most companies use in a situation like this. It is your responsibility to check the bill every month, but crediting the customer from when they report the mistake and maybe the previous billing period is a decent compromise, especially when the amounts are so low.

@Ezra Ekman: Agreed. Personal responsibility FTW!

I still take issue with Vonage's misleading interface, however, which should have alerted anyone who logs in at least once a month to review their bill.

MagicJack is a no brainer if you have a computer running 24/7

It's the OP's fault. I have opened multiple Vonage accounts for customers, and VVM is not on by default. He wasn't checking his bill, was paying for it, and now it's Vonage's fault? Sorry. They have been providing this service, and just because the OP didn't get the e-mails, is no fault of Vonage. Bad Consumer!

@I_am_Awesome: But that's what makes no sense. The instructions clearly say you have to activate the account, so if he did not take action to activate the feature, he should not expect to have to disable it.

Is it possible that Vonage offered Visual Voicemail as a trial feature that the user was supposed to turn off but never did?

@pmcpa2: "It's the OP's fault. I have opened multiple Vonage accounts for customers, and VVM is not on by default."

If you had read the post you're commenting on, you'd know that those two sentences contradict each other.

Just 1 more reason I reported my debit card missing.. Vonage rooked me into a 2 year contract. Told me I had 2 months to try it or I could cancel. I called like 34 days into the service to cancel and got told I could but I'd have to pay a $100 ETF. Now they aren't getting anything. Slobs.

Gotta watch these guys like a hawk. I got suckered into a cheaper annual payment plan instead of monthly. But as it turns out, that was for my fax line which I was planning on switching from full line to fax only. Now I can't until the summer because they don't want to pro-rate it. And their customer service people are totally incompetent and tried to switch my "main" line from the one I want voice on to the fax one so I could down grade the voice one. I had to yell at them to keep them from doing that.

Sneaky, sneaky. From what I've heard about Vonage I don't think I'd ever want to do business with them.

We left Sirius XM after they promised not to raise prices, but did it anyway after the merger. We've been thinking about getting rid of vonage, but were undecided. This tipped the scale. We'll get rid of the service tomorrow.

With 'Visual Voicemail', you would think the National Security Agency wouldn't have to work so hard to listen to your voicemail.

They just form a partnership with Vonage and have a copy sent to their inbox as well as the customer's.

@TakingItSeriously: I agree that the 'tax' thing is real PITA. When I joined SunRocket a few years ago, it was great. $199 for the year. Nothing afterwards. Of course, we know the story (they went belly up for those that didn't know). I then signed up with Packet8. Same yearly rate but plus about $16 added to that from the get-go; but then they started collecting the same kinds of fees/surcharges as other telecoms. Right now it's $5.15 per month. And of course those taxes/fees/surchages get recalculated every quarter, so you have to keep on your toes to ensure there's not something else in your bill.

@laserjobs: I'm guessing that you are using MJ. How do you like it? Are there ads anywhere (either in front of calls or on your computer system) that have to be listened to or watched before any call is active?

How's their voicemail? Caller Id (with Name)? What about a call log? Call waiting?

Is there anything you wish someone had told you about MJ before you signed up?

TIA.

@Chris Walters: When Visual Voicemail came out, they added a link in each audio email message that says "Wish you could READ this voicemail?
Sign up for Vonage Visual Voicemail(sm)!" I imagine that that wouldn't be in there if it was enabled.

Aren't there any other indications on the voice mail listing screen that may indicate that it is turned on? Like a link to read the voice mail? I don't have it enabled, so I know that my voice mail has a "Listen" link to the right (the part of the screen that the OP cut off, next to the date)... I'd imagine that there would be some way to actually use visual voicemail, like a corresponding "Read" link.

hey laserjobs! I second the switch to magicjack! The only place you see ads are in the softphone itself, you don't have to listen to any ads before you get calls or whatever. No ads at all if you hack it and use a softphone!

Yet another company that I won't do business with.

I've never had Vonage, but I've read a constant barrage of complaints about them, both here and on various other blogs and boards.

I've had Lingo (a Vonage competitor) since 2004. Lingo is owned by Primus Telecom which is apparently a rather large European telecom provider, and with the exception of a few small glitches or outages here and there back in the first year or two I had the service, I love it.

The customer care is outstanding. The call center staff in India is extremely knowledgeable, helpful, polite, and nearly always resolves whatever issue I have on the first call. And -- a big bonus -- they can actually think rather than read a script when troubleshooting.

The kicker: It's several bucks cheaper than Vonage, and they have a cheapo service that's $8/month that's unlimited incoming calls and 5c/minute for outgoing.

With the kinds of problems everyone's putting out about Vonage, I'm surprised that Lingo hasn't gotten more good press.

@gnimsh: And if you want to split the difference between MJ and Vonage, there's always Skype. Costs a little more than MJ, but no ads.

@Chris Walters: Absolutely, and I should have clarified: You don't sign your customers up for something without their knowledge or consent. You also don't enroll them into a program automatically; you make sure they OPT IN. You just don't. Unless you're one of these companies, of course. Which Vonage apparently is, now.

That said, the OP has essentially said "I didn't pay attention for, basically, something more than a year, and now I want Vonage to pay me back for it." Unfortunately, he's probably going to run afoul of something called "tacit agreement". For example, if you have a lease that says you can't have pets, but you get one anyway and you can prove your landlord knew about it for 30 days, that constitutes tacit (unspoken) acceptance. (In California, anyway; please check your state's regulations before you depend on this.) It's a little different in billing/contract situations like this, of course, since he didn't exactly sign an agreement that allowed them to bill him more. But don't expect Vonage to see it that way.

Their action of him up without notification sucks. Or at least, it would if that's actually what happened. Quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if they *did* notify him via a notice in one of his bills, based on his description. He's made it clear he doesn't read his bills (or whatever notices accompany them), and that's usually how notification for this sort of thing done these days, obnoxious as that is. But let's assume that they didn't notify him. The OP really should have noticed at least 2-3 months in, called in, and complained. And I think he's still justified in doing so now, as well. But I wouldn't be surprised if Vonage sticks to their line about refusing the refund based on the sheer amount of time the OP waited. As far as they're concerned, a "reasonable" amount of time has come and gone. And that part, at least, I'd agree with.

If they do stick to it, and his dispute with their billing department doesn't work, there's always small claims court. If he can demonstrate that they didn't notify him (and assuming that they can't prove they did),they had no right to collect the money in the first place, and he can demonstrate breach of contract and actual damages, plus court costs. I'm not a lawyer, so go talk to one before you take my advise.

Good luck, Daniel! Really. But next time, try to pay a little more attention, hm?

Why doesn't everyone just use Skype? It has the best sound quality, community support, and the cheapest cost (SkypeOut is $30 for a full year of unlimited calls, if you want a phone # you can pay an additional $29.95 for SkypeIn and have a phone #.) They have phones that don't require a computer or you can buy an adapter for $10 that allows you to use your existing phones.

Check your bills ea. month! Check your bills ea. month! I can't repeat this enough. I save myself on average $10/mo. because I look over all my bills:Mortgage, bank statements, utilities, credit cards, TV, all of them. Yes, it's a pain. But I HATE being ripped off even more. I find errors nearly every month (mostly on my Credit card bill) but Sprint is nasty here too. They creep new charges and features on me once in a while and so does Dish network. It pays to carefully watch your bills. Also, I started using Mint.com and I like it!

The OP says, he does not use any voicemail, and in fact has an outgoing message telling callers not to leave a message. Why doesn't he just cancel the voicemail altogether? That's pretty easy to do. Go into "Voicemail Settings" and turn it off. I use Vonage and I have always had my voicemail turned off. My phone at the house has a built in answering machine that picks it up. I've always found it easier that way.

I had been a loyal member of vonage for quite a few years. I had opted to pay for the year in full, to save a few bucks. Then we found out we were having triplets. I called to tell them I wasn't renewing at the end of the term, and to disable the auto-renew feature. Lo and behold, months later I get an email saying I've been billed for another full year. Even though I called them up within the hour to correct this problem, and though I was told to write to the billing department where "it'll be straightened out," they never did refund me back the money. After countless phone calls, Vonage decided that because of the terms of service, they were allowed to keep my 300-some bucks. Stay away from them!

I remember when the VV came out. I got an e-mail about it that sounded like they were going to turn it on automatically. I e-mailed and they assured me that I would have to turn it on. So far, so good, but I avoid the issue altogether by having an old fashioned answering machine. I'm not into letting the NSA have a free copy of my messages from my sister about the latest family gossip.

Vonage was a good service ruined by mystery fees and atrocious customer service and pathetic retention policies ( don't actually cancel your account ).

@2719: Same thing here... I just checked my account, and the option is there, but not enabled. And I've been on since '05 as well.

As for the visual part, you would absolutely know if it were on, as all the e-mails sent to you when you received a voice mail would be in clear text with the message.

The only thing strange here is the e-mail from Vonage.

...actually, I've been on since '03...

@2719: I just checked mine and Visual Voicemail was NOT turned on. I never turned it off myself. I think this is something the OP enabled either on accident, or has since forgotten about. If you follow the link from the e-mail response, it tells you that you have to enable it.

"How do I enable Vonage Visual Voicemail ?

1. Click here to enable Vonage Visual Voicemail and login to your Vonage Online Account.
2. Select the phone number that you would like Vonage Visual Voicemail enabled and click Enable Vonage Visual Voicemail "

Vonage will charge a $39.95 fee to cancel the service.

@nybiker: I'm not laserjobs, but I'm a magicjack user. It's $20 for a year of service and they email your voicemails to you for free (you can also check them from any phone). The service is not rock solid... there's a little bit of "you get what you pay for". But if you don't require mission critical service, it does just fine. Sometimes it acts wonky and a reboot is required. Every once in a while, you need to get on live web chat with a service rep. This used to be very, very frustrating but the quality of service has greatly improved the last 9 months. So don't use it for your business line or if you need a dedicated FAX line. But for general home phone use (and esp. if you have a cell phone you can use as back-up) then this is a great value.

No ads on calls or voicemails. Caller ID works but only shows #, not name. Call waiting is also included. When you buy 5-years of service at once, you can get the hardware plus the 5-years for less than $100.

Again... keep this in mind. MagicJack will frustrate you sometimes. It really will. But for $20 a year instead of $55/month, I'm okay with that.

@TinkishDelight:

He said he's been a Vonage customer since 2005, and I don't think anyone was offering Visual Voicemail in 2005. I could be wrong, so does anyone know if it could have even been in his contract originally?

@eelmonger:

I'm often one of those "blame-the-consumer" commenters when I think that the consumer acted stupidly. And I like playing devil's advocate (<-- great pinball game, too).

But in this case I think that Von should be punished for their misleading customer portal pages by refunding all his VV usage for the entire period of his account.

He made a good case as to why it was reasonable that he missed such small charges, and he also had a reasonable expectation to not be a customer of the VV service.

Another problem with Vonage, you can't call 911 directly. They call 911 for you and there a numerous law suits because Vonage takes its sweet time when dispatching a 911 call. One person was on the phone with Vonage pleading with them to call 911 while his house was on fire! It eventually burned down and they are suing Vonage.