Watch Out for Packet 8 :: Internet Phone Service
I made a HUGE mistake. I wanted to experiment with VoIP, Voice over IP, or an Internet Telephone. The current phone system is a mess and I wanted to encourage competition in the market. In early 2006, we signed up with SunRocket. They charged $199 for a year of service (offered four additional months free as part of their initial promotion), gave us a couple phones and charged no activation fees. It was a pretty good financial package. Yet they went out of business in the summer of 2007. Hopefully, they recycled all the leftover business cards.
I received a promotional offer from Packet 8, as they tried to fill the void left by SunRocket. Wow! What a mistake. I am documenting their deception and poor service. They are trying to lock me into their service by citing clauses in their "terms of agreement (which I never saw or that were never explained to me). They are threatening me with my current phone number as they refuse to release it when I tried to move over to Vonage.
Yet as the initial customer invoice shows, Packet 8 charged an activation fee of $29.99, a shipping charge of $12.95, and numerous other "hidden" fees. The total bill wasn't $199, but $257.38.
On about July 23rd, I tried to correct these charges by phone. It didn't work. On about August 20th, I received my credit card bill. The charge of $257.38 was listed on my statement. In addition, there was an additional charge of $4.20.
I called Packet 8 customer service. They were unable to correct the charges and explained that the $4.20 was a "tax" that I would be required to pay each month. This comes to an added $50.40 on top of the listed charges.
I called a couple days later to give notice that I wanted to close my account. I asked if there would be any problems getting a full refund. The Packet 8 rep said there would be no problem and I would be fully refunded.
I contacted Vonage and set up an account with them. They told me not to disconnect my service until they completed their work. This would allow them to port (more) my phone number to their service. Once they finished, they told me to cancel my Packet 8 acount.
When I called Packet 8 to cancel my service, the agent informed me that they would not refund my money. Although I had called within the 30-day trial period, they claimed I had exceeded the allotted number of minutes for the promotional offer. I had no information on the "allotted" minutes. The agent said it was specified in Section 5.7 of the Terms of Agreement.
I had never seen the Terms of Agrement. I explained this to the agent. She called me a liar, screamed at me, and told me it was my responsibility. Yet I had signed up over the telephone. The State of New Mexico blocks their website (see screen shot). I have never had access to the Terms of Agreemnt. They say I am responsible; I argue that they have a responsibility to tell me their temrs. Who is right? Responsibility works both ways.
As we all know, large companies hide details in the "fine print." How long are you going to tolerate this? We can't beat their corporate armies of lawyers, but we can stop buying their products.
In the end, Packet 8 violated the Terms of Agreement. They sold me a package offering me "FREE activation, FREE shippng." Yet you can see the charges listed below. They lied; they overcharged me; but they won't let me out of the contract and they threatened not to release my phone number if I cancel. Nice people!
These people are deceptive liars. Their customer service agents yelled at me and treated me horribly. They include many hidden charges and their telephone service is of poor quality. Frequently during conversations, the call would simply drop. Or we could hear the other party, but they could not hear us.
Bad telephone service, bad customer service, and deceptive marketing. Avoid these creeps!
Customer: XXXXXXXXX
Order Number: 527341XXXX
Order Status: Complete
ORDER CONFIRMATION
********************************************************************
Dear XXXXXXXXX:
We have received your order and further details are provided below for your records.
Thank you,
Customer Service Representative
Packet8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ORDER DETAILS
Product ID :: Product Description :: Qty :: Unit Price:: Total Price :: List Price
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P8ACT0101 Activation Charges 1 29.99 29.99 29.99
P8EQU0131 Packet 8 BPG510 1 0.00 0.00 0.00
P8SVC0110 Freedom Annual Plan 1 199.00 199.00 199.00
Total Charges
----------------
Subtotal 228.99
Discount 0.00
Shipping 12.95
Regulatory Recovery Fee 0.00
E911 Charge 0.00
Tax & Other Charges Amount
-----------------------------------------------------
E911 Service Fee (US Residents) 1.99
Estimated FET Tax (3%) 0.00
Regulatory Recovery Fee 1.50
State 911 Fee 0.51
Estimated Tax 0.00
Universal Service Surcharge 11.44
Total :: 257.38
I received a promotional offer from Packet 8, as they tried to fill the void left by SunRocket. Wow! What a mistake. I am documenting their deception and poor service. They are trying to lock me into their service by citing clauses in their "terms of agreement (which I never saw or that were never explained to me). They are threatening me with my current phone number as they refuse to release it when I tried to move over to Vonage.
Packet 8 Initial Offer: Only $199*
[click image to enlarge]
Yet as the initial customer invoice shows, Packet 8 charged an activation fee of $29.99, a shipping charge of $12.95, and numerous other "hidden" fees. The total bill wasn't $199, but $257.38.
On about July 23rd, I tried to correct these charges by phone. It didn't work. On about August 20th, I received my credit card bill. The charge of $257.38 was listed on my statement. In addition, there was an additional charge of $4.20.
I called Packet 8 customer service. They were unable to correct the charges and explained that the $4.20 was a "tax" that I would be required to pay each month. This comes to an added $50.40 on top of the listed charges.
I called a couple days later to give notice that I wanted to close my account. I asked if there would be any problems getting a full refund. The Packet 8 rep said there would be no problem and I would be fully refunded.
I contacted Vonage and set up an account with them. They told me not to disconnect my service until they completed their work. This would allow them to port (more) my phone number to their service. Once they finished, they told me to cancel my Packet 8 acount.
When I called Packet 8 to cancel my service, the agent informed me that they would not refund my money. Although I had called within the 30-day trial period, they claimed I had exceeded the allotted number of minutes for the promotional offer. I had no information on the "allotted" minutes. The agent said it was specified in Section 5.7 of the Terms of Agreement.
I had never seen the Terms of Agrement. I explained this to the agent. She called me a liar, screamed at me, and told me it was my responsibility. Yet I had signed up over the telephone. The State of New Mexico blocks their website (see screen shot). I have never had access to the Terms of Agreemnt. They say I am responsible; I argue that they have a responsibility to tell me their temrs. Who is right? Responsibility works both ways.
As we all know, large companies hide details in the "fine print." How long are you going to tolerate this? We can't beat their corporate armies of lawyers, but we can stop buying their products.
In the end, Packet 8 violated the Terms of Agreement. They sold me a package offering me "FREE activation, FREE shippng." Yet you can see the charges listed below. They lied; they overcharged me; but they won't let me out of the contract and they threatened not to release my phone number if I cancel. Nice people!
These people are deceptive liars. Their customer service agents yelled at me and treated me horribly. They include many hidden charges and their telephone service is of poor quality. Frequently during conversations, the call would simply drop. Or we could hear the other party, but they could not hear us.
Bad telephone service, bad customer service, and deceptive marketing. Avoid these creeps!
Packet 8 Initial Bill to Customer
Order Date: 2007-07-23Customer: XXXXXXXXX
Order Number: 527341XXXX
Order Status: Complete
ORDER CONFIRMATION
********************************************************************
Dear XXXXXXXXX:
We have received your order and further details are provided below for your records.
Thank you,
Customer Service Representative
Packet8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ORDER DETAILS
Product ID :: Product Description :: Qty :: Unit Price:: Total Price :: List Price
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P8ACT0101 Activation Charges 1 29.99 29.99 29.99
P8EQU0131 Packet 8 BPG510 1 0.00 0.00 0.00
P8SVC0110 Freedom Annual Plan 1 199.00 199.00 199.00
Total Charges
----------------
Subtotal 228.99
Discount 0.00
Shipping 12.95
Regulatory Recovery Fee 0.00
E911 Charge 0.00
Tax & Other Charges Amount
-----------------------------------------------------
E911 Service Fee (US Residents) 1.99
Estimated FET Tax (3%) 0.00
Regulatory Recovery Fee 1.50
State 911 Fee 0.51
Estimated Tax 0.00
Universal Service Surcharge 11.44
Total :: 257.38