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Posted on Oct 04, 2006 - 12:16pm by John P. in Computing, Reviews
First of all, I’d like to apologize to anyone whom I ever mentioned Packet 8 to in the past. Here’s why…
After being an ATT CallVantage subscriber for over 2 years and finding the service to be reliable, high quality and feature-rich I decided to switch to Packet 8 because the service appeared to be similarly featured and $10 per month less expensive. I had also told several people that I thought it was a good deal and that they should try it, so I was taking my own advice.
In all fairness to me, I also based this decision on the fact that call quality via services such as Skype, Yahoo IM and other VoIP offerings have improved so dramatically in the past few years. The logic was that any large VoIP carrier would probably offer similar call quality, so Packet 8 seemed like a relatively good deal ($20 per month vs. $30 with ATT).
I couldn’t have been more wrong…
After ordering and installing the Packet 8 service, everything worked. I wouldn’t say that it worked well, just that it worked. Over the next 60 days or so of using the service we came to learn much more about the difference between Packet 8 and ATT. Here are the things they DON’T tell you about their service before you sign up:
So, after these and other annoyances I decided that Packet8 was not for us. I went online looking for some way to put in a service disconnect, but to no avail. Remember, the web site sucks.
I then found a way to open a ticket and asked them to cancel the service, after which I immediately received the following letter:
Dear Customer,
In regards to your email, we are sorry you’re considering canceling your packet8 service.
If it is your desire to cancel, please contact a customer service representative the day you would like your packet8 service to terminate.
A 5.99 monthly fee gets you all the packet8 to packet8 phone calls for free but for those regular calls it will cost you 3.9 cents per minute. This is an attractive option for those who wish to finish out there 12 month agreement instead of receiving a $59 Deactivation fee.
Please note that if you choose to terminate your Packet8 service within twelve (12) months of the purchase of the service, a Disconnection Fee of fifty-nine dollars ($59.00) per account would be charged to your credit card as indicated in the Terms and Conditions.
To Contact Support
1-888-898-8733Packet8
Monday – Saturday 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM P.D.TThank you,
Packet8
Gee, you think they get a lot of cancellation requests? They are obviously well prepared, and they instantly want to point out to you that they are going to charge you $59 the second you try to cancel. Also, they make you call in to the 800 number to actually cancel.
So, I called in and told them I wanted to cancel because the call quality was very poor. I also explained that I didn’t think they should charge me a cancellation fee because I had an expectation of reasonable call quality when I signed up and they did not deliver.
The rep proceeded to tell me that since I didn’t call in and open trouble tickets and try to work with their tech support to solve the problems that they wouldn’t waive the fee. Had I done so, they would – but they had no reason to believe that I actually had problems. I asked for a supervisor, but that person took an even harder line.
They said that if I had wanted to cancel without penalty I should have done it in the first 30 days. It didn’t matter to them that I had paid for the hardware, the initial setup fee, and the monthly fees up to this point. They still wanted their $59 cancellation fee.
So, bottom line is, I would no longer recommend Packet8 to anyone, for any reason and I now appreciate ATT CallVantage far more. I’m not claiming that ATT is perfect, for example their tech support hold times are too long, but it’s still far superior and well worth the extra money.
Footnote:
For the techies out there I should state that the Packet 8 Terminal Adapter was connected directly to the cable modem in front of the router. The call quality issues were NOT because it didn’t have unfiltered access to the net.
Additionally, we pay for the highest level of cable modem service offered by our ISP. We get 12 mb down and 768kb up. We use a Uniden phone system with 10 handsets and it is in perfect working order.
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In July, 2008, Packet 8 cold-called me about switching from Vonage to their service. Buying the sales pitch, I agreed, provided they could port my current number. They assured me they could. I told them from the beginning I would not activate until the number was ported, as I didn’t want to switch phone #’s twice.
After the 30-day trial ended, I began getting monthly service charges. A couple of months went by before I found they made a mistake and linked my LNP request to a canceled account. A couple of months later (Nov) they stated I had to fill out a LOA form, which they said they’d email me to, but never did. By December, they told me I had to submit a LNP request online AGAIN. Several times that I called I was told the LNP specialist wasn’t available, but they’d call me right back (THEY NEVER DID).
By January 13, 2009 (6 mos later!),the number still wasn’t ported, nor had I activated the service. That did not stop them from charging me $143.49 in service fees for a service that I had not used a single second.
I had to cancel the account. For that, they wanted to charge me an additional $75!!! Fortunately – in the one thing they did right – they waived the disconnect fee.
I have tried to work with Packet 8 on two separate occassions, and they have failed to make it work, I have paid them over $170 but they have never provided me with a single minute of phone service. I strongly urge you to think twice before purchasing their service.
Wish I’d read this post earlier. A lot of problems on our 5-extension VO service with Packet8, since we signed up in October 2008, and now, the service is down big time (4 hours), and so is their web site (www.packet8.net).
I guess I gotta go back to AT&T. What a bummer.
<em Our service is down too. What a mess. We never had this problem with AT& T. I’ve been on hold for almost 30 min and the
service as been out over 1 hr
our service has been out all day here as well. We just now got a hold of someone from Packet8 Sales department, we are on the line with them now…cant wait to see what the problem is.
the answer is..they have been hacked into, they are working on getting the system up and running.
Our service is down too. But I never faced the real problem. The service is not very good but is still fine. Out of 4 line I have one of the line I am facing problem constantly. there is also some problem in the voice as it is intermittant. Over all I feel one should nver depend on on service provider expecially business related services. I am still waiting for the service restoration
I am still trying to get them to discontinue my service. I have not been able to get this to work with my modem, their solution was to upgrade. I have already spent nearly $600 in equipment and monthly service fees. Not to mention lost revenue because I cannot use the service. I have followed every instruction, completed each step and the phone will not work with the modem.
I keep putting in tickets, emails and now faxing one of the people in charge.
Now I am filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. I have not been able to use my service for more than an answering machine.
Glad to see I am not alone.
Watch out for Packet 8 and its services working with your current equipment. We are a small company that wanted 3 lines and a fax but didn’t want to purchase a full blown PBX. Overall the idea is great, but you have to watch out for the gotcha’s.
First, they have all kinds of issues with certain routers and the reliability of the phone service is dependent on it working seemlessly. We have a netgear router and we would lose or drop calls consistently. We couldn’t get the fax line to get a clean connection so we ended up having to use a internet based fax service to get the incoming faxes.
So we finally bit the bullet and bought a recommend router that they have tested (add another $300 to out investment) now the phones seem more reliable, but the fax still doesn’t work correctly. Then I am on the phone, it has been 5 months of trying to figure this out and they tell me that my brother MFC-8640D does not work over their Network. WHy didn’t they tell me this 5 months ago when I was in my evaluation mode. So now if I want to use the a inbound and outbound fax I need to purchase a new fax machine.
My idea of a not purchasing a PBX and going with Packet 8 is looking really bad. SO BUYER BEWARE WITH PACKET 8. DO not go there unless they say that the equipment you have will work and you will not need to purchase new equipment.
Packet8 is a really good VOIP service. Sure their adapters may not work perfectly in all network environments but their tech support is REALLY GOOD and english speaking. I had some small issues at first and I called tech support and had it working PERFECTLY in about 20 minutes or less.
I know alot of people like to vent and complain but how bout some positives.
Good prices, good quality and good features and really good tech support. If it wasnt working for you, your REALLY should have given tech support a try mr. one mans blog. Not fair to just talk bad about the company without even giving tech a chance to fix the problem.
Just a thought.
Cheers,
Loving Packet8 in CA
Did you put Brother MFC on basic?? That is the setting for voip :-)
I’ve had Packet 8 (now 8X8) for almost 2 years and the service has been just fine. Perfect quality and reliable. I have Verizon Fios (fiber optic) which is extraordinarily reliable so that may help.
But just today May 28, I get notice that the plan I’m on ($14.99) is being discontinued and starting June 1, I will be moved to the $24.99 plan.
Thought I had missed a prior notice, so checked back and no, there had be no prior mail or email notice. Just 1 business day notice that I’ll be changed over.
With enough notice I may have stuck with them as their annual plan is only $16.84/month. But 1 day notice is BS. I’ll be moving to Skype with Skypeout of all things with a non-PC phone. I don’t make enough calls to justify $25-$30 a month in a phone bill. My cell is my main number. This crap just forced me to make that decision.
I HATE PACKET 8…. I signed up in December with this plan that they had for one year at 24.99 per line (5 lines). Right off the bat they charge me for $49.99. I don’t notice it until February’s billing. So now i have been trying to get the credits of those months. So they credit me back just the money for the phones and of course they can’t do it all at once. What about the tax money. Then this month they decide they forgot to bill me in March and bill me $304 plus my regular $178.00. I have spent more time on the phone with them than this is worth. I need a new phone system.
AT&T wants $250 for 4 lines but they are land lines.
With packet 8 we experience… voices sounding like they are underwater. And packet 8 goes out. People trying to call in hear… NETWORK Busy.
I am so frustrated today!
Ok folks, I’ve read the above and do not necessarily agree to too much. I’m a Microsoft engineer and agree that it may require your being a MSCE to properly navigate Packet8 services.
I have two phones. My staff work from home and transfer calls between eachother and answer “queued” calls just fine.
The point of my post tonight is the billing. It is majorly $#%^ up. Here is my gig. I purchased one product that costs 30.00… after 10 minutes, I could tell it was not for me. I requested a refund, and now 2 months later and paying two times on my monthly bill for the same service I canceled, STILL NO REFUNDS.
Scarry. The other day a additional phone number was purchased on the same day as my monthly bill. My bill for the adding the service was 20.00 (10.00 for a month’s service, 10.00 for setup fee)… that is fine, BUT, the same night my monthly invoice charged me for the same NEWLY added line for another month’s worth of service.
It has been a month and still no refund for the EXTRA overcharge.
I like the service but I’m starting to be fearful of the ability of this group to survive the POOR billing services and seemingly terrible management.
Respectfully,
A current Packet 8 or now 8×8 customer LOOKING for new solutions.