July 19, 2007

SunRocket - Now That Is A Pretty Big Gotcha!

You may have already heard that SunRocket, the VoIP company that was second only to Vonage, has shut down suddenly and without notice, leaving over 200,000 customers stranded without phone service. And the company's CEO Lisa Hook (formerly from AOL) resigned just days before the shutdown. How convenient.

Many of the employees weren't even aware. One customer service representative found out when he called the SunRocket 800 number and heard the words, "We are no longer taking customer service or sales calls. Goodbye!" Yeah, nice way to find out that you no longer have a job!


So much for a company that built its entire business by claiming to be void of the "gotchas" of the other telephone service providers...

SunRocket's "No Gotchas!" policy: "How many times have you questioned a phone bill, seen a fee that had no explanation, or paid too much for a calling feature? Phone companies these days like to raise rates without clear notice, make up bogus charges, and hit customers with cancellation charges and penalties.

Escape the 'gotchas' of other telephone providers, with SunRocket's No Gotcha Policy. SunRocket Service has no hidden fees or "gotchas", making it easy and risk-free for you to try Internet phone service."

Yeah, but they failed to mention that they'd be shutting down business without properly letting anyone know. Now that's a pretty big gotcha. It's more like...Welcome to SunRocket, the no gotcha phone company. We are no longer taking customer service or sales calls. Gotcha!

I think corporate America has some real hard thinking to do. Crap like this should not happen to customers or employees.

Note: If you're looking for great VoIP digital phone service, check out VOIC Broadband Communications. They offer several different carriers and a host of other phone and cell phone products and plans.

11 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 20, 2007

    I really loved their service and I can't believe this even happened. What a mess, I think the higher ups should be held legally responsible! What a bunch of a-holes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know. It's a huge mess! My brother had their service (and totally love it) and had just paid $199 for the a full year. He was on the monthly call plan prior, but like I said, he really liked it and the yearly plan would save some bucks.

    He'll be getting that money back through his credit card company now. It's just a good thing he had redundancy via his cell phone. Some people had no other phone! One lady called 911 for her son, only to find out her service was dead! Luckily, they got to the emergency room in time.

    Anyway, the whole thing pisses me off. Companies in America should not be allowed to operate like this. Executives should be held criminally liable in cases like this. That's my opinion.

    Shine on,
    Aaron

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 20, 2007

    Thanks for the tip Aaron. I think I'm going with Packet8 through voic.com. I get my cell phone and high-speed internet from there anyway so why not.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's a good choice Mark. Have you checked your local cable company too? I know mine here has good digital phone service plans.

    But Packet8 is indeed excellent. Much better quality than Vonage IMHO. And they're a lot speedier with number portability, which in this case is very important.

    Shine on,
    Aaron

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 20, 2007

    I'm glad here. Since I did stick with Vonage for some reason :-) But really pity on other Sunrocket customers. how sad?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, it's very sad. But Vonage is in a bad situation as well. Their stock has plummeted over 80% since its IPO last year (down from $17 per share to $2.76 per share as of today).

    And if the court-ordered fines and their ban on recruiting new customers ends up upheld (due to the Verizon/Vonage patent infringement lawsuit), there most likely won’t be a Vonage anymore either.

    Better keep your options open just in case.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJuly 21, 2007

    Anything that runs for another 2-3 months is fine for me :) After that I'll be traveling back to my home country!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cool, so great to hear that Benedict! BTW, where is your home country?

    Man, I bet you're really excited about traveling back home! I know I would be. I miss all my friends and family from home...a lot.

    Here's to friends and family and safe travels!

    Shine on,
    Aaron

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJuly 26, 2007

    Hey, they got me too! In fact, I got the e-mail last week, and then the service was shut-off Sunday WHILE I WAS ON A CALL!! I paid them $200 for 2 years worth of service, and had one more year left. They owe me some money!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. That really sucks. Better get with your credit card company right away and get your refund. And don't take no for an answer!

    Shine on,
    Aaron

    ReplyDelete
  11. COMMENT SPAM DELETED!

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    ReplyDelete

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Shine on,
Aaron