JoiPhone

I've had a residential line with JoiPhone for 4 years, generally speaking okay service. I added a 2nd line for my home office telephone line. I asked the order taker if it was ok to use the new line for business. She answered, "Yes, provided it is used at your personal residence," which it was. Paid for a year in advance and recently renewed for my 2nd year. One week ago, both my home and business lines were blocked due to "abuse". I received no notice, warning, phone calls, email or otherwise information regarding my use of their service. They simply blocked all service and demanded a $200.00 fee to continue the service. I wanted to port my numbers to another company, but JoiPhone won't release the numbers unless I paid the $207abuse fee, which I did.

Now in the process of changing, they have confiscated my 12 months total of paid service and are charging me per minute until my service is ported and cancelled. Do not use this service! Nobody calls back. Nobody you can speak with has authority to make any decisions or make anything right. They claimed that someone would contact me regarding this matter, but after repeated attempts I have had no luck whatsoever in reaching anyone with authority. I can't stress enough that this company doesn't care in the least about its customers, only their money.

I was with Joiphone for about 3 years. I ordered their special deal back in 2010 for 24 months at $10/month (paid in advance). I recently started having problems. Dropped calls, no dial tone, going to voice mail when phone was not forwarded, etc. When I called them to cancel my service, I started getting threatening emails. Even though I'm paid through May 2012, they want money for a "past due" amount and non-use. They also claim to have been the ones who canceled the account, not me. They're threatening to take it to collection if I don't pay.

When I originally signed up for Joiphone.com 2 years ago, I was offered a free device and purchased a one year prepaid subscription. I have been plagued by poor connections, frequent service outages and a terrible and poorly responsive "customer service" department that takes weeks to respond. My intention was to allow the service to lapse. Without a notification, my service was renewed. I received no prior warnings or emails. When I complained that I never intended to renew customer service, I had a "got ya" attitude when they showed me for the first time, hidden in a new and revised customer service agreement that they had the right to renew if I did not give them notice prior to the end of service. I was never prominently notified of this when I signed up and I don't know how one would find it if you didn't already know it was there. Then I was also informed that I would be charged a huge fee if I tried to cancel after discovering the charge on my credit charge as well as being charged a fee for the "free" voip device.

During this same period of time I was charged twice for yet another number I had and it took numerous attempts to at least get one of these unfounded charges reversed. Soon afterwards, I found I could no longer receive calls at my first, involuntarily renewed number. I was told the outage would be temporary and was given a temporary number. The temporary number did not work and has never worked. They didn't bother checking to see that it did and no amount of calls to them got it working. I was contacted a few weeks later saying my service had been restored. It wasn't and I have not been able to receive calls in the months that followed nor has the temporary number ever worked. I have called Joiphone numerous times and have emailed them, all to no avail. Finally, I demanded a refund.

I am not feeling much joy. My advise? Don't sign up for Joiphone unless you don't mind risking making calls by not being able to receive them and having to pay for it for a year. And if you already have signed up, make sure you give them notice you don't want to renew and make sure you get a response confirming it. Sign up if you love a company who loves to put things in its user agreement but not on the sign-up page like renewals and free things that aren't.

Joiphone is a telephone service provider over the internet (VOIP). In June both my phone numbers died. Callers can only get a busy signal. Joiphone has been unable to resolve this in a month. They have no business being in the telephone business.

This letter is in response to Joiphone's comments in a letter dated 9/22/2010 sent to Bank of America.

The service was ordered on 8/11/2009, but was not activated for 7 to 12 days due to the fact the equipment required to activate the account was mailed. The sum of $180.37 paid included one year of service at $8.95 per month, $60 for equipment, plus shipping and handling.

The original agreement had no language regarding automatic renewal after one year. Joiphone has unilaterally changed the agreement without sending notices to customers, allowing them a choice of accepting the proposed changes, or canceling service. Joiphone has either provided forged and manipulated documents, or has reactivated the account in my name without permission. On August 11, 2010, Joiphone sent me an automatically generated response verifying service had been terminated.

On August 21, 2010, Joiphone send another e-mail claiming they could not locate the account. I assume this is because the account had been canceled on August 11, 2010 per my request. On August 27, 2010, Joiphone sent an e-mail stating the account had been canceled, and included two parts of their agreement. A written 10 day notice of cancellation was not in the original agreement, nor was I notified of this when I called Joiphone on July 22. 2010 (verified by T-Mobile call records) and informed them I intended on ending my service with Joiphone. She replied, "everything will be taken care of on your anniversary date." If written notice was required, why didn't their sales representative inform me of these changes on July 22, 2010?

A close examination of the phone records reveals a long span of interrupted service from 05/13/2010 to 07/28/2010. This was my reason for informing Joiphine of my intent to cancel service. This was not the only incident of interrupted service. The records supplied by Joiphone to Bank of America also indicate the last call placed from the home phone was on 8/05/2010. No calls were placed from the account on or after the 8/11/2010 date in question.

The information contained on the letter Joiphone supplied to Bank of America, and on the e-mail verifying service had been disconnected, do not agree with the information on Joiphone's website on October 11, 2010. This verifies the fact Joiphone believes they have the right to unilaterally alter their agreement anytime they wish. When you compare the current agreement on the website to the letter of 9/22/2010, you will find Joiphone has altered it, and among other things, now reserves the right to change monthly charges. Although, this was not in the original agreement, nor the version of the agreement sent to Bank of America, Joiphone felt they had the right to renew an account in my name at whatever rate they chose. The amount charged to my account was $202.55. The current rate advertised on their web site on 10/11/10 is $14.95, or $179.40 for 12 months.

Joiphone also changed their agreement asking that the equipment be returned. Why would I return equipment I have paid for, without an agreement they will reimburse me the $60 I had paid?

On the letter to Bank of America, David ** claims Joiphone was not supplied with a notice of non renewal. If that is the case, why did Joiphone provide a number of e-mails verifying the request for cancellation? He also claims a number of phone calls had been placed on this account. This would have been impossible, the equipment was disconnected on August 11, 2010. Joiphone's e-mails also verify the service had been disconnected on their side.

These documents have either been forged to show activity after 8/11/2010, or Joiphone reactivated this account without permission in an attempt to collect a fee.

Three weeks prior to my renewal I decided to cancel my service. I called their customer support, and was told specifically what to do. So I did as I was told. As the two-week mark neared, they cheated me and stated that they could not release my number till the day of renewal. Even after I had already stated I will not renew. On the day of renewal, they billed me $205. Trusting the company, I thought they made a mistake so I called. They said they were waiting for equipment to process, but are aware that I had canceled.

I didn't see the money in my account for a month, so I called every day, but no response. Finally, two months later of persistent calling their customer care and emailing them, they said the case was closed, no refund. I was ** and I reported this to my card and BBB. They responded by stating I didn't follow the process. Here I called way in advance and followed what the rep said and they never once said I emailed the cancellation to the wrong department. They gave me every excuse in the book. These guys are thieves. I have paper to prove it.

If you needs any documents regarding this case I can provide to you. Please take hard action against company like this so they stop cheating people on their website.

Thanks agaun for your co-operation.

Last Tuesday (September 15) I had Comcast come to my home and replace their modem because the modem was not working properly. After this was done my JoiPhone worked fine for about 24 hours. I had Comcast return to my house to look at the new box. When Comcast is attached directly to my computer my upload and download speeds are quite quick, when put through the Lynksys adapter of JoiPhone my service is almost nothing. I have contacted them (JoiPhone) numerous times, spoke with customer service, tech1 support, tech2 support, and even tech 3support. Talking to most of them is impossible because customer service speaks to the techs via the computer and then repeats what they are told to say which is just like using an internet search for each answer.

They sent me to several websites to try and get them speed tests, every site that they sent me to was either a pay site, a download site or just didnt work. Finally they told me that it was definitely my JoiPhone adapter, which all of a sudden cannot accept the speed of the Comcast High Speed Internet. I do not understand how this could have changed if I made no changes to my Comcast account. It just means that their device needs replaced. They agreed, finally, to send me a new box free of charge but they want me to pay the $14.99 shipping and handling.

I cannot believe that a company would not waive a fee for their own defective product.

Since I have had issues since the beginning of my use of their services, I believe that they should credit my account for something. I do not know what would be fair; I really wanted them just to send me a new device, they refused to do this. I had no choice but to change services because I use my computer non-stop and cannot continue being knocked off line or having computer issues or even disconnecting landline due to the need for a fax machine or not using my landline that I am paying.

reply to automatically generated reply to my personal email to company about absolute lack of any service at all. First, I have to wait 20 or 30 minutes to even get a hold of a real live person on help line. I called about 4 or 5 times over a two to 4 day time period and each time I had to wait and wait. Second, the phone WILL NOT WORK for a long distance fax! I tried and tried. I used decompression code quick fix and everything else, guys told me to do to try to get it to work to no avail. Third, apparently [they] tell employees not to tell customers where/ how to return the phone stuff if this becomes necessary! I was told by staff that they were not allowed to give out any address whatsoever.

Fourth, [they] make it as difficult as possible to do business! I had wanted a cheaper rate for my phone service. I told all of my friends about [their] phone and the costs. I even transferred over my old phone # and discontinued another phone # which I had had for over 25 years to [their] company and co. screwed up the whole affair. The old co. - Charter - was elated at [their] screw ups and delighted to reinstate my numbers. I am also notifying the Federal Communications folks about complete incompetence.

I should have listened to the others who had problems with [this] company.[They] have cost me time and a a tremendous amount of inconvenience and $143 plus shipping charges to end this nightmare.

Improper and fraudulent charge activities to my credit card totaling $112.71 including 2 charges within less than 2 weeks apart; I have been billed 3 times in a period of less than 2 months, and first month free from initial date of service 11/14/2008; offer is not what I signed for; very poor service and severe connectivity problems; wrong date and time stamps on both incoming and outgoing calls, caller ID, and voice mail; my name is not displayed with phone number in the outbound caller ID; line can be disabled for hours and sometimes for about 1 day; 911 (emergency) and 311(NY) services unavailable; customer service prompts message do not register or does not go through at all even when prompt number is pressed several times, and it takes forever to get connected to a live person; personal information, i.e., credit card or social security numbers, once entered, when calling credit card companies get sometimes connected directly to their customer service; they have been very unsuccessful in resolving problems. A request for immediate cancellation was sent and they have not yet responded. They are scam artists and the company is a hoax.

$112.71 have been wrongfully billed to my credit cards.

I ordered Joiphone service via the internet and cancelled it immediately after asking them NOT to send the equipment and bill my account because my internet carrier was unable to connect the phone service. Joiphone went ahead a bill my credit card anyway and sent me the package; however, I never signed for the package and fedex is saying that I signed for it (forgery)but they have my name backwards (my last name as my first name and my first name as my last).

Now that it's been approximately two months later and still trying to get my refund from joipone they are still telling me that I need to return the equipment and then they will charge me for the shipping!!! Charge me for shipping of an equipment which should have never been shipped to me to begin with???

This whole experience with Joiphone has been a very stressful one and I can't wait for it to be over with.