SunRocket VoIP *Everybody is reporting that this is DEAD!* (Free phones, extra number, etc.)

[markrb38]

Via Talk actually pulled a buy one year get one year free offer and replaced it with the free six month buyout.
It is actually a worse deal then they have normally. Seems a bit shady and the guys at chubbywallet agree.

Mark

 

[GTFan]

Originally posted by: RideFree

Originally posted by: GTFan
RideFree if you see this thread, please change title - the SR yellow bird is dead.

So, you're saying that the Canary hit a pocket of gas in the S/R mine?

He must've run into georgepan while he was down there, no sign of the original SR pumper anymore...

 

[StumbleBum1]

I am not sure whats the deal here, but my Sunrocket service still works ..

 

[ShOcKwAvE827]

Originally posted by: StumbleBum1
I am not sure whats the deal here, but my Sunrocket service still works ..

SR laid off almost all workers, will probably file for bankruptcy. Cross your fingers your service stays on. I know I am!

 

[woofersus]

It won't stay on. I work for a competitor and we've spoken to a bunch of sunrocket customers who called sunrocket when their service stopped working and got a message saying they were out of business. There's no bankruptcy here - they were privately purchased and shut down. Some people still have working service because much of the infrastructure is still up and running, but as the affairs of the dead company are put in order, everybody will get shut off. They cut down to a core staff of about 20 at the end of last week, and completely shut the doors early this week.

 

[Delta6Echo]

Originally posted by: markrb38
Via Talk actually pulled a buy one year get one year free offer and replaced it with the free six month buyout.
It is actually a worse deal then they have normally. Seems a bit shady and the guys at chubbywallet agree.

Mark

That isn't the half of it.

It was a whole year before, then it went to six months and you know what it says today? 3 months! :thumbsdown:

These guys at Via Talk are a bunch of money grubbing, douche bags that are trying to take advantage of SR customers. Why else would they keep lowering their buy out?

Furthermore I tried to call them for a couple hours straight the other day and they kept hanging up on me. After I finally got through, I asked for overnight shipping because I needed my phone immediately and they didn't give a crap. What's worse is they are using the SR situation to charge ANOTHER $9.95 for "rush handling".

What a great company, huh? Good luck if you went with Via Talk.

I canceled my order with them and went with Joi Phone instead:

http://www.joiphone.com

Free overnight shipping and cheaper international rates. Via Talk can't even touch that.

VT = the next SR

 

[Delta6Echo]

Originally posted by: SLEEPER5555

Originally posted by: Delta6Echo
This is confirmed guys, SR is dead. I just signed up with them too.....*sigh*

I just signed up with Via Talk and they have a special offer for SR people where they buy out a maximum of 6 months of your SR contract. Check it out:

http://www.viatalk.com

got a link to that offer, i dont see it!

The douchebags at VT reduced it down to 3 months....look at the top right half of the front page (plus check out my post above)

I would recommend going with http://www.joiphone.com instead because they actually have customer service.

 

[Delta6Echo]

*UPDATE*

I placed an online order with Joi Phone yesterday morning and just got the equipment literally at the exact same time the next day....YOU LISTENING VIA TALK?

Super fast shipping and works without a hitch. Highly recommended if you need to get your VOIP up and running as quickly as possible. It would have taken a week just to get the equipment with Via Talk :thumbsdown:

 

[JoeyM]

I switched to Vonage. I still had my old vonage router and they simply restarted it. I went to sleep and today my new line is working with the same phone number. Perfect. 2months free, no start up charges and immediate phone service. I call that a home run. So I'll have to pay $25/month in October. I can handle that. I had 9 months with Sunrocket for $199.
According to G*TAPEX, Viatalk is having the 2 year promotion for $199 now.

 

[gibster]

Weird. My service came back on after being out 2 days. Don't know how long that will last, but I changed my mind about switching to Comcast, and now I think Vonage will get my business, mainly because they offer incredible international rates, and possibly the second line (anybody has any experience with that?)

 

[TedKord]

Originally posted by: lookin4dlz

Originally posted by: BoKingWen
Sunrocket is DEAD no more me and all other Sunrocket user out there is doomed. This remind me of the Cyberwings web hosting company a few year ago! Which many of us got screwed by Cyberwings.

Ha, ha - what about Cyberrebate? I lost out on a $300 rebate I had coming. But I did manage to buy about $300 worth of stuff for which I did get rebates & I wrote this off on my taxes after they went bankrupt.

I got all my rebates from Cyberrebate. Most things wound up being free, but the rebates took like 6 months or so. Guess I got out just in time...


I've got Packet8 for my daughter's room phone, and it's been pretty good so far. No problems, just the price has gone up a little (due to added taxes and fees from the Gov't)
I hope they don't go under, too.

 

[RideFree]

Just looked at JOI and it looks pretty hot!
Worst that can happen is that something less than a $7 per/month year goes afoul.

 

[RideFree]

GTFan, the Man...We could use your input.

 

[Delta6Echo]

Originally posted by: RideFree
Just looked at JOI and it looks pretty hot!
Worst that can happen is that something less than a $7 per/month year goes afoul.

I can definitely vouch for the amazing call quality. I'm quite impressed.

I have been using the phone all day today (both locally and internationally) and I have had no problems connecting and there aren't annoying delays when you dial. That is what really pissed me off about SR.

Only cost me $170 total for the unlimited plan and overnight shipping!

 

[Delta6Echo]

Originally posted by: JoeyM
I switched to Vonage. I still had my old vonage router and they simply restarted it. I went to sleep and today my new line is working with the same phone number. Perfect. 2months free, no start up charges and immediate phone service. I call that a home run. So I'll have to pay $25/month in October. I can handle that. I had 9 months with Sunrocket for $199.

According to G*TAPEX, Viatalk is having the 2 year promotion for $199 now.

Where is that promotion? I don't see it on their site.....

 

[Delta6Echo]

Did any of you get this e-mail from SR today?

Dear Customers,

After significant effort by the Company to avoid this result, SunRocket is in the process of closing its operations and therefore will no longer be able to provide you with the phone service that you have been accustomed to. However, this email provides you with an opportunity to sign up with select service providers who we believe will offer outstanding replacement service

In order to assist you, we have entered into negotiations with a number of service providers. As a result of those negotiations, we have entered into agreements with 8x8, Inc., provider of the Packet8 service, and Unified Communications Corp., provider of Teleband service to offer you the best options and we are proud to recommend the following alternatives to you. Please make your decision to move to a new service provides immediately as future service is uncertain.


8x8/Packet8

The Packet8 Internet phone service incorporates patent protected technology from 8x8. Inc., a publicly traded company in business for more than 20 years. The service works in the same way as SunRocket.s and offers a virtually identical feature set.

. No Startup Costs
. FREE activation
. FREE equipment
. FREE shipping
. FREE first month of service
. Quickly port your number at no charge

A Savings of over $100!

Copy and paste the following link into your Internet browser: http://getpacket8.packet8.net/sunrocket/ or call 1-800-868-0068 and mention special offer code SUNROCKET


Unified Communications Corp./TeleBlend

The TeleBlend Internet phone service incorporates patent-protected technology from Unified Communications Corp., a privately held company in business to provide outstanding customer service and telephony products. Teleblends has been working behind the scenes already to restore and continue service for all Sun Rocket customers The service works in the same way as SunRocket.s and offers an identical feature set with our Unlimited Transfer Plan.
. No Startup Costs
. FREE activation
. USE your existing hardware
. FREE and Quick transfer of your current number
. No Need to port your number to another provider
. UNLIMITED calling to the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico

Copy and paste the following link into your Internet browser: http://www.myteleblend.net

It has been our pleasure to service you at SunRocket!

 

[iamme]

i got that email.

here's a question: are there any good non-VOIP deals going on right now?

 

[Delta6Echo]

What a week for VOIP!

 

[GTFan]

Q: 'What do you get when you mix the Sunrocket bird with a Teleblender?'

A: 'Shredded tweet.'

 

[apexi350z]

Originally posted by: Delta6Echo

Originally posted by: RideFree
Just looked at JOI and it looks pretty hot!
Worst that can happen is that something less than a $7 per/month year goes afoul.

I can definitely vouch for the amazing call quality. I'm quite impressed.

I have been using the phone all day today (both locally and internationally) and I have had no problems connecting and there aren't annoying delays when you dial. That is what really pissed me off about SR.

Only cost me $170 total for the unlimited plan and overnight shipping!

I tried to call JOI, both Sales and Support line, and the auto answer want me to leave a message and call me back.. I am not sure that's good customer support.. So I called Vonage instead, and they picked up the phone and helped me right away..

Even though it's a good deal, but don't want to go through this SR thing again..

 

[bostonkarl]

The no gotcha company just gotcha-ed a lot of unsuspecting folks.

I think that there are some lessons learned from this debacle.

#1 VOIP is awesome
VOIP really is a great technology that has the ability to lower drastically the consumer's overall phone bill budget. This is why there are multitudes of passionate posts over at dslreports. When VOIP works it is awesome and darn cheap.

#2 Paying upfront has risks
If you pay upfront for a service contract you are gambling. It may be a wise bet or not. If the CEO has a reputation for running businesses into the ground, or if the company has no track record, it may not be a good idea. There is indeed a big fat gotcha possible, period. Take the risk or don't, but be aware that there is a risk.

#3 No matter what, have a backup
VOIP can go down for whatever reason. So can POTS for that matter. The VOIP company may have a server reset, or may go out of business. Your broadband service may go down, etc. Have a backup, even if it is an el cheapo prepaid cell phone, so that if you're in an emergency or just want to call Aunt Millie to say hello, if VOIP is down you can. We *really* don't want to read your story on forums about how VOIP was down and you couldn't call anyone. We'll just tell you that we told you so and probably not be very nice about it.

#4 There are trolls and pumpers alike on the internet
There are trolls out there that post their hate. There are also folks that make money from a company (or service) by being a reseller or participate in affiliate programs. There are those that post in forums about how wonderful a product is because they have a financial incentive to do so. Beware of both. If someone sounds like a troll, it probably is. If someone repeatedly sounds like an advertiser, there is probably some ulterior motivation there. Read between the lines. Entire forums have been hijacked by both types of posters, when the majority of us want civil, informed, and balanced discourse.

 

[SoulAssassin]

I posted this in the general voip thread but meant to post it here:

I just switched back to a Verizon landline, I got a letter from them recently about unlimited local/ld/vmail/cid/etc for $25/mo for 1 yr. Didn't have the letter w me and they didn't try to verify it so I'm pretty sure anyone could get it. I think they also have a unlimited local/dl w/out the rest for $20/mo but cid is a must in my book. Taxes push mine up over $30/mo which sucks but I just want someplace stable to dump my # for at least a few months. Signup # was 800-942-5000 though it may be different for different parts of the country.

 

[Delta6Echo]

Originally posted by: apexi350z

Originally posted by: Delta6Echo

Originally posted by: RideFree
Just looked at JOI and it looks pretty hot!
Worst that can happen is that something less than a $7 per/month year goes afoul.

I can definitely vouch for the amazing call quality. I'm quite impressed.

I have been using the phone all day today (both locally and internationally) and I have had no problems connecting and there aren't annoying delays when you dial. That is what really pissed me off about SR.

Only cost me $170 total for the unlimited plan and overnight shipping!

I tried to call JOI, both Sales and Support line, and the auto answer want me to leave a message and call me back.. I am not sure that's good customer support.. So I called Vonage instead, and they picked up the phone and helped me right away..

Even though it's a good deal, but don't want to go through this SR thing again..

I just called them today about some issues I had with internet speed and their service. They answered the phone within a few minutes and promised me that a technician would take a look

Within a few hours the problem was fixed and they were very polite about it

 

[bjy20716]

Is Sunrocket going to be refunding people's money?
Or they stole our money?
I had like 10 months left.

 

[gibster]

Originally posted by: bjy20716
Is Sunrocket going to be refunding people's money?
Or they stole our money?
I had like 10 months left.

I would call your CC company and dispute the charge ASAP. Explain that the payment was up-front for a service that was/will not be delivered. I did with mine, we will see in a bit if I get that money back... The CC company may propose a pro-rated dispute amount, I agreed to that...