So, it appears I’m stuck in this catch-22 with Packet8.

I cancelled service with them a couple of weeks ago, after having a few odd telephone service issues here and here, and generally not being too satisfied with the voice quality. Yeah, Vonage and other VoIP companies have had their issues too as of late, but hey, while Packet8 seems content to use slower, worse sounding coding schemes, the G.711u codec that Vonage uses seems to sound SO much better. Their voicemail system on Packet8 is also a bit lacking. Don’t get me wrong, Packet8 is a great service if $20 is all you want to pay, but over time I’ve come to appreciate the loads of extra features and enhanced voice quality that a mere couple extra bucks a month brings to the table.

So I cancel and switch to Vonage. Now, I could’ve sworn that when I signed up, the Packet8 TOS stated that a disconnect fee would apply if you cancelled within 6 months, but that the fee could be waived if you returned the DTA310 they shipped out (that’s the device pictured above; it connects an ordinary telephone to your broadband internet connection and provides the dial tone). I COULD be wrong, and I will admit that, but I could’ve sworn this to be the case. Having had the service for more a little over 6 months, I thought I was home free anyway.

But then I get this e-mail:

Dear Customer,

Your account has been canceled as requested.

Since you are terminating your Packet8 service within twelve (12) months of the
purchase of the service, a Disconnection Fee of fifty-nine dollars ($59.00) per account 
will be charged to your credit card as indicated in the 
Terms and 
Conditions of Service: http://www.packet8.net/about/service_terms.asp

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for trying Packet8.
Regards,
Packet8 Customer Support

Well that blows, I think to myself. Sure enough, the T’s and C’s do (now, anyway) state that the early term fee is 12 months. And while I am annoyed by this, what’s done is done, and being so foolish as to not have printed out a copy of what I saw or read before, I figured $59 isn’t something that I really want to spend time fighting for, especially since I don’t have any real evidence to back me up.

So fine, I wait for my credit card to be charged. None of my account info has changed, and the card normally doesn’t carry a balance as I pay it in full every month, so it has plenty of credit on it. In fact, Vonage is quite happy to ding this card every month.

But no charge comes. And then last night, I got this e-mail:

Dear Packet8 Customer:

Your account has been canceled as requested.

Since you are terminating your Packet8 account within twelve (12) months of the
 purchase of the service, in accordance with our Terms & Conditions of Service we 
attempted to charge a Disconnection Fee of fifty-nine dollars ($59.00) to the credit 
card that we have on file for your account(s). As we were unable to process the 
charge(s), we request that you either provide us with a valid credit card or remit 
payment via check or money order at this time to the following address:


Packet8 Billing
8x8, Inc. 
3151 Jay Street
Santa Clara, CA 95054

If we do not receive your payment, your outstanding balance will be turned
 over to our collection agency.  If you have any questions or want to update
 your account information please contact us at 1-888-898 8733 or 
receivables@packet8.net.  

Thank you for trying Packet8.
Regards,

Packet8 Billing  

Okay, NOW I’m annoyed. The card they have on file is a perfectly good card, the same account that pays all of my auto-pay bills and has done so for months.

I log into the credit card account, and check my balance. Huh, $2,190 in credit remaining. Given the fact they seem suddenly hot to trot to send me to a collection agency for what I thought was a small fee, Packet8 didn’t actually intend to charge me a $5900 disconnect fee, did they?

So I suck it up, and call them this morning. (insert cookie-cutter complaint about long hold times and shoddy cs here.) 30 minutes later, I get a rep and explain the situation, and they transfer me right to what they say is the “billing” department. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the name down of who I spoke to.

So I explain the situation again, and while I’m at it, I mention that I could’ve SWORN that the TOS was different when I signed up. She denies it vehemently. Well okay, I say, that’s neither here nor there, but nontheless, the card you have on file should be valid, and if not, I do have another card I can give them to try.

“Uhm, okay sir,” she responds. “So, what would you like for me to do?”

“Uhm… charge my credit card so I can get this over with?… [silence at the other end] Uhh, please?” I respond.

Now, here’s the part I don’t get. She asks for the ticket number for my accout cancellation, which luckily I did save and I gave to her. She then pulls up and verifies my account information, and is able to verify the dates I disconnected service and the date they tried to charge my credit card but that it was declined somehow. What she says next throws me for a loop.

“Well sir, I can’t take your credit card information right now.”

“What?” I say. “You guys seem to want this payment so badly that you’re willing to take me to collections, but you can’t charge my credit card?”

“No sir, no one is in today that can do this.”

“Uhm, this is the billing department, right?”

“Yes, sir, but there’s no one here who can charge your credit card right now.”

[“WTF?!” I’m thinking to myself.]

“You got to be kidding me. Is there a supervisor there?”

“Yes sir, I’ll be more than happy to let you speak to him.”

“So there’s a supervisor, but no one there who can take my money from me. Do you have any idea how ABSURD that sounds? Yeah, let me talk to him.”

So she puts me on hold for a minute. Then comes back.

“Sir, the supervisor is telling me there’s nothing he can do at this time. There’s no one in this department who can process your credit card right now.”

We went back and forth on this for a few minutes. I did get her to admit that it sounded incredibly stupid that they want their damn $59.00 RIGHT NOW but, oops, they can’t accept my payment right now, and arent’ even willing to take down another credit card number to process whenever they feel they ARE in the mood to take a payment from me. They can pull up my account, look at it, see all of my billing info, but nope, they can’t just punch in a 16 digit number and get this nuisance over and done with.

Flabbergasted, I let her know to tell her supervisor that I’m writing up my experience on broadbandreports.com as well as my own blog, and I hang up.

So there you have it. If you get Packet8, which has so-so, somewhat acceptible VoIP service for the price, but decide in less than 12 months (or however long they decide to rope you in for, the next time they change their TOS) that you want something better, then expect to be dragged into a real quagmire over how to pay their ridiculous disconnection fee.

I’m not sure how to proceed. I could mail them a check, but I don’t know if they’re going to try and ding my credit card again and have it work this time AND cash the check I give them… or worse, they may decide that no one in their organization is in the mood to cash my check.

I’ll update this as it unfolds.

UPDATE: As of 8:00 a.m. on March 14, a check for $59.00 was sent via Priority Mail to their corporate headquarters, with a nice little complaint letter recapping what has happened so far. I’m most likely going to send copies of that letter to the FCC as well as to the California BBB. I don’t actually expect either of these agencies to do more than wipe their asses with my letter, but at least it will give me some sort of record to work with in the event the clowns at Packet8 decide to sic a collection agency on me anyway. At this point, I have absolutely no trust in this company.

SECOND UPDATE: My package arrived at 8×8 headquarters on March 17, and on March 21 I received the following e-mail:

Thank you for your correspondence which I received today, and thank you 
for forwarding the cancellation fee.

I have copied our Billing Manager, Kevin Reid, who will ensure that your 
account is properly closed with no balance due.

I apologize for the fact that our customer care group was unable to 
quickly resolve this matter.  Packet8 prides itself on our customer 
care, and we will review your ticket to see where the system broke down.

If I can be of further assistance, please contact my office at the phone 
number below.  Thank you for your business.  I hope that you will still 
consider Packet8 services in the future. 

Bryan Martin
1-408-xxx-xxxx (Packet8 Virtual Office)

According to the 8×8 website, Bryan Martin is listed as the CEO.

So, I presume that as of now, Packet8 considers everything settled and will bug me no more. Unfortunately, the check I sent has still not cleared my bank, so I presume it hasn’t been cashed yet. Maybe no one is in the office who knows how to deposit a check?

FINAL (I hope) UPDATE: The check finally cleared. No more nasty e-mails from Packet8, so I imagine the matter is finally resolved.

And FWIW, I’ve been back with Vonage for 6 months now, and no regrets.