So I signed up with Vonage a couple of years ago to be my home phone service. To any who don't know what it is, Vonage offers telephone service to people with broadband internet connections.
At the time (and still to this day I think) they were offering unlimited local and long distance calling - including calls to Canada and Puerto Rico, for $24.99/month + taxes, etc. My monthly bill has regularly been $33.40.
Last month I received an offer from Vonage that if I pre-paid for the next year, I would be charged $239.00/year + taxes, etc. I called them yesterday and my annual rate, with taxes and other charges, was going to be $325.00/year. I would be saving $75.00 per year with the pre-paid.
For a moment I balked at the offer and the girl came back and told me she could offer me a lower amount if I was still interested. I told her I was listening and she offered me $290.00 for the year after all taxes and other charges. I hesitated again for a moment and she came back with $275.00/year but that she couldn't lower the figure beyond that. I said 'yes'.
I am going to end up saving $125.00/year with this now in place. In fact, broken down monthly, I am now paying less per month than the service is advertised for before taxes and other charges - $22.92.
I was speaking with some family members last night at a get-together and was telling them about my "deal". They were stunned at how little I was (and was going to be) paying for my phone. All of them are hooked up to the internet via broadband but they all use the old fashioned land lines for their phones. Some of them are paying close to $80/month for less service than I am getting for a quarter of that.
Why do people with broadband connections still use the likes of AT&T and Verizon for their telephone service? Is it me or are these companies way over-charging their customers? Is the technology such that they have to charge that much more or is it simply greed?
Andy
At the time (and still to this day I think) they were offering unlimited local and long distance calling - including calls to Canada and Puerto Rico, for $24.99/month + taxes, etc. My monthly bill has regularly been $33.40.
Last month I received an offer from Vonage that if I pre-paid for the next year, I would be charged $239.00/year + taxes, etc. I called them yesterday and my annual rate, with taxes and other charges, was going to be $325.00/year. I would be saving $75.00 per year with the pre-paid.
For a moment I balked at the offer and the girl came back and told me she could offer me a lower amount if I was still interested. I told her I was listening and she offered me $290.00 for the year after all taxes and other charges. I hesitated again for a moment and she came back with $275.00/year but that she couldn't lower the figure beyond that. I said 'yes'.
I am going to end up saving $125.00/year with this now in place. In fact, broken down monthly, I am now paying less per month than the service is advertised for before taxes and other charges - $22.92.
I was speaking with some family members last night at a get-together and was telling them about my "deal". They were stunned at how little I was (and was going to be) paying for my phone. All of them are hooked up to the internet via broadband but they all use the old fashioned land lines for their phones. Some of them are paying close to $80/month for less service than I am getting for a quarter of that.
Why do people with broadband connections still use the likes of AT&T and Verizon for their telephone service? Is it me or are these companies way over-charging their customers? Is the technology such that they have to charge that much more or is it simply greed?
Andy
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