Wanting to dump Time Warner .... Anyone with advice about Vonage?

So frustrated with TW and want to dump them.
Was bummed to find out many companies don't "service our area" yet.
A friend recommended Vonage but I'm reading so many negative reviews online that I'm reticent to even consider them now.
We like to watch Netflix and I couldn't find one review that said they had no problems streaming and making a Vonage call at the same time
:-/
Thanks in advance for the help gang!

 

I've had Vonage for the past 8 years, love it! It costs me about $280 a year for unlimited calling. I think I have had one outage in the past 8 years.

I also use Hulu for all my TV watching. I think that's $7.99 a month.

I still have TWC for internet, 30/5 plan which will go up to 200/20 for free once they complete the TWC Maxx upgrades in the Triangle this year. I pay $67 a month for internet (they also gave me free starter TV, local channels, for a year).

 

To be clear, what are you trying to get rid of from TWC? Vonage is *only* telephone service. You would still need a broadband internet connection, and TWC may be the only one able to provide that broadband connection.

FWIW, I have Vonage and it works great.

 

Looking to dump cable and home phone. Still going to keep them for broadband internet.

 

Thanks Jesse... They quoted me $84.99
to just have internet....no free cable, no free anything. Glad you got a good deal!

 

Had a conversation yesterday with a friend who just switched to OOMA and was singing their praises. He works in the communications biz so I consider him a good source when it comes to services like this. Bought it from Amazon, got it the next day, had dial tone in 20 minutes.

 

They quoted you something WAY more than what you asked for... Here are their basic prices, straight from their web page:
The $15/month plan will work with Netflix, but I don't know if you'd want to run VOIP phone at the same time. The standard $35/month should be just fine.
http://imgur.com/a/7uzcj

 

We've been using Ooma for over a year now for our phone service. I had to tweak some of the buffering parameters so that we weren't dropping calls, but other than that, no problem at all. It's between $4 & $5 per month with unlimited domestic calling. They also have a premium package which includes quite a few extras for around $120/year. Because we run a business, we included that as well, but it may not be necessary for you.

If you want TWC's internet, check Earthlink. We're running their 15/1 package (standard) for $41.95/month. When we got it, it was $29.95/month for the first 6 months. Earthlink uses TWC's network, and actually, the TWC tech was the one that had to flip the switch after we signed up.

 

I have talked to three different "customer service" reps at TW and have been told 3 different things. Very very frustrating as I've been a loyal customer, never paid a bill late, etc... for 7 years. The bottom line was because we're in a bundled plan, if we drop services, we pay the top price for the one we keep ( broadband).
My main thinking was that I didn't want to lose the email address that I've had for seven years and we do need broadband/Wifi irregardless.
Just dislike the lack of customer support and conflicting info and feeling
like they could care less if they lose me as a customer......
As for Ooma, I will check it out
Thanks for your help everyone!

 

Is that the commercial with the talking piece of equipment that has a flower design on it? How much for yearly service?

 

There is a one time purchase price, and then you get "free" US calling (gotta pay taxes and fees). They also have a number of add on services that can cost you more per month:
http://www.ooma.com/how-ooma-works

 

The "magic key" is....be willing to cancel your service. And make appropriate postings on their social media. It worked for me in the past. Here's a link to a past discussion here that details the process.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes for you!

 

The trick is not wanting your cake and eating it too! Unfortunately you have to be willing to give up something. In this case if it was me it would be your current email address.

First thing I would and have done, is port my home phone number to my cell carrier. I would cancel TWC and immediately sign up with EarthLink. Like posted previously, they use the same lines so you should not have any down time for $29.95 for first six months And then $41.95 thereafter. Then you would have to decided on some type of TV programming probably. More and more people are moving away from cable to things like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. on the other hand you can get a basic 145 channel package from directv for $19.95 for the first 12 months that includes a DVR then going to $49.95 thereafter.

So, if you can live with 15/1 internet speeds, which works just fine for me when streaming Netflix or Amazon prime you have basically got your home phone, Internet and Satellite TV for $50 a month for the first year and going to $92 a month thereafter!

 

As far as dumping TWC, we did it three years ago and went to CenturyLink and PrismTv. I know thats not what you looking for, because its really no less expensive in the end. BUT... I still have my nc.rr.com email acct. I don't know why they haven't cancelled it, but its still out there. From the day we cancelled TWC I set that email acct. to forward to my new email acct with centurylink, and to this day its still forwarding. I can go to TWC's RoadRunner page and log in, change my settings... all of it. So maybe you won't lose it, I don't know if that is the norm or if I just fell through the cracks.

 

You have to be more independent, Google Voice for your home number, Gmail or something for email, etc. That way you are not tied to a carrier. You can use anything you want.

 

Thank you all for the sound advice.
You are right in saying I need to be more "independent"..... I will check out all of the above and let you know how it goes.
Thank you again!

 

jlc007

I did not get TWC to budge until I had a cancellation date. Then they have a different retention group that calls and those folks have a lot more power. That is when you get the better deals. Trust me.

 

Just posted on their Facebook page, the local FB Clayton page and local Raleigh FB page. Now we'll see what happens. Thanks again all!
(Have a feeling I'll be going with Verizon or EarthLink no matter what happens though.). I'll post an update.

 

Another satisfied OOMA user here. I work for at&t and used to have Callvantage (VOIP), but when we discontinued that service, I went to OOMA and have been happy for about 5-6 years now. I can only recall one outage during that time. Great service!

 

Hi all,
Here's my update:
After taking Webmaster's advice and reading the "Stop the Cap" article, I did the FB posts and was immediately contacted ( through FB Messenger) by a Time Warner rep. She was helpful but said TW needed time to "review my account".....3 business days.
This was on a Friday, so in other words, I had to wait until Wednesday. ( I posted a few rants about that ...lol)
After going all day Wednesday, I posted again on the open Messenger thread and said if I didn't hear back from a supervisor I was calling to cancel service.
A different rep posted apologies for the wait, blah, blah.
Then a miracle happened and the same rep that I initially opened the thread with (Melissa) jumped on and
said she personally forwarded my case to her boss and that he should be contacting me before the end of the day. I about fell over when my phone rang and a very professional, intelligent sounding man named Eric let me know that he was an Escalation Department Supervisor. He seemed genuinely concerned by my lack of any kind of customer service from TW and had already studied all the notes, Messenger threads, etc....(amazing!)

He apologized for the previous TW reps not keeping accurate notes in the system, promising things like $300 gift cards and then another rep not knowing what said rep was talking about when I called back, etc...

In the end, his offer to keep me as a customer was this:

He cut our bill from $201 to $150.
Upgraded our broadband to their Extreme 50/5 (from their Turbo Internet).
Keep same channel line up (Triple Play bundle with Starz, whole house DVR).
Keep home phone with unlimited US/Canada,etc.
Gave us an immediate(48 hours to show up on account) $300 credit because of the whole gift card offer in the beginning.
So if we divide the $300 by 12 months and add in the $51 a month price cut, we have a $76 a month savings.
$125 for all three services is more manageable and we are satisfied ( for now)to stay another year.
Thank you for all your advice and insights every one!