Ooma's Policy put me at risk

[BobRR]

First let me say I've enjoyed Ooma's services since they started. Their support was excellent the first few years I needed it. I joined in 2009. Now, I have the premier service which I pay for annually by CC during the month of May. After my account was charged the annual charges, my CC was replaced by the financial institution and the number changed. I use the cell phone connect app to receive my calls when I'm not physically close to the home phone. Around August or November I noticed that the home phone wasn't ringing when I got a call so I checked the Ooma hub that had been active since 2009 and noticed that it was not active. The scout appeared to work but the phone connected to it was dead. I checked the network connections and all was ok. Must have been a lightening strike that took it out, I thought. After considering a replacement, I read where Ooma turns off/disables your phone device if your CC is out of date. HUH??? My account was paid up till May 2022 and surely they wouldn't disconnect me?
Sometime in Dec 2021 I updated my CC information and sure enough, my home phone, hub and scout were active again and working normally.

Now, I am a senior and sometimes depend on the home phone for emergency calls if needed and assumed the phone would be working if needed since my account was paid up till May 2022. BUT NO, OOMA DECIDED TO TURN OFF MY EMERGENCY CALL CAPABILITY, I GUESS TO LET ME NOW MY CC WAS NOT UP TO DATE EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T NEEDED TILL MAY 2022.
Is this the kind of policy from a telecommunication company I would expect? No, if my bill is paid up, I would expect that maybe I would get warnings prior to the time running out but not 8 - 10 months before coming due.
This has rattled me especially since I've been a 13 year customer. Ooma's support now seems to be located in China and all they want you to do when you need them is to sell you a new unit. Maybe it's time for a change, my google phone has worked for the last 6 years and is as reliable as Ooma. Of course, 911 services are paid for the google phone through a third party but they would never turn my services off if I were paid up.
I know this policy is wrong and when I find the appropriate government oversight agency to complain to, I will in a minute. Ooma was wrong to disable my device and put me at risk of not being able to call 911 if needed.

[Robek]

Fortunately, anyone who owns a mobile phone, (even an inactive one), can still use it to call 9-1-1.

Doesn't the Ooma Hub provide flashing red lights, to warn about any interruption of service?

Ooma customers should periodically re-read Ooma's terms and conditions, to avoid any surprises; it explains exactly what Ooma expects from them, and what they should expect from Ooma:

11. Service Charges, Billing and Payment ... (b) Valid Credit or Debit Card Required: ... If your credit or debit card expires ... you must advise us at once and provide new credit or debit card information or we may terminate Service to you.
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13. Termination of Services ... (b) By Us: We may terminate any or all of your Services or use of your Equipment at any time ... if your credit or debit card expires or is cancelled and you have not provided us with a valid replacement credit or debit card ...
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7. Service Availability ... (d) Outages Due to Status of Your Ooma Account: Outages due to suspension, disconnection or termination of your Ooma account will prevent the Equipment and all Services, including 911 Dialing ... from functioning. ... (f) Other Outages: If there is an outage for any reason, such outage may prevent all Equipment and Services, including 911 Dialing ... from functioning.

They should also periodically re-read Ooma's disclosures regarding its 911 service, to remind themselves what risks they agreed to accept:

Please review the following information carefully, which summarizes important differences between traditional 911 dialing and 911 dialing from Ooma ... All Ooma customers must acknowledge that they have read and understand this 911 emergency services disclosure before using the Ooma telephone service.
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Service Disruptions may Delay or Disrupt 911 Calls ... Outage Due to Disconnection of Your Ooma Account. Outages due to disconnection of your account will prevent the Equipment, including 911 Dialing, from functioning ... Outages to the Ooma Service may be caused by reasons other than those listed here, and may prevent 911 Dialing from properly functioning.
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Alternative 911 Services ... If you are not comfortable with the limitations of the 911 Dialing service, you should consider continuing to have a basic landline connected to your Equipment.

There is more to an Ooma account than just the annual charge for Premier service. Ooma customers who don't have to pay monthly taxes and fees for Basic service should take extra care to keep their credit card information current, if they don't want to risk losing their grandfathered status.