Account Notification

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jduffy
Posts:45
Joined:Sun Dec 23, 2012 3:30 am
Re: Account Notification

Post by jduffy » Fri Jan 25, 2013 3:55 pm

The problem for Ooma is that AFTER the came out with the original service, the government in all states required them to pay the 911 fees and taxes. They thought the way they priced the service this was not going to be an issue, but you know the government, they want your money. So Ooma has to pay for your taxes each month and still continues to honor your free service.

So they want people to move to the new technology and tax structure.

Seriously, are so many people that cheap they cannot pay between $3.50 and $4.50 for the taxes and fees to get free phone service? Sheesh.

The government changed the picture on Ooma, cannot blame them.

As for GV....I use the forwarding and VM features, but as a stand-alone system, well good luck with that as the call quality is noisy and choppy on most calls.

Duffy

joeed2
Posts:101
Joined:Wed Dec 23, 2009 8:52 pm

Re: Account Notification

Post by joeed2 » Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:45 pm

I received the same email. I bought Lifetime Premier many years ago.

My email is similar, but it says I can transfer my Lifetime Premier to the new device. When I read that I was excited! But then it said I would have to agree to new terms and conditions, which basically would mean I would have to start paying applicable taxes and fees for my area.

I think it would be better for me to just stick with my Hub. Most of my calling is via iPhone now anyway. So my home phone doesn't get much use, and I don't see any features on the Telo worth starting to have to pay taxes and fees for.

joeed2
Posts:101
Joined:Wed Dec 23, 2009 8:52 pm

Re: Account Notification

Post by joeed2 » Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:56 pm

jduffy wrote: Seriously, are so many people that cheap they cannot pay between $3.50 and $4.50 for the taxes and fees to get free phone service?
Keep in mind that us "early adopters" took a big risk with Ooma. Think about it, we paid about $250 for the Hub, plus another about $350 for Lifetime Premier. Plus I paid about $50 to transfer my home phone number (did that before I got Premier). Plus I had to get a new higher end router for $199 (good routers with QOS where expensive back then) because my old router couldn't handle the demands of VOIP. Oh... and I had to upgrade my internet service because my upload speed wasn't fast enough to be able to get clear calls, which cost more money.

I put a lot of money on the table for a start up company that everyone else was saying was going to go belly up in 6 months, and all the money spent on Ooma would be wasted. So call me cheap if you want...

It's a risk versus reward thing. I took a big risk (and put big money on the table), and my reward was the promise of free calling. So bottom line, I want FREE.... not $3.50 to $4.50 per month.

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Leeway
Posts:934
Joined:Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:50 pm
Location:North of Milwaukee WI

Re: Account Notification

Post by Leeway » Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:48 pm

joeed2 wrote:
jduffy wrote:
It's a risk versus reward thing. I took a big risk (and put big money on the table), and my reward was the promise of free calling. So bottom line, I want FREE.... not $3.50 to $4.50 per month.

But you do get "free" Ooma. There is no such thing as "free taxes". Two totally different things.

allo
Posts:267
Joined:Sun Oct 04, 2009 5:58 am
Location:FL

Re: Account Notification

Post by allo » Fri Jan 25, 2013 9:31 pm

I had my Hub since mid 2009 and which I hardly use nowadays even though I have Lifetime Premier ( I use Wireless mostly).
Total Cost for OOMA was $350+$200... and it is going to be a 50/50 decision whether to keep the service when the Hub goes bad, since I hardly use it.
For someone who uses OOMA extensively it is still a good deal even with $5 a month in Taxes...

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caseybea
Posts:197
Joined:Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:52 am

Re: Account Notification

Post by caseybea » Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:29 pm

I received the same notice.

The currrent TELO does not have the same small-device voicemail like the SCOUT. (my HUB is in the basement, next to my cable router).

The call quality on my hub is GREAT.

I currently pay... NOTHING.

I am not aware of any major updates to features or anything else HUB related-- for years. I assumed the HUB has ALREADY been in 'maintenance' mode for a long while.

If I go to a telo, I have to:

* Put a big huge device in my kitchen
* Do some creative network wiring things to put it there
* Pay monthly fees/taxes (4.50 or 4.75 monthly)
* Sign up for Premiere so I can continue to get caller-id and text

Going from zero a month to $15+ a month AND to hardware that is less attractive to me than what I have?

No thank you.
Ooma Hub customer since January 2010
Telo2 upgrade (hub retired) October 2016
Service Level: Core

sylfer
Posts:13
Joined:Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:22 am

Re: Account Notification

Post by sylfer » Sat Jan 26, 2013 6:39 am

Same email rcvd here. I've got a Hub and Scout (which I use for a 2nd number for my kids) and Premier, and pay no monthly taxes. (I do also have a Telo on another line, and pay the taxes on that line.)

I will not take Ooma up on the offer to pay $99 + $30 for a new Telo and Linx just for the privilege to be able to pay monthly taxes for them ! : )

Now, what I *might* consider though... if Ooma were to send me a Telo and Linx for FREE... that might tempt me.

AP28
Posts:2
Joined:Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:52 am

Re: Account Notification

Post by AP28 » Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:20 am

Received the same email. I have the Hub and Scout, with Lifetime Premier. For those who complain about us being cheap, that is the reason we bought Ooma in the first place. We did the math, as did Ooma. We took a risk and they got money which kept their business afloat. The longer my equipment holds out, the better my ROI. Ooma needs to make the math work and make it beneficial to switch if they want this to happen.

Ooma should be more worried that I will eliminate my home phone completely in lieu of other technology. They should want me to continue to use their equipment, old or new, with or without tax payments, to build word-of-mouth so that others buy before their segment of the market gets eliminated.

rdunn101
Posts:1
Joined:Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:02 pm

Re: Account Notification

Post by rdunn101 » Sat Jan 26, 2013 1:03 pm

I've also had my Hub and Scouts for a long time (December 2007). The only benefit to the offer, that I can see, is transferring my lifetime premier status to a newer device. As I understand Ooma's policies I would lose my free lifetime status if my Hub were to die.

slyreptile
Posts:2
Joined:Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:01 am

Re: Account Notification

Post by slyreptile » Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:24 am

That is my understanding too, that we'd lose our Lifetime Premier (which I really don't want to lose). This offer allows us to transfer that service. My wife uses our Ooma service extensively. My first Hub failed on me about a year ago. Ooma sent a replacement free of charge which I was quite impressed! So now I have to decide whether to stick it out with my current Hub or upgrade and start paying the $3.80 in taxes. Still on the fence on what to do.

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