Help! Ooma wants to charge me tax on pre-tax Ooma!

[stisev]

Please help!
I purchased a "classic" Ooma from Costco [the one with base unit only] (a while before they started charging taxes & fees) and recently, I received two emails from Ooma:

Does anyone know why they are asking for this information? I am reluctant to put my CC# info in the event the system charges me. Has anyone received a similar?

Code: Select all

Dear Ooma Subscriber, 

 

We encountered an issue when trying to process the payment for your annual taxes and fees. 
  
Please update your credit card and billing information at your earliest convenience so we can process the payment and avoid any service interruption.
 
To update your billing information please visit https://my.ooma.com/account/billinginfo


Thank you, 

Ooma Billing Team

 

Phone:  888-711-6662 (Ooma)
Mon - Fri 7am to 7pm (PST) 
Sat - Sun 8am to 5pm (PST)
*Note: Holiday Support Hours 8am to 5pm (PST)

and a second email:

Code: Select all

Dear Ooma Subscriber,
 
We attempted to reach you previously to update your billing information. 
 
We are still having a problem trying to process the payment for your annual taxes and fees.  Please update your credit card and billing information at your earliest convenience so we can process your payment and avoid any service interruption.
 
To update your billing information please visit https://my.ooma.com/account/billinginfo


Thank you, 

Ooma Billing Team

 

[murphy]

The hub only unit from Costco has always had a fee attached to it.

[ajw522]

The hub only unit from Costco has always had a fee attached to it.

Not before the new T&C

[stisev]

Yes, I'm almost positive I bought mine before the T&C.

Does anyone know what date the cutoff time was?

I bought mine from Costco on 6/18/09, according to the receipt

[stisev]

Wow, I feel screwed. Very, very screwed.

As mentioned above, I bought the unit above on June 2009. There is no mention of "regulatory fees" on my box from Costco (Ooma base only - no scout).

It appears ALL of us who bought COSTCO HUB ONLY are going to have regulatory fees tacked on yearly. If you bought bundle from Costco.com, you're safe. What a way to bait-and-switch and screw your customer. 1) Advertise a FREE unlimited product 2) Change terms and conditions after the fact 3) Confuse everyone with complicated criteria (costco.com excempt, costco hub only NOT exempt) 4) Structure the terms & conditions in a way to confuse their users.

Apparently my fees are about $3.50 a month in California, equaling $41.64 that Ooma never advertised.

https://www.ooma.com/blog/2009/10/02/ho ... customers/


Ooma has been the best thing since sliced bread for me. I really have loved the service so far, but I feel really betrayed as a customer.









Ooma Hub Only Product at Costco Stores
Current Ooma Core Users
a. No changes to your current feature set including voice mail.


Current Ooma Premier Users
a. No changes to your current feature set.


Current Ooma Premier Trial Users
a. No changes to your current feature set.
b. The regulatory recovery fee applies per the original terms and conditions.


New or Unactivated Hub Only Prodcut
a. Basic voice mail is now included in Ooma Core.
b. Enhanced voice mail is available as a standalone option for $49.99 per year if you don’t want to purchase all the Premier features. Enhanced voicemail includes:


One touch access to voicemail, call screening
Remote access to messages through any web browser or telephone
Voicemail notifications to your mobile phone
Voicemail mp3 audio file attachment sent to your email
Send-to-Voicemail
Do Not Disturb

c. If you want to purchase an annual Ooma Premier subscription, you can do so at $99.99.
d. The annual regulatory recovery fee applies per the original terms and conditions

[stisev]

I called customer service. They have confirmed $12 a year regulatory charge. -_-

[DTMF]

"Betrayed" over $1/month.

<sigh>

That just sounds ludicrous to those of us recognize what a bargain the service is with $36/year regulatory fees.

[bw1]

Wow, I feel screwed. Very, very screwed.

As mentioned above, I bought the unit above on June 2009. There is no mention of "regulatory fees" on my box from Costco (Ooma base only - no scout).

Look again. I've seen and read the boxes for the Ooma Hub only product at Costco and they definitely mention the regulatory fees of $11.75 per year after the first year.

I also helped someone purchase and activate one and it required entering credit card information during activation.

Ooma definitely added confusion when they made the changes with the fees, but the information was there for everyone to read, if they took the time to do so.

The nice thing about buying from Costco is that you can still return it.

[allo]

Yes, I'm almost positive I bought mine before the T&C.

Does anyone know what date the cutoff time was?

I bought mine from Costco on 6/18/09, according to the receipt

If you don't want to pay the Fees as we all know for ages is charged on the HUB from Costco... take the thing back to Costco and get your money... and stop whining !

[sfhub]

Could you post readable photos of all the sides of your product box?