Vonage is paying $3 million to 32 U.S. states in a settlement due to customer complaints over three main issues: the difficulty of canceling service; a requirement to have a high-speed broadband line to access the service; and the definition of "free" services, including money back guarantees and trial service periods. Vonage will also refund customers claiming to be affected by the alleged problems.
As part of the settlement, Vonage did not admit blame for any illegal activities and has noted that it is changing certain business practices in an SEC filing. The states will use the settlement to pay for legal fees and other costs which means customer compensation will be left up to the refunds Vonage promises to provide.
For more:
- Wall Street Journal via AP has this article [1]
Related articles
Vonage posts 3Q loss [2]
Sprint files four more VoIP lawsuits
[3]Vonage Mobile for iPhone and Blackberry now ready for download
[4]Banks slapped with $845K in fines over Vonage IPO [5]
Links:
[1] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574540170530863320.html
[2] http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-posts-3q-loss/2009-11-06
[3] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/sprint-files-four-more-voip-lawsuits/2008-01-28
[4] http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-mobile-iphone-and-blackberry-now-ready-download/2009-10-05
[5] http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/banks-slapped-845k-fines-over-vonage-ipo/2009-09-22