Reviewers Comments:

This is the worst phone service I have ever had....it goes dead...rings on the other end...but people can't hear you...they get upset....caller id goes in and out.....customer service NEVER takes responsibility....you are on hold for hours....and you get bumped back by people who pay for "premium" customer care....I've asked for the owner to call me for two years...he won't...VIATALK STINKS!!!!!!

Reviewers Comments:

Easily one of the worst experiences with a business in my life. These people are not only incompetent, they are antagonistic, contrary and seem to enjoy having the power to make your life miserable if you're unfortunate enough to find yourself contracted to them for phone service. STAY AWAY!

Reviewers Comments:

Advertised rates are "minimum price guidelines." ViaTalk reserves the right to increase the price mid-term. They do this through bogus fees labeled "regulatory recovery" (arbitrary) and "government mandated 911" (no, the extra fee isn't mandated). Support blames every problem on your ISP or router. It's never their fault. After reading the same complaints over and over, it's obvious where the problem lies. If you would like to pay to beta test a service, then viatalk is for you. For good service, look elsewhere.

Reviewers Comments:

Guys, They have very bad customer service and billing. They charge a lot for cancellation even after realizing that it is their mistake. I called Credit Card company and opened a dispute. Finally, credit card company resolved it but it took 4 weeks. That is the best way to get your money back. Have the complaints handy in case you need to support your dispute.

Reviewers Comments:

First, I could connect to every number but one number. They refused to fix it. After 5 months of fighting and filing complaints here and filing complaints there, I went to my State Senator. Finally, the problem was fixed. Okay for 3 months Now, I have been without service since July 1st, and they will not fix it nor will they even respond. I ran into a post in their forums and found that I am not the only one having that same issue/problems happening. Funny that they fixed one person's service on July 4th - the very day he reported it, but they will not fix mine nor acknowledge me and I reported mine 4 days earlier. Avoid ViaTalk the plague.

Reviewers Comments:

I read the reviews and I was scared, but these guys are absolutely wonderful. The sound quality is terrific (after I updated to a QoS router) and set my host to San Jose. I'm getting 30ms Ping Times out of San Jose and the service works perfect. Customer service is very quick and really I have nothing bad to say about these guys -- nothing bad at all. I also like the fake "second line". It's pretty cool because while I have one inbound number, I get two outbound lines. This works perfect for me because calls can roll in on the second line and I don't have to mess with the flash button.

Reviewers Comments:

1. Managing your online profile is worst. Your online password will be trackless. 2. 10 to 15 seconds wait for after dialing a local number, long distance and international calls SUCKS. 3. I guess there is only one person working in so called 'Customer Service', may be this is his third shift job, and he is always in sleep. 4. Call discontinued after 30 secs.

Reviewers Comments:

Call Quality is pathetic. You hear the ring only after 30 seconds. Donno when that goes down. Customer Service is always long waiting (Understandable as they provide pathetic service). Tech Engineer always says that it is some problem with your router or phone. They are trained to tell so. First they say to add IP to DMZ, you do that but don't see any improvement. They ask you to buy a new phone/ router and close the ticket... I would say, they are just pathetic...worst service...no value for money... I would simply say.....Don't opt for Viatalk...It is better not to have a phone than having a viatalk.

Reviewers Comments:

I can't say I had the problems with customer support that others in this forum mentioned. Overall I found the service easy to sign-up for and everyone I talked with was friendly. I had great voice quality from what I could tell. However, I did have numerous problems with my IP phone (Linksys SPA921) that I was trying to use. Some calls would go straight to voicemail, other times the phone seemed to disconnect if I let it idle to long. The softphone, however, worked great with none of these problems. But, I wanted to use the IP phone. It seemed to be more of a problem with the IP phone configuration than ViaTalk themselves. However, ViaTalk's technical support couldn't offer me much help in that respect, which I assumed was fair enough as I don't expect them to be experts on every IP phone manufacturer's technology. But, Linksys tech support was even more unhelpful as they didn't even want to attempt to help me look at my configuration. I couldn't identify another IP phone that interested me, so I just ended up cancelling service under the 14-day trial period out of frustration. I'd be willing to go back if I could figure out the IP phone problem. I did cancel service under the

Reviewers Comments:

In phoenix: wait for 30-seconds to hear a ring tone after dialing. You can NEVER get to customer support [which is why they have paid customer support...] this is the way they make money. incoming calls directly land in voice mailbox WITHOUT ringing phone. Wait to hear dial tone.. many times you hear beep.... Overall service sucks...

Reviewers Comments:

Terrible quality of service and customer service. The calls on both ends, echoing, non- connecting, dropping, long time to connect, No ringing before the call is answered. Oh yea the customer service, minimum wait time 30 min to the most 48 min. Unless you want to pay extra? Then be careful the adapter has to be returned in the original box with the lan cable. Now if you threw out the box like two years ago when the service started. Yes sir $5.00 charge or if you don't send back the lan cable $5.00. S T A Y A W A Y !!! Do your self a favor don't pick this one. Remember you have been warned!

Reviewers Comments:

ViaTalk appears to have poor business sense and no talent for customer service. My experience varied from no response, to interminably on hold, to stonewalled and to failing to deliver promised benefits. After I canceled service they continued to bill me for it until I explained that I was no longer a customer, then they continued to bill me for regulatory service charges. Finally, they explained that one cannot just discontinue service by asking for it, the customer must submit a Service Ticket to cancel service!

Reviewers Comments:

I've been a ViaTalk customer for almost 2 years. I've read a LOT of bad reviews, usually dealing with customer service issues. I offer this rebuttal of the bad reviews, stating upfront that I don't have any connection to ViaTalk except as a customer. I do have some sympathy for independent VOIP providers, as they are typically dealing with non-technical customers and are at the mercy of the underlying broadband service. When I had Time Warner's Roadrunner service, which in my area of Austin, TX was incredibly unreliable (down much more often than it was up), I would never have considered VOIP. After switching to AT&T Yahoo DSL, a service that has been "almost" rock solid, I took the chance of giving up my landline for ViaTalk. I got the $199/yr plan (plus bonus year), which works out to under $8.50/month - with every feature imaginable, including free long distance. This compares favorably to the approx. $50/month I was paying for an SBC landline with far fewer features - plus per-minute charges for long distance. Thus, on the surface ViaTalk wins hands down. When VT calls work, they are clear and loud. However, I HAVE had issues that were not the fault of my DSL connection, such as "no ring" on incoming calls (route directly to voicemail), calls dropped in the middle of conversation, and more minor problems like an interminable delay before voicemail responds when you dial in. I laugh off such problems by saying "hey, I'm paying $8.50 a month" - and really, that's the point... this is fantastic service for that price, compared to the standard pricing set by landlines and cell phones. I am fortunate that I have a landline for my home business, which I use for my house security system and would use if I needed 911. I am also fortunate that my credit card expired shortly after I signed up for ViaTalk... I was notified last year that they were unable to charge my card a monthly FCC fee. I told them that was not part of the deal, and that was that. I really don't like companies that attempt to charge your card for things you never agreed to or were never fully disclosed. One-time-use credit card numbers offered by some charge cards are good for exactly this situation. One more thing... their company emails often tout some friend's garage band that you should vote for, or something to this effect. OK, so ViaTalk must be run by some late-teen-ager who was a genius programmer but with the business acumen of Forest Gump (actually Forest did pretty well with Bubba Gump Shrimp). This could explain the low customer service quality and fees randomly charged to credit cards. A "professionally" run company would not have these issues - maybe. But I want them to stay in business - hopefully grow responsible and responsibly - and keep working on making their system more reliable. The price/feature ratio is unmatchable. Check out their control panel and see if there is anything like it. No doubt I'll renew my line when the time comes - and no doubt I'll use a one-time-use credit card number.

Reviewers Comments:

This is the worst company that anyone could have remotely chosen to use. They take your money and then forget that you as a customer even exist. Their customer service is atrocious and they really don't care if you leave them or not. Since you have to pay them for 2 years in advance, they refuse to give you your money back. The FCC should shut them down.