Vonage 911 Caller Put On Hold While House Burns Down

Consumer Affairs ^ | March 22, 2006

[mathprof]

Beware of Vonage. I tried them and didn't like the call quality. Took several calls to cancel and they charge you a $40 cancellation fee.

[YouPosting2Me]

"Suicide hotline... please hold."

[andyk]

Loren Velthamp of Chanhassen, Minnesota, said he grabbed the phone and called 911 when he realized a fire has started in his home. "I called 911 using Vonage broadband and they put us on hold,"

Maybe he'll research his next hi-tech upgrade.

[George from New England]

We all pay for the convience of 911.

If you keep the phone number of your local fire dept and know enough not to use 911 then you are eligible for VoIP usage.

If VoIP services are forced to provide 911 services then their cost advantage will disappear.

You can have it both ways!

Either you save with a VoIP company and don't use 911 --- or use ma belle and pay for 911.

[Spktyr]

Another case of "Dial 911 And Die" - though not in the usual way it's meant.

[Mark was here]

The fire department also should have a regular - non 911 number that you can call. If you switch to an alternate provider, it would be prudent to make a note of such numbers. All the whines for the FCC to do something is just the pityfull clammering for their nanny state.

If all else fails Smoke Signals can be effective.

[LanPB01]

I just started using Vonage, and while I can hear the other party just fine, they apparently have problems hearing me. The upload seems to go out for 1 to 2 second gaps.

[P-40]

they put us on hold

I've been put on hold by 911 quite a number of time before. It is better now that we have 311 (non-emergency) service...finally.

[WakeUpAndVote]

I have dial 911 on my Vonage.

No problems.

I wonder if he registered his address with the service. Responsibility is with the end user there.

[bwteim]

Good point. There has been enough news regarding how VoIP services links to local 911 systems that this should not be a surprise.

[al_again]

Complete BS - the cost saving of VoIP has little to do with 911 1access. It's a hurdle right-now because the traditional phone service providers and VoIP are not working together to fix this.

[poobear]

I have Vonage for my business. The cable service in my county is great and I love it. I'll use my cell phone in an emergency. But for $39.00 a month with unlimited long distance and two lines, you can't beat it. Bell South would want over a hundred a month for two business lines ++ taxes + long distance. My suppliers are nearly all out of town as well as my customers.

Sorry for your bad experience. D@mn sorry for this poor homeowner. They were predicting something like this would happen with the limited emergency response. Sounds like big ma bell wants these broadband companies out of business. This will get a lot of play. Probably some rate hikes once the lawyers are through.

[George from New England]

"If all else fails Smoke Signals can be effective."

Ha Ha

The object is to stop the house from smoking.

[mtbopfuyn]

Just as with banks and doctor's offices, apparently you must plan your 911 emergency between 9 and 4:30 and M-F except for holidays.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Check here!

[pikachu]

First, I am a Vonage Customer and will tell you their staff probably has a paucity of Mensa Members. You do have to register your address for 9-1-1 service. And lastly, standing around on hold while the house burns down around you means you probably have bigger problems than phone service.

[300magnum]

woo hoo... woo hooo hooo... woo hoo... wooo hooo hooo! /sarcasm

[MineralMan]

This is reminiscent of people who have nothing in their house but cordless phones. When the power fails, they can't call.

If you use cordless phones exclusively now, go to your nearest Goodwill or Salvation Army store and purchase a hard-wired telephone. It will cost you under $5. Plug it in in the living room somewhere.

That simple advice could easily save your life should a power failure accompany some other sort of life-threatening event.

Do it today!

[TXBSAFH]

"Suicide hotline... please hold."

That is the the worst of it, the hold music: Jump by Van Halen Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult

[Dont Mention the War]

This is why I avoid VoIP like the plague. Well, that and the bad call quality. I'd rather pay the extra $20 a month, get crystal-clear phone calls and be able to use the phone without my Internet bandwidth slowing to a crawl.