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| Thursday, May 22, 2008 |
| Just lowered my monthly phone bill 19 percent |
I have mentioned before that my phone service is Vonage. I have been a customer since 2004 and overall I am happy with the service. The only thing that I am really unhappy about is how the monthly charge has been creeping up over that four year period. Mostly the increases have been due to regulatory fees and taxes that started applying to VOIP service. Not a huge deal, but still, I hate seeing these fixed monthly costs go up.
Recenly Vonage sent me an email offering a discount if I paid for a year of service upfront. Generally I am not a fan of paying for VOIP services upfront since I have watched people lose money with companies like SunRocket and other Vonage competitors. Also, Vonage has been having a tough time recently with patent infringe lawsuits and growing competition from broadband and DSL companies like Comcast and Verizon offering bundled VOIP services. But it appears those lawsuits are starting to settle and Vonage is starting to team up with DSL companies to get in on the bundle business. In other words, I am feeling like the risk of paying upfront for the year and taking the discount will be worth it.
So this morning I went ahead and did it - my monthly charge of $30.44 (the $24.99 unlimited plan after fees and taxes) has been decreased down to $24.70 ($296.35 divided by 12 - that yearly cost includes the fees and taxes). So my monthly phone bill has just dropped by about 19%
- Vonage Bill Creeping Up
* If you are thinking of signing up for Vonage and would like a referral send me an Email. You get two months free and I get two months free - a win, win for both of us!Labels: Saving Money |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 9:14 AM *
* Subscribe to Boston Gal's Open Wallet |
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| 8 Comments: |
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Actually, I didn't think about this until I read it in David Bach's "The only investment guide you'll ever need", but getting something at a discount is probably the best investment you can make. If you bought a years worth of service and got a 20% discount, that's guaranteed 20% return on your money. If you invested it, you would be risking a guaranteed 20% for a chance at something bigger, but how many investments return over 20% a year...guaranteed?
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You're still not getting a great deal comparitively to what they can offer. For a very long time if you called "to quit" they were offering $14.99/month unlimited minutes plus 2 or more months free. There's also the $19.99 for the lifetime of the plan offers. A whole long thread on getting the deals http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/topic_view.php?catid=18&threadid=765978
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I disagree with the above comment.
First, you aren't always guaranteed of that return on your investment. As BostonGal pointed out, if Vonage goes under then she's lost that money.
Second, it's a lock-in. If a competitor comes along and offers service for less money, Boston Gal can't take advantage of it.
Or perhaps the service goes downhill, quickly. That's not unheard of, but if it happens Boston Gal is stuck with sub-par service for a year.
Much like cell phone contracts, these offers aren't designed to save *you* money, they're designed to keep you as a customer, even if you decide you'd really rather leave.
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I'm a sunrocket refugee, and having experienced what I experienced I would actually take this Vonage "offer" as a warning sign. A discount for you on a year's payment upfront is a cash infusion for them. Could they have put this deal together out of a dire need for quick cash?
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I did worry a bit about that - but I figured I am willing to take the risk. My prior 4 year experience with them also influenced my decision. My hope is that if Vonage did get in trouble they would be a take-over target by one of these telecoms they are now partnered with for bundled services.
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How many minutes do you actually use on Vonage? I have the 250 minute/month for $14.99 with them. I use fewer than 250 minutes a month, so that plan saves me a lot over the unlimited plan that they always try to get me to upgrade to. In the 3 years that I've had them, I've only had to call their support once - and that was because the network time was set incorrectly. They fixed it and I went on my way.
Vonage, for all the crap they get, is actually a pretty great service. I have my Vonage number set to ring my home phone and cell phone at the same time - which is AWESOME.
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Hi Erica,
I started with the lower minute plan when I first signed up for Vonage. But after 3 months of going over I switched up to the unlimited plan. I guess I talk a lot :)
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So, do you get an extra fee for having VOIP? Because currently, unless you save enough from making VOIP calls using your cellphone, you might be losing money, correct? I'd like to know what kind of lifestyle makes getting VOIP money-saving -- since currently I'm at my laptop a lot and use Skype for free and only use my cellphone when I'm out.
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Actually, I didn't think about this until I read it in David Bach's "The only investment guide you'll ever need", but getting something at a discount is probably the best investment you can make. If you bought a years worth of service and got a 20% discount, that's guaranteed 20% return on your money. If you invested it, you would be risking a guaranteed 20% for a chance at something bigger, but how many investments return over 20% a year...guaranteed?