VOIP: Getting The Right Service From The Start and Things You Should Know

By the time you are reading this article I am pretty sure you have an idea what VOIP service is. Perhaps you have been hearing a lot of advertisements about different VOIP services and seeing the ads on tv. If you are seriously considering switching to VOIP or just try it out here are a few handy tips to have in mind.

1. Research about the company you would be dealing with. Don't be carried away by what the telemarketer tells you and sign up. This is one of the common mistakes most people make. Remember telemarketers are there to make a sale and they would do everything to close the sale.

2. Ask important questions. Here are questions that you should ask the sales person on the other line.

a. If you are being offered an annual promotion, ask how much you will be paying per month after the promotion expires. What  other fees would apply aside from the monthly fees? How much are the taxes going to be and how much will you be paying after taxes?

b. What free features are you getting? Most VOIP companies includes free features but don't just take the word of the sales person on the other line, you must read the terms of use of the features in their website. Ask also what features are chargeable? For example one company has a feature called visual voicemail, what it does is transcribe your voicemails into text messages and you would receive this as text message in your cellphone. This is great right? Look closely and read in the company's website that you would be charged $.25 for using the service if you are not subscribe with a certain plan, others would charge you that amount per 160 characters.  411 calling is listed in the feature but again you would be charged by some companies $.25 for 2 numbers. So, you must research and ask questions.

c. Do you have a money back guarantee period? How long is the money back guarantee period? If in case you are not able to use the service right away because of certain issues  ask if they have an extended money back guarantee period. If they don't have you might as well just return the product ( usually a device, a thumb drive for some and some are routers) before the MBG period ends or else you are liable to pay the monthly fees.
d. How long is the commitment period? This is important that you ask because whether you like the service or not as long as you are outside the MBG period you can't easily terminate the service. If you do terminate the service before the commitment period is up you will be liable to pay certain fees. Sometimes the fees are outrageous, they cost more than what you paid for when you sign up.

e. If you are subscribing to a certain plan like an annual plan you must ask when will your plan end? At least you would know how long are you committed to keep the plan and if you have a low usage you could switch it to a lower plan. My advice is do not get annual plans, especially if they ask you to pay full in advance. I know annual plans seems such a good deal but you are just starting and you would like to find out your monthly usage. Take the regular plan first later if you are consistent with your usage you could switch to an annual plan or a lower plan. That way it saves you a lot of headache later on.

f. Ask if there are activation fees aside from the first monthly bill you are paying. You would want to know this first hand rather than getting overdrafts in your debit card or credit card.

g. Ask when is your billing date.If you sign up on this particular date will it be the date you will be billed every month onwards? It is very important to ask this question because for most people they don't have money in their debit cards on a certain date and they have to wait till their next pay day.If there is no money on your card and you get billed you will be charged overdraft fees in your account. That is a very big loss.

h. How much is the termination fee ? Don't be afraid to ask this because in the end if you are not happy with their service you will end up paying for this.

3. Free devices. Nothing in life is free, when they say free device you may want to dig deeper than what is being said. As far as I know devices are sent to you for "free" in the sense that when you sign up you will not pay for the device. They are doing this because  they are bearing in mind you will stay with them for a very long time. But what happens if you are not happy with the service you are getting? Then you decide to terminate the service right? What happens is that they will try and keep you as a customer but when you firmly say no then they will tell you there are termination fees you have to pay if you are still within the commitment period. One of the fees is the rebate recovery fee for the device. So if you could afford to purchase it on your own I suggest that you do, because you cannot return the device after the MBG period and whether you like it or not you will get charge for it when you terminate your service if you are still within the commitment period.

4. Do not sign up for the service if you don't have an internet ready because it will take time to get installed and you will loose days to try out the service specified in the money back guarantee period. Remember that VOIPs are compatible with dsl broadband and cable, It will not work with satellite internet , dial up internet and aircards.

5.Do not sign up if you do not have a computer! What good is it to get a dsl service when you don't have a pc. This may sound so funny that I am pointing this out but yes, a lot of people make this mistake. Again read more about this technology before signing up. Usually these are the old folks who get scammed by this. I feel disgusted when this happens.

6. Ask about payment options. Why? Because sometimes there are just some dishonest sales person who will sign you up for services you did not agree with it. For example you signed up for a regular plan but he signed you up with a higher plan.Also check if you could use prepaid debit cards, again that's to help you not incur terrible overdraft fees just in case you don't have money yet in your account.

7. Finally before signing up be sure to research about different VOIP companies, this will give you options and you can make the right choices and get the right service that suits you.

Again, ask and research before signing up this will save you a lot of time and heartache waiting in the queue just to get hold of the company. Remember the company caters to thousands of subscribers and the line will always be busy.

Below are some of the know VOIP companies but there are still others you might want to check.

1. Vonage: www.vonage.com 1-800-980-1455 (sales hotline) 1-866-243-4357 ( customer service)
2. MagicJack: www.magicjack.com  you can get this in stores nation wide or through their website; they do not have a customer service hotline yet but you can get through a live agent via chat
3.IBB talk
4. Skype VOIP
5.Packet 8
6. ViaTalk
7. Broad Voice: www.broadvoice.com; 978-418-7300
8. Linggo: 484-427-2285; www.voip.com
9. Voip.com: 1-800-879-8647