magicJack Inventor Responds to Customer Service Complaints
July 31st, 2008 by Jeffrey L. Wilson
magicJack is a point of contention for many users who’ve decided to give the low-cost telephony service a shot since its launch in late 2007. While many of have hailed it as a great, low-cost telephone service (including us in our magicJack review), others have voiced numerous complaints.
All you have to do is check out the comments section of our What’s New With magicJack and magicJack Inventor Q & A posts to witness some of the opinions being shared on both sides of the magicJack debate.
Being the intrepid reporters that we are, we decided to contact the Better Business Bureau to see what have been the primary customer issues with the little-telephony-device-that-could. A quick search on the company Web site revealed that the Better Business Bureau has given magicJack a less-than-stellar letter grade.
A grade is determined by a number of factors including the length of the time the company’s been in business, complaint volume, complaint history, how the company responds to said complaints, and other factors. So which grade did the Better Business Bureau give magicJack get?
A big, fat “F.” The BBB’s summarizes an “F” with:
“We strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they’ve failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known for is fraudulent business practices.”
According to the BBB, the two most common complaints involve consumers being charged the full price of the magicjack shortly after signing up for the free 30-day trial, and that it’s extremely difficult for them to contact customer service in order to receive a refund.
Since we’re a fair and balanced crew, we reached out to magicJack creator Dan Borislow for his response to these charges. Here’s what he had to say.
Charge #1: Some customers are being charged the price of magicJack during their free 30-day trial.
DB: This is not true. You will not find one person who was charged before the 30 day trial was completed. The issue is debit card holders, who were told at least 2 times, that there would be a hold against their debit/credit card at time of order. The issue with debit cards is that a hold may have the same effect as a charge on their debit card, causing overdrafts and the like. We do not accept debit cards anymore for a Free Trial, but offer instead a 30 day money back guarantee now. We have had this new policy in effect for about 30 days, and it appears to have fixed this type of complaint.
Charge #2: Customers are finding it difficult to reach customer service for a refund.
DB: This is ridiculous; it is everywhere on the site. They do not need to reach customer service. It is completely automated and gives an RMA with a scan line. They will also be instructed by Live Chat when they sign on to it or when they ask an agent. Try it yourself.
The real issue is that there are professional bloggers hired by our competition to disparage the company. We get over 100 requests a day to resell the product. We have delivered over 1,000,000 units in 7 months. People are very happy with the service. The customer service answers questions within 4 seconds. I am sure this is the fastest in the industry.
The reps all get graded and we cut the ones who are not performing. We give you an escalation path to go to if you are not happy with your Rep. I have never seen a competitor offer this type of service. Call up Verizon or AT&T and wait 3 minutes for a rep to answer, who never gives you a credit.
As far as Better Business Bureau is concerned, we agreed to treat debit card customers differently than we used to. This was the overwhelming complaint with them. Further, I have Comcast cable in my house; they are rated an F. I use Sprint on some of our phones; they are rated an F. My bank, who I have been with forever, Colonial Bancorp, is rated an F. The list is endless. But we listen to everybody and make improvements constantly.
Our reliability, call quality, and customer service have all improved dramatically in the short period of time we have delivered 1,000,000 magicJack (within a year’s time) .It is an amazing story in itself we have grown this fast in such a short period of time. Give me one year in business and we will surpass all our competitors. Unqualified, we have offered the best price and call quality from day one, and we will soon offer them the most reliable and best customer service. I am very proud of where we are to date.
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July 31st, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I could not be more happy with my magicjack. Actually, so far, I have purchased almost ten magicjacks for relatives, indluing my almost 70 year-old mom. I have already used mine in three countries with 100% success. By the way, my experience is that the Better Business Bureau is a money-grubbing machine that is as antiquated as rotary dial. It is time that people stop relying on this pay-to-play dinosaur. The only company worse is Dun & Bradstreet.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am
I am in Canada and have purchased the MagicJack from the Canadian distributor. It came within days. Yes, there were some glitches in setting it up, but the MJ website fix worked just fine. I had it up and running in 10 minutes, and I am not a computer expert by any means. It works very well for me. Does it work perfectly 100% of the time? No. Does it work very well 98% of the time? Yes.
I have had the device for 2 months now, and it has more than paid for itself. All of the people belly aching because they had one or two glitches is unbelievable. There are many services we pay for in our daily lives that cost a lot more, and provide more frustrations than MJ.
As far as the BBB, I have found over the years that there is one simple difference between companies that receive an A and those that receive an F. The difference is that member companies of the BBB always get an A and non-members always get an F. I did a thesis on the Toronto BBB when I was in the MBA program and although I did very well on it, my prof, who was a staunch BBB supporter and a close friend of the former President of the BBB, Paul Tuz, took offense. Guess what, many years later Tuz was exposed to be a fraudster and my thesis conclusions were proven to be 100% true. That revelation in the press led to the downfall of the BBB in Toronto, the dismissal of Tuz and a complete revamp of the BBB. It has never been the same since!
August 1st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I bought my MagicJack after reading about it in the great review Jeff Wilson wrote on the product in LAPTOP magazine a few months ago. Well, it was the best $39.95 I ever spent! It’s true what the company says, I’ve not paid a monthly phone bill (at least for home phone) every since I got my MagicJack! I’ve never had a problem with the device or any features and I bring it with me whenever I travel. It’s a gem of a product and I LOVE IT!!! I was surprised to read this post about the issues people are having with the MagicJack. Also, since I read they got an ‘F’ rating by the BBB, I clicked on the link you provided in this article and I saw on the BBB report that the company has 230 complaints filed to the BBB…and this is out of 1 million customers???!!! HAHAHA That’s pretty funny, the BBB gives an ‘F’ rating for a product with a HUGE customerbase = ~ 999,999,770 that are very satisfied vs. 230 customers who found issue with the product! Is there an organization or company or regulatory body who needs to review the relevancy and accuracy of the BBB rating system?!
August 1st, 2008 at 4:57 pm
In January of this year, I did a review of the product and gave it 2 1/2 stars. I like the technology and still use the product. But I could see service would be an issue. While Dan and crew have put measures in place to improve service, I still get complaints from users about their service. I’ll probably update the review I did to include the BBB link that Jeffrey posted above.
I think a lot of the issues that have been turned in to the BBB could have been prevented if the company had a better web site and support systems. The design, which is better than it was, invites problems. It is not user friendly and still does not have a Privacy page or contact info.
As for the BBB comments, I would suggest some of the critics volunteer at their local office.
August 3rd, 2008 at 7:08 am
You need to balance out customer service. You need to find its launch that works for you, and you do it like clockwork everyday. Be prepared for its launch.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I can’t say enough good things about magic jack. I have it installed on an old P3 Dell that turns itself on @ 7 a.m. and then countdowns to 11 p.m. and then shuts off. The computer is used for nothing else and the magic jack phone never quits. All calls are perfect. I call it my phone server to my friends that do not know about computers.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I have bought 4 magicjacks now for friends and family from Peru to Turkey and it is working like a champ and saving us a bundle.
I think people would complain less actually if it cost more.
I think you give people too good of a deal and they think something is wrong or faulty with the product.
What a bunch of whiners.
August 7th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I purchased 3 maqic jacks and returned one. It was a hassle but I did receive my money back, then they charged me again! I had to go through quite a hassle to get my money back. The biggest problem I have had is quality of calls. Since they changed their server to some wonderful worldwide leader of international calling that refuses to be named I have had zero usage of the phone due to so much breakup of my outgoing voice. I am disappointed and feel I have no option as there is nowhere to go for service. Also his answer about it being debit cards was a total falsehood. Mine was not a debit card but only a visa card. I was charged the day I bought them even though I was told I would not be charged for 30 days. To discount those of us who got crap for our money as being a minority is no excuse for no customer service being an acceptable way to run a business that was so laudibly held up by so many dependable sources. I would never have purchased such a device had there not been so much publicity from reliable 3rd parties.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
MAGICJACK IS A FRAUD
1. The 30 day free trial is next to impossible. They make sure their links don’t work.
2. Their 30 day free trial STARTS when you order, NOT when you activate, which is not what you are told if you ask them.
3. They lie, provide false information.
4. Their International calling rates are DOUBLE other VOIP competition.
5. They infect your computer with advertizing, makes your computer impossible to use when starting up or when making a call.
6. They play “The Visa Game”, thats right, bill you for renewals after cancelling! Even if you change your card, thats right! My Visa card had lots of complaints and gave me lots of information.
YOU MUST send a letter to them cancelling any further right to bill your card.
7. You must return their jacks, a post office receipt is sufficient.
8. VISA will charge them back if they fail to refund within 30 days of a reasonable return shipping time.
9. Play the VISA game right back. Thats why you use a VISA to protect yourself.
10. They refuse to allow “adapaters” or VOIP WiFi phones. That really sucks.
11. Their entire organization appears based on FRAUD , it may be legal step by step but overall
it has the effect of failing to honor standard business practise to the point that
DAN is loosing credibility and soon MagicJack will be known as one of America’s most
Fraudulent organizations. I’ve had it with DAN, I wish I had never heard of these creeps.
12. They actually think consumers like me will take it up the rear end.
Sorry, I intend making a very large number of posts and contacting every single
news organization that gave them publicity. Those news organizations need to
pull their plugs and demand that Magicjack remove them.
MAgic Jack does not deserve any reccomendations by the press.
I recommend VOIPBUSTERS.com or one of the many other good businesses that provide
genuine value with out all the misleading deception and outright fraud.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Dan can smile but he is a blatant liar.
You CANNOT simply return in the 30 day period.
I guess that only 1% of those who wish to return actually get a refund.
Of those 50% get charged again.
Of those who cancel their cards, 100% get charged upon renewal.
Take another look at that smiling Dan.
Its Dan who plays a business game that may be legal
but its pure fraud in effect.
August 9th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I love my Magicjack. I’ve used it for 2 weeks.
I have a Mac, using OS X.
The problem with most postings online about the Magicjack is that are negative, I don’t believe there true.
I hope they sale 25,000,000, this year.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Their name should be Majorfraud and not Magicjack. It stopped working short period after installing. They DONT have any phone # no Email adress and no functioning Chat for trouble shooting and/or customer service. If they do have one they are doing excellent job in hiding it. I am a regular customer and am not getting any compensation from any of their competitors!!!
August 10th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
I have had MagicJack for awhile now - it works great - WHEN IT WORKS! I can easily get in touch with their customer server, but they are all trained to give you the runaround. They make you try a hundred different things to get it to work and completely ignore you when you make any reference to a refund… My device I believe is defective… I told them this and they don’t seem to care - they already got their money. I am in the process of trying something else to get it to work since I have already prepaid for 5 years… I am trying to transfer everything from the magic jack device to a standard USB flash drive, then run the magic jack software off of that, then use a headset through the computer… I believe that will work if done correctly.
August 11th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
My Magic Jack worked to begin with, although the sound quality was always bad. I had echoes, noises, voice distortions. It was from bad to completely distorted. I tried every fix they had. I WANTED THIS TO WORK. I spent countless hours with them on Chat (as their chat is very slow) they had me do the same things over and over and finally told me it was my phone. I bought 2 different phones w/ latest tech. to no avail. Then my warranty period was up and the thing stopped working competely. It would be there until I tried to use it and then it would shut off and say that it needed to be connected to a USB port which it already was. I again spent hours in chat with them, tried every USB port )which work for everything else) turned off modem, restart pc, delete files and it still doesn’t work. So, it worked badly and now doesn’t work at all. MAGIC-CRAP!!!
August 11th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
HI MY NAME IS LEAH BALLEJOS I AM A EV ERY DAY REGULA STAY AT HOME MOM I AM NOT HERE TO ADVERTISE FOR THE COMPANY NOR WAS A HIRED TO REPPRESENT AGAINST IT….. MY MOM BOUGHT ME THE MAGIC JACK AS A CHEAPER MEANS TO PHONE CALLS I STARTED IT UP WORKED GREAT HOWEVER A MONTH LATER I COULDNT MAKE AN OUTGOING CALL…… I SUFFER FROM EPILEPSY AND ALWAYS NEED TO HAVE A PHONE AND WITH MAGIC JACKS RAVES HOW COULD I REFUSE….. WELL I COULDNT USE THE PHONE NEARLY THREE HOURS FRIENDS AND FMILY NERVOUSE TRYING CALLING MY PHONE and couldnt get through on top of that today i get on yet again not working im sick and needed to speak with my doctor after they said last week it was technical issues and for him saying its all over the site i dare anyone of yoyu to click it i clicked it nearly a million times… and every single time it took me to faqs… im not an idiot i studied computers….. i know how to work one he needs to hire someone ot fix his website cause i have yet t this date been able to talk to a rep///
August 12th, 2008 at 4:54 am
I have had nothing but trouble with the “Magic” jack, and am now concerned with how to stop them from billing my credit card for the second year, when the time comes…I have tried working with their “live person” in “customer service” who “spoke” broken English, told me “to take down my firewall” and then “hung up” on me before I could follow his “instructions”!! I see that Smilin’ Dan
cleverly omitted his company address from the packaging and there’s no way to phone them to talk to anyone either…I smell a class action lawsuit brewing here…anyone wanna join me?!?
August 12th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I have had Magic Jack for awhile now and it works great most of the time.Ramjet needs to calm down!The way he is going on you would think $1000 was spent.CHILL my friend everythings going to be alright.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:56 am
What can I say, for the price there is nothing better. The customer service better since I first started. I still have some problems that require me to take 5 to 10 min out of my morning, but for 20 dollars a year that is a small sacrifice. Me and my family are on a small budget, and the other phone companies are to expensive. So we deal with the problems and hope the company gets better, but if I had funds to waste I would proably have a regular phone company.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I have had an MJ for about 2 months now. about 2 weeks ago the Telephone portion of it stopped working. I can still make calls using the computers soft phone pad but this is not very convenient.. I’ve enjoyed the device up until now, when I had to try using their CUSTOMER SERVICE….When working correctly, the device has been a dream, the customer service has been a nightmare… Maybe Dan thinks 3 minutes for a rep is great, and it is, if the rep didn’t have their heads up their wahzoo…I kept getting round around the flag pole for almost an hour, getting answers from the rep that had absolutely NOTHING to do with my proble. After telling the rep I wanted to speak to her supervisor, she bumped me up to another level of service rep. After 30 minutes of that, I was told my problem would be sent to the engineering group and someone would get back to me. That was a week ago, still nothing. A great product in my estimation with a service group that sucks outloud. If Dan doesn’t get his arms around that problem, many people will start to hear the horror stories and shy away from this product. No telling how many additional sales they could’ve made if it wasn’t for the extremely poor quality of customer service, no matter how “FAST” it is…
August 15th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
It is very obvious that magicjack is concerned about the very negative reviews and complaints and appears to be posting “counterposts” . There are many many other real voip services with rates that even make magicjack look expensive. NEVER use a USB device, magicjack uses the magicjack to invade your computer with advertizing that locks up your computer during startup for several minutes, and during each call. Use a real VOIP phone like a Cisco or a real VOIP phone adapater like the Cisco ATA-186 that has a eithernet connection that does not require your computer to be left on, just your router.
Now if you want to return your magic jack.
Send it to:
PO BOX 6846
West Palm Beach FL 33405
Their “Billing Department” phone number is 561-594-2140
Wait 30 days after they should have received it, contact your credit card
for a reversal based on their failure to honor their agreement.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
I placed one call, right after I installed it. That was first and last. All I have now is a dialtone. I am so disgusted with this piece of junk. I would like to rename it Magicjackass. Going to the website for assistance is a joke. You get an never ending loop of “click here” for customer service, sandwiched in between answers that do not resolve the problems. Those of you who have a working device consider yourself lucky. Your jack is truly magic. Dan’s attitude is unbelievable in the face of all the complaints. I am not a blogger. In fact I detest blogging for the most part but I am sharing my experience in hopes of preventing another person from wasting money. I will sing praises to the makers of Magicjack if they get it working. In the meantime people, be warned.
August 19th, 2008 at 3:51 am
I am Dan Berislow. “Every answer you will get from a live person, is available right here at your fingertips, without delay.” Now read this very carefully and tell me I am a liar when I say Live Chat is available on my website. I smoked an eightball of crack in less than an hour, paid for by jackasses that purchased MagicJack. Thank you!
My new product that will be available to consumers in 2009 I call MagicCrack. For one low price you will get Unlimited MagicCrack for an entire year. Best of all there are no unhealthy side effects from MagicCrack and you will still get high with no harsh crash that leaves you hurting for more. And thats why I will be calling it MagicCrack!
August 21st, 2008 at 1:56 am
I have had the MJ for about 6 months. Mine keeps on saying I need to log on the internet. I have cable and I am alway on the internet. I have been on chat with them for as much as 2.5 hours. The problem get fixed that I am good again for about 2 weeks than it goes again. Two days ago I was on chat for three hours with 4 different people. The solution was to send me out a replacement. I was told I would not be charged for 30 day and that would give me time to sent the old one back. My son came over and fixed the problem in less than 5 minutes. My firewall was conflicting with it. I got an email from MJ on my order of the replacement MJ and I was to look it over and need not do anything if it was correct. I replied to the email and said to cancil the order because my son fixed it. The following day I was charged 39.95 for the MJ. I got on the internet and check the tracking numbers and it showed not recieved by the post office yet. I sent out another email saying cancil the order. I just got off a 2 hour chat with customer service and they at first said they did not charge me than after going to the second live chat person they agree I did and that they would refund my money when they got the old one returned. When the MJ works it is a great product. Not sure it is worth the constant problems. It would be great if they had a phone number to call. Guess they know that the MJ is not trust worthy enough to use for business. I am paid up until 2013 and I am having buyer remorse.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:04 am
I am 62 and a disabled Vietnam veteran. I ordered one magicJack on 8/20/2008 and received an email confirming my order and total $50.85. However, upon checking my bank statement online, it showed I was being charged $90.00 (pending). Then, on 8/21, I received confirmation that my order had shipped. I have already requested and received an RMA and plan to promptly return the package — unopened — for a refund. However, two online chats with the customer service people have proved futile and they insist I have not been charged any more than $50.85 despite my bank’s records saying $90.00. You’d think Mr. Borislow with a personal net fortune of over $70 million could readily afford to refund the $90.00 I was charged. By the way, the company’s rating is “C” not “F” according to the BBB which I checked tonight (8/22). And, there have been no complaints against them for the past 36 months! So how they’ve got an “F” is beyond me. And how they’ve not had any complaints at the BBB in the past 3 years is amazing, if true. I wonder if Don’s wife Michele or his daughter Kylie know what kind of a man he isn’t.
August 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 am
I purchased a magic jack since June ‘08, and i have had nothing but problems with this crap. It has not worked at all for any duration at all. I have wasted easily over 40 hours on their so called live chat. I have documentation, because i have meticulously written in a special notebook, devoted especially for magic jact transactions all the operators i have chatted with. Non of them have been able to solve my magic jack problem. And as i write this piece, my magic jack does not work.
Talk about being totally exasperated, frustrated and almost helplessly without a solution. The operators have repeatedly escalated my chat sessions to the so called engineers and to date, non of them could resolve my magic problem. You may be curious to wonder what this seemingly intractable problem might be. Well, i will tell you. I cannot get the REGISTRATION initial part of the phone installation done. Does any body know how to make some other contact with The Magic Jack Offices, to the powers that be, so that i can either get the phone working or get my money back. The tragedy is all the worst because i paid them for a 5 years, and i have yet to have any use of this device in almost 6 months. If some body has the magic phone contact please send it to me at aakalaka@yahoo.com or call me at (785) 371-4272.
One more beef, Their operators have ruined the audio piece of my computer, from all the misguided directives they ordered me to follow to presumably steer me to some resolution of my magic jack woes. Help Help Hell some body please Help.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:23 am
MagicJack is ok, WHEN it works. Have had issues with the function of the device, but that’s not a major problem given the low cost. However, the company’s Customer Service is extremely poor and appears to be outsourced as most of the chat reps I have been in contact with are obviously NOT fluent in English - and are either not willing or not able to deal with any issue outside their scripts…including supervisors. Prone to “canned” preset responses that have nothing to do with issue at hand. Was charged 2x for return order that I had cancelled - and told over and over again that refund was being escalated…NOT! Also, last customer service rep that I “chatted” with actually dismissed me and signed off the chat before I was done…and, coincidentally, did this immediately AFTER I mentioned a possible complaint to the FCC…
The owner of the company would do well to replace his customer support service with one that will not completely ruin his business, which the current CS service will do if he’s not careful…
August 26th, 2008 at 12:20 am
This is my 2nd comment here. My first was recorded (above and) at http://blog.laptopmag.com/magicjack-inventor-responds-to-customer-service-complaints#comment-12503. This comment is a complete 180-degree turnaround in my opinion of MagicJack.
I was able to make contact, by phone, a voice call, with a high-ranking official of YMax Communications, Inc., aka MagicJack. As the result of that telecon, my billing problem was resolved: instead of being charged $93.80 (the amount of hold on my funds account), I was properly billed $53.85 as per my invoice for one MagicJack plus standard shipping plus an expedite fee.
I had received the MagicJack on Saturday, Aug. 23rd, just two days after having placed my order online very late on the evening of Aug. 21st. (This is what I consider to be very fast service from Florida since it was sent 1st Class Parcel Post).
Today, after having had the billing confusion resolved satisfactorily, I decided to keep the MagicJack despite having already obtained an RMA# and prepared to return the MagicJack - unopened. I opened the package and installed the MagicJack, selecting a phone number within my regular area code and completing the registration.
After completing the necessary steps, I made my first call to a local friend. Everything worked perfectly on the first call. I asked her to call me back. The phone rang very quickly and we chatted for over 10-minutes. After ending the call, I proceded to set-up my voice mail, greetings, and busy messages. Everything was accomplished with suprising ease and quickly. The connection both ways was excellent with no echoes or extra sounds with the voice. It sounded to me and my friend like a perfectly normal phone conversation.
The extra features that come with the software interface are incredible! “Music on hold,” and mute are two bonus features that I didn’t know existed until I closely examined the on-screen interface and heard about the music from my friend.
My internet connection is residential cable @ 5-Mb/sec and ‘crystal clear’ via MagicJack. I am delighted with my purchase — and I owe an apology to Dan Borislow for my unkind remarks in my earlier post here (made on Sat., Aug. 23rd).
Oh, by the way, I have oodles of software on my Dell Dimension desktop (it’s equipped with Windows Media Center 2002 Edition (XP Pro SP3)), a 3.0-GHz hyperthread Intel CPU, and 4-GB RAM. Alot of the software includes CD/DVD recording software (Nero, Serif, Sonic, NCH, and more) — and NONE of it conflicts with MagicJack.
My MagicJack worked perfectly from the get-go. I am a happy camper now. Special thanks to Peter Russo, CFO, YMax Inc.
P.S. I am a customer in no way connected to YMax or MagicJack.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Correction: my bill was $50.85 not $53.85
September 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I tried it it didn’t work and yes they cahrged my card. It is obvious that this is not that great of a program. Even if it works for some it seems like I read from more that it didn’t work well for them I just want them to refund my money. I am not angry or anything I just want to be treated fair.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
MagicJackked !
THE COMMERCIAL: I thought WOW this is great!
” It’s as easy as 1-2-3, and yes you can take it with you, unlimited incoming /outgoing calls and all the features!”. Oh! it’s reccomended highly by all of those reputable reviews. I SAID i GOTTA HAVE THIS!
THE TRUTH : Well I have it, and it sits unplugged next to my computer now because it’s CRAP!
I spend more hours with live customer care that week than I did with my family! Tried everything.
I dealt with 7 customer service reps FOR THREE DAYS that seem to be very stupid or slow or on something whatever.
I made calls it went through but no sound. Some calls I was able to have a conversation. Incoming calls worked a couple of times. Outgoing calls worked maybe 5 times. So a total of 12 local test calls. That was enough. to think that I paid $50+ bucks for it.
The Product must only work in some areas or whatever cable or dsl service company allows it to work. we’ll never know!
I’m so PISSED OFF ! I GOT JACKKED BY MAGIC JACK
and those STUPID SAYINGS
“UPGRADING LUCKY YOU” or
” A MOMENT OF PATIENCE FOR LIFETIME OF SAVINGS”
THE DEMAND: all the hours and days of frustration and the bad mood swings that the MagicJack has put me and my family through worth $50 thousand plus.
September 9th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Customer service sucks and so does his product…and the bastard who invented the “MagicJack” knows it. It takes a damn hour to deal with the “Chat” customer service, who are completly ignorant. I was charged twice, and sent the damn thing back….WHATS THE PROBLEM DAN? Why don’t you use a “magic jack” yourself, and get a damn telephone customer service…or are you too cheap to do that? You rather fustrate the hell out of your customers??? I am so pissed off I can’t even see straight…
LOOK FOR A LAWSUIT BUDDY BOY…CLASS ACTION. I AM STARTING ONE….
September 9th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
I just purchase my magic jack 2 days a go and i already charge $39.95. I would like to know, if something happen to my magic jack, who do i contact ?
September 12th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Recent chat:
Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Rachelle’
Rachelle: Hello, how may I help you?
Dave: Hi, when I first received my Magic Jack a couple months ago, My caller ID that people see when I call has the correct number.. However the problem is that the name they see is “MICHGNBAR CA”
Dave: Your people told me a couple months ago that they were working on a fix for that.. Where are we now??
Dave: I would like it to say “The Andersons”
Rachelle: Thank you for addressing your concern. Let me assist you on this.
Rachelle: May I have your email address?
Dave: xxxxxxxxx
Rachelle: Thanks.
Rachelle: One moment please…
Rachelle: Thank you for patiently waiting.
Rachelle: Have you received an email yet?
Dave: no
Dave: are you there?
Rachelle: Yes, still checking on it, Dave.
Dave: are you a real person? or a computer that I am chatting with?
Rachelle: Yes, we are real persone, Dave.
Rachelle: *person
Dave: ok =-)
Dave: have you heard of this issue on my account ?? Or is this a normal thing?
Rachelle: I apologize but this is the first time that we encounter this kind of problem.
Dave: Not the first time for me. It’s been this way since I first subscribed May 31st.. I chatted with your company then and there was no fix for it
Dave: Could it be because the caller ID name “MICHGNBAR CA” is a town that my phone number is attached to??
Dave: Could it be as simple as choosing a different phone number?
Rachelle: Yes, possibly that’s also the reason, Dave.
Rachelle: Maybe they can also change the setting on their end.
Dave: So is it typical that all numbers you issue, the name that goes along with it is the city it originated from?
Rachelle: No, Dave. Some of them don’t have their name attach to caller ID.
Dave: Ok, can you customize the Caller ID name attached to my number?
Rachelle: No, we can’t access that one, Dave. You can try to contact your friends if they can change the setting to thier caller ID.
Dave: No, that won’t work
Dave: If I choose a different number, can I customize the Caller ID name associated with it?
Rachelle: No, there’s not on the option.
Rachelle: One moment please…
Dave: Are you still trying to send me an email ?
Rachelle: No, Dave.
Rachelle: I’ll check for the right information for this.
Dave: what was the email you were trying to send me?
Rachelle: No, I did not send it to your email, Dave.
Rachelle: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you.
Chat InformationPlease wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.
Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Evert’
Chat InformationPlease wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.
Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Lira’
Dave: How many levels of support are there?
Lira: Hi Dave.
Dave: hello
Dave: I’m getting frustrated
Lira: How are you today?
Lira: Oh.
Dave: I think the last person I was chatting with must have been chatting with 50 different people ??
Lira:
Dave: Can you read our chat ?
Lira: Yes.
Lira: Please wait while I check that for you
Dave: what are you checking?
Lira: Your previous chat.
Dave: This is exactly how my conversation went two months ago when I first received my magic jack.. It took forever to get no where~
Lira: Caller ID feature availability will depend on the phone that you are using. Some, you may only see the numbers and not the names.
Dave: I understand that
Dave: However, the name attached to the number should be customizable. It is with my home phone, it is with my AT&T cell phone too.
Dave: most phones now a days, show both the phone number and the name. In fact all cell phones that I know of do
Lira: Yes, but it depends if it’s compatible with the magicJack.
Dave: When I call people on my magic jack internet phone, they see a caller ID of “MICHIGAN BAR, CA”.. They don’t answer it because they don’t recognize that as me!
Dave: Therefore the magic jack is not my first choice in phones to use
Dave: Is it because it is an
Dave: Internet phone?
Lira: Yes.
Dave: So you folks do understand that this is a problem
Dave: This can’t be the first time you’ve heard of it like the last person tried to tell me
Lira: Yes, sorry for that. It’s really her first time to know that issue for this is her first day of work.
Lira: I do apologize for that Dave.
Dave: Ok, so how do I get the caller ID changed ?? I don’t want people thinking some one from a “BAR” is calling them when I call
Lira: I’ll try to forward this issue again to our engineers for them to check if there’s something they can do about this, but I can’t promise you if this can be fixed right away.
Dave: I can’t accept that this just can’t be done. With the high tech equipment out there and the fact that this is a fairly new service which is an internet portal.
Dave: How many levels of support do you have?
Lira: From us, all issues will be forwarded to the designated concerned departments.
Dave: This is exactly how my chat two months ago went. I got frustrated and quit. I haven’t used my magic jack since! I feel like I’ve waited for your engineers long enough
Lira: I’m sorry. The magicJack caller ID is just set for the numbers to appear. The name is just optional that depends on the phone that you are using.
Dave: I can’t accept that.. Can I please have an email address of someone in your company that can make this happen?
Lira: You may send an email at magicjackconfirm@magicjack.com
Dave: who will read that?
Lira: Our administrators.
Dave: Can I ask another question?
Lira: Sure.
Dave: the other question I have is that back a couple months ago, your company told me that I could transfer my existing home phone number and use it with my Magic Jack. Your people said that would be a few weeks away.. Are we there yet? I am eager to cancel my home service plan that is costing me $40 a month. But I don’t want to give up my home phone number of xxx-xxx-xxxx
Dave: However I don’t want to do this if you have no control over your Caller ID.
Lira: Unfortunately, until now the engineers are still working on it.
Dave: Those are the engineers that I would like to talk to because it seems that both issues that I have are related
Dave: Is there a contact you can give me?
Lira: I’m sorry, but we do not have numbers for them. You may just include that on your email.
Dave: Ok well once again I’ve wasted 1 hour of my time and have not resolved anything. I will send an email to the address you gave me. If I haven’t received any resolution to my requests, I’ll not be using my magic jack until your company can accommodate me. I’m sure I’m not alone in these requests.
September 16th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I got magic jack recently, and it does work, occasionally!
Problems ranging from poor voice quality to not being able to make a phone call. Yes it is cheap, but I guess you get what you pay for! I was planning to disconnect my Verizon line, but now I don’t think so (even though Verizon Customer service is a pain in the neck). I am thinking about Comcast, but I don’t know how good of a deal I can get with them. They are a little pricy I sould say.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I have the Magicjack for over a month(unfortunately) and have experienced all the negative feedback that I just read. I don’t endorse any products and am not affiliated with any company. I was “duped” into thinking this product was great and now I realize it is just another fraudulent product to make someone rich who doesn’t deserve it. There is no customer service, no accountability or responsibility with the “Magicjack.” I am sure AT&T will be glad to have me back as a customer. Please do not waste your money on this “Fraudulent Piece of _____!
September 18th, 2008 at 9:07 am
We all know the BBB is the most corrupt old-school rating system out there.
Also, it is obvious from reading bunch of blogs that RAMJET and others are professional posters that are paid to write bad comments from competitors or even from certain advertisers. As reported, poor comments in certain blogs on specific topics attract readers and the blogs get increased readers and increased ad rates. Like everything, Follow the money. Heck, 1.5 million magicjacks later and a few hundred complaints. I would love that track record. All these people crying scam are silly. Go Dan Borislow!
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 am
MagicJack is a fraud. My credit card was billed next day for a portion, taken back, then billed again for $49.00. I will be speaking to my credit card company. I have the printed proof of the free 30day trial for $39.95 in addition of other things that were said then they did opposite. I hear too many bad things about this company. I am returning the jack, which I just received because I do not want to be billed another time and then later for renewal when I do not want the product. I have not gotten a good feed back from all the bloggers/emails. It slows my computer and I don’t see the advantage of keeping it to save a few dollars but to get a heart attack and …….. I deliberately, after trying to get to customer service and couldn’t get through, took the time on my day off to call them last week. I called them at 12:35pm and was recorded that I was the 6th in line. It went on for a while till it got to 1st on line at about 2:30pm. I had the phone on speaker (THAT’S MY REGULAR HOUSE PHONE, I CHANGED TWO WIRELESS PHONES WHICH BECAME DEAD BY USE OF HOLDING). I continued to hear from 2:30pm that I was next in line for about two thousand times until the phone was disconnected at 5:09pm. (Started at 12:35pm to 5:09pm). I did it to prove my point. I was at home doing several household chores and usiing my cell phone to make other calls. I cannot explain to you the frustration, you determin. I need no more frustration, it’s on it’s way back home to MAGIC-CRAP CUSTOMER SCARE! I WILL MAYBE TRY ANOTHER COMPANY, MAYBE. I WAS A PROTENTIAL LONG LASTING CUSTOMER.
September 23rd, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Hi Prestonelli,
Very interesting experience you had. I didn’t realize you could call their customer service. What phone number did you use?
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 pm
It’s a number I saw either on this site or another blog. The number I called was for billing: 281-404-1551. I guess they will cancel it soon.
good luck.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Why am I being billed on my telephone bill for magic jack calls. Also, the quality of the phone line is so noisy I cannot hear the person I called. very well. I have tried many things to try to make it clear.
What can I do???
October 4th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
WOW! After reading all the above comments (yes it took some time ) I would have to say there is a little animosity out there! I mean sure they sold you a small jack that you plug into your pc and it doesn’t always (and sometimes…yes does) seem to work as it was designed, but, if you did not have the magic jack then what would you be paying in phone bills?
It has problems… and so did the first telephone! Do you think Mr. Bell put phones in over a million homes in less than a year, no, and if he did he would have had problems too! Why not relax… take a breath and realize that you asked for the magicjack and they delivered as promised, phone service for only 20 bucks a year.
New technology is always coming and always being slammed for not being “perfect” from the beginning. Give the Jack a little time to fix the problem and enjoy the 20 bucks a year for phone service that ma bell isn’t getting from you!
Yes I own a MagicJack, it does have its glitches, I will keep using it!
October 5th, 2008 at 12:33 am
I have had the Magic Jack for 6 months.
It’s great. No problems, except one week when my number showed up on the caller IDs of people I called with one digit wrong. Big deal. They fixed it.
As to the allegation that they charge your card before the 30 day period, sorry Dan, you’re wrong.
I paid by credit card, not debit card. My card was charged the very next day for the full amount. Not a hold. A charge..
October 6th, 2008 at 3:30 am
I received this item as a gift and luckily it was purchased from QVC. Probably not a good move on QVC’s part since their return rate on this items appears to be somewhat high. If this item doesn’t work out, I at least can have it returned to QVC and they will actually issue a refund. Good news also is that the company does not have any of my financial information so I at least have a year to try it before I would have to give them a credit card number for renewal.
Setting this up was a pain. I could get a dial tone, but only got a fast busy trying to dial out and an “all circuits busy” message when trying to dial in. I had the terrible long drawn out chat experience with customer service. Lucky me, I accidentally closed the chat box after an hour and a half or so.I could not get the device working on three computers and two different operating systems. These computers were all running off my router however and I thought enough to bypass the router and then the magicjack started working. I ended up re-flashing the firmware on my router and that is all taken care of now (modified third party firmware had been installed, so not surprised).
Had to also change my firewall software. Was having problems with Outpost just blocking things instead of asking and I was tired of fiddling with it so I just installed Zone Alarm and that works now too.
My usage for this device is pretty minimal. From what I read, there is no WAY I would replace a regular phone service with this. USB devices can be persnickety and the magicjack has certainly not proven its worth. I currently have a cell phone with really bad reception at my house, and a landline with no features at all. No long distance, no voicemail, no caller ID or anything. I have it because there is an alarm system wired into it and I like have a landline for 911 in a power outage situation if one ever occurred. So basically I use the magicjack for long distance calls without having to wait until 9PM when the cell phone evening time takes effect. Also I might find myself with a dead cell phone battery or sometimes I just get sick of having to hook it up to the 40 inch antenna I need just to get one bar.
The magicjack call quality can be quite choppy at times. From mild in and out to hard to understand. I personally have not experienced static or echoing. My internet is 1.5 mbps cable.
This device does slow down the computer..yes as one would expect to have when spyware is running. I do not see however any unusual ingoing and outgoing activity on the internet, but do see unusual spikes in CPU usage and slightly higher RAM usage when everything is idling. I haven’t looked too much into the sypware/adware allegation but I should run some scans with and without the device hooked up to see.
I unplug the magicjack when not in use and even if it were to be used regularly, it would probably be a good idea to plug it in after the initial computer startup.
This company reminds me of X-10. Back in the day if you recall X-10 was a ruthless ad spammer invading browsers everywhere. Their website is hyped up and infomercial cartoony and the whole thing looks like a scam. X-10 products are really not that terrible most of the time, they just have really bad software and poor support which causes a barrage of complaints. I have some X10 equipment I have been using successfully for years while others I have just given up on (like their USB device).
I guess my point is that it is too bad that potentially great technology has buried itself in poor development, poor business practices, poor customer support, and well I guess greed.