Silence. That's what SunRocket subscribers heard through their phones on Monday.
SunRocket is a VoIP service provider, that suddenly left some 200,000 customers with no phone service. No warning was issued to subscribers even though many had already paid for a full year’s service. Calls in progress were simply dropped, receivers left with no dial tone as SunRocket pulled off a telecom version of a David Blaine disappearing act.
There were murmurs on the web about troubles at SunRocket. A majority of SunRocket staff was laid off on Friday, July 13th, and were apparently told the company was being sold. Without any warning, the remaining SunRocket employees were welcomed back the following Monday to find their employer closed for business.
Today, the only word you’ll get out of SunRocket is a recording on its 1-800 line: “We are no longer taking customer service or sales calls.” Since the company isn't answering the calls of their subscribers, the chances of a refund without a costly court battle are slim.
SunRocket’s website still shows no sign the company has ascended into the dial tone in the sky. The Member Bill of Rights can still be found in the website’s About Us section that includes these words:
Dignity & Respect: You will be treated with the utmost dignity and respect in all dealings with SunRocket and company personnel.
SunRocket's promises are apparently not worth the HTML they're printed on.
Vonage Takes Advantage
Vonage, a competing VoIP provider is providing some relief with an offer of two months of free service for stranded SunRocket customers left out in the cold. But will they risk being burned again by another VoIP provider?
