A year ago or so I got a VOIP SIP number via the then new service VOIPBUSTER

I used that number just like I use skype for calling out and getting called – and it was the “local” number here. Being printed in Businesscards, email footers, websites, etc.

What I love about having a VOIP number for business is that I can take it with me – just as I do with my email and my efax.

Then months ago that service was obviously sold from the then swiss operations company to that weird german company called “BetaMax Gmbh & Co. KG”

Then they simply disabled the VOIP number – Without notice to the subsribers. I even paid them a few days before for more credit.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

This service is now also known under tons of other different names and sites like internetcalls, voipcheap, voipstunt, freecall, sparvoip as they seem to be duplicating their product sales site under different terms and domains to spam the search engines with them (see below for a bigger, probably not full list)

Well, as you can judge from the service disabling, search engine spamming, it seems the take over wasn’t all good – so I thought let’s call them up and get them at least re-establish my number that I got on 2000+ business cards out there…

All I heard was a voice message saying that I shall call the number on the website I got the service from (which I did) and fill out their simple web form to get called back…

right – for example calling 123 I heard “please call 123…”

Well – I’m now unreachable on MY number that I paid for and I even called up the local Telco provider “Austrian Telekom” as well as a second provider Inode and both said that take over of that business number would only be possible if the company (BetaMax Gmbh) would be cooperative and agree to that take over.

Now what do you except from a company that

• disabled their subscriber lines that are in good credit without notice
• doesn’t have a human person answering the phone, especially with 1000s of customers

• tell you on their voice message that you shall call the number that you just called … are they nuts?

I tell you – this is big term SCAM – Betrug – Abzocke – plain and simple.

A friend today who also used to use VOIPBuster by BetaMax Gmbh & Co. Kg told me

Well – and that’s what everyone will do… or already did? Am I the last one leaving the sinking boat?

But still – I don’t get it… how much ignorance must one have to buy a company with subscribers – an established brand, an established customer base to just waste it with such a crappy service? with such an offense?

LOL – that’s what I call marketing experts, I would love to hire such “experts” for consulting my competitors.

—-cut——

This was another lesson in the “how to not operate a business” lessons… we can learn a lot from negative examples.. unfortunately (or is it a fortune?) there are still so many out there…

ps: if you try to research a bit about these companies and services you read about FBI investigations, increased rates (prev. free calls to USA), etc.etc.etc…. seems like a long history of bad consumer experiences and maybe even fraud…

PPS: here’s the full list

internetcalls.com

netappel.com

poivy.com

sparvoip.de

voipbuster.com

voipcheap.com

voipcheap.co.uk

voipdiscount.com

voipstunt.com

freecall.com