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Sunrocket bankrupt and royally screws customers

Jul 17th, 2007 by JackPo

Sunrocket (my VoIP service provider) quietly called it quits yesterday. Normally, a company going bankrupt will already greatly inconvenience their customers. Sunrocket’s exit however, just absolutely takes the cake.

lisa-hook1.jpg

The CEO Lisa Hook, who only got the job less than 16 months ago, suddenly resigned last Friday. Without notifying any of Sunrocket’s subscribers or employees, she disconnected all services and laid all the employees off. Now thinking back, what did I really expect from an ex-”AOL broadband” executive. You can read the NYTimes’ perspective on the matter here:

Internet Phone Company Halts Operations

By MATT RICHTEL
Published: July 17, 2007

SunRocket, one of the largest start-up companies offering Internet phone service, has ceased operation and is moving its customers to one or more other companies, a person briefed on its status said yesterday.

A message on SunRocket’s customer service line said the company was “no longer taking customer service or sales calls.” Executives of SunRocket, which is based in Vienna, Va., and had 200,000 subscribers as of April, could not be reached for comment.

—

The internet of course, is up in arms about what to do. If you are among the unfortunate Sunrocket subscriber base, contact your credit card company immediately and file a dispute.

Also, a member of slickdeals, y_2032, has suggested that Sunrocket violated FCC rules when they disconnected members’ services without prior notice. You can file a complaint against the CEO here:

I AM MORE CONCERNED THAT WE THE CUSTOMERS HAVE RECEIVED NO SHUTDOWN NOTICE.

I HAVE CONTACTED THE FCC WHO CLAIMS THAT THERE IS A REGULATION REQUIRING SHUTDOWN NOTICE. THE SUGGESTED THAT EVERYONE FILE A COMPLAINT. PLEASE CALL THE FCC AT:

Phone: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322)
Fax: 1-866-418-0232
E-mail: fccinfo@fcc.gov

also submit an online complaint at:

http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm

as this lack of notification should NEVER happen again.

You can also unlock your current gizmo using one of these username / passwords:

  • User:Admin || Password:7UprUtew
  • Password: s.M

Tags: ,

Posted in Fraud

  • MikeA
    Looks like some charachters were left out making the last section hard to understand. Here is the last seciton of my previous post:

    ***

    To use the issue above as a sample message body to the FCC, I suggest the following changes…

    Change #1: Since your company did not warn… [should now read] Since SunRocket did not warn…

    Change #2: …will I expect a refund on my annual subscription that I have not used to date? [should now read] …I expected SunRocket to refund the portion of my annual subscription that I have not used to date.

    Change #3: …what I paid for, I should be due… [should now read] …what I paid for, I was defrauded by SunRocket in the amount of…

    Change #4: When will I have this money refunded to me? [should now read] Will I be able to make a claim against SunRocket in the amount that I have been fraudulently charged?

    Lets get the SunRocket Executives. Lets also make sure that somehting like this can never happen again.

    -MikeA - Former SunRocket Customer since DEC-2005.
  • MikeA
    Folks... Lots of comments here, so I will try to be brief but helpful.

    #1 Lots of very good advice here. Make the complaints to the FCC and lets try to get Lisa Hook, Brian Lustig and company behind bars if possible.

    #2. On top of the above item, I think that our trust was betrayed and personal information was illegally sold to various partners without our consent - another reason why they should be jailed.

    #3. Teleblend may or may not be the new "SunRocket" but getting to them may or may not be the answer. I am not as concerned about the money, but the situation I was left in. My hope is that in the future a bill will be passed and there will not be any issues with telephone service in the future.

    ATTACK PLAN. Your accounts are still active at SunRocket and you can get enough information from there to add to your FCC complaint. Here is what you should do to begin your evidence collection.

    Step 0 - Download a printer driver that will convert a document into a PDF. WWW.PRIMOPDF.COM tool is free and pretty nifty to use.

    Step 1 - Log in to your SunRocket Account if you remember the Password (Click the "Member Link" item above the SunRocket Logo).

    Step 2 - Set your printing page on Internet Explorer (or other web browser) to have all margins set at 0.25 inches

    Step 3 - Print the page into a PDF File on your screen called AccountDetails.pdf

    Step 4 - Click on the "My Account" link. This takes you to the Account Overview sub-menu. Print this page into a PDF File called AccountOverview.pdf

    Step 5 - Click on the "Member Profile" sub-menu link and print the page into a PDF File on your screen called MemberProfile.pdf

    Step 6 - Click on the "Plan Information" sub-menu link and print the page into a PDF File on your screen called PlanInformation.pdf

    Step 7 - Take the Plan Information data and calculate how many days of service you actually had, include the start date and use 16-JUL-2007 as the end of service date. This can later be used to calculate how much service you actually paid for. I will use my own personal example to help out - as I actually logged this as an issue on their website before opening new issues were still possible. Note items in these brackets {} indicate an alteration or note to those reading the issue below...

    -----
    -----
    Since your company did not warn any of its customers about a complete and possibly permanent loss of service, will I expect a refund on my annual subscription that I have not used to date? I re-signed up and paid for a promotional 2nd year free plan which went into effect on December 25, 2006. On July 16th, our service was cut off - which is only 6.5 months into the annual agreement.

    As such, I feel as though my calculations are correct in this matter...

    Fact 1: Before taxes, I paid $199 {Payment} for what was to effectively be 731 {Service} days of service, expected to end on December 25, 2008 (including the leap year day for Feb, 29, 2008).

    Fact 2: I received 204 {ActualService} days of service with the last day of noticeable service dated as July 16, 2007.

    Mathematical Fact: Based on what I received versus what I paid for, I should be due $143.46, plus applicable taxes and fees I have pre-paid for service.

    When will I have this money refunded to me?

    Please contact me on my Email account on file at {removed for privacy} AND my cell phone at {removed for privacy}. Thank you.
    -----
    -----

    Calculate the mathematical fact regarding how much you are owed by SunRocket with this formula...

    Step A: OwedService = Service - ActualService

    Step B: Refund = Payment * OwedService / Service

    To use the issue above as a sample message body to the FCC, I suggest the following changes...

    Change #1: Since your company did not warn... Since SunRocket did not warn...

    Change #2: ...will I expect a refund on my annual subscription that I have not used to date? ...I expected SunRocket to refund the portion of my annual subscription that I have not used to date.


    Change #3: ...what I paid for, I should be due... ...what I paid for, I was defrauded by SunRocket in the amount of...

    Change #4: When will I have this money refunded to me? Will I be able to make a claim against SunRocket in the amount that I have been fraudulently charged?

    Lets get the SunRocket Executives. Lets also make sure that somehting like this can never happen again.

    -MikeA - Former SunRocket Customer since DEC-2005.
  • All VoIP is not the same! For those of you who want to save money on phone service and at the same time have great service, I would suggest signing up with Fonelogic. They are a great company and their customer service beats any other! For $24.95 a month you get unlimited calls with a ton of features, and for those of you who call international, they have a plan that includes unlimited calls in the US & Canada plus 38 FREE countries for only $29.95! They are currently signing up a lot of SunRocket customers and are able to port numbers also. Their number is 800-560-7535. Their website is www.fonelogic.com. I've had them for 3 years now and I love it! Just about everyone I know switched to them, and they are all happy customers! Most switched from "V". I can not complain! they have a 30 day money back guarantee, and there is no contract or disconnect charge. I can't believe I am reading all these comments about how bad VoIP is and the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to save money. You do not sacrifice anything with Fonelogic. Check them out, you will NOT be disappointed!
  • Angela Lee
    I have found a lawyer who is looking into the feasibility of filing a class action lawsuit. If you would like updates, you can email me at MuswellHillUK@aol.com
  • Pete
    Folks, I tried to switch my sunrocket to another company. I chosed NUVIO.com, but their tech support couldn't even help me unlock the sunrocket device... I had to cancel my order, thought you don't need to go through the bad experience I had with NUVIO.
  • Hmmm
    Other than the moral implications of leaving customers high and dry, out of money, disconnecting phone service can be dangerous especially if the phone service were to be disconnected for the elderly and infirm. What if someone were to die from not being able to call for help?
  • Nicole
    CAN I SAY CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW WE PROCEED WITH THIS... I ALSO PAID FOR THE ANNUAL PLAN AND OUT OF MONEY AND OUT OF SERVICE. THIS IS CRAP. SO MUCH FOR TRUSTING ANYONE THESE DAYS. I WILL NEVER PREPAY ANYTHING EVER AGAIN.
  • Lisa
    Don't be so hard on Lisa, she is sorry. See

    http://sunrocket.blogspot.com
  • amit
    if you prepaid like me call your credit card company and they will prorate it...so you can at least get some money back...sunrocket sucks!
  • Tejas
    what should i do to get my moneyback from Sunrocket, I dont want to go for anyother service providers
  • Paul
    I sent this to all my elected officals, the FBI, attorney generals, FCC, and consumeraffairs.com requesting a criminal investigation:

    SunRocket of Vienna,VA (Lisa Hook, CEO), the second largest voice-over-internet protocol (VOIP) provider, abruptly without any notice ceased all business on 16 July 2007. They ceased all activity, closed all offices, and did not answer any phones sometime Monday 16 July and left some 200,000 pre-paid customers without service or a words notice. I was one who still had 9 months of service left on my pre-paid contract. My home phone service abruptly halted without any notice or time to transfer and was out for over 4 days. My account number was , phone number .

    I believe a criminal investigation needs to be opened. With over 200,000 customers who, like myself, pre-paid for their service, conservatively speaking SunRocket had over $20,000,000 (twenty million dollars) in its hands that has not been accounted for. SunRocket was solicting new customers and taking contract renewals right up to the day it abruptly closed. There are reports out there that just before SunRocket closed, people were charged on their credit cards multiple times. By all defintions, this is fraud and it needs investigated. Sun Rocket did not just wake up Monday morning and decide to go on a permanent vacation. Somebody inside knew something.

    In May 2006, the CEO Lisa Hook is quoted as saying about SunRocket "It's on target to be profitable."

    It is widely reported that most the top executives bailed out about a month prior. To this date, the company has still not communicated with its customers. An investigation needs to take place to determine who knew what, when.

    As of this time, there are over 400 news articles written on this shutdown - none nice. Feels like an ENRON situation, telling everyone we are fine and drowning in red ink.
  • Waves
    What the suck? This is bullshit!! I prepaid for a whole year of service. I will hunt the CEO down & kick her ass!!

    Waves
  • Why do you need to do all that to unlock the gizmo? Just disconnect the damn thing.
  • Duane
    I was lucky. I had a 15 month subscription, and they billed me after 12 months. I challenged it on my credit card, got an uncontested credit this month and was in the process of porting my phone number to a new VoIP. Notified the new VoIP provider, and they are trying to expedite the porting with this development.
  • vikram
    i paid my money thru debit card........do i get a claim if i file a dispute against the company
  • Mike
    http://www.sunrocketcustomers.com/ has some helpful information on what current customers should do. It's worth a look.
  • DesiJogi
    I just filled a claim with Chase bank and got partial refund of the services not provided by SunRocket. Will have to wait and see if they revert it back in the future. SunRocket SUCKS!!!!
  • Dup
    Does anybody know anything about BroadVoice.com? I've used them for my business and found them to be reliable and the prices are the best I've found for VoIP. I think I am switching over to them for my home now that SunRocket is no longer working for me. Any comments?
  • Sangita
    will i get my money back if i had the annual plan?
    What does unlocking the gizmo do
  • Manila
    HO man!, they charged for whole year,
    do know they going to move to new compnay or going to return the money
  • Joe
    Here is a step-by-step guide: http://www.recipedelights.com/sunrocket.htm
  • Kirsten
    How do you unlock the gizmo?
  • kevin
    I wanted to mention a helpful free directory service for all Sunrocket users. People are able to find you via your old Sunrocket phone number in the event that you can not transfer it. The website is called www.lookmeup.org
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