Unfortunately Leaving Voom...

[concertman]

Hey all, After joining a few months ago I must regretfully leave Voom on a matter of principle. Please know that I am not bashing the service but because of specific business practices I do not agree with I can no longer support this company. Let me state my case below.

For the past few months every time Voom would bill me they would hit my checking account for twice the amount billed. When I called the company they said that this is to protect the service to make sure that the funds were available. After 7 days half of the amount would drop off and not be charged. But for 7 days they would highjack an extra $53 dollars out of my account. This is money that was not theirs to begin with but they did so anyway.

The Voom CSR said that if I wanted to use a traditional credit card then i would not be double billed like that. I then responded that I should not be penalized for paying cash or with real money instead of credit.

I am considering reporting this business practice to the BBB but am not sure what good it would do. It's just frustrating when you are already on somewhat limited funds and a large company takes advantage of you to "protect their investment".

I truly hope you all have good experience with Voom and continue to be happy customers but as of 3pm today I am no longer a Voom customer.

Good Luck to you all!

Peace
Jarod McBride
Kansas City, MO

 

[txcruiser]

I Know NO COMPANY IS PERFECT...

But yet another VOOM shady accounting practice... who would have guessed??

 

[TheTimm]

Hey, Concertman -- keep an eye on that checking account. Voom has an unfortunate habit of continuing to take money even after cancellation.

 

[Sean Mota]

Not to say that you are wrong because I understand what you are saying but a Debit Card transaction is treated quite differently than a credit card. This is why they ask for a credit card when new customers sign up but they have no way of telling if it is a debit card you are using. If it was a credit card you were using the transaction would have been handle differently and this "double billing" (which it looks like double billing from your checking account, but it is not) does not happen when a credit card is used.

I spoke to someone at billing and the "double billing" does not happen and they do not collect interest on it. There is a holding period becuase the transaction is done this way. Maybe I am wrong but this is what I was told.

 

[Ilya]

When you rent a car they do the same thing: reserve higher amount, than they actually charge. That's why using credit cards is preferable.

 

[1080iBeVuMin]

Didn't you know? If you cancel Voom, it is a wise precaution to close your checking account! LOL

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Somebody suggested awhile back to cancel your credit card as a precaution if you quit Voom.

Kidding aside, I'm sorry you feel you got burned. But good luck! I hope Voom gets their billing practices straightened out. Knock on wood, but everything has been fine with me.

 

[Ron61250]

I get hit twice as well and use only a traditional credit card. Ron

 

[Sean Mota]

I get hit twice as well and use only a traditional credit card. Ron

How many times did it happen?

What the original poster stated was that this is happening every month with a Debit Card. With a credit card it does not work like this. Yes, there is the possibility of being billed twice but it also happens that there were some customers who were never billed for a month and then hit twice in the credit card.

 

[TheTimm]

Didn't you know? If you cancel Voom, it is a wise precaution to close your checking account! LOL

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Somebody suggested awhile back to cancel your credit card as a precaution if you quit Voom.

I stand by my suggestion to change the account number on any account for which Voom has the information. Concertman certainly won't be "LOL" if they take money from his checking account when he is no longer a customer -- and is it really unthinkable that Voom would do this? I'd expect it and take any precautions I could to prevent it, especially with an actual bank account -- probably not as simple as just contesting a CC charge when they take your actual money.

I wish you good luck, Concertman . . . but do not trust Voom. They will keep taking your money if you let them. They've done it over and over and over and . . .

 

[Madtown HD Junkie]

Yah welcome to the club. After I cancelled I got my a credit reversed, charged for a full month, billed for a month, called and asked why when I always pd faithfully on-time it would take 4-6 weeks to see a credit. Was told I would get a call back from a "manager" within the hour...that was 3 days ago.

The debit thing is also crazy as I use my debit card for cable modem, electric service, gas service, water bill, and telephone and they seems to be able to only have to charge me once. Voom's accounting is the worst I have seen and they should be penalized for it.

Their Product might be good but the rest sucks.

 

[concertman]

Not to say that you are wrong because I understand what you are saying but a Debit Card transaction is treated quite differently than a credit card. This is why they ask for a credit card when new customers sign up but they have no way of telling if it is a debit card you are using. If it was a credit card you were using the transaction would have been handle differently and this "double billing" (which it looks like double billing from your checking account, but it is not) does not happen when a credit card is used.

I spoke to someone at billing and the "double billing" does not happen and they do not collect interest on it. There is a holding period becuase the transaction is done this way. Maybe I am wrong but this is what I was told.

Sean,

Yes they say they did not with a regular credit card but do with a debit card which when they send a hit to my bank the bank pulls that money from my available funds and therefore is unavailable for me to use.

Even if Voom doesn't actually collect that money they do send a double hit to my account which my bank sees as a request for payment (along with any other bank). This is Voom's fault and not my bank's I'm trying to be civil about this but this kind of account practice is completely unacceptable. Please do not try and defend Voom's practice to me because it will fall on deaf ears.

I was really happy with the HD service they provide but taking twice the amount they are allow is unacceptable. If you would like to pay for my Voom service I would love to have it back though.

Thanks
Jarod

 

[DobyMax]

I agree with you totally concertman. I think a call to the BBB is in order.

 

[concertman]

I guess cash is no longer King. Call me unamerican but I only pay for things I can afford and I pay all my bills in cash (debit card). To be penalized for paying in cash is absurd.

Even the CSR I talked to agreed that this practice was absurd.

My money is mine and for any company to put a hold on my money is unacceptable. Sean you have helped me decide to report this to the BBB. Rainbow Satellite aka Voom already has an unacceptable status with the BBB because of multiple unresolved customer issues.

I hope Voom gets their accounting figured out and up to the same level as their service.

 

[Sean Mota]

Please do not try and defend Voom's practice to me because it will fall on deaf ears.

I was really happy with the HD service they provide but taking twice the amount they are allow is unacceptable. If you would like to pay for my Voom service I would love to have it back though.

Thanks
Jarod

You missed my point as I was not trying to defend VOOM at all. I find it unacceptable as well but I was trying to tell you what happened and difference between the debit card and the credit card handling of charges. No, I have enough billing for entertainment as well to pick someone else. Good luck.

 

[wasch_24]

It is rediculous that debit/check cards with a Visa logo are treated differently than regular credit cards but it is just a fact of life. My XM does it, Voom does it, hotels do it, and rental car companies do it too. If it is a huge issue that is impacting your accessability of your finds you might want to reconsider your monthly budget and/or spending habits. I realize that a lot of people have their checks deposited into a savings account and then transfer what is needed for bills into their checking account. If this is your practice then you have to realize that pre-drafting is a fact of life and prepare for it. It really does suck that this kind of crap happens and I totally respect Concertman's decision. Personnally, I don't let my principles get in the way when it comes to HD programming. I just deal with it as a fact of life.

 

[barth2k]

I don't know why the vendors should give you grief for using a debit card. Isn't it all the same to them?

 

[wasch_24]

I think that they do it because the money has to actually be in the bank account in order for a draft on a debit/check card to be processed. That is why the do a pre-draft to check the availability of the funds. With a standard credit card the credit card company gives them the money directly. Then it is the credit card companies problem actually collecting payment form the consumer. Actually, most credit card companies are more than happy to issue funds even if it will put the account over it's limit because then they can collect extra fees and justify an interest rate hike.

 

[Tony007]

I just subscribed to VOOM last week and perhaps they have made a revision in their billing policies. They would NOT let me use a debit card to pay the bill. It had to be a regular VISA/MC or no dice...

 

[wasch_24]

I just subscribed to VOOM last week and perhaps they have made a revision in their billing policies. They would NOT let me use a debit card to pay the bill. It had to be a regular VISA/MC or no dice...

That has been their policy all along. If you fail to mention that your Visa is a check/debit card during activation they won't know the difference until you call and complain about the pre-drafts.