Comments on: Get a MagicJack for $29.99 (today only)

Get unlimited local and long-distance calling for one year when you buy the MagicJack. Each year after that costs just $20.

[nicelanding]

STAY AWAY from magicjack- it's phone service and customer service is beyond terrible!
April Fool's Day was yesterday, and "Magic"jack wants to fool you today with a sucker-you-in price!

It's service is so bad, you'll end up buying a backup cell phone or backup line anyway, so why put yourself thru the frustration? I've been a customer for a while now, and bought 2 years of their plan, and here's what you get: customer service and technical support refuses to provide you their address or phone number, their service goes down regularly, they lose voicemail, people calling you get circuits busy messages, customer support keeps spinning you around in circles instead of fixing issues, and they don't issue credits for downtime! Worst service ever...

Here's a copy of my last technical chat session with magicjack, for your reference.
BTW: several of my email transcripts were never sent to me, even though I requested them.

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Cheryl'
Cheryl: Hello, how may I help you?
me: What department are you in?
Cheryl: Customer service.
me: I call my line, and it says "all circuits busy..."
me: I can't reach my sick wife and baby!
me: it's not been working right all week, and my family member tell me they've also been getting the same message all week...
Cheryl: Thank you for bringing your issue with us.
Cheryl: I apologize for the inconvenience that cause you.
Cheryl: As of the moment we are having some issues regarding with your issue.
me: why are you saying "my issue"
me: what is the resolution timeframe, minutes, hours, days or weeks?
Cheryl: I am sorry for that, but I cannot tell the exact timeframe to when this issue be resolved.
Cheryl: Our engineers are working on this right now.
me: so, will I be reimbursed for your problem with denial of service?
Cheryl: We are doing now to resolved that issue.
Cheryl: We are doing some upgrades, our engineers are working to get them completed as fast as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.
me: Will you be reimburse me for the cost to switch to another provider or refund me my money spent in total?
Cheryl: We will be helping you get solved this after our system has fully upgraded.
Cheryl: Is there anything else I may help you with today?
me: I have been denied service by your company for over a week, and nobody in technical service has fixed your issues. Therefore, I need to switch providers. Can I speak to a supervisor?
me: I am sorry for that, our supervisor is not yet available.
me: What is the supervisors name, and when is the soonest he/she will be available?
Cheryl: I am sorry for that, we cannot provide you with supervisor this time.
Cheryl: Please try to understand.
me: AT this time is not an answer, it's a stalling tactic. When is the next supervisor available in minutes, hours or days?
me: must be a long message, I'm still waiting...
Cheryl: I understand your frustrations to this situation and I apologize for that. I would like you check back after 24 hours. This might help you get connected to those people you wished to talk to.
me: Cheryl, over a week ago, a supervisor was supposed to contact me in regard to technical support problems, and nobody ever did. That means I get bumped to next in line, right?
Cheryl: Im sorry to hear that. As much as I want to help you with this issue, I may not be able to do so because of the errors that had been occuring in the system for few days now.
me: Is there a supervisor you can talk to, and explain our situation to?
me: It's not like a couple of days, it's been since March 18th we've been waiting for a supervisor to contact us back- your tech PROMISED only a couple of day wait at most!
me: It is 10 days later now, and nobody contacted us...
Cheryl: I see. The supervisors will be having the record of this chat and they will update us what to do next time. I appreciate you for having the patience that a customer could ever have in this kind of situation.
me: Still doesn't solve your service not working, is there a supervisor I can reach right now or can they call me at Work, since my home phone doesn't work?
Cheryl: Okay. I would like to have your full name, email address and contact number please.
?
Cheryl: Im willing to help and walk you through all the troubleshooting steps but there are hindrance that keeps me from doing so and it's loosing connection to the server.
Cheryl: Thank you for the information, I will forward it to them and will do the actions for the issue.
me: Can you call ? and verify the "We're sorry, all-circuits are busy" message for me right now?
Cheryl: Let me check. One moment please.
me: what's the verdict?
Cheryl: One moment please. Still dialing.
Cheryl: Thank you for waiting. Still the same.
me: getting that message also?
?
me: I just called 20 seconds ago from Work, and I get "Network Busy"
me: It literally displays those words on my phone display!
Cheryl: Same issue on your magicjack number.
me: Now, I just called from my other work phone, a Sprint cell phone and I got "All Circuits Busy, IL0406"
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.
Your chat transcript will be sent to ? at the end of your chat.

So, in the end, the transcript was never sent to me via, they ended the chat on me without resolution, and now they are fishing for more victims... thanks "Magic"jack

[Dan Inventor]

Rick

Thanks for telling people to buy a magicjack.I am the inventor of the magicJack.

I want to clarify a few things in your comment above.We have the most responsive customer service in the industry.In order for the magicJack to work,just like this site of yours,you need Internet access.If your Internet is down,nothing else matters from a customer service standpoint.The purpose of doing customer service by Chat,which is supported by over 100 people and has an average wait time of seconds,is to make sure we can fix any issues right away.I do not want phone calls to fix someones elses problem,like Comcast or AT&T"s.I want to get these people going right away,hence they must be online.I am sure they are when they use Tech Chat.Our agents on average recieve the highest grades possible,or they are replaced.Who else grades their agents realtime by their customers?We do on every chat session....We will not reopen messages,and I will make sure their is no question about that.It is not productive for many reasons...I take and look at and respond to emails at [e-mail],who else does this in the industry?...When is the last time you called AT&T or Verizon,or Qwest?Go for it.Wait your 15 minutes on the phone and then tell me about shoddy customer service.You accept this level of customer service because all the carriers are that bad.They all stink.Do not believe everything you read.Try it yourself....Lastly ,we have been out about 70 days now,these are not growing pains(I signed up 70,000,000 customers to AOL Long Distance the first day and went on to service 4 million,without a glitch-this is not my first dance),they are competitors and Bell companys looking to take cheap shots and using Blogs to compete against the least expensive service ever heard about with the highest quality voice as written about by many in the industry.I recieved the JD Powers award in my last Business within 1 year of offering service.I will get it again.There is no choice for my company or my employeees,we must get it...Again,I thank you for your support and insight of seeing what a great value and service we provide.You don't have to believe me or you,you get a Free 30 day Trial at magicJack.com,again who else...

Dan Borislow The inventor

[jeddahgal]

A tissue of lies, poor spelling and punctuation...magicJack's customer service is not only lousy, it's DISHONEST . If this was indeed written by Mr. Boristow, he needs to go back to remedial English class. The fact that your company has no telephone customer service tells me and everyone else that you are second-rate, and that you know your customners' complaints would tie up your customer service lines doing nothing but listening to IRATE customers you have ripped off. If you have been ripped off by MagicJack, report them to the Better Business Bureau in the city in which they operate and also to their State Attorney's fraud division. Oh and by the way, Mr. Boristow, I will be sending you an email using the one listed in your comment about the fact that I was charged immediately for a 2-year contract and express shipping that I expressly told the operator taking my order I DID NOT WANT. I was then told it would take 7-10 working days to refund the money your company took out of my accouny without authorization. Dealing with your customer service was like dealing with an automaton, in fact at one point I even asked if I was dealing with a person or a computer. If your customer service is any indication of the quality of your product, I'm glad I cancelled my order for two magicJacks and am going with Vonage instead. I will report back in a few days to let people know how long it took you to get back to me and how long it took to get my money back. The clock is ticking....

[zmannyc2]

I can't confirm that this was indeed written by Mr. Borislow, however, I agree with everything he says. Face it folks, this is a $20 product, with a yearly service fee of the same. I'd bet that part of the reason MJ can sell its product so cheaply is BECASUE of low overhead, including customer service. You get a 30 day money back guarantee. It's too simple. If you don't like it, return it! You don't need to speak with someone to get an RMA. BTW, I've had MJ for only 3 days. It works as advertised, infact to me, it sounds better than my landline. My only gripe thus far is that, as far as I can tell, there is no warranty after 30 days. I'd at least expect to purchase a replacement at a reduced price if the first one fails within, say, 6-12 months. Also, I wouldn't sign up for 5 years of service since I'm not sure it will last 5 years. But, I hope it does! P.S. Do NOT rely on this as your only home phone, unless you get excellent cellphone service in your home.

[1saleaday]

BEWARE! 1saleaday may not be a legitimate company or have any relationship with magicJack. As I understand it, magicJack and any of their affiliates will not discount the sale price of magicJack. From reports online at resellerratings.com and other sources, 1saleaday.com is NOT reputable. This is fact and not a personal or defamatory attack. Actually, a simple call to the cell phone-based headquarters resulted in an unprofessional answer of "Hello!" and a worrisome response from the person when asked if he was 1saleaday. Though he responded affirmatively then adsked "How did you get my number?" and then silence on the line. I cannot find "1 Sale A Day LLC" in any records as a corporation in New York state. Time for an Attorney General investigation?

[rickbroida]

Thanks for the info! Perhaps Dan from MagicJack has some insight into this? Might be best to simply order directly from the company. Also, my apologies for the problem with line breaks in posts -- the powers that be are working on it.

[Kari Hernandez]

I work with magicJack and this special offer is not authorized by the company. The magicJacks they are offering may not be the latest version of the product. We would recommend going to www.magicjack.com to order yours - there is a 30 day trial period before you are billed for the device. Thank you!

[mossive]

Well I ordered the majic jack after hearing the ad on TV and your 30 day free trial is a hoax. Two days after placing my order my credit card was charged. Then after waiting over an hour to speak to a CSR, I was told that my order could not be found. When they finally located my order they said it was under someone else's name. The CSR then explained that my card was charged for a second year service even though I had explicitly declined this service when placing my order. Because of the frustrations experienced with your customer service which was very poor, I cancelled my order before even receiving the majic jack. I was very excited about the product when i heard about it but the lack of support and customer service is beyond horrific. The company also needs to stop the unethical practice of dipping into peoples accounts without autorization. I would rather foreit having the majic jack than have to call you people again.

[DFloridagirl]

I agree with nicelanding.... MAGICJACK is horrible... I used it briefly and become so frustrated after 2 weeks gave up and switched. Also I spent a bit more on it. Also I live in Canada and was a big user of Lingo; I know reside in Georgia :( (it's not so bad)... what is the best VoIP provider in the states? I am on www.wikicalls.com and they have a ton of deals, so any other coupons I can attach to their sales could really help out. Help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Daniel J
:)

[sirdouglascook]

MAGIC JACK ........ ROCKS
IF YOUR AS SMART AS BILL GATES,,, YOUR GOING TO BUY STOCK ON THIS ONE!
I received the magic jack and it didn't install when I disabled my Zone Alarm.
Because, I didn't really disable it properly; As a result, Zone Alarm wouldn't let me install anything.

So, I rebooted and with my Zone Alarm running and plugged in the Magic Jack
and after a couple of firewall questions my Magic Jack software installed
and prompted me with "Tech Chat," I clicked on the button.
And Instantly, I was connected to "Tech Chat" with a live person... get that "INSTANTLY"
I told Maria the following, hence a copy of chat;
====================================================================
Maria: Are you done with the upgrade?

Doug Cook: Oh, we arel allmost rebooted

Maria: Please disable any antivirus that may be running on your system and try again.

Maria: If you are behind a network/external firewall or router, please open the following ports: magicJack

Maria: uses ports UDP XXXX-XXXX, TCP XX and TCP XXX.

Doug Cook: Thats probable the issue...

Doug Cook: good work, Maria
====================================================================

I was working on my system; however, Maria still managed to read my scrambled
English and get the Magic Jack up and Running within minutes.

Dan Borislow, if your reading this and you want someone that is excited about
Magic Jack in London Ontario, to distribute, or support, or buy stock... please
search your data base for sirdouglascook@______.com and
give Doug Cook a CALL.

MAGIC JACK ........ ROCKS
IF YOUR AS SMART AS BILL GATES,,, YOUR GOING TO BUY STOCK ON THIS ONE!

===================================================================
When MS-Dos started, my best msdos game was hangman... and they started with like six nerds from a house.

I believe the the big companies have been ripping us off for years ,and like the music industry these phone companies have got so greedy that this Magic Jack is going to grow faster than any company has ever grown...
why because; we are "all" going to use this service.

Thank you,

Doug Cook

P.S. Dan call me... lets talk XXX-618-3008

[Robert3353]

MagicJack SUCKS it only works when you do their Magic Fix to your pc after running this though it basically destroys your internet connection. I can only speak with respect to Verizon Fios so do not know for sure if this will happen everywhere. I have a download speed of 20MB and an up speed of 5MB. After running MagicJacks MagicFix software my connection is severely impacted I get only a little more than 8MB down and a little over 1 up.
They were stupid enough to tell me in todays tech support chat session that they were aware of the problems but as far as I am concerned they should have informed their potential issues before they signed on. But I guess if they had no one in their right mind would buy their stuff. However I still feel strongly that they are guilty of FRAUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Rinoferoce]

I bought a MagicJack and experienced problem after problem with it since. First, it arrived 30 day later and never worked properly. Moreover, I have lost about 20 hours total chatting with them without any results. Secondly, they refused to replace it, even though they admit it is defective. Thirdly, they refuse to give me back my money.

If I can recommend 1 thing to everybody that reads this, it is to stay away from that company and its products.

[jrueter]

Would you sign up with a service with this statement in their user agreement: "You agree that magicJack, in its sole discretion, may immediately terminate this Agreement and your license to use the magicJack device and Software, without any refund."

[AnoelZ]

Now that comment by Dan (the Inventor) bothers me - no spaces between sentences, doesn't know how to spell 'receive', doesn't know the difference between 'there' and 'their. This from a co-owner of the company?

I don't know - I've read a mix of reactions online but way too many with negative experiences. My brother got it about a month ago and the quality was crystal clear initially - it degrades depending upon internet traffic. But then so does any VoiP.

GL!

[roadbusinessguy]

I completely agree, this thing is a piece of junk. The quality is sub-satisfactory from my personal experience on two units I purchased and am testing with. I also learned something alarming that caused me to pull the plug on this thing immediately. I was able to convince the morons at the MJ help desk to test contact one of my MJ's and they were able to tap my conversation and then break into my in-progress call and talk to me. I was also told that they use everyone's network connection to improve their services from the moment you connect your MJ. After several legal threats I made, the person on the phone finally gave up and told me that there are many background services that run on your desktop/laptop that you are not made aware of. There are a very few web sites around that will help you remove all the MJ illegal hooks from your laptop/desktop, but you have to find them. DO NOT USE MAGIC JACK, things are not what they appear to be and it is definitely NOT SAFE.

BTW, if you have ever tried to dial into a voice bridge, or number that then asks you for a password before you can join your party, you will find that this does not work as advertised. Nobody knows how to fix this, it appears to be a defect in the shotty MJ circuitry which is another reason that this is a waste of your money and time. Some of the people that have been commenting here are correct, the voice quality is sometimes good, but it is never ok for their tech support to be able to listen to anyones conversations such as they are able to do now. Buyer be aware, this is garbage.

[cats2287]

Magic JAck is junk -- AGREED. I returned mine 6 days after receiving it. And now, 63 days later, I still can't get my money back.. BEWARE! it is NOT a FREE trial...they take the money and run! I just had my 6th "chat" with them...and once again they say "please wait 3 more business days" . I might as well KISS that money good bye!
DON'T BUY INTO THEIR LIES!

[jeddahgal]

STAY AWAY FROM MAGICJACK!!!!! Their infomercial is a scam. I ordered two recently when the promotion stated nothing would be charged to the acct for the trial period and they proceeded to immediately charge my card for a 2 year plan and express shipping I TOLD THEM DURING THE ORDER PROCESS I DID NOT WANT. They then told me they would not be able to refund my money for 10 business days. They have no phone customer service...what does that tell you about the company? These people are scammers. STAY AWAY STAY AWAY STAY AWAY. Go with Vonage, I'm going to...it's a monthly charge but it actually works and they have good customer service.

[jeddahgal]

By the way, I sent an email to Dan Boristow asking for my money back and, of course, have heard nothing from him or Magic Jack's customer service. It took me HOURS to get the website to generate an RMA for the two units I ordered and be warned, when it does finally allow you to generate one, it says you have only two weeks to return the unit for a refund. What a crappy company...I wonder what the previous business was that he was involved in that he claims won an award for service...I notice he does not identify it by name in his response above. I will keep you posted on whether or not I hear from this snake oil salesman or not.

[kannuc]

I've been with MagicJack for six months and it is now my sole phone service. Works great, the savings are fantastic, and I can't understand why anybody would deal with the land line telephone companies who are a giant rip-off

[ArmyMajor]

magicJack is a fraud and I turned it in to the United States Department of Justice. They claim they offer a 30 day free tiral. I clicked on it and they charged my credit card that very day and denied my 30 day free trial. Tested it, the people I called could barely hear me and it would drop the call within the first 3 minutes. Spent 12 and half hours through their tech support and they never resolved the issue. Just kept saying reboot the modem which I did 14 times that day. Asked for a refund and instead was told it was being sent to a higher department and refused the refund. Checked the website at http://www.bbb,org and after I typed it in, saw where bbb gave them an F rating due to numerous complaints. Since they charged me $300.00 for the crap, went to the following website, http://www.ic3.gov/ and let them know I saved all receipts, documents to include the chat and where they denied the refund. Buyer must be careful.

[elwooddowd]

I am in Canada and I was bought this item as a gift and I set it up in less the 5 minutes and have absolutely no issues at all.

For all of those debating the purchase I would highly suggest it. Even if you do not take only one persons opinion such as myself they do have 30 day money back policy, so really there's nothing to lose.

I should say I do know one other person that had it and did not run but it was a driver issue and fixed by a simple update. I have read these comments as well as I have looked through numerous other reviews on other sites and so far (to my knowledge) it seems like everyone that is having issues has switched from another phone company or had an existing internet phone line before hooking up Magic Jack.....

Is it possible there was compatibility or driver issues from the previous software?

Either way worth checking out for the $$$$$ savings alone.

[bigcmfic]

magic jack's 30 day warranty is useless- they dont send any manual with the product, and you do what they tell you to - to hook it up- and you "assume" its working, and they say nothing about using it with a router... well how can anyone know it has worked until AFTER they get their phone bill and see that there are no fees for their long distance calls?

TWICE I have dealt with their "beat around the bush and side step the issue" customer service who say they are located in florida,m and yet no one there speaks proper English like the rest of us from anywhere in the USA would speak...

I just got my phone bill #2 after being told it was all preoperly installed a SECOND month- and saw AGAIN that NOT ONE of my LD Calls were free! I ended up with 2 months of long distance calls totalling $150+ dollars! Their ad states "NEVER pay for another call" right???? Well, I am going to go to my local TV News Channel that does follow ups on these situations- and I am going to ask my papaer to investigate, and I will SUE the company for FRAUD if they do NOT respomnd top me and PAY for all the GUARANTEED FREE CALLS I got charged for in ful !

Everything you read here about their customer service ebing a joke is TRUE!
Their reps do not listen and sideskirt the issues at hand when you are trying to get some resoluation! Feel free to conta ct me at [e-mail] or [e-mail] if you have any questions, I am truly a very very dissatisfied customer, and NONE of the people I talk to will buy this NON-magic jack!

Cyn

[bigcmfic]

i WROTE DIRECTLY TO DAN- THE INVENTOR- AND HIS LEAD TECH GUY CALLED ME, AND THE PROBLEM WAS CURED IN A MATTER OF SECONDS- I TOLD HIM THEY NEED TO SIMPLY ENCLOSE A SIMPLE PEICE OF PAPAER WITH THE MAGICJACK- ONE SIDE SHOWS YOU HOW TO JUST PLUG IN THE MAGIC JACK TO YOUR PHONE AND YOUR COMPUTER AND START TALKING- THE OTHER SIDE WOULD SHOW THAT IF YOU HAVE A ROUTER AND A MODEM LIKE I DO- THAT YOU MUIST HOOK A SECOND PHONE TO ANOTHER OPEN PORT IN THE BACK OF THE COMPUTER WITH THE MAGIC JACK. NOW THAT ITS CORRECTLY HOOKED UP, THE DEVICE WORKS QUITE WELL. AND THEY DID CREDIT ME FOR THE 1ST TWO YEARS OF SERVICE FREE IN SOME SORT OF ATTEMPT TO MAKE UP FOR THE HUNDREDS i SPENT IN LONG DISTANCE CALLS THAT DIDN'T GO THRU MY MAGIC JACK. IF THEY WOULD HAVE ONLY INCLUDED THOSE SIMPLE DIRECTIONS, ALL MY AGRIVATION COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED AND I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN SUCH DEBT WITH MY PHONE COMPANY. I AM OU THE MONEY FOR ALL THE CALLS I MADE WHEN I WAS TOLD THE DEVICE WAS PROPERLY HOOKED UP- BECAUSE IT WASN'T, AND THATS WHERE MY BEEF IS- THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ON THE NET IS STILL BEING DONE ONLINE BY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT TRUE ENGLISH SPEAKING PWEOPLE AS YOU WOULD EXPECT IF THEY WERE BORN IN THE usa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[R Mauzy]

Magic Jack, what a mess, nothing but dropped calls. Want a real nightmare, try returning it for a refund within a week of receiving it. So far has been impossible.

[Warren0007]

MagicJack - What a nightmare - I ordered two Magicjacks, one for a primary line and a second for a fax line. A few days later they arrived. I plugged them into my computer USB ports and only one worked. A whole day of working with their Live Chat folks I was informed that you need a separate computer for each MagicJack. Why didn't they disclose that a separate computer is needed for each MagicJack? Isn't that kind of a RIP-OFF? You would think that they would be smart enough to engineer a way for one computer to handle multiple MagicJacks. Don't they realize this would be a major benefit to them and to small businesses.

[andre-florida332]

Here is the answers to everyone's magicJack problems.
1) If you are having problems with the product download the new driver off the magicJack website. That will solve 99% of your problems.
2) Customer Support: Put yourself in the owner's shoes. For $20 per year for the telephone service what kind of customer support can they afford. Would you be willing to kick in an extra $20 per year to pay someone to sit around and fix your problems. Most people say that is double the price, but still a tenth of a percent of the price of Vonage.

This product is history in the making and always evolving. When the Model T car first came out I am sure there were plenty of problems but look where we are now.

Think about the whole picture.