Reza, I understand where you're coming from but for me this is like when somebody asks for a reference and you can't give it because the person was useless. People come and ask TAUG who they would recommend, so if you've had a good experience with a company you put their name forth, if that happens to be any company but Unlimitel we can all read between the lines . To drag a person through the mud is bad enough but one who is a regular reader/contributor is just bad form in my opinion, this should have been discussed off board. I know I'm a lurker and read more than I post, just my 2 cents.
From: Reza - Asterisk Consultant [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 12:43 AM To: asterisk biz Subject: Re: [biz] Unlimitel Dear Mark (and readers): As a TAUG promoter, TAUG evangelist, and someone who has contributed for the benefit of TAUG and bringing/inviting over 100+ of my clients and students to TAUG from different avenues of expertise, including but not limited to promoting TAUG in major career fairs and providing Asterisk training (while representing TAUG) at international venues world wide over the past several years -- without prejudice, I have to interject here and say that this **is** also the place to bring forth concerns against carriers or service providers (not just recommendations) - for the benefit of everyone else, no matter how bitter it may sound. Yes, the thread is ugly and though it may sound like a pissing contest (as per your words) - it needs to be heard by those who are considering VoIP services or have voip services from Unlimitel. I'm not going to speak for Keith, Alex, Bruce or Chuck -- though they are my friends, business associates and also competitors for the past several years. I am going to speak for myself about my experience with Unlimitel and readers may interpret this as they see fit. No doubt, Alex isn't happy, Keith, Bruce and Chuck are being diplomatic, but I'm going to be very blunt. On October 1st, 2009, 10:51 AM - I wrote to Stephan; " I got my own PRI's and have my own capacity now, and marketing to Toronto based SMB & SOHO. I need to port out 2 of my numbers. One is my home number and the other is my business number. 416-xxx-xxxx and 416-xxx-xxxx. Nothing personal - just that I need more control over these numbers. The 3rd number I have, I want to keep with you. Please advise which company holds the PRI for my number and the main BTN - in order to ensure my port out request goes smoothly. " Same day at 11:11 AM, I got a reply from him, " You will need to port out all your number as we will now close your account. In your port request just specify Bell as the carrier and Unlimitel as the reseller. Use your billing information you have with Unlimitel in your request. Bell will check your account status with our database to accept or reject the LNP request. This is your 30 days notice that we will be closing your account on November 1st 2009 and we will refund any balance from your prepaid account on that date. I checked your usage for the last 2 months and you used less than $6 in minutes. So we can't keep your account with us with such low revenues. " I have referred customers to Unlimitel over the past several years and had them purchase their own accounts with their own credit card for termination and origination. For each of these referrals, I had been offering Asterisk hosting solutions. Each of them are light users with an average of 200-300 minutes per month. So I knew Unlimitel's excuse to terminate me as a client was... well... (fill in the blanks). I would caution you twice before you do business with Unlimitel. Was I upset and am I upset at Unlimitel? Absolutely! Anyone would be. I assure you, and I promise you - I am **not** the only person Unlimitel has fired as a client. This entire SNAFU could have easily been avoided by Unlimitel if they exercised a little more customer friendly professional approach with elegant courtesy, reasonable time line, and/or parting away under good terms. As per your quote, " besides if you have nothing good to say, why say it, this is supposed to be a community helping each other " -- You say it, so your fellow community members are cautioned about the true nature of certain business owners and you say it, because you believe that is the right thing to do. I commend Alex and Keith for taking the stand in addressing their concerns openly and boldly. With no regrets, Reza. On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 4:36 PM, Mark Palser <[email protected]> wrote: Take this off board, really isn't the proper venue, besides if you have nothing good to say, why say it, this is supposed to be a community helping each other, not a place to have a pissing match. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Confidentiality Note This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. 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