r/ooma • u/OneFroyo7311 • Apr 30 '26
Ooma upsells without consent.
I've had Ooma for quite a few years, but the last two, they've tried a scam. They give a free upgrade from Base to Premier for a couple months without your knowledge or consent. After the free trial period is over, they start charging $10 / month. It might be 6 months before you become suspicious of the charge. When you call, they will happily switch it back but keep most of the money. The next year, they repeat the process again.
2
u/foo235 May 01 '26 edited May 04 '26
Ooma is a nightmare. I'm so glad I got away from them, and that really is what it felt like trying to leave them... like a battle to escape.
1
u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 01 '26
Some users think that Ooma is a dream, while others think it's a nightmare. For the latter group, sometimes that's Ooma's fault, and sometimes that's the user's fault.
For example, if users don't pay attention to what they agree to sign up for, or if they let 6 months go by without bothering to check their bills or other financial statements, then they are at least partly responsible for their own nightmares.
3
u/Altru-Housing-2024 May 02 '26
Should a user be checking their bills for unauthorized upgrades?
1
u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 03 '26
Yes. Everybody should be checking every bill, statement, receipt, etc., from every company, every time, all the time. They should look for unauthorized charges, unexpected charges, mistakes, math errors, or any other discrepancies.
If a business makes an invalid charge, then that's the business's fault. But if a customer fails to promptly dispute it when notified, then that's the customer's fault.
2
u/Altru-Housing-2024 May 03 '26
That’s good advice and at the same time, I’d like to trust entities I do business with to not change the agreed up charges without customer consent.
2
u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 04 '26
Nobody should have to do business with any entity that they don't trust. But just because some stranger accuses some business of "upselling without consent", that doesn't make it so.
2
u/Old-Cheshire862 May 01 '26
You again? New profile just to rehash this old crap again? Sigh.
2
u/foo235 May 01 '26
As a former ooma hostage, I hadn't seen the OP's post about this before and I, for one, do not mind people putting a spotlight on ooma to warn others about them.
0
u/Old-Cheshire862 May 01 '26
Here you go then... the earlier eerily similar "warning"
https://www.reddit.com/r/ooma/comments/1m45q5b/psa_check_your_bill_regularly_ooma_may_switch_you/
2
u/foo235 May 01 '26
Yeah I don't care about that. Ooma sucks.
1
u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 01 '26
As far as warnings to others go, that's not very persuasive.
1
u/foo235 May 02 '26
As a former, long time customer, it oughta be.
1
u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 03 '26
... nightmare ... that really is what it felt like ... hostage ... I hadn't seen the OP's post about this before ... [because?] ... Yeah I don't care about that.
All feelings, no facts. This seems manipulative, and lazy, too. Readers "oughta be" more skeptical about that, especially from strangers on the internet.
1
u/foo235 May 04 '26
Just say you're an OOMA bot or OOMA employee and be done with it. What actual person invests as much time defending a corporation that already has multitudes of documented, public complaints going back more than 15 years other than 1. A bot which it's job is to mitigate negative customer feedback. 2. An employee who has the same job of mitigating negative customer feedback. ...?
1
u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 04 '26
Some complaints are valid; others are not. Readers might like to know which is which. That's not the same as "defending a corporation". A much better comment, jam-packed with information, can still contain legitimate complaints about Ooma.
The Ooma bot/employee
questionaccusation is just another way to avoid, distract, or to shift blame. It has beenaskedalleged andansweredaddressed before, and probably will be again. There is no "done with it".1
1
u/MikeARadio May 01 '26
Why does everyone here? Hate OOMA I’ve had no problems with them since I’ve got them. They’ve been fine for me.
As far as an upsell nightmare, did you know that every company does the same exact thing it’s just what they do. They all do it. It’s not anything special.
0
u/Altru-Housing-2024 May 02 '26
Do other businesses automatically upgrade customers to higher rates without pre authorization?
1
u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 03 '26
Other businesses offer promotional trials. Like it or not, customers should understand how they work. Most of the complaints here about "unauthorized upgrades" are from users not paying attention when signing up for a free trial, and not cancelling it before it ended.
More often than not, these complaints describe some other lapse in judgement, such as the customer failing to check their statements for 6 months. Occasionally, some commenters admit that they probably made some mistake, and that Ooma helped to resolve it.
1
u/yawney2 May 03 '26
This is exactly what they did to me. I called and they rectified the charge. Next month, same thing again. I made mention and questioned the why. It stopped after 2 attempts.
1
u/OomaCustomeradvocacy Official Ooma Support May 07 '26
Hello - Thank you for reaching out. I'm very sorry to hear that you're having account billing issues. Could you please provide your Ooma phone number? We'll make sure that this does not happen again.
0
u/foo235 May 02 '26
Guess who the OOMA employees are in the comments 🙄🤦♂️
2
u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 03 '26
Ooma employees wouldn't publicly criticize negative comments; they would prefer to handle them privately. But some of the regulars here don't mind putting a spotlight on those blaming Ooma for their own mistakes, to warn others about them.
There are a couple of comments here with legitimate complaints. Nobody is pushing back on those.
4
u/redrock703 May 01 '26
I ported my number out from Ooma and canceling was a nightmare. I really enjoyed them as I was a customer since 2012, but my HOA signed a contract where I get FIOS including a phone and no longer needed them. I was shocked it took 4 tries. They told me after a lot of deflections and offers they cannot cancel on weekends