I have now fallen victim to VOOM billing issues.

[txcruiser]

I'm sorry you felt I was bashing Wilt. Wilt is probably a great guy. It is just that most of your recommendations include "Send Wilt an email". If everyone took your advice, Wilt wouldn't be able to do anything but answer email all day. Let's just hope Wilt sticks with Voom for everyone's sake.

 

[ChetK]

Yeah, Chet, you are now missing The 3 Stooges Meet Hercules on Cinema 4.

Followed by The 3 Stooges In Space.

Mind you, these are with Curly Joe, eh, not so good.

Oh No!!! Not The 3 Stooges Meet Hercules??? Not The 3 Stooges In Space!!! How will I ever go on???!!!! HOW???

Heh!

 

[cdru]

I called my credit card company and they suggested that I cancel the card and have my credit card company resend me a new card with a new account so I wouldnt have to deal with the hassle of disputing a charge, then doing the paperwork, then waiting the month or 2 it takes for the process for each dispute.

Whiteice

Good grief you have a horrendous credit card company. I've disputed several incorrect billings in the past and never had a bit of problems. They just sent out a form (or maybe I downloaded..I forget), I wrote down as much information about the incorrect charge as I knew (amount, who it was to, date, why I think it was correct [duplicate, canceled service, stolen card, etc]), mailed it in. A temporary credit was issued instantly over the phone when I first called it in. This becomes permanent once they do their investigation.

Definitely a lot less effort then if I canceled the card and got a new one, resetting up auto payments with other bills, online bill payments, etc.

One time use credit cards are also nice, but don't really work for reaccuring payments.

 

[red ufo]

Two points:

(1) The Company name is VOOM not "Doom".

(2) How do you know what are the financial statement of this company? This is all an exaggerated assessment of the financial situation. Stay away from speculation.

Finally, there are some customers experiencing billing problems but not everyone is. I would recommend to anyone that just don't wait for the "escalation department" to resolve the issue. Send Wilt an email as well.

Good to know Wilt is a 1 man army to fix all Dooms problems. But what about people who don't have the net? What to they do to resolve problems? I hate to even think what kind of boat they are in.



150 million per year / 12 = 12,500,000 per month in loss needed to break even.
12,500,000 / $100.00 per month = 125,000 customers to break even.

Dooms management is so pathetic I doubt they can get or retain that many people without contracts and tricking people with more lies of DVR that never materialize.

By 2 years with operating losses of 75 million per quarter and rising. Its safe to say they will have lost 300 million or more. They have a limit of 600-800 million for this experiment. If they don't get there crap together it could be one of the biggest startup failures in recent history.

Its a disgrace that if/when I cancell Doom, I have to cancell a CC I had for 5 years because Dooms business practices are worse the Bill Gates or the mafia.

 

[red ufo]

Oh No!!! Not The 3 Stooges Meet Hercules??? Not The 3 Stooges In Space!!! How will I ever go on???!!!! HOW???

Heh!

Consider it cost ATLEAST 12.5 million per month to deliver such ground breaking content. Imagine the bills to deliver good content?

 

[wase4711]

well, I guess I am an anomoly, but after about 30 days of VOOM..

1. Perfect Installation; on time and cleaned up nicely
2. NO RAIN FADE, PQ issues,(other than I expected)
3. Polite helpful CS folks; if they didn't have the answer, asked if it was ok to put me on hold, and came back with the answers
4. First bill on time, correct amount
5. Helpful forum here, with some tips and tricks that have helped solve some minor issues( switch to a powerful channel before a weak OTA), and others
6. Helpful moderators who try their best to steer folks with problems in the right direction.

We ALL know that this whole HD thing is cutting edge, new technology, so did anyone actually think EVERYTHING was going to be pefect from Day one?
Either you can be part of the PROBLEM,(complain, bitch, moan), or be part of the SOLUTION(help, suggest, recommend, share solutions)

Which one are YOU???

I don't work for Voom; but I have worked for some major Consumer Electronics Companies, and have dealt with major customers, and the public, and everything in between, and I have to say my first 30 days with Voom has been infinately BETTER than I thought it would be, based on all the griping I read on this forum...

Hopefully, more and more folks will post about their postive experiences as well..

 

[SpringsGuy]

Very true wase.. LOL, like everyone else says to all those who whine and gripe about how bad voom is, JUST LEAVE AND GO BACK TO YOUR CRAPPY SD from direct or dish.. Voom will survive without all you whiners who hate voom or think they are going to go bankrupt.. I hope Voom charges any subscriber that attempts to return a little more just for being a unfaithful customer. Because honestly who can stand watching crappy SD from DISH AND DIRECT on a HDTV.. Isn't the purpose of a HDTV to Watch High Definitoin Programming not Standard Definition.... Enjoy SD while i enjoy my HD lol.... VOOM THE FUTURE OF SATELLITE TELEVISION!

 

[DrWho]

d* does offer HD.

HD viewers are kind of stuck waiting for programming to catch up.

 

[red ufo]

Very true wase.. LOL, like everyone else says to all those who whine and gripe about how bad voom is, JUST LEAVE AND GO BACK TO YOUR CRAPPY SD from direct or dish.. Voom will survive without all you whiners who hate voom or think they are going to go bankrupt..

Sure like Voom has a bottomless pit of money like the federal reserve?

Sorry but in the real world Voom is losing $75 million per quarter. With the new $200 install and price scheme they aren't going to be attracting new customers like flies to sh*t.

The best deal they had was the zero down install and it only added 20,000 people per quarter. They need to start wheeling and dealing to get a 250,000 people in a year. Raising prices 'already' when they don't even have Gtech or sci-fi is or DVR is only killing off customers.

Voom is a HD nich market, there is a finite amount of people with HDTV, many are locked into DirectTV contracts. They need to start making deals, not squeezing the money out of us. Soon word of mouth about this 'new' service will get around to everyone with HD. The cat will be out of the bag on the 21 exclusives and the billing/install/STB/promises ordeal.

I hope Voom makes it, but they need to generate a positive buzz. They are not.

 

[wase4711]

You make some valid points, red ufo..
I switched from DTV ONLY because of the free install, and no contract offer; i wouldn't pay that install fee probably either, if I hadnt signed up last month..Not sure where you get your 75 million per quarter loss; can you post the financial link or where you got that info from?
I don't think Gtech or Sci Fi is what is keeping them from signing up the throngs; I think its due to the fact that the vast majority of people either don't have High def tv's, or are so confused about how to get it,that they don't even consider a company like Voom..
And, as "Dr. Who" mentioned before, until there is much much more HD programming, the mainstream folks won't see a need to even investigate Voom..
Now, if they were a sharp marketing company, they would team with the Samsungs/Mistsubishi's of the world, and offer some sort of "deal" to folks when they buy their HD TV..
DVR will help, but actualy, is there REALLY that much HD content out there that you just are DYING to record? Not me; outside of sporting events, there just isnt that much HD stuff worth WATCHING, let alone recording..And the "Cinema Channels" that Voom offers is nothing more than lighthearted fluff; I knew that when I did the research on Voom, and actually that stuff is part of what I watch TV for!!
Yeah, Gtech in HD seems to be a natural, as would SCi-Fi, but do either of them even have ANY hd programs?

 

[Sean Mota]

I'm sorry you felt I was bashing Wilt. Wilt is probably a great guy. It is just that most of your recommendations include "Send Wilt an email". If everyone took your advice, Wilt wouldn't be able to do anything but answer email all day. Let's just hope Wilt sticks with Voom for everyone's sake.

Wilt himself told me this. What else do you want me to do? Not to send them to Wilt where there seems to be no resolution and people feel that there is no way out. If Wilt was overwhelmed as you are suggesting, he himself would have told me this and said please let's wait until I get through this. However, the fact of the matter is that Wilt has other people at VOOM taking care of the problems and not himself.

This is why he has being great.

 

[Sean Mota]

Good to know Wilt is a 1 man army to fix all Dooms problems. But what about people who don't have the net? What to they do to resolve problems? I hate to even think what kind of boat they are in.



150 million per year / 12 = 12,500,000 per month in loss needed to break even.
12,500,000 / $100.00 per month = 125,000 customers to break even.

Dooms management is so pathetic I doubt they can get or retain that many people without contracts and tricking people with more lies of DVR that never materialize.

By 2 years with operating losses of 75 million per quarter and rising. Its safe to say they will have lost 300 million or more. They have a limit of 600-800 million for this experiment. If they don't get there crap together it could be one of the biggest startup failures in recent history.

Its a disgrace that if/when I cancell Doom, I have to cancell a CC I had for 5 years because Dooms business practices are worse the Bill Gates or the mafia.

It is worthless to try to speak to. You keep calling names to the company and making up your numbers. Who is interested? if you are so disastisfied no one is holding the door.

 

[txcruiser]

Maybe VOOM should put Wilt's email address on their website under "Unresolved Issues ??". It would sure save you the trouble.

 

[Sean Mota]

Maybe VOOM should put Wilt's email address on their website under "Unresolved Issues ??". It would sure save you the trouble.

You still don't get it... Right? Move on... to another party...

 

[red ufo]

It is worthless to try to speak to. You keep calling names to the company and making up your numbers. Who is interested? if you are so disastisfied no one is holding the door.

The 75 million loss per quarter up from a previous 43 million loss per quarter comes form info posted here.

Is this just a BB that only wants Voom cheerleader discussion and operate as a quasi-official arm of the company?

 

[rtt2]

Sorry but in the real world Voom is losing $75 million per quarter. With the new $200 install and price scheme they aren't going to be attracting new customers like flies to sh*t.

The best deal they had was the zero down install and it only added 20,000 people per quarter. They need to start wheeling and dealing to get a 250,000 people in a year. Raising prices 'already' when they don't even have Gtech or sci-fi is or DVR is only killing off customers.

Remember: Of the total VOOM Subscribers, 21% are expected to churn out by next quarter. Voom needs to attract people to make up for the loss plus gain new subscribers.

 

[SpringsGuy]

Yea how many HD channels does any of the competitors have compared to Voom? Not enough to get me to switch. LOL i bought my High Def TV to watch High Def not SD that constantly pixelates and 4 or 5 channels in high def... Hardly anyone knows about voom and that is a fact. I work on peterson Air Force Base and a whole bunch of people have HDTV's in my building, but hardly anyone has heard about Voom. I have been spreading the word about the new found holy grail of High Def programming. Once people actually try Voom compared to their current provider they will not be renewing any contracts with anyone other than Voom.. Direct and Dish aren't even in the same league as Voom... And for all you that knock Voom here is a question for you... Did dish and direct do any better when they started up their satellite companys????? And yea they have been in business many years now. I don't think that dish or direct really did any better than voom on startup... Maybe they had better advertising but thats it.. In a year from now Voom will start eating hole in direct and dish's customer population that is not fiction thats a fact... And i will remember all those bogus posts about voom going belly up, and have a nice chuckle... LONG LIVE VOOM and of course SEAN MOTA.....

 

[red ufo]

You make some valid points, red ufo..
I switched from DTV ONLY because of the free install, and no contract offer; i wouldn't pay that install fee probably either, if I hadnt signed up last month..Not sure where you get your 75 million per quarter loss; can you post the financial link or where you got that info from?
I don't think Gtech or Sci Fi is what is keeping them from signing up the throngs; I think its due to the fact that the vast majority of people either don't have High def tv's, or are so confused about how to get it,that they don't even consider a company like Voom..
And, as "Dr. Who" mentioned before, until there is much much more HD programming, the mainstream folks won't see a need to even investigate Voom..
Now, if they were a sharp marketing company, they would team with the Samsungs/Mistsubishi's of the world, and offer some sort of "deal" to folks when they buy their HD TV..
DVR will help, but actualy, is there REALLY that much HD content out there that you just are DYING to record? Not me; outside of sporting events, there just isnt that much HD stuff worth WATCHING, let alone recording..And the "Cinema Channels" that Voom offers is nothing more than lighthearted fluff; I knew that when I did the research on Voom, and actually that stuff is part of what I watch TV for!!
Yeah, Gtech in HD seems to be a natural, as would SCi-Fi, but do either of them even have ANY hd programs?

Hey,

I'm in the same boat. I switched over from Cox Comm. and I'm not going back. There are little choices of places you can go to. I only joined because the zero down and no risk.

Newbies join Voom and love it. After a while the honeymoon is over. They discover most of the 21 Voom channels suck and just reruns. They see it will be more of the same for atleast a year.

I'm pissed now, I see Voom operating with a failed business model. If Voom goes under (they will with how its working now) then Dish and DirectTV will really screw people over because we'll have no other opinions. Voom is the new kid on the block but its apparent they are adopting the same strong arm tactics of Microsoft. I can see the future of where this company is heading by examining the past and I'm not happy about quiting and going to Direct TV and Rupert Murdoch's media monopoly.

The cheerleaders and koolaid drinkers here hope the rich mystery men with 800 million to back Voom. Can just keep throwing money into this fire with hopes everybody joins Voom after buying a HDTV. Then finally we'll get better content and more channels.

But if anything the DOTCOM boom has taught us is, there are limits to the 'burn rate' of how many millions can be thrown away until the deep wallets are empty and investors come to the sobering conclusion the business idea has failed.

I hope Voom wakes up, takes some radical action and don't turn Voom into Doom and a laughing stock.

 

[Sean Mota]

The 75 million loss per quarter up from a previous 43 million loss per quarter comes form info posted here.

Is this just a BB that only wants Voom cheerleader discussion and operate as a quasi-official arm of the company?

an yet the losses are being bought out and yet they have another operational budget to work with. That already has been published.

HD material is not easy to maintain. This is why they have put a cap on the budget of how much is spent. This is why they are moving on with better inititiatives to eliminate churn rate.

The $0 down payment was good because it got those of us who wanted more HD and are committed to HD. There are others who took the opportunity to see what the fuzz was all about and left after two months. That's fine too.

In a way, let's way until VOOM falls on its own. Anything you and I say at this point is quite simply details. If they fall, we'll move on to other company. Not cheerleading but plain and simple. Most of us who got in because of the $0 down payment are not tied to anything if the DOOM prevails. So until it happens, anything can happen and nothing is happening.

 

[Dvlos]

The only DOOM that will prevail is IF Voom fails, then all the HD potential networks, DBS, and Cable providers will be like "Yep HDTV was too damn risky, let's just take our time, sometime in 2025 HDTV will probably be in full swing"