Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I should have paid attention to the reviews on MagicJack two months ago. Anything that has the "love it" and "hate it" groups spread right down the middle, should put up a warning flag. I thought I did my homework. I asked sales people about it and knew personally, two people who owned it and liked it. One loved it. They both owned the original MagicJack which must be plugged into your computer, and your computer must be "on" for it to work. The new MagicJack plus purports to work off a wall outlet, and your computer does not have to be on, plus the ads claim you can have your home phone number "ported" over. I looked at a print ad and liked the 30 day free home trial and the year of free service. I read the reviews on Amazon and the negative reviews should have put up a warning flag, but there seemed just as many who gave it 5 stars. So I ordered it. Going online and ordering was very simple, and they explain quite clearly all the extra perks you can get and pressure you to sign on for longer periods of time immediately. The amounts are added up. When you click on to the submit page and the last page with all of the costs added for you, you find that there is a larger total than what they had noted previous. In small lettering near the bottom they tell you they are charging you a 4 percent charge for some kind of media regulation. Once again, you are so far along that you just click it and your credit card is billed. The MagicJack arrived much sooner than the purported 10 to 14 business days. It arrived in about 3 business days which was good since the 30 day free trial starts from the day you order, not the day it arrives. I was a bit apprehensive about setting it up online myself, but the process was pretty simple. They give you the option after you plug the MagicJack into your computer port to register it, of them choosing a number for you or porting your old home number over. If you choose this option which I did as one of the main attractions of MagicJack for me, they inform you that there will be a nominal fee for doing so. The nominal fee is $20.95, and again that 4% tax is added on. You find that you will be charged $9.95 a year additionally for the use of your home phone number. So OK, you still figure $40 a year is much cheaper than the $50 a month you are paying with your current land line phone. After you complete this transaction and finish the registration requirements, you are informed an email has been sent listing the instructions for getting your home phone number. Basically after connecting the new MagicJack plus, I was emailed that I could make outgoing calls on the MagicJack but until the porting process was complete, which could take 5 to 10 business days, I would not receive incoming calls. This was not the best time to be without my home phone as much of day to day things are tied to it. I was told an email would confirm when calls would be incoming. The MagicJack Plus which sells for almost twice the MagicJack original is simply the original with an outlet adaptor and ethernet cord. Less than $5 worth of conversion materials that could be bought anywhere. Three days later I suddenly received an incoming solicitor call on MagicJack. That's how I knew it was working. No email. From the first day the quality of reception was poor. I spent two hours online with one of their "live chatters" trying to deduce the problem. The final analysis was it might be my wireless router. The reception was so poor I could not hold a conversation with out the sound jumping in and out. It completely dropped two calls. After spending another three hours on live chat and being bumped three times to a MagicJack consultant who was rated in the top 10% in helpfulness and finally being asked to literally open up my computer to someone in cyberspace, I'd had enough. I decided to return the magicJack under the 30 day free trial. I was told I could have my old phone number back if I had not closed my landline account. But when I questioned another chat line superior they said they could not port my number back without my paying an additional $30. This was beyond belief. The long and short of it was, when I demanded a phone number or customer complaint link, they cut me off the chat. There is no recourse with this company. I was able to call my previous provider and they are re-porting my number back free of charge, but it will take 10 days. Beware of any company selling something online that has no telephone number you can report to or no customer service link. I am writing the FCC also for fraudulent practices. The positive reviews I can only attribute to MagicJack itself writing the reviews. My advice is to run far away from this product.