TEXAS ATTORNEY General Greg Abbott this spring filed suit against Vonage Holdings Corp., claiming that the VoIP provider violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices — Consumer Protection Act by not prominently disclosing to consumers that its VoIP service offers a different 911 service than the PSTN. This stemmed from a situation in which a Vonage consumer, her parents being held at gunpoint, called 911 only to get a recording.
The attorney general sued for consumer fraud because, he says, Vonage did not provide sufficient notice that its service does not link to 911 in the standard manner.
While consumer protection is a serious matter as is access to 911, some believe the lawsuit was merely grandstanding given that there was little notification to Vonage that the state’s leading law enforcement officials had an issue with its service. There was one written request for information, which Vonage provided. Then, phone calls went unreturned while the attorney general held a high-profile press conference to announce the lawsuit, thus giving Vonage no opportunity to reply.
| Links |
| Vonage Holdings Corp. www.vonage.com |
