Note to other companies thinking of folding: send that letter before the New York Times article comes out. It's called, "staying ahead of the curve."
Two fun facts about the letter, reprinted inside: 1)There's no mention of any intent to refund anyone's money. 2) It uses
the word service 16 times.
Reader and former SunRocket customer Patrick writes, "The last line kind of makes me feel like I've been serviced in the same sense that farmers borrow bulls to service cows. I'm sure it was "their pleasure".
]]> Dear Customers,After significant effort by the Company to avoid this result, SunRocket is in the process of closing its operations and therefore will no longer be able to provide you with the phone service that you have been accustomed to. However, this email provides you with an opportunity to sign up with select service providers who we believe will offer outstanding replacement service
In order to assist you, we have entered into negotiations with a number of service providers. As a result of those negotiations, we have entered into agreements with 8x8, Inc., provider of the Packet8 service, and Unified Communications Corp., provider of Teleban d service to offer you the best options and we are proud to recommend the following alternatives to you. Please make your decision to move to a new service provides immediately as future service is uncertain.
8x8/Packet8
The Packet8 Internet phone service incorporates patent protected technology from 8x8. Inc., a publicly traded company in business for more than 20 years. The service works in the same way as SunRocket.s and offers a virtually identical feature set.
. No Startup Costs
. FREE activation
. FREE equipment
. FREE shipping
. FREE first month of service
. Quickly port your number at no charge
A Savings of over $100!
Copy and paste the following link into your Internet browser:
http://getpacket8.packet8.net/sunrocket/ or call 1-800-868-0068 and mention special offer code SUNROCKET
Unified Communications Corp./TeleBlend
The TeleBlend Internet phone service inc orporates patent-protected technology from Unified Communications Corp., a privately held company in business to provide outstanding customer service and telephony products. Teleblends has been working behind the scenes already to restore and continue service for all Sun Rocket customers The service works in the same way as SunRocket.s and offers an identical feature set with our Unlimited Transfer Plan.
. No Startup Costs
. FREE activation
. USE your existing hardware
. FREE and Quick transfer of your current number
. No Need to port your number to another provider
. UNLIMITED calling to the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico
Copy and paste the following link into your Internet browser: http://www.myteleblend.net
It has been our pleasure to service you at SunRocket!
PREVIOUSLY:
SunRocket Postmortem: Virtual Everything Means No One Really Gives A Damn
SunRocket VoIP Is Dead, Run Away While You Still Can
* Former Adelphia Call Center Finds Second Life
* System Dominoes
* Time Warner, Comcast Snare Adelphia
* Adelphia: We'll Take Cash
* Roberts Mum on Adelphia Bid Details
* Talkback
* Voices
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Todd Spangler
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USA Telephone Also Uses Verizon Wireless' Backbone
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 7/31/2007 6:02:00 PM
Phone company United Systems Access Telecom said Tuesday that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire strategic wireless assets of Amp'd Mobile, the bankrupt wireless venture with 200,000 subscribers that were in danger of losing service this week.
The Kennebunk, Maine-based telco, which does business asUSA Telephone, will provide service for former Amp'd customers through its Prexar Mobile brand.
"Amp'd Mobile worked diligently on an agreement that would guarantee continuity of service for their former customers and a way to seamlessly transition to a compelling offering with the same rewarding user experience they have always enjoyed," USA Telephone CEO Bill Fogg said in a prepared statement.
Terms of the acquisition were not immediately available. USA Telephone said it has 130,000 customers nationwide.
Last month, Los Angeles-based Amp'd filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The startup -- which targeted young men with a mix of video clips, games and music content -- used Verizon Wireless' network and owed the carrier around $54 million as of July 23, according to bankruptcy-court documents.
Verizon Wireless July 25 received approval from the bankruptcy court to suspend service to Amp'd customers this week unless Amp'd could find a buyer for its user contracts.
USA Telephone said Prexar "provides service on the same network as Amp'd," indicating that it also uses Verizon Wireless' backbone. Prexar requires customers to pay with a credit card one month in advance, with plans starting at $40 per month for 450 minutes.
]]>
Permalink.
Marty, The Dot Com Cleanup Guy, Not Doing So Well These Days
from the no-dot-comes-to-cleanup dept
Remember Marty, the dot com cleanup guy? That would be Marty Pichinson,
founder and CEO of Sherwood Partners, who was all over the press in the post-dot
com bubble days. Sherwood Partners was the firm that the big VCs called in
to help liquidate all those dot bombs. For a few years, Marty just couldn't
stay out of the press. Even in 2004, Marty claimed he was still going strong,
moving the business from Los Angeles to Palo Alto, hiring lots of help and
opening satellite offices. Unfortunately, though, for Marty, Bubble 2.0 has
come along, and the latest profile notes that the dot com cleanup business
may be in need of some cleaning up itself. Sherwood Partners has shut down
the satellite offices, cut its staff in half, and is trying to reinvent its
reputation not as liquidation specialists, but as experts who can help a
company last longer. However, Sherwood's reputation as the gleeful "cleaner"
of dot com busts isn't helping the company. The article quotes a few different
VCs who all clearly distance themselves from the company, insisting that
all of their portfolio firms are doing well and are in no need of Marty's
kind of help. Of course, like most things, these types of businesses tend
to be cyclical. When the next bubble bursts, we're sure there will be plenty
of business around for Marty, assuming he's still in business himself.
2 Comments | Leave a Comment..
**************************************
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at [discover.aol.com]
Also, did anybody know that (at least as of a day ago) suddenly one could access one's old SunRocket account page again and that some of the extras that had been lost when this all hit the fan have now been restored? Kind of strange, that, isn't it!
]]>Oops.... FCC
]]>I would love to see that the FCA does something about this. I'm in the process of signing on with ViaTalk. I sent in the request over a week ago, and still no information from them via email as of yet. I called and held in que for over 30 min. and finally was able to speak with someone. They simply told me to wait another day or so... boy, thats helpful!
I also didn't trust the company SunRocket was suggesting... I think its a scam as well. I seriously doubt that Packet8 purchases all of SunRockets assets. If you look on SunRockets forum, there is a message explaining what went down. There was an expected buyer of SunRocket, then at the last minute, they backed out. After that happened, the doors were closed.
]]>I am not a lawyer, either, but I do believe you are right. One can not, except with official bankrupty proceedings and approval from the bankruptcy court, just dump the creditors and keep the revenue-makers.
I, too, am a SunRocket customer whose phone is still (temporarily) working and the Sherwood Partners mass email was sent to me in what is so obviously an attempt to make sure we know we have been put over a barrel, not only regards prepays for service we now won't be receiving from SunRocket (by the way, last I heard that is a violation of a contractual obligation)and having our much-needed telephone numbers held hostage unless we panic and opt for Teleblend or Packet8.
FCC has started an investigation of this entire mass and told me on Friday morning when I phoned them that they have been buried in phone calls from SunRocket customers across the country. They also told me to phone them back this coming week when, hopefully, they would have some information for us all.
]]>"It has been our pleasure to service you at SunRocket!"
Well, they definitely got serviced. They're fucked.
]]>I was thinking if there was going to be a class action suit, but now I think disputing the charges on my credit card might be the better option.
]]>
Now that's not fishy at all... ;-)
[www.myteleblend.net] vs. [www.sunrocket.com]
Ridiculous.
]]>I currently have ViaTalk and they have been awesome. I get a discount, and you get a discount for using the referral. Anyway, IM me if you're interested.
]]>
dude i know this scheme! it's like the furniture stores here in san diego that have "going out of business" sales every weekend and then they magically do not close... then there's the more elaborate version where they actually "close". the name changes and they have a new location, but they're exactly the same shit company run by the same cunt pumps(ie: the bedroom superstore changed to mor furniture here in sd).
... The pages tell us [Teleblend is] "a United Systems Access Brand" which, according to Yahoo is a company which "focused on the acquisition and management of young or ailing companies that exhibit growth potential" BINGO. They buy up failing telecom companies. ...]]>Okay, so here is my question. If they have acquired the assets of SunRocket (at the very least it appears that they have acquired the web site code and the customer list) then how to they avoid incurring the liabilities of SunRocket (the obligation to fulfill existing contracts)? I'm not a lawyer or anything but it seems to me that unless you buy such assets as part of a court-sanctioned bankruptcy sale or something similar, you shouldn't be able to simply wave your hands and magically make the liabilities disappear.
TeleBlend]]>5 Bragdon Lane
Kennebunk, Maine 04043
United StatesRegistered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. ([www.godaddy.com])
Domain Name: MYTELEBLEND.NET
Created on: 17-Jul-07
Expires on: 18-Jul-09
Last Updated on: 17-Jul-07Administrative Contact:
TeleBlend, TeleBlend info@teleblend.com
TeleBlend
5 Bragdon Lane
Kennebunk, Maine 04043
United States
8772524549Technical Contact:
TeleBlend, TeleBlend info@teleblend.com
TeleBlend
5 Bragdon Lane
Kennebunk, Maine 04043
United States
8772524549
Updated Date: 18-jul-2007
Creation Date: 18-jul-2007
Expiration Date: 18-jul-2009
I can't believe that crappy SunRocket wants people to join a company with a website that was created two days ago. Yeah. That's awesome. Go, SunRocket! Go, TeleBlend! Or not.
]]>Even more amusing, if you enter any phone number you can get the $12.95 deal. I smell a scam a brewing. I've even entered fake phone numbers.
]]>@tvh2k: Was it a "dear john letter" as described or a "dear john email"? Pretty hard to copy and paste from a piece of paper no matter how computer savvy you are (well I guess you can scan and ocr then copy and paste).
]]>@tadowguy: Yep, y'are.
]]>Teleblend? I just took a look at the site. There does not seem to be a way to become a user if you did not have sunrocket. Looks a little fishy to me?
Even the Vonage link shows up as sunrocket.
I am in the process of switching to Via Talk. But at this time my Sunrockt number still works. Just no voicemail.
]]>and the contact info from the very helpful TeleBlend site is (877) 252-4548.
The likelihood of these numbers being handed out sequentially to different companies providing the same service is virtually nil.
Can someone say "federal prosecution"?
]]>I used to have Vonage, and was reasonably happy with it, except that they seemed to be using the same tactic as all of the megacorporations - miscellaneous surcharges (and increasing) inflated my bill by 20%.
]]>This cracked me up... directly from Teleblend FAQ:
"We are sorry that you want to cancel your phone service. We are not SunRocket so we cannot take any cancellation information for them. If you do not want to sign up with us for new service that is your prerogative."
Glad to know its he customers "prerogative" to pay for service that had already been paid for..
]]>I got burned with sunrocket, over 6 months left on my prepaid account.
I called my credit card company and they said it can be partially refunded
back so I opened the dispute. I ordered on monday from another VOIP
provider called voiceral (www.voiceral.com). They have a 3 months free
special for people switching from sunrocket. I didn't trust the companies
that sunrocket was listing as suggested companies to change to (because you
know they are related to sunrocket to get money) so I did some research
online and these guys have been around a while with some positive feedback.
This situation worked out better for me than I thought - with the credit
card refund, and the 3 free months from Voiceral this worked out in my
favor. I got a new telephone number, while they port over the sunrocket
phone number I used to have - so overall I'm very happy and can't believe
I actualy made a few dollars out of this mess.
HAHA I was thinking the same thing!
]]>]]>
@tvh2k: "Do they really need to tell us how to use a URL?"
Yes, the peole affected by this need all the help they can get. They went with SunRocket in the first place, didn't they?
]]>Where's the "Any" key?
]]>Do they really need to tell us how to use a URL?
]]>