The Volokh Conspiracy - "MagicJack" Customer Service:

A while ago I recommended the "MagicJack" device, which allows unlimited U.S. internet calls from anywhere in the world. I still like the device, but I must report that the company's customer service leaves a lot to be desired [But see updates below]. My daughter pulled my MagicJack out of its USB port, and broke it. I tried to find a customer service address on the MagicJack website, but all I could find was a "techchat." Here's the transcript of the chat:

Jim: Hi, how may I assist you today?

David: Hi, my two year old daughter pulled my magicjack device out of the computer and broke it.

Jim: May I know how many days has the magicJack with you?

David: I think I got it around September 07.

Jim: My apology for that, but we cannot do your request. You have to buy another magicJack for you to enjoy the services.

David: Fair enough, but I paid for an extra year of service.

Jim: We have nothing to do with it sir. I'm afraid it's in your part that the magicJack broke.

David: Can you please ask a manager to come on line. I paid the $40 for the MagicJack [which comes with one year of service], but $20 for an additional year of service, and I'm not going to pay for service I"m not getting.

David: Or is there a customer service email address I can contact, someone in customer support, not tech support.

Jim: Please understand that we currently only handle technical support chats.

David: Fine, but are you telling me that Magicjack has no customer service email address? I simply want a refund for my unused license for the extra year, I will then buy another Magicjack.

Jim: I'm afraid so.... I understand your issue. But we don't have a customer service support as for now. It may be available in the near future.

UPDATE: A Commenter points me to a page that "has a post from a guy who claims to be the 'inventor' and offers help via his e-mail address, [email protected]." I wrote to Dan, and got a quick response that a free replacement will be on its way tomorrow. Great, but ... odd that you can contact the inventor and get support, but there's still no customer service email address on the website.

FURTHER UPDATE: Dan writes in to say that "there are a number of places to send an email regarding returns or replacements." After playing around without the website for a few minutes, I did find this link for returns and replacements. The main problem is that clicking on either "customer care" or "FAQs", which is where I looked, doesn't help much. Also, it's not at all clear once you find the relevant page whether you can return a defective MagicJack after the 30-day trial period, and the Jim the tech support guy, who was apparently misinformed, told me you could not.

Anyway, it's still a great product--I even used it in Israel to make free calls via my laptop to the U.S.--and I'm glad to find out that the customer service issue was primarily a matter of miscommunication and a poorly designed website.

	[David Bernstein, February 20, 2008 at 10:21pm] Trackbacks "MagicJack" Customer Service: A while ago I recommended the "MagicJack" device, which allows unlimited U.S. internet calls from anywhere in the world. I still like the device, but I must report that the company's customer service leaves a lot to be desired [But see updates below]. My daughter pulled my MagicJack out of its USB port, and broke it. I tried to find a customer service address on the MagicJack website, but all I could find was a "techchat." Here's the transcript of the chat: Jim: Hi, how may I assist you today? David: Hi, my two year old daughter pulled my magicjack device out of the computer and broke it. Jim: May I know how many days has the magicJack with you? David: I think I got it around September 07. Jim: My apology for that, but we cannot do your request. You have to buy another magicJack for you to enjoy the services. David: Fair enough, but I paid for an extra year of service. Jim: We have nothing to do with it sir. I'm afraid it's in your part that the magicJack broke. David: Can you please ask a manager to come on line. I paid the $40 for the MagicJack [which comes with one year of service], but $20 for an additional year of service, and I'm not going to pay for service I"m not getting. David: Or is there a customer service email address I can contact, someone in customer support, not tech support. Jim: Please understand that we currently only handle technical support chats. David: Fine, but are you telling me that Magicjack has no customer service email address? I simply want a refund for my unused license for the extra year, I will then buy another Magicjack. Jim: I'm afraid so.... I understand your issue. But we don't have a customer service support as for now. It may be available in the near future. UPDATE: A Commenter points me to a page that "has a post from a guy who claims to be the 'inventor' and offers help via his e-mail address, [email protected]." I wrote to Dan, and got a quick response that a free replacement will be on its way tomorrow. Great, but ... odd that you can contact the inventor and get support, but there's still no customer service email address on the website. FURTHER UPDATE: Dan writes in to say that "there are a number of places to send an email regarding returns or replacements." After playing around without the website for a few minutes, I did find this link for returns and replacements. The main problem is that clicking on either "customer care" or "FAQs", which is where I looked, doesn't help much. Also, it's not at all clear once you find the relevant page whether you can return a defective MagicJack after the 30-day trial period, and the Jim the tech support guy, who was apparently misinformed, told me you could not. Anyway, it's still a great product--I even used it in Israel to make free calls via my laptop to the U.S.--and I'm glad to find out that the customer service issue was primarily a matter of miscommunication and a poorly designed website.