Pingo.comReviews of pingo.com

I purchased this card because I needed to make quite a few calls to potential clients in a foreign country. Thankfully, I signed for their $5 package and not the $20 one (which promised $10 extra). One thing, the price that they prominently advertise is for the Softphone and not the toll free number - on toll free it is as expensive as calling through my carrier. I didn't realize it the first time I called. There are several problems with Pingo: 1. The softphone is extremely bad - half the people I called couldn't even hear me. So I tested it out by calling my own number - I heard loud creaking noises and my own voice was drowned in all the noise. I understand why my clients couldn't hear me. 2. You would expect that the toll-free number - for the price they charge - would be better. But no - when you call the number, you are asked to enter your ID and Pin. But half the time the system does not even realize that I have entered the code and keeps repeating its line to enter the ID. It's a complete waste of money. I have a few cents left in Pingo. But I would rather call my other clients with another system rather than ruin my relationship by using this one. Anyway on the plus side - their customer support is good. No complaints with that. UPDATE: I got a call from Brian Hawkins who is the Internet marketing manager at Pingo. While I could not attend the call, he further followed with me up over email to understand the issues faced by me. Their customer support has been awesome and Pingo has decided to refund the $5 back to me. Appreciate the company's customer experience. I have hence decided to upgrade the rating to 3 stars to reflect the update.

Opened an account 1/29/13 for my daughter to be able to call home. Great price, great call quality, smiles all around. $10 bonus credit was applied to the account as advertised, more smiles! 2/21/13 my daughter calls me using a borrowed phone card to tell me Pingo stopped working. I went to visit her on the 23rd and we tried together and it was like I had no account. Checked my email and they's sent an email saying they were sorry I'd canceled. I never cancelled, the credit card is fine, and nothing anywhere to let me know why. C.S. rep I talked to was not helpful, saying I had to email pingoverification for help. Four emails and zero replies, and my daughter still can't call home. They tried calling my daughter at the location she is staying, but she is not allowed calls from non-family members and has nothing whatsoever to do with opening or paying for the account. They've never even tried to call the number associated with my account (my mobile number.) From very satisfied to completely dismissed, worst customer service I've ever received! ASFAIK no refund of remaining balance either... UPDATE: forgot to mention I referred another customer who also opened an account! UPDATE 2/28/13: Pingo finally called me at the number associated with my account after reading my review here, thank you TrustPilot! After explaining the situation the account was restored in full, smiles again. My daughter called me using Pingo today and was very happy it was working again. I did tell the rep that if they cancel an account because they're suspicious the credit card number may have been stolen (apparent reason they cancelled) they should try to let the customer know there's a problem instead of sending an email saying "sorry you cancelled." The phone service itself is excellent, but my student workers could give them a lesson in etiquette for customer service. The gentlemen I spoke with this morning was very polite, and my problem was resolved to my satisfaction, but he was unable to explain the failure to notify me the reason for cancellation, nor the lack of replies to my emails. Bumping from 1 to 3 stars, will bump again assuming no further problems. Suggestions: communicate directly when there's any hint of a problem with a customers card, (calling the number making the calls may not connect you to the account holder) allow reps on your toll-free number access to escalate to someone who can actually help, and lastly, a courtesy bonus credit to my account would have been appreciated after your communication issues basically cut-off communication for my daughter. I can be a very loyal customer, given the right circumstances...

I have used Pingo since 2008 and have been using the same credit card for recharge and i recharge my account manually. They do offer great call quality and service regarding phonecalls internationally especially to my home country from the US. However beginning this year anytime i recharge my account,it always says my account is under review and i either have to call and harass customer service before my recharge goes through; a total waste of time given that there is a big time difference between my call destination and US ,so sometimes,by the time the whole mess is resolved,it would be so late i can't make my call. I do not know why they started doing this but when i call customer service they tell me something silly that i recharge my account too often ,which i thought it would be good business for them or i don't know if this is their way for pushing me to sign up for Autorefill which i wont sign up for. Either way i am truly displeased with the service and the hassle i have to go through to make one phone call because i can't keep calling or e-mailing their customer service each time i recharge! Maybe they do not want my business and want me to look for another phone card!

A full refund was credited my account 3 days after Pingo responded to my complaint here on this site (see below). This is fair, therefore the 3 stars. Although I was disappointed I couldn't get the phone card to work, and that I had to go public to get a response.