close
The price comparison tools on this website require you to disable Adblock for full functionality. Please consider disabling your ad blocker on our website in order to best take advantage of our tools.

Lingo Reviews

Lingo is a residential VoIP provider that offers home phone plans for nationwide and international calling. Lingo plans come with a number of included features, free calling to other Lingo subscribers, and even the option to keep your existing number. With Lingo, customers can make calls using their existing high-speed Internet connections to receive clear, reliable phone service. Lingo also offers customers the option to sign up for a long-term contract for bigger savings.

Users Average Rating

Providers Comparison

Note: The graphs above only measure the user ratings displayed over the last five years.
Write your own review

Lingo is not what you are looking for

user_review
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)

The phoneline had a humming for years and I used it less and less despite the good features Lingo provided. Custoemr Service could not resolve humming. Lingo had outages every so often, at the end my service did not work, the online account said my payments were not current, customer service could not figure out why this incorrect information was posted. So I caceled. Lingo told me there was no termination fee and the payment already made was the last one.
Now they charged me a equipment return fee, when I complained, the customer service told me I was told, which was not correct, they also said it's always been part of the general terms/conditions, then the story changed they changed their general terms and conditions. They would not let me talk to a supervisor and hung up on me.
Yes, Lingo is this kind of company.

With the contract from 2004 I had a lot of features not available anymore.
Customer Service on the phone was poor, e-mail took more than a week to get a response, resolutions took longer.
No

Bad Service + unstable internet with Lingo

user_review
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1.6
Average: 1.6 (1 vote)

Worked fine, but made home internet unstable.
Customer service was terrible, raised price partway through. They cancelled service when debit card # changed number without any contact. Also, watch out for $75 charge if you don't return equipment when you quit. It's buried in the contract terms, they won't mention until after you've been charged.

No

The Worst Service I have Experienced

user_review
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1.4
Average: 1.4 (1 vote)

I would not wish this phone service on my worst enemy. I would definitely not use this as a primary telephone contact account. They made it almost impossible to leave with my number. The customer is never the priority with this company and it is impossible to speak with a representative in a position of authority.
Not one problem I encountered with this company was resolved to my satisfaction..... Until I was able to take my business elsewhere - and they even made that hard.

the phone line worked
Awful customer service - sometimes on hold for over 1 hour and on the few occasions that I was promised a call back the promise was NEVER kept. Also on a few occasions despite 'polite' conversation I was hung up on or 'transferred' to 'dead air'. There were some conference call numbers that I needed to call, which were 'blocked' for some unknown or non-negotiable reason I was misled by their prices - the 'surcharges and taxes increase the advertised price by at least 50% When I tried to leave them they made it almost impossible. Their number porting department is a joke, and they struggled to co-operate with my new provider. I had to engage the assistance of a regulatory body to facilitate my departure. their so called $0 cancellation fee and no contract mysteriously turned into a $9.95 Equipment return fee. this is a bait and switch in my opinion. I do not know of any circumstance that a voip consumer would not need the equipment they provide you with as part of the service.
No

Stay away from it!!

user_review
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1.8
Average: 1.8 (1 vote)

I took the service on September with their so-called promotion. The reps never mentioned that their cycle starts at the 1st of month and ends on the last day whenever you take. She mentioned that there is no call limit at all. I took the service on 30th and ended up messing the promotional period and paying 9 bucks for no call. After some hassle I recovered 5$ but another horror story started from the 1st month itself. I started receiving mail that my account may get suspended due to overusage. So, when I mailed back saying I was told that there is no usage limit, I received a mail stating that those messages are automated and I do not need to worry about it. Still they decided to suspend the service on 3rd November without any usage on that month. When I called the customer service they reactivated the account and finally I was told that there is a 2100 minute limit on this plan. Surprise!! without any action on my part (and any usage at all) they terminated the service on the same day and still started demanding the payment for November. There was no usage on that month and they terminated the service and asks for the fee for that month!! So, you can imagine what kind of immoral policy they adopt to rob off the customers. I disputed their payment for that month and with all their mails in my inbox I am pretty sure I can prove that they do not deserve payment for that month. So, my advice, please stay away from it!!!! Unfortunately, I learned it the hard way!!

voice clarity
worst possible customer service and higher cost with lower plan limit than other service
No

Lingo is just terrible and pathetic Customer service

user_review
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)

This has to be one of the WORST telephone experiences I've ever experienced...
I signed up for service in September of 2012. It was one moth trial for $4.35. Most of the time it was difficult to get calls in and out. The tech support reps told me that my internet connection was not fast enough to support the service. I'm using near the top tier cable package at 9MB that my local provider offers. At the same time, speed results show more than adequate bandwidth.
Next month I canceled the service because of poor result. They take forever to pick up the call ..
When I canceled the service they charged me $37 saying I was in monthly agreement and blah blah and customer representative just started to showing me his Attitude that this all are valid charge and I am gonna have to pay in full that day... I had really bad Experience with this company I wouldnt recommend this service ever.

None. Terrible all the way around.
Greedy, deceitful, and worst company I have ever deal with in my entire life! Very bad Customer Service.
No

Lingo: Reshoring Support

user_review
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)
3.8
Average: 3.8 (1 vote)

Strange that this should say that Lingo was founded in 2005 - I have had lingo service since 2004 (must have been one of the first I guess). In the beginning, it was horrible. The phones were most unreliable, and the call quality was questionable. I stuck with it, as at the time it was the only provider to offer me fixed rate monthly plan to call my relatives in other countries. Some of the issues were my own with my network. The most annoying part was that the support was outsourced to India (or somewhere close), and was absolutely horrible..!!! They were slow, they had no idea when it comes to troubleshooting - they were polite however. Any time I called in, becasue my service was not working, they just had me reboot. It would always work, but they could not tell me what the root cause of the issue was so that I would not have to reboot. I had a noise issue on the line for the past 3 years that made it almost unusable. I personally troublehot down to the VOIP Modem. I kept calling back in going over the same 3 steps that thee seem to know (plug directly into cable modem, plug old analogue handset directly into it, reboot) and getting no where. Requrests to escallate were not granted. Finally I got someone who had a clue, and sent me a new VOIP modem (for free), and the noise that I had been experiencing for the past 3 years is now fixed.
Latest issue is that my new VOIP modem shows the incorrect time. I have been hesitant to call in, because of the support service, however, my wife got the better of me. So I called in expecting to be given the runaround as normal for a few hours. I must say that I was plesantly surprised. It seems that the outsourcing has been insourced (maybe they have been heeding all the cried of woe from their customers). I spoke to a very nice lady in Canada who clearly knew what she was talking about, and told me that support has been pulled back into USA/Canada. For this reason, I have given 3 stars (would have been one star otherwise). I really hope that the support is now fixed. Incidentally, the time issue is a known issue with the Linksys SPA2101 VOIP Modem that I was sent. They hope to have a patch to fix it in the next few weeks.
Bottom line is, if the only reason why you didnt like this company was the support (understandable), you may want to give them a go again. The Voice quality is good, and they seem to have got over the unreliability issues.
For your info here is what I pay monthly (including all taxes, hidden charges etc):
 $42.66
 My plan is "Unlimited W. Europe" and I have a primary phone number and a fax number (using distinctive ring).

Fixed price international plan Easy to manage features online Seems pretty solid these days
Customer service Customer service Customer service
Yes

Lingo is just terrible

user_review
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)

When it works it is ok. Sound was good to terrible (echos). Customer service was a joke and an insult to a human's intelligence. Many times, random calls would not work. Only inertia kept me from canceling many times. Today I did. Please learn from my errors and stay away from Lingo. Lingo is just terrible and does not even minimally value their customers.

When it was working it was a relatively affordable way to keep in touch with relatives in Europe.
General - taxes and surcharges added 30% to my bill, which with the World Unlimited Plan ($20.95) came to $35.07 per month. Customer service are liars and slow as molasses. EVERY billing or technical issue took at least 30 minutes to solve. I am from the Indian subcontinent myself and I can't understand them half the time. Straw that broke the camels back - Never any callbacks from supervisors who are never available (does Lingo even have supervisors?). I am canceling after 7 years because Lingo suspended my service when I disputed a $16 charge with my credit card company after 5 calls with Lingo's lying customer service representatives got me nowhere. They interpreted the charge back from the CC company as a late payment which is dishonest and ridiculous.
No

Be aware of Lingo Service!!!!

user_review
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1.8
Average: 1.8 (1 vote)

I went through reviews and signed up ignoring all of the customer reviews. Afer two weeks of service I have experienced the same as most of the customers experiences. After three weeks, they suspended my account without letting me know what is going. I called customer service though I had to wait about 30 minutes to get live support,and asked why my service was suspended,they replied that I violated their terms and conditions and customer service didn't know what terms and conditions I violated, just told me you violated our terms.
On the other hand, I took world max service and after two weeks,they changed their calling plan ie.call only land line though mobile phone was included in this plan. They changed their policy for 2 years in stead of no contract and if you cancel within 2 years, you have to pay $99 cancellation fee. I guess they may change their calling plan after couples week and you have to give the penalty for that.I think you be careful of their service.

No

Horrible Service! Look Elsewhere for VOIP!!

user_review
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1.4
Average: 1.4 (1 vote)

Like many people, I chose Lingo because they offered cheap pricing; however I forgot that old adage "You get what you pay for".
I haven't even started using their service and the problems became insurmountable. I followed their protocol for applying for and approving a change over from my current VOIP provider to Lingo and everything appeared to work well. I received a phone call (as I was told I would) verbally confirming my switchover and agreement to host my VOIP service with Lingo. About a week later the equipment for the new Lingo service arrived at my house; so far, so good.
Then the problems began. I received an email stating that I had to provide an electronic letter of authorization or a faxed copy of the letter of authorization. I tried logging on to the Lingo website to do it electronically, when I realized I had not been provided with a Lingo user ID or password; so I printed a hard copy letter of authorization to fax in. As I was filling out this document I noticed that it required a Lingo account number.
Hmmm? No user ID, no password, and no account number; I'll have to call and get it. So I call in and find out I'm too early as their business hours are 9 AM to 9 PM EST, M-F and I called at 8 AM EST; a portent of things to come.
I wait until 9 AM EST and call in; this turned out to be the first of 5 phone calls in the next 45 minutes. The first CSR after verifying my pin number begins to give me my Lingo account number; she gives me 6 of 8 digits and then disconnects the call. I'm beginning to get concerned about the service quality.
Next I call back and I'm given a User ID and password to log onto the website by another CSR, who also gives me a case number. The CSR stays on the line long enough to confirm that I can access my account. When I asked him where I could find the electronic letter of authorization, he responded with "I don't know"; he said he would transfer me to someone else who might help, but during our conversation I found it under their support section of the website, it's a cryptically labeled link called 'eLOA'.
So I tell this agent that I'll try to fill it out and will call back if I need additional help. End of call number 2.
I begin filling out the form and I find a requirement to provide a copy of my most recent bill (seems reasonable) which includes my name, address, phone number, service provider name and current amount. Well, I do electronic billing from my current VOIP provider, so the monthly statement I get doesn't include all of this information. So I call back again. This time the agent says hello, then hangs up the phone. (Oh no, what have I gotten myself into?) End of call number 3.
Just in case I'm having VOIP issues, I call back using my cell phone. I am once again forced to go through an explanation of why I'm calling and what I'm trying to do. When the CSR asks me for an account number, I tell him I don't have one but do have a case number. I read him the case number and he responds "Oh, I just talked to you!". (I'm getting real nervous now, I haven't even started using their service and it's already this hard?)
I explain to him my problem (my current bill doesn't provide all the information Lingo is asking for), so what do I do? Again, I get the "I don't know" response and he asks me if he can put me on hold. Before I get a chance to respond, I'm on hold; 5 minutes tick by and no answer. Finally after 8 minutes, he comes back on and tells me he's still on hold himself waiting for assistance and asks me if I can remain on hold. I told him that I couldn't as I was on my cell phone and was being charged for the minutes I'm using while on hold. So he asked if it was ok to call me back once he got someone else on the line; to which I agreed. End of phone call number 4.
Less than 2 minutes later, the same CSR calls me back and tells me to hang on a second and puts me on hold. Approximately 2 minutes later he gets back on and tells me he is still on hold and will be right back. He puts me on hold again!! I let the call run another 5 minutes before I hung up. So ends call number 5.
So after 5 phone calls and 45 minutes I still have not gotten the issue resolved. Every person I spoke to was from India and having worked in the IT industry and having dealt with other customer service organizations hosted in India I know that this is only the tip of the iceberg. It has been my experience that companies from India promise the earth and the moon but just don't have the ability to deliver. I am not a racist but experience has taught me that it's only going to get worse from here.
Consequently, I cannot recommend LINGO to anyone regardless of the prices they charge. What good is a low cost service if you can't use it?
As a consumer, it is my opinion that there are far better service providers and it would behoove you to do your research and avoid companies like this. Perhaps in the future, Lingo will be able to provide quality service, but at present they just don't measure up!

Low cost
Poor customer service, lack of knowledge on the part of customer service staff, inability to listen to the customer, more interested in closing call incidents then providing service.
No

BEWARE LINGO !

user_review
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)
1
Average: 1 (1 vote)
1.6
Average: 1.6 (1 vote)

After having a harrowing experience with the Lingo customer care folks a few days ago (end June-2009), I was checking the internet to see if I was alone. To my surprise, I have come across many reviews written by people about their experiences with Lingo/Primus over the last few months. As happens most of the times, one either does not do much research on a company, products or its services when the deal looks really nice or we simply ignore any poor experience shared on the web thinking that these are either disgruntled customers and there are still many more who avail the services of the company. We forget that not everyone takes the time or makes the effort to share their experiences on the web through reviews. I appreciate those who have done this so that fellow consumers can benefit from their experiences. Its time we get wiser and not let companies get away with mis-treating customers.
Only after one goes through a very poor experience does one look out and then gets shocked to see the experiences other have been through. For the benefit of others, I have put together a brief list of links that I think could help others if they are Lingo customers or do intend to become one in the future -
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=57796
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=57730
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=57569
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=57559
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=57228
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=54316
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=56515
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/452/RipOff0452505.htm
http://www.lingofraud.com/
http://www.voipreview.org/review/lingo
Here is one where the phone number of a senior person at Primus is available (will be helpful for those who are having issues with the company or are being given a run-around by their customer service folks)
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=57528
Hope each of you reading this review wake up and don't burn your fingers with this company. Be ware of Lingo !!!!

No

Pages

Lingo

McLean , VA
United States
2004Year Founded
15%Recommend
110User Reviews

Overall Rating

2.15
2.72
43%
42%
52%
29%
54%

Service Locations

  • United States

Recent Reviews

BryteCall Logo
5
BryteCall

Great service! was very simple and quick to get our new system setup. Jonathan was our rep. highly recommend.

March 26th, 2024 - italdoors
BryteCall Logo
5
BryteCall

BryteCall has been easy for use and their customer service is very responsive. Furthermore, BryteCall offers great rates making it a suitable choice...

March 23rd, 2024 - Mike Vanessa

Most Recent Blog Posts

Everything You Need to Know About TCPA Compliance

In today's digital age, communication between businesses and consumers has become more prevalent and convenient than ever before. However, with this increased communication comes the need for...

Mar 15, 2024
How Does Outbound IVR Work?
How Does Outbound IVR Work?

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have become an integral part of modern communication strategies for businesses across various industries. While inbound IVR is widely known for its role in...

Mar 15, 2024