Maybe I’m the last person to find this out, but just in case you’re about to go through the hassle of signing up for eFax, let me save you the trouble. eFax is crap! Here’s why:
Faxes Forced to be Included in Emails
There’s no way to have eFax just notify you of an incoming fax. They HAVE to send you the whole fax as an attachment. What if you’re receiving a credit card number in a fax? Well tough luck, it’s getting sent unencrypted.
Bad Customer Service
eFax won’t help you with most customer service issues on the phone. Instead, they expect you to use their online chat. And the reps are very slow and unhelpful. When you try to cancel your account, they make you go through a long survey and your account won’t be canceled until you fully answer all their questions. And forget about getting a refund for unused service. If your account just renewed for a year (with no notice) and you try to cancel, too bad, you’re not getting your money back.
Can’t Keep Your Number
You put your fax number on your business cards, on your website, in your email signature, maybe company letterhead, etc. For whatever reason, maybe one the ones listed here, you decide to switch from eFax. Get your credit card out, because you’re going to need new business cards. eFax’s customer agreement says
YOU FURTHER UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU ARE NOT THE OWNER OF ANY eFAX NUMBER ASSIGNED TO YOU BY j2 GLOBAL … YOU ARE EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED FROM CAUSING OR ATTEMPTING TO CAUSE THE eFAX NUMBER ASSIGNED TO YOUR ACCOUNT TO BE TRANSFERRED TO ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER, TELEPHONE CARRIER OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY (ALSO SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS “PORTING” THE TELEPHONE NUMBER). IN THE EVENT YOU ARE FOUND TO HAVE VIOLATED THIS PROHIBITION YOU AGREE TO IMMEDIATELY RETURN THE NUMBER TO j2 GLOBAL AND PAY TO j2 GLOBAL AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO $500 (OR THE EQUIVALENT IN LOCAL CURRENCY). YOU AUTHORIZE j2 GLOBAL TO CHARGE YOUR ACCOUNT CREDIT CARD OR TAKE ANY OTHER MEASURES REQUIRED TO COLLECT THIS PAYMENT.
Other than that, eFax is OK. :)
Hi Eric,
I’m really sorry that Efax has given you such a hard time. The service itself can actually be pretty terrific if you take away the negative experiences you’ve gone through. If this ordeal hasn’t put you off Fax to Email altogether, I’d like to recommend MyFax.
Firstly, I do work for MyFax, or rather, Protus IP Solutions. Our faxing solution is very similar to Efax, with a few notable exceptions:
1. Our fax is NOT forced into an email. You can disable it if you wish and just recieve the notification. Further, if you do want the fax included, we encrypt it with SSL encryption (the same as an online bank) and we are HIPAA compliant (which means you can recieve credit card information knowing it’s a secure transmission with our service)
2. Our customer service is 24/7, and we always answer the phone.
The service is month to month with no contract, and you can change or cancel at anytime without fee or penalty. It’s really that simple.
3. If you choose to leave out service we will release the number to you wherever you wish to take it. Obviously our goal is to try and keep you as a customer, but we feel that once you try our service even for one month, you’ll probably stay with us for as long as you are in business.
4. This wasn’t mentioned above, but since we’re talking about Efax specifically, I thought I’d mention price. Our service is only $10 a month, for 200 pages recieved, and 100 pages sent. We also inlcude a local or a toll free number at no extra charge. You pay nothing extra whatsoever for having a toll free number! We’ll even throw in the first month at no charge for you to try it out!
While I could pitch all day on this or our other two products that help businesses run as well as they do, I’ll leave the ball in your court. I can be reached at 888-733-0000 ext 524 directly, or at jstpierre@protus.com. Perhaps I’ll speak with you soon!
Be Well.
Jeff St. Pierre
http://www.myfax.com
eFax is also impossible to cancel once you get fed up with paying for junk faxes. I discovered that they were selling my fax numbers to junk mail vendors and asked them to cancel my subscription. Six months later, and they are still refusing to cancel me. I have called and emailed and called again numerous times over the past six months. Finally, I had to close my bank account from which they were withdrawing funds each and every month. Only then did I get a response from eFax demanding new bank account information and claiming that I had never contacted them about closing my account. Talk about a scam!