Entered CNET Catalog: 01/08/2002
SKU: CNETEFAXPLUS
Manufacturer: eFax.com, Inc.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 01/28/2002
Despite the obvious advantages of eFax Plus, we found it a tad inferior to traditional fax programs such as HotFax, which provide more faxing tools, including built-in optical character recognition (OCR) and superior cover-page designers. In addition, eFax Plus slaps you with a monthly $9.95 fee--that's a hefty $119.40 per year--plus a $10 sign-up fee and transmission costs of 10 cents a page within the United States. (Alaska's rate is higher, as are international rates.) Ouch. Then again, if you'd rather not fuss with a fax modem, this service is reliable and worth a look.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14out of 14 user reviews
product sucks, service worse
Pros: absolutely nothing.
Cons: difficult running program, hidden charges, customer service only works through IE and no phone, they ask you to install software to run a chat program in order to cancel, etc.
out of 14 user reviews
DO NOT USE EFAX, THEY ARE ONE STEP SHORT OF A 419ers
Pros: They'll send your faxes, that is where the trust should stop. Any attempt to complain about hidden charges result in a fast talking sales scam where they conduct a hit and run on your bank account. I've turned them over to the Better Business Bureau.
Cons: They pretend to not understand you then.. Any attempt to complain about hidden charges result in a fast talking sales scam where they conduct a hit and run on your bank account. I've turned them over to the Better Business Bureau.
out of 14 user reviews
The service never worked but they billed me anyway
Pros: It never worked, how can I write a pro?
Cons: The service never worked, but they billed me anyway.
out of 14 user reviews
Terrible customer service
Pros: It is very convenient to receive faxes via email.
Cons: Terrible customer service. A lot more expensive than other comparable services.
out of 14 user reviews
aoto-bill-theivery
Pros: faxesfgfgbgf
Cons: autotheftf
Beware!
out of 14 user reviews
They cheated me
.
Pros: It sometimes works
Cons: Customer service is horrible. Terrible people. I paid them over $1,500 over the years and canceled over 2 months ago. They still ran my credit card for the past two months.
out of 14 user reviews
Simply awful.
Pros: Nothing, nothing at all. STAY AWAY.
Cons: Customer service is a joke. More importantly, the service would LOSE faxes. It is completely unreliable.
out of 14 user reviews
Awful and a mistake on my part trusting them
Pros: Free if you receive only a handful of faxes a month
Cons: If you may get more than a handful of faxes - look elsewhere. Their service is NOT reliable. Many of my customers called to tell me my fax was not working. This happened more than once so i called. Their CS was awful too.
out of 14 user reviews
Really helpful if you're out of the office a lot
Pros: Lets me get my faxes on my notebook when I'm in our field offices
Cons: Still need to use a fax machine every once in a while to send a paper fax
out of 14 user reviews
This product is very helpful with maintaing my contact with clients.
Pros: Very easy to use and helpful for home businesses.
Cons: The monthly fees are a little high
out of 14 user reviews
Use eFax every day
Pros: Extremely easy to use. Lots of useful features. Can check faxes from my mobile phone.
Cons: Not the cheapest, but the best Internet fax service I've tried.
out of 14 user reviews
Worst customer service
Pros: I don't think there are any pros with this company
Cons: The chat agents are really rude
out of 14 user reviews
No better than a fax machine--possibly worse
Pros: Handy when it works
Cons: Extreme frustration when it doesn't work
As someone who's trying reduce my life's clutter--paper and machines being the highest priorities--this technical solution seemed perfect. No more running out of paper. No paper jams. In fact, no need for paper at all. Great, right? Well, only when my eFax number works.
A few weeks ago, a business runs into problems trying to send me a fax. I called eFax Customer Support; they sent a test fax; it worked fine. I called my eFax number myself, and I got a fax tone, too. So I argue to the person attempting to send me the fax that the problem must be on their end. Other people are able to send me faxes, so I think it's fine.
Today, it happens again. A business tries to send a fax, and when they dial my number they get: "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and try your call again." Again, I call the eFax number myself, and this time I get the recorded message, too ("can't be completed as dialed"). But eFax Customer Service says they are able to dial it fine--five times. After alot of arguing, they agree to "escalate" the problem. They also say they might be able to give me a $5 credit for all the trouble it's causing. Oh, and they still don't know when or if it will be fixed, but they will "let me know by email".
At least with a physical fax machine, I have something to beat on when it stops working. With this fax "service", I can only beat my head against the wall.
I originally gave this service a 2/10 rating, but I after my experience today, I must now reduce that to a 0/10 rating.
This morning, I called customer service. I was connected to Darick in India. He had no idea that there was a problem with my account. He told me he would test the number. After his test, he told me that he dialed the number 5 times, and it worked. I told him it didn't--I had just tried it this morning. After being placed on hold a couple more times, he told me that the fax number worked when it was dialed from outside Texas, but it didn't work if it was dialed from inside Texas.
He then offered me a month of free service, but I decided that was an offer I could pass up since the service doesn't work. I then tried to close my account and get a refund for my unused months. (I'd bought a 1-year subscription.) Darick put me on hold to check with his supervisor. He came back and said he was real sorry, but no refund was available. So I asked to speak to his supervisor. I get put on hold yet again, then he return with: "I'm very sorry, but the supervisor is busy." For the next 28 minutes, I continued to ask for the suprvisor, and I was refused. Finally, once he realized I wasn't going to hang up, he transferred me to the "next level of service," which turned out to John in California.
John said he would refund my money, so we'll see if that happens.
This company has hurt my business.
out of 14 user reviews
Save your money and use e-mail
Pros: My eFax did eventually arrived, easy to use website
Cons: Slow service, hard to cancel account
I decided to stick to email but when I went to the eFax website I was unable to find information on how to cancel an account. The 800 customer support number directed me via recording to a 323 area code number (which I assume is not toll free). Calling the 323 number gets you another recorded message saying that cancellations are only handled online at www.efax.com/cancel. That information is nowhere to be found on the efax site, not in any of their FAQ files or any of their help materials. I can only conclude that eFax is trying to make the cancellation process as hard as possible so they can continue to bill customers as long as possible.
The eFax website was easy to navigate and use, but two+ hours is a bit long for a fax to float around cyberspace before being delivered. I would only consider the eFax Plus service if you do not have access to email.
