RNK Inc. RNK Telecommunications Service went dead without warning; they have my money; turns out they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year ago. Dedham, Massachusetts

I'm the original complainant, and want to make sure that the complaint is understood correctly.

It took work to learn this, but when I did, it became clear that RNK was not a ripoff. They failed, perhaps due to being too good. We got completely satisfactory service from them for ~10 years.

I believe they got hammered  by the big boys who wanted them gone, including Verizon and AT&T. After their defeat, Signalpoint picked them up and ripped us off. We didn't get our balance back until we demanded it.

The idea that it's better to use a "reputable" supplier is pro-monopoly-capitalist nonsense. There is no evidence that so-called "reputable" suppliers are less likely to rip us off. Perhaps some people think Verizon is reputable, notwithstanding its toll rates 225 times what we were paying for semi-local calls. Have you noticed what Verizon is trying to do to its workforce?

StanR, Wayland, MA

Here's a thought for you.  The reason you got such a good rate on your card is because they were a rip-off in the first place!  You're not going to find that rate again.  So quit being such a cheapskate, bite the bullet and go with a reputable company.  They have a good reputation for a reason.  Because they're reliable.  You won't be ripped off that way.

From news postings, I finally learned the name of the corporate vulture that took over RNK after its bankruptcy: SignalPoint Communications.

Without notifying customers in any way, they simply ended service on all RNK and Wave2Wave and DialAroundTheWorld prepaid calling cards. RNK's website continues just as though nothing happened.

I wrote SignalPoint and demanded they provide the minutes I had paid for. Their terse, unapologetic response was to offer a refund of my dollar balance, nothing else. I took that, but have not been able to find any carrier with a comparable price per minute.