Vonage sued over unclear information on 911 access

AUSTIN — The Texas attorney general sued the nation’s largest Internet-based phone service provider on Tuesday, saying Vonage failed to clearly inform customers that its service excludes access to 911 services.

The action follows a case in which a 17-year-old girl who was stymied trying to call 911 on her family’s Vonage service during an armed robbery in which both her parents were shot.

Filed under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the lawsuit seeks to stop Vonage Holdings Corp. from misrepresenting the type of emergency service it offers.

It also seeks to require the company to more clearly inform consumers the 911 dialing feature is not automatically activated when they sign up for the service.

The lawsuit seeks $20,000 per violation. The service has more than 500,000 subscribers.

Attorney General Greg Abbott said this information is only found in fine print on the Web site.