MyFax
MyFax is an Internet business communication tool which had been provided by the Ottawa-based software company Protus IP Solutions.[1] The company was acquired by j2 Global in December 2010.
| Corporation | |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Canada |
| Services | Online Fax Service |
| Parent | j2 Global |
| Website | http://www.myfax.com |
Background
Internet faxing is a service that permits the sending and receiving of faxes using the Internet rather than the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN), also known as the plain old telephone service (POTS) or a traditional fax machine.
Faxing online eliminates problems with traditional faxing, including connection issues, busy signals and loss of data. Internet faxes can be delivered to multiple email addresses and forwarded to multiple recipients rather than to one machine at a time.[2]
History
MyFax was launched by Protus IP Solutions in 2009 as an alternative to fax machines, as it enables users to send and receive faxes from any location.[3] MyFax has grown to over 400,000 subscribers,[4] with approximately 20,000 new customers subscribing to the service each month.[5]
On December 6, 2010, MyFax announced that it had been acquired by j2 Global Communications, Inc, owners of eFax.[6]
Features
Some of the features of MyFax include the ability to send and receive faxes by email and through the internet, as well as send faxes directly from Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Windows-based applications including Google Docs, OpenOffice.org, and Intuit QuickBooks.[7] Recently, a program has been released that allows for iPhone and BlackBerry applications to make it fully compatible with smartphones.[8]
In 2009, TMCnet claimed that “MyFax is the fastest-growing Internet fax service used by individuals, small, medium and large businesses to send and receive faxes using existing email accounts or the web. MyFax offers services to industries in North America and Europe that are recognized as some of the fastest-growing adopters of Internet fax including healthcare, finance, insurance, real estate, transportation and government.”[9]
MyFax is now owned by j2 Global, which has imposed very restrictive terms and conditions restricting the client's right to local number portability. Among the restrictions is a $40 US charge per number if j2 permits the number to be ported out; the company imposes many arbitrary restrictions on portability and has attempted to claim the numbers as its own property, in some cases imposing inflated penalties and unilaterally taking numbers back after they've been ported to another provider by clients.[10]
Reviews
Before its acquisition by j2 Global, MyFax had received a few favourable reviews[11] including an Internet Telephony magazine product of the year for 2009.[12]
While the impact of the j2 Global acquisition is unknown, other companies acquired by j2 have been the target of frequent consumer complaints regarding sales tactics,[13] inflated fees to cancel the service[14] and toll-free number portability issues.[15][16]
Additional Reading
Internet faxing grows more popular - Wailin Wong
References
- ↑ 2009 INTERNET TELEPHONY Product of the Year Awards - Tmcnet.com,http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/0210/2009-internet-telephony-product-of-the-year-awards.htm
- ↑ Working from Home (Without Looking Like It) - Gigaom.com, http://gigaom.com/collaboration/working-from-home-without-looking-like-it/
- ↑ Protus Launches MyFax, an Internet-based Fax Service for SOHO Market - Protus Press release, http://www.protus.com/company/news_room/release.asp?r=115
- ↑ Putting 400,000 Subscribers into Perspective - Inside MyFax blog, http://blog.myfax.com/2009/11/putting-400000-subscribers-into.html
- ↑ 2009 INTERNET TELEPHONY Product of the Year Awards - Tmcnet.com,http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/0210/2009-internet-telephony-product-of-the-year-awards.htm
- ↑ http://www.myfax.com/about/news-room/release.aspx?r=404
- ↑ MyFax features, http://www.myfax.com/features.aspx
- ↑ New iPhone Application Gives MyFax Customers Access to Faxes at Their Fingertips,http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/software-services-applications-internet/14924706-1.html
- ↑ 2009 INTERNET TELEPHONY Product of the Year Awards - Tmcnet.com,http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/0210/2009-internet-telephony-product-of-the-year-awards.htm
- ↑ From http://www.myfax.com/legal/terms.aspx : "IF YOU FAIL TO SATISFY ANY OF THE FOREGOING REQUIREMENTS, j2 GLOBAL SHALL REMAIN THE CUSTOMER OF RECORD OF THE NUMBER(S) AND YOU ARE EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED FROM CAUSING OR ATTEMPTING TO CAUSE SUCH NUMBER(S) TO BE TRANSFERRED TO ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER, TELEPHONE CARRIER OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY. j2 GLOBAL ALSO RETAINS THE RIGHT TO RECLAIM THE NUMBER(S) FROM YOU AFTER THE NUMBER(S) ARE PORTED OUT IN CONTRAVENTION WITH THESE REQUIREMENTS AND TO CHARGE YOUR CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD THE U.S. $500 (WHICH AMOUNT MAY VARY OUTSIDE OF THE U.S.) IN LIQUIDATED DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE."
- ↑ MyFax Recognized as Top Internet Fax Service by TopTenREVIEWS, http://faxing-service-review.toptenreviews.com/myfax-review.html
- ↑ MyFax and my1voice Receive INTERNET TELEPHONY Magazine's Product of the Year Award, http://www.myfax.com/about/news-room/release.aspx?r=358
- ↑ http://www.consumeraffairs.com/cell_phones/efax.html lists 35 consumer complaints against eFax, another j2 Global subsidiary
- ↑ A client claims to have incurred $130 in cancellation fees at www.ripoffreport.com/r/EFax-J2-Global-Communications-Inc/internet/EFax-J2-Comm-eFax-J2-Global-Communications-Inc-account-never-cancelled-130-in-extra-c-469614
- ↑ A complaint from an outside RespOrg at tollfreenumbers.com/onebox indicates problems porting numbers out of the service.
- ↑ Number portability has also been an issue in consumer complaints: www.ripoffreport.com/r/J2-Communications-Dba-Evoice-Plus-Evoice-Receptionist/Hollywood-California/J2-Communications-Evoice-Plus-Evoice-Receptionist-j2-claims-inability-to-port-internal-n-373786