Skype sucks.
Continuing today’s trend of bitching about corporate suckage, I just got screwed by Skype. Skype seems to be an interesting Voice-over-IP application with Linux, Windows and OSX versions that I thought would be extremely useful in talking to my wife when I’m back in Canada. So I tried to buy “credits” for about $15, and the Skype payment processing system showed the transaction as cancelled. So I figured maybe I fucked up the Verified by Visa phase of the process. I try again, same thing.
I then called CIBC’s VISA department, and surprise - the payments both went through! I immediately tried to contact Skype, but the only method of doing so is their “Live Person” support chat. Which is horrible. So I get into the chat with two different “people”, who miraculously resond to my queries with the exact same answers, word-for-word. Then I find someone else complaining about Skype payments, and sure enough, I see the same fucking support conversation.
I really, really want this system to work out for me, so I’ve not given up just yet.
Ron said,
October 15, 2004 @ 10:08 am
Dude, you’ve just been robbed.
D-Kal said,
October 15, 2004 @ 10:23 am
Is there an equivalent of primus talkbroadband over there? I have talkbroadband here and I could take my gateway to Japan if I wanted. Maybe you could do the reverse. The plus is you could use the phone line in Japan as your home phone.
ravand said,
October 15, 2004 @ 12:07 pm
That is crazy, not only did they do it once, but twice??
Have you tried Glophone? http://www.glophone.com it seems similar to Skype. I use the free version.
Marco said,
October 24, 2004 @ 7:42 am
Send an email directly to the president of Skype:
Niklas@Zennstrom.com
He won’t reply, but if you send the same email
once a day for more than a week, some one from
skype will contact you to fix the problem :)
- Marco.
Icar said,
November 1, 2004 @ 11:16 am
Did this payment ever end up going through. This sort of thing has happened to me before, except I had five payments pending. After viewing my account on line and calling the bank they verified that the transaction was marked 5 times. What I found out was that most merchants have a “pending” transation list. Your order is put in this list, though if you never get a transaction verification number, this order will not be processed and the pending debit will be removed from your account. Is this what happened, or did they actually remove the cash from your account?
Chris said,
November 1, 2004 @ 1:19 pm
Hi, about Skype … Their online payment system really sucks, but, they will not charge you for credit you haven’t got… (had this situation several time before) just try to buy credit onather day … stupid but it works.
roue said,
November 3, 2004 @ 6:56 pm
Saw your post on Ask.Mefi but don’t have an account there. If you’re just interested in cheap voice communication with your wife I would suggest getting TeamSpeak ( http://www.goteamspeak.com ). It’s free, easy to set up and use, and the sound quality is great. There are Windows and Linux clients and servers. I keep a server up 24/7 to talk with my folks and friends back home, you’re welcome to hop on and try it. Email me for the address if you like.
r o u e at s p e a k e a s y dot n e t
traveltony said,
November 5, 2004 @ 9:54 am
does this skype work well making calls from computer to phone?
seira said,
November 12, 2004 @ 6:55 am
I agree that SKype skypes the prize in the fuckin’ sucks department. I got totally ripped off by countless credit card charges that were apparently ‘cancelled’ and after waiting 30, 40 minutes on the so-called LIVE HELP chat room, I swear, it was a very sophisticated computer-generated response. I’m with you, I really had my hopes up to be able to call Canada for cheap, for heck’s sake, my DAD recommended it to me so I just trusted him. They are getting more and more creative in fraud these days.
Skyping off,
SKYPE SUCKS !!!
Richard L said,
November 25, 2004 @ 12:30 pm
The same thing happened to me I tried to by some Skype out credit and the payment was cancelled. When I used the chat line the operator on the chat line said that the Card Verification Code check failed.
He told me to try it again that perhaps I didn’t put in the right number. So I tried it the next day and the same thing happened.
I called my Visa center and they said there were two transactions for around $15.
Again I contacted Skype and they told me these are pending transactions and that they would not go thru and would disappear within a week.
I checked again with the visa center and they confirmed that they are simply a verification for payment authorization and not an actual transaction and they should disappear within a week.
I wonder if this is strictly a problem with the Canadian cards, because I notice the others that complained are also from Canada.
Richard L said,
December 10, 2004 @ 9:03 pm
Update to my last comments. The Visa center reported that I did not get charged for the two transactions they were actually pending and were removed about a week later.
I used my Mastercard instead and my payment was immediately accepted. I have since called England (Lydd), Scotland (Fort William), Arizona (Phoenix) and Australia (Sydney) and in all cases the quality was excellent. I have no complaints and will use SkypeOut again.
Nathan Smith said,
December 14, 2004 @ 9:54 pm
Luke, in your blog, you’ve described my dealings with ‘Skype Out’ to a ‘T’. Countless sessions with ‘live help’, numerous emails to their billing department and untold numbers of hairs pulled from my head. I use Skype to speak to friends and relatives across the globe almost every day however purchasing time for Skype out has been one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever undertaken.
Like you, I thought I may have screwed something up in the ‘Verified by Visa’ authorisation but noooooo. Every transaction was ‘approved’ by (in my case) CIBC yet declined by the evil Skype. What gives? Anyway, I have a site with some good Skype alternatives if anyone is interested:
netphonedirectory.com
cheers,
Nathan Smith
udlett said,
December 24, 2004 @ 3:42 pm
ALL IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS!!! NO SKYPEOUT IF YOU OUTSIDE THE EU!!!
Initially I was super impressed with Skype. Here was software that provided PC-to-PC and PC-to-Phone telephony all in one! And the sound quality with PC-to-PC was excellent. Then I tried to buy a SkypeOut voucher. Ignorant of the real issue/s, I went through the whole routine. You know, applied with the Mastercard/Visa options etc. I frowned when my transaction was (CANCELLED) and thought initially I had entered the information incorrectly or my card had been cancelled or maxed out. I naturally checked out all these possibilities and still couldn’t figure it out. Why could I not purchase SkypeOut credit? I went to the FAQ at the Skype website and low behold there was a breakdown on possible credit purchase problems. From all of the suggestions there I concluded if I wanted SkypeOut credit, I would have to register at Moneybookers.com. Then I was perplexed that after registering at Moneybookers, I still could not complete my transaction! Looking for answers I searched the internet and I found that I was not alone, many people had the same problem! I tried to find any consistencies with what people said on the internet and myself. I have come to the following conclusions. My findings show that only people within the EU can get SkypeOut and there were even people in the EU that had the same problem (Spain and others). Now what I believe is this:
OUTSIDE OF THE EU IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET SKYPEOUT CREDIT PERIOD
This can only be for a limited number of reasons:
1) the Skype software cannot provide the interface between international telecommunication providers, and will only be rectified after a patch which Skype developers are frantically trying to finish
2) there is some legal issue that Skype has to get around before they can provide this service
3) or possibly more sinister; Skype are in fact never going to provide this service, and are using the failed credit card transaction process to somehow make money with MoneyBookers!?
CONCLUSION
I think the fact that the issue of failed credit applications being the first issue discussed in their website FAQ was not a coincidence. There is a strong possibility that they are well aware of the problem and are stalling until they fix the problem and are avoiving announcing this so potential customer do not go to other VOIP vendors in the meantime. This is reinforced by the fact that they do not have a proper support structure and have an electronic chat service to fend off all the credit purchase queries. I also think its unethical that Skype still encourages people to purchase SkypeOut credit and even more unethical by encouraging people to “keep trying” if they still have a problem. I submit that all non-EU customers cannot purchase SkypeOut credits for some reason that Skype knows about but will not admit.
Thanks for nothing.
Roald said,
January 3, 2005 @ 3:50 am
My father tried to buy SkypeOut credit with a VISA card and that didn’t work at all (constantly CANCELLED). However I had no problems using a Mastercard and we used that too to buy credit for him. Perhaps the problems are only related to VISA cards?
webby said,
January 10, 2005 @ 12:16 pm
SkypeOut does work, I used the buy credits function.
You have to type everything at the form, then it will work.
If one of the fields stays blank, they can’t perform your request..
so, try again!
Good Luck
Webby
Webby said,
January 10, 2005 @ 12:17 pm
btw, I used my visacard
Jimmy said,
January 13, 2005 @ 2:19 am
Lingo, not sure if this fits your needs but I’ve been super stoked with lingo. It’s a phone that works over my internet, broadband needed. Calls from the US to western europe, Canada, and all of the US are free all the time. I also call Australia for .03 a min a fair amount.
If you’re interested I can get you a $25 credit. drop me some mail at my gmail address, akubird is the name.
lates
Rupert said,
January 15, 2005 @ 10:32 am
I have just been trying to credit my account.
CANCELLED, CANCELLED, CANCELLED.
Everytimw cancelled. Went on to live support and after 30 minutes got a response by some asshole saying the credit card verification has been rejected.
So pulled out another credit card and CANCELLED again.
Then tried moneybookers. THEY WANTED ME TO FAX THEM A COPY OF MY IDEA!. What bull shit is that?
I really liked skype but, now, it sucks. I told the live help operator how unprofessional skype is and that I was leaving skype for another company. And guess what, I probably will.
This is just ridiculous.
Skyping Out
Claudio de Biasio said,
January 17, 2005 @ 9:53 pm
Guys, don’t really know what to say… I am using it to call US from Italy, at .9€ instead of 12.something€ per hour… installed - it worked great. Bought 20 bucks credit - first time I got it with no probs. Really, it may be the connection, or whatever else - I’m just surprised.
Hope Skype - or any other product offering these same features - will just keep improving.
Byeeeeeeee
Claudio de Biasio
Rod said,
January 20, 2005 @ 9:40 pm
Maybe it’s a Canadian thing. I’ve never had a problem with skype…
Patrick said,
January 22, 2005 @ 10:40 pm
I am in the US. and I bought $10 from skype several months ago. it was cancelled somehow but I got the credit on my account. later it was charged to my credit card. seems just like a small bug. but ever since then, I couldn’t recharge my skypeout. everytime I tried my master card, it failed. I called my credit card company, they said they didn’t even see this transaction. so I guess skype never sent this request to my credit card company. and I tried to put some wrong card number, wrong name. same thing. they didn’t even check it!!!
it sucks!!!!
Dean Machnicki said,
January 25, 2005 @ 5:28 am
I’m UK, I’ve never used Skype at all, yet have had four payments taken from my credit card account. I have sent numerous mails to skype, but want to speak to someone via phone to get this fraud sorted. Impossible. My credit card company are working on it. My opinion, leave skype well alone, its all an elaborate hoax to get lots of money for nlittle sevice and no outlay.
Polar Bear said,
January 26, 2005 @ 4:29 am
Well, SkypeOut works in Iceland and you can buy credit here without any problems so definitely it’s not restricted to EU.
Gavin Stewart said,
January 26, 2005 @ 9:58 am
I too have tried to buy credit from SKYPE. It is unbelievably torturous and actually pathetic. After 2 days I still can’t use there service. Are they jokers or what? As for Moneybooker.com , they are truly awful. I stared believing that SKYPE was the answer to many problems now I think they are one of the worst companies I have ever come across. Why make people paying you so hard?
I do hope I get some real help from them as I want the system to work
Mo said,
January 29, 2005 @ 2:46 am
I’ve used SkypeOut. I used my Visa card which I’ve got through a bank in the UK, and I never have any problems. Plus, you get the credit almost instantly, compared to some other similar companies I’ve tried (one waited 24 hours before giving me my credit whenever I topped up).
skreis said,
January 29, 2005 @ 5:39 am
just bought me a 10€ worth credit. 30 secs later called my mom:). no problems whatsoever. fast and accurate. sound quality is way better compared to that of landline.
Ilya Butenko said,
February 4, 2005 @ 9:30 pm
I used Skype for a few months with no issues at all. Just recently I realized that I can’t buy more credits: my card was refused, and then my payment options were locked, and Moneybookers was the only option left.
“Live Help” didn’t help: one hour of wasted time. This guy didn’t pay attention to me at all, and his only suggestion was to wait.
Later on I realized that my address got modified (I haven’t touched it). Skype software changed my country of residence from US to US, Virgin Island. I fixed that, but - yet - no improvement.
I’ll probably switch to something else… Too pissed off…
Walter said,
February 6, 2005 @ 12:03 pm
just bought 10 euro credtis.. but it says its cancelled…
jcn50 said,
February 8, 2005 @ 3:01 pm
Don’t go there, it’s a Scam!!….. Find other alternatives on Voxilla.com !
Mikkel said,
February 10, 2005 @ 4:16 pm
Hi all, i just tried to credit my skype account today for the first time . then indeed my account was credited on web browser. hey but i could not see it on skype application on my pc. it constantly shows buy credit! options to me. waited just 20min on live chat (i was lucky) then someone connected said to me just to wait. dont know if i could get the credit. by the way, i am from denmark. ironically, we should have seen this site before buying credits, folks!:)
Erik said,
February 14, 2005 @ 10:51 am
I’m in Australia. Tried to buy 10€ credit using Visa, but the server (secure.bebit.com) was not being found after I selected Visa and clicked proceed.
Got online (waited 30 mins) and the person started pasting preset answers to me without even reading my questions, but then said to try next day.
Next day I tried and managed to buy the credit, but couldn’t use it, cuz the ‘My purchases’ page said the transaction was (CANCELLED).
Got online with support (waited 70 minutes this time) and the person again gave me a robotic advice to make sure I enter the right verification number and other details correctly, but I am sure I did, cuz I triple-checked before submiting.
They also told me if it doesn’t work, to try next day, which sounded like if I was drunk and needed a good sleep to manage to enter all the numbers correctly the next day.
Obviously they are aware of the problem if they tell people to try another day.
I do not think it’s a scam though, like some people above suggest.
Dave said,
February 15, 2005 @ 4:56 am
With reference to Dean Machnicki posting on January 25th 2005. I too have come across the same problem. Common similarities appear to be:
a) Resident of the UK.
b) Surname beginning with Mac or Mc.
It would be interesting to know if using the same ISP is also a common factor in this scam.
Hemmo said,
February 15, 2005 @ 5:41 pm
Want to buy SkypeOut using VISA from The Netherlands. It continuously fails, either with a REFUSED or a CANCELLED.
My colleague tried Mastercard. Went like a charm.
I have immediately stopped promoting this service. Payments should go Ok.
Pitty. It looked good.
grazzy said,
March 2, 2005 @ 9:54 am
i just spent 45 minutes on the “live support” trying to understand where my 10 euro went that i payed last summer. (8 months ago).
After waiting for 15 minutes, it took the lady “Samantha” 20 minutes to find out that my account has “expired”.
Well, fuck that I tell you. Dont use skype if you want to keep your money or GET something with they money you PAY them.
Im uninstalling this piece of shit and telling everyone not to use it.
George said,
March 6, 2005 @ 2:38 am
The notorious Moneybookers was the only payment option for me and I’ve uninstalled the whole thing at once. MB support sucks even more than the skype’s one, if it’s possible - I tried to “fund” my 2 accounts with them since 2002, “support” is just non existing.
All in all, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be a big-scale hoax. My impression is that the both companies have murky roots somewhere in Eastern Europe and India… still wanna giv’em your card info?
Dave said,
March 9, 2005 @ 4:53 am
Why would anyone in their right mind Fax a copy of the front and back of their credit card along with a corresponding statement and other identification to Moneybookers? I’ve used SkyPe Out as I had credits related to the purchase of a headset and thought it was awesome, but the prospect of using Moneybookers?? NO THANKS !!
When I’ve attempted to buy credits, the only options presented to me are Moneybookers. It shows PayPal as Beta and no credit card options. I initially tried to buy credits while in Italy and wasted time with their online chat. I thought that perhaps when I returned to the UK I would have more options, but that hasn’t been the case.
Jack said,
March 9, 2005 @ 12:27 pm
Why not just use Paypal? My credit appeared instantly and have used it with no problems 3 times already. I’m not sure why anyone is having difficulty…..most people have a Paypal account….use it, it’s easy. SkypeOut has saved me loads of money so far and the quality is pretty damn good. Get off their case, teething trouble with new payment methods? Use old reliable one’s like Paypal!!
Carlos said,
March 11, 2005 @ 8:03 pm
I have been using Skypeout for about a year now, works great, but the payment system sucks. I live in El Salvador, but also have USA based credit/debit cards.
2 months ago, no card issued in El Salvador, would work, so I tried a USA based VISA, and it worked OK.
Today I tried again, with my USA based card, I was directed to moneybookers, I tried with them, but could not get the VISA transaction to go through, unless I entered a USA based mobile phone number (which I don’t have). I tried the direct bank transfer option from El Salvador, and it asked me to go to my bank here and make the transfer (no way I will pay a US$ 40.- bank fee to make an Euro 25 transfer).
So I finally decided to try my El Salvador based VISA again, and this time it worked immediately.
Funny thing is that if I entered the mailing address in the USA for my USA based card, only moneybookers and Pay Pal (BETA) options showed up.
When I entered the address for my El Salvador based VISA, VISA, Master Card, Diners Club and Moneybookers optiones were displayed.
Skypeout collections system, must be run by a badly trained clown.
One last point, transactions show on my credit card statements w e e k s after they go through!
craig said,
March 23, 2005 @ 1:53 am
Guys…TRY freshtel.net
Skype wont be here for long…so its best not to spend too much time trying to make it work for you when they obviously dont want to work with you.
Sert said,
April 10, 2005 @ 3:28 am
I used VIsa and Master !!
The same shet…..\
Cancelled…..cancelled…..
Fkoff!!!
From Japan
Graham, South Africa said,
April 12, 2005 @ 4:27 am
Hi Everyone
Indeed Skype has had some problems with their online payment system. I had very similar problems to the other people above. Ended up with about five cancelled Euro 10 attempts. These did all dissapear within a week as the Skype agent said they would when I used their online help.
I used both VISA and MasterCard credit cards and both failed multiple times from South Africa.
The Skype agent suggested I try using their MoneyBookers option which solved my problem. I would recommend this route to those having hassles buying Skype credit. It’s a little bit of hassle to set up but very easy to use. Simply go to moneybookers.com and open an account. Load some credit and then select MoneyBookers as your payment option on the Skype website.
Skype do seem to have sorted out at least some of their problems with credit cards from other countries. South African credit cards seem to all work now. A friend managed to buy a few weeks ago and I managed today using a VISA credit card.
Skype is a great program that saves me hundreds of Rands per month by skipping out rip-off landline operators such as Telkom in South Africa. Visit: hellkom.co.za for an interesting read.
MIke said,
April 26, 2005 @ 11:44 am
I have never used SKYPE. Skype bills appeared for 5 months or my credit card along with bills for pdas to run it on. No help from Skype for me or to the credit card companies on proving information on who had the people who were using my credit cards. There was no serious intent on Skye’s part to verify the tranaction.I believe Skype was happy to get the money and had no interest in preventing fraud. Criminal activity involving skype reached the point that most of the American credit card companys put it on a list of companys to not accept charges from. Spain did the same. If Skype was really interested in preventing criminal activity and not getting rich from it then they would post a fraud telephone number and assist credit card companies in proscuting skype users who paid for their minutes using some one else’ credit card illegally. In my opinion, the RICO act should be enforced on Skype. Shut them down and put their employees in jail. If anyone thinks this is harsh ask yourself just how much fraud does it take for every credit card company in the US and Spain to blanket refuse their business and for them to now use a transaction vender in Taiwon.
Erich said,
May 7, 2005 @ 10:33 am
I have used skype for quite some time. It works very well for me. Never had problems buying Skype out with a swiss mastercard.
Must have saved hundreds of dollars so far compared to the reates I would have to pay for normal phone calls. In fact - I would not have made the phone calls - Skype helps me to keep in touch with friends and family.
Xattrabatt said,
May 9, 2005 @ 8:23 am
Mine worked perfectly. Moreover, some asshole from America keeps continuously to increase my credit amount every day. So I get to do phone calls for free everywhere in the world all the time. God Bless Skype.
Skype and you’ll never stay alone.
B.t.w. Thanks American Idiot.
Captain Petrenko said,
May 12, 2005 @ 9:59 am
To Canadians from Ukrainian Ottawa resident:
Get US credit card. Why? Check terms on Canadian cards. Some of them charge for currency exchange, some charge for foreign transactions (even in the USA).
I bought SkypeOut first time a week ago. It works perfectly. I was able to call 15 minutes after credit card (US Visa) processing. I was scared by arcot.com “Verified by Visa” verification process during purchase so I made some research before continuing.
SkypeOut calls to Southern Ukraine were very clear.
Yesterday I tried to call New Zealand. Quality was poor and I couldn’t use dial-tone menus. Regular Skype on the same route (Ottawa-Auckland) also had delays probably more than a second. At the time of conversation my netstat showed servers in Brasil and Sweden :) Still don’t know how Skype works but that was funny to me. We switched to MSN audio chat and it worked much better. I have to note that MSN audio chat has more “digital” voice quality. Skype is much better. Skype will cut voice in pieces but never reduces quality.
—
Today my friend told me that his Canadian card number PROBABLY was stolen during that transaction because he got unauthorized transaction in the amount of $30. The same happened to his father in Toronto but amount was $100. They purchased SkypeOut at the same time from different computers. So something CAN BE wrong in Skypish Kingdom.
rollyhackedoff said,
May 22, 2005 @ 11:39 am
I have been screwed by skype once and they still owe me €10 - I dumped the service as soon as I discovered it to be a con job and I was finding it impossible to make a connection - anywhere.
I converted to Babble see (Bon.net) it’s cheaper and has a superior service. It isn’t perfect, but it’s getting there I think.
rh
omp said,
May 22, 2005 @ 3:55 pm
yep, tried to get credits and always the same bullshit. Used a number of cards and same shit.
My worry is, is it all a bullshit fraud to get everyones credit card details and anything else just as sinister?!
Before I came accross this site I went to Moneybookers and they also wanted to know my date of birth! Bullshit. No airline booking has EVER asked me for this shit.
So is it a fraud?
Are the other ‘positive’ responses placed on here by the assholes who are maybe actually fraudsters?
I am VERY suspictious!
Graham, South Africa said,
May 28, 2005 @ 8:47 am
Skype is great program and appears to operate according to sound business practices. I’ve posted here before but would like to say again that I’ve never had problems with Skype. Have bought SkypeOut credit many times with no problems and have spoken to people PC to PC quite successfully. A DSL connection (or equivalent) is favourable but not essential. I have used dial-up to make successful calls in the past. If you have a problem with Skype, use their online help and they will assist you. It doesn’t make business sense for them not to help you. I have saved a lot of money by making long distance calls over Skype. For the person who posted about fears using MoneyBookers - They are a widely used and trusted company. I have had no problems having sent them all required information.
Adnog said,
May 30, 2005 @ 6:09 pm
Hey Graham - I’m interested in talking North America to South Africa … any comment on that?
Reach me at adnog@yahoo.com if you’re willing to share info.
Michael said,
June 2, 2005 @ 9:56 am
Moneybookers are a widely used and respected enterprise … they´re perfect for bank transfers but simply don´t want to deal with credit cards. That´s why they erect artificially high prohibitive hurdles for cc transactions.
btw:
1) new Skype Beta out today
2) Google for “HGC Skype” … all Skype related credit card transactions are processed within seconds.
cheers
Michael
el said,
June 3, 2005 @ 12:20 pm
Well I had enough of skypeout, their billing process is horrible, loop after loop after loop, and when you want to contact them by e-mail their system refuses your question. It’s clear they just don’t want my business. I’ll finish using the credits I have and start looking for a more professional outfit.
Any recommendations?
el said,
June 3, 2005 @ 12:35 pm
Is there something similar to skype in the US without the hassels?
Love Skype said,
June 6, 2005 @ 12:42 am
I am too. I can’t buy skype credit via my visa. So, i search and found 1 website that sell skype voucher. It’s very cheap. They sell 6$ skype credit with price 5.5$. I buy 1 and use it very easy. You can see at
skypevoucher.com
Kathy said,
June 7, 2005 @ 9:57 pm
I never order or used the system yet I am being charged 12.88. They have tried to directly remove the money form ny checking and/or credit card without authorization. I refused the payment and the bank refunded my money. Paypal has put a hold on my account. Skype has attempted 6 time to remove money. I have emailed them twice and am now filing fraud charges with the FBI. If anyone else thinks this is fraud here is the FBI’s information.
FBI 1800 251 7581
IFCCFBI.GOV
I for one am not happy with some company attempting to hack my accounts.
Kathy said,
June 7, 2005 @ 10:20 pm
I just wrote before and now I see under a google search that there is a serious fraud problem with Skype. try looking under “ripoffreport” on the internet. Skype was hacked according to the postings. I have filed a report with the FBI.
Chirag said,
July 8, 2005 @ 5:42 am
Just use HGC Skype its is by far the best, so fast and simple without any hassles.
Alfredo Melgarejo said,
August 7, 2005 @ 7:27 am
“If you receive the message that your account has been restricted to Moneybooker only it is because you have activated one of our internal fraud checks. We limit the number of purchases and purchase attempts in a specific time period, if you exceed that l”
That was one answer I finally got from the Skype helpdesk (automatically generated and croped like it appears here).
Isn’t it crazy? So if you want to do more business with them, they automatically restrict you. Such a thing I’ve only experienced in communist countries…!
And if they really limit the number of times to reload your account for “security” - hell, then why can’t they allow you at least to reload the amount that you want?? I was sometimes using skypeout for up to 30 EUR per day (long calls to central america) and I’d love to charge 200 or 300 at once. I was sometimes getting mad with this restriction to moneybooker (which am not going to use!). Well, now it seems its not working at all any more since days. F..k them!!
Dagma SA said,
August 10, 2005 @ 2:30 am
Skype: is not a good service
We are very disappointed with the service of Skype for the following reasons:
1. They do not provide any clear explanation for not accepting our VISA credit cards. They know that the system does not work for certain countries but they do not mention which ones and why.
2. We bought some bank cash cards to utilize skypeout,
a. at the beginning they were accepted,
b. then they were refused without any explanation.
3. We utilize this way to express our complaint as it is not possible to contact Skype directly. And this is dissappointing as well.
helolo said,
September 3, 2005 @ 4:32 am
nah. skype rocks mat.
i have saved about 1,000 USD using skype in 12 months from panama to uk.
mac to phone, mac to mac, mac to pc, pc to mac. visa cards etc. it works, no sweat. just enter your details right.
Skype User said,
September 11, 2005 @ 7:09 am
I have exactly the same problem, I can only pay with moneybrockers, not even with paypal.
Its really frustrating to buy skype credit, if they only knew how much money they are loosing with this.
dinesh said,
September 27, 2005 @ 10:21 pm
I used skype on my linux Gentoo today and noticed that I was charged 10 times more for my calls. I guess it is a bug and have reported it. Instead of 0.016 per min for a call to UK from India, I was charged atleast $1.5 for 7min or so.
Dave said,
October 17, 2005 @ 1:27 pm
I have had similar problems. Paid for Skype-In and Skype-Out services, they took the money and my card was charged appropriately, but when I went to put credit in my account to actucally MAKE calls, they locked my account saying I have tripped some fraud alert thing.
Nice way to do business, calling your paying customers fraudsters, by the way.
Also nice that a company that supposedly provides phone service, does not actually offer customer support via phone. (Should have been my first clue.)
Oh, and just TRY to cancel your account.
Barry said,
October 28, 2005 @ 9:03 pm
Skype still owe me over £100 ($160) that I paid them while trying to call my girlfried in Brasil.
Tha ‘live support’ is NOT live at all but some computer-based ‘AI’ which doesn’t work properly and keeps repeating itself.
When calling Brasil it was impossible to have a proper conversation because of the abysmal sound quality, dropouts, and the 5-10 second delays between speaking and the other person almost-hearing what I said. I tried to get a refund and the stupid ‘customer service’ kept telling me that they are experiencing ‘temporary quality’ problems which will be fixed soon.
OK, so what about the $80 I just wasted paying for calls that don’t work? No reply. ‘We are currently experiencing diff…’ I DON’T CARE! Your SERVICE DOESN’T WORK! I WANT MY MONEY BACK
No response….
MY advice… steer WELL CLEAR of these thieves / SCAM artists, and contact your credit card company immediately if you discover that they have charged you.
Skype is one of the biggest Internet Scams going right now, and they are suckering thousands of people every day into giving their credit / debit card details over the ‘Net and stealing their money. Don’t let yourself be one of their VICTIMS!
Please, let’s see the law doing it’s job and get those behind Skype behind bars where they belong! How many more people must get robbed before the authorities act?
Kevin said,
October 31, 2005 @ 7:57 pm
Skype is sweet. Do you really think eBay would spend $2.4 BILLION for them if they really sucked? 99% our all connection and sound quality issues is the fault of the customer not Skype. There’s been a ton of reviews of all VOIPs and most problems point to the customers crappy computers and slow connections.
VOIP is in its infancy but that doesn’t stop Skype from being one of the best out there.
Nathan Dornbrook said,
November 17, 2005 @ 1:45 pm
Um, Kevin, I know you didn’t read the rest of this thread, but I figure that’s no reason to forgive you.
Skype sucks - they aren’t just one of the worst, they are, in fact, the worst Voice over the Internet provider.
Why?
It doesn’t have to do with call quality. Call quality is brilliant. In fact, their closed, proprietary protocol sounds beautiful when talking from Skype to Skype. See, this only takes off when someone cracks the nut on how to charge people for phone calls and allows people to call from anywhere to anywhere.
Like the phone system works now, in other words.
Skype actually cracked that nut. They came up with Skype Out, a service that allowed people to call anyone in the world and you could buy credit to top up your account. It was elegant and clever.
They no longer provide this service, however. Instead, they offer the appearance of providing the service but in fact simply WASTE YOUR TIME.
Thanh Ngo said,
November 23, 2005 @ 8:16 am
I don’t know why so many people have trouble with Skype? I am working as a system admin in a company that has a callcenter too with 14 operators. We have each desk equipeed with one PC (Windows) and several workstations in administration running either Windows or Linux, but one they all have in common: Skype.
We use Skype-Out as our almost-sole means of outgoing telephony apart from fax machines and emergency landlines. We run thru several hundred $$ per month in Skype-out credits, which are paid intpo a “Skype Groups” account via Money Bookers and a Thailand-based VISA card (we are in Bangkok).
Usually, credit is in the account 20 minutes after the transaction went thru, we had ONCE a problem where it took several days to complete, and that was the very first attempt to “load” the account. Since then - no further problems.
I have seen in the Skype forums that an enormous number of people all over the world seem to have payment issues - luckily, not me :)
regards….
Thanh
jaz said,
December 5, 2005 @ 1:39 am
Skype is a scam people…. use phone cards… they are better…. skype has ridiculous rates.. if you are smart.. go to a private variety store and buy phone cards…. they have huge range of phone cards for all the country…idiots use skype out paything stupid rates
Chris said,
December 8, 2005 @ 8:39 pm
I’ve not used skype out or skype in yet,
although I was planning to until i read this,
Personally I would always go for using PayPal to pay if there is that choice, two levels of backup there, paypals fraud protection and then your banks fraud protection.
I am not sure why skype could call their paypal system a beta? since it is a proven technology that a trained ape can integrate and test, anyone can pay from anywhere in the world with paypal, and they no longer even have to sign up to pay!
Well, I read ebay brought skype, and since they OWN paypal I am guessing that the other payment methods will slowly vanish (we would hope anyway)
Zaphod said,
December 19, 2005 @ 2:38 am
But you know that PayPal has similar problems when it comes to fraud… paypalsucks.com/PayPalFormerEmployee1.shtml
nelly4 said,
December 19, 2005 @ 5:58 pm
After two successful purchases for SkypeOut credit, I have also experienced FOUR cancelled purchase attempts with both Visa and MasterCard. And after submitting a support request to Skype 4 days ago, I am still awaiting a reply. I guess I’d better not hold my breath! I see that the oldest post here is over one year old, and there was at least one industry publication regarding Skype’s problems with payments and customer service dated Feburary 2004. Clearly Skype had no intention to solve these issues, and has now passed the buck onto Ebay. I only wish I had googled ‘Skype complaints’ before getting so excited about the service. I think I’ll just go back to phone cards now.
Brian King said,
December 20, 2005 @ 9:17 am
Unfortunately this is not just a Skype problem. I have done some preliminary research and found similar problems on forums for competitors like Gizmo and Sipphone…
I’m planning a website forum built around this topic. Details to be posted later.
mandy said,
January 1, 2006 @ 6:36 pm
i have never used skype for calling..until a friend said i should but after i read all these threads ..im thinking twice now..so is there anyone who is from the UK and gets through fine to south america..you got to help me..
or if there are any other alternatives…
Bob Wardle said,
January 4, 2006 @ 7:09 am
I live in China and have read reports that Skype is being blocked because it is essntially a ‘free rider’ on the local telecoms lines. So I thought I would check with Skype that I could use their net to land line service in China.
But could i find a link on their site. Not fucking likely! Skype has an early edge on the market, but it had better watch it’s back because another company will surely come along and give more respect to thewir customers.
Bob
Anthony Barone said,
January 15, 2006 @ 9:40 pm
Skype has worked well for me calling from the US to Colombia for the most part. Call quality ranges from slightly below average to excellent and I think the quality problem lies in my girlfriend’s cell phone or the colombian network.
But I must say the payment system is really really bad. They work on the assumption that you are using stolen credit cards and they basically tell you this. You can’t use more than 1 card per billing address for the above reason. Also, as an above poster commented, after several payments with my credit card, they wouldn’t let me use my credit card anymore for fear of fraud(they have a limited number of uses per month before they automatically cut it off). WTF. Way to make it hard to buy your product.
Anyways, I’m currently looking for alternatives…its too much of a pain in the ass to keep buying 10 euro increments of time with this horrible system.
E71 said,
January 19, 2006 @ 8:27 pm
All VoIP apps are gay. There is no fucking point to this ‘new’ technology if it’s not free. IF skype was free then it should have been a big deal but if I’m gonna pay to make calls, I’d rather do it via the damn wireless carrier. Gay ass overhyped piece of shit.
Ricardo said,
January 27, 2006 @ 4:20 pm
I Live in Lima-Peru and I had the same f**ing problem.. i tried to buy $10.00 with my visa and NOTHING HAPPENS…(TWICE), I hope those s*ckers dont charge my credit whatsoever..
SB said,
January 30, 2006 @ 2:38 pm
Yes, but they have to make their money somehow E71. Free is great but it’s usually developed by geeks who make it so difficult to use no ‘normal user’ would use it.
Charging cards is not good though - I’ve never had a problem with Skype and have just cancelled my extortionate (by comparison) Telewest (UK cable) phone.
SB
occidental said,
January 31, 2006 @ 6:13 pm
skype is certainly an elaborate hoax. DO NOT PURCHASE skype out. they have serious issues with their payment platform. it is the worst company i have come accross with. my mastercard debit card have been charged and the order remains pending. their customer support is non-existent. they will not reply to my queries.
it is hell to deal with these people.
pepe said,
February 1, 2006 @ 12:57 am
skype is dishonest. watch out!! those crooks stole my money. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM!!
Dean said,
March 21, 2006 @ 11:55 am
Skype is a nightmare, a horrible company that does not understand customer service. I only found this link to this blog becasue I am researching other options. The frustrations I have had with purchasing Skype Out credit, and getting any support from them, outweigh any web or commerce experience I have had in my life.
Kane said,
March 24, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
I really like your bitching style.
James said,
April 16, 2006 @ 7:55 am
just got robbed by skype. paid 10 euros and got nothing in return, not even an answer to my complaint!
terri said,
April 17, 2006 @ 12:45 pm
Well just like James I paid 10 euros and got nothing in return, not even an answer to my eight or so complaints! I’ve asked for a refund - who knows if I’ll get it.
Seems there are an awful lot of us. Ten euros here, ten euros there… anyone up for a class action???
they must’ve made millions off of us mugs!
terri said,
April 17, 2006 @ 12:49 pm
by the way I have used Skype out at least five times before and it has always worked. It’s only been this time that I paid ten euros on 27th March and three weeks later it is not useable (tho it says the purchase went through “delivered”.
Do they have a random system of creaming off ten euro every hundred transactions or what? And customer “services’ never reply!
skypesucks said,
May 9, 2006 @ 8:50 am
I still don’t understand because you guys continue in using Skype and paying for that, when you can have voipdiscount for free (I mean free of charge and SIP based, with the same or even better voice quality)…
mikek said,
May 14, 2006 @ 9:02 am
Must say skype is has problem, all their own forums are filled with complaints my problem is I can not buy skype out because of SECURITY issues. How come I regularly buy airline tickets at 100s of pounds but cannot buy $15 dollars of Skypeout. Their customer service is none existint
ScottieP said,
May 15, 2006 @ 8:45 pm
i bought skypeout last year in february in the states to use in brazil. worked fine for three months then… cant buy no credits. said i was using a different credit card and i wasnt allowed to use but the original one. i only have one. that one worked fine in the brazilian atm’s. i went to canada from there in december. same there, couldnt buy credits. they even blocked my skypeout with the measley 3 credits then said they were canceling my account for inactivity. well, i made it home three weeks ago. guess what… i tried to buy credits again to save my account. it worked. hmmm….
now i am on my way to switzerland. does anyone know of a replacement i can use on my laptop that will still allow me to have a local number in the states and call pc to phone?
Lou Foltzer said,
May 30, 2006 @ 10:13 am
Be very careful. Skype has a credit cancellation policy in place where they can cancel your credit. They just cancelled mine ($71.00) despite many attempts to correct audio problems and attempt to get an adjustment and return for unused service because of an inability to communicate. After ten emails and in inability to raise any single person in a verbal communication, all I can do is advise the public that Skypes popularity is not entirely warranted and that their credit cancelation policies are akin to stealing. BEWARE! BEWARE!
Albert Simmons said,
December 2, 2006 @ 4:56 am
This forum is so puzzling. I have been using Skype for about two years, and yes I have had payments canceled BEFORE I realized the simple rules that the payment filter follows.
1. The card and the users address must match.
2. NUMBER ONE IS THE ONLY RULE!
What is wrong with you people, I thought nerds were supposed to be smart. Take it from me, Skype is revolutionary and brilliant. If a few unsuccessful payments are going to keep you away, you’re probably better off staying away from technology all together.
skype user name: mertimert
Emre said,
January 31, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
I was using their service since 2004, I can assure you, Skype is definitely not what it was before. They simply lie. Do not let them fool you by their rates webpage, they charge you a lot more. For instance, if you make a call and rate is 0.50$ per minute and if you talk like 61 seconds, they charge you full 2 minutes. This is how they make money. In my book, this is called “cheating”.
I recently (June 2006) moved to other voip clients, like voipstunt (voipstunt.com) and LowRateVoip (lowratevoip.com) and I can assure you those services are far better than Skype. Sound quality is the same (if not better) and rates are about 1/5 of Skype prices. USA, UK, Canada is 100% free (you have to pay 10$-15$ for 4 months ‘though).
Erik said,
February 7, 2007 @ 3:22 pm
I used the free skype. Liked it. So I went bought my phone number, and signed up for a year of calling to the US and Canada and the voicemail. I even bought a skype phone. total cost $200. Knowing that I no longer have a monthly phone bill: PRICELESS. They’ve always gotten back to me when I’ve had a question. So, I like SKYPE
Erik said,
February 7, 2007 @ 3:39 pm
E71: Yes you pay but contrast that with a monthly phone bill for 70$/mo. Big difference.
Jack Smith said,
March 2, 2007 @ 2:56 am
If you get ripped off and used a credit card, call the number on the back of your credit card. Tell them that you want to do a chargeback. They will take the money from the vendor and credit it back to your account if you can show you got ripped off (customer usually wins). Plus, the vendor gets charged a nice little chargeback fee.
Dan from NJ said,
November 8, 2007 @ 10:31 am
I just received 8 “confirmation” emails saying that I paid skype $10 using paypal.
I never heard of this company before now and have not purchased anything though paypal since over 2 months ago. I will be contacting paypal, our credit card company and probably the FBI to fight this scam. I used to think that paypal was relatively safe, what a fool I’ve been. I hope all the bastards behind this scam get caught and prosecuted to the max!