I am a skype customer now for more than a year, skypein number in NA, the works. I reside in Chicago, purchased the UCP for NA calls, and, as always, paid with credit card in US Dollars.

I mention the currency setting on the account because this, according to the skype website (url: http://support.skype.com/index.php?_a=know...ls&_i=1068), determines whether or not one is charged a connection fee for skypeout calls.

I travel often and work takes me to various locales, many outside the US and NA and sometimes for extended periods of time. No matter, according to the skype website "...Connection fees are based on your currency setting in My Account, and not on the country you are phoning to or from." The way I read this, it makes no difference where I am calling from-- China, Timbuktu or other, the connection fee charge is based upon my currency setting, and since mine is USD and I have the UCP, I have already paid for the connection fee for Noth American calls in the flat rate of the UCP. Am I missing something here???

From the beginning of the year, Skype continues to charge my account a connection fee for NA calls. I have written to skype support and, eventually, did receive a nice canned reply which informed me that if my IP address was outside NA, then I would be charged a connection fee for NA calls even though I purchased the UCP! This is in direct contradiction to the information on the official skype website, and makes me wonder if the skype support service is funded by nickle and diming tens of thousands of connection fees that have already been paid for!

I have now spent more money on connection fees from the beginning of this year than I paid for the UCP program-- of course, that is probably the point! I have written at least 10 times to customer support, no satisfaction. I'm sure that I'm not the only one in this situation.

I like the convenience, like the service (most of the time), absolutely HATE being nickled and dimed. I'm more than willing to join up with others for a legal settlement of this dispute. Don't really want to do this either, but just don't feel like I have been left with any other choices.

Has anyone else had this problem and was there any resolve?

Paul,
The information provided to you by Skype is correct.
Connection fees are payable on all SkypeOut calls unless they are made as an integral part of the UCP.
As the UCP covers SkypeOut calls made only WITHIN USA/Canada and TO the USA/Canada the connection fee applies to calls you make from and to overseas even if such calls originate within the USA/Canada.
I hope this helps to clarify the situation.

Please check my post again more carefully-- I am being charged connection fees for calls TO the US and Canada. I have paid the UCP charge, and continue to be charged the connection fee for calls to the US and Canada.

Please check my post again more carefully-- I am being charged connection fees for calls TO the US and Canada. I have paid the UCP charge, and continue to be charged the connection fee for calls to the US and Canada.

If your calls TO USA/Canada are made from OUTSIDE USA/Canada you will be correctly charged a connection fee as they do not constitute a call under the UCP program.
If, however, you are being charged a connection fee for calls which originate WITHIN USA/Canada and are made to landlines WITHIN USA/Canada(or indeed any charge at all) then this should not be happening with the exception of forwarded calls.
Please advise.

Please explain the following from skype's website regarding connection fees:


"Connection fees are based on your currency setting in My Account, and not on the country you are phoning to or from."

What is the meaning specifically of the underlined above and please apply your answer specifically to the UCP. I take this to mean that connection fees have nothing to do with the country I am phoning from, rather that the currency setting in My Account reflect either US or Canadian dollars (which it does), and that my calls are TO either the US or Canada (which they are) in qualifying for the terms of the UCP.

Norman, I see absolutely nothing about overriding connection fee charges for IP addresses outside North America, not even in the small print. Nor would such information even make sense as skype is a VoiP service and it makes no difference where the VioP call is initiated, rather at what point the service is applied (the connection from VoiP to landline or mobile telefony). In my case, the service is applied in Chicago, my SkypeOut calls are all charged applicable fees "as if I were in Chicago".


"Connection fees are based on your currency setting in My Account, and not on the country you are phoning to or from."

Please explain the following from skype's website regarding connection fees:
"Connection fees are based on your currency setting in My Account, and not on the country you are phoning to or from."

What is the meaning specifically of the underlined above and please apply your answer specifically to the UCP. I take this to mean that connection fees have nothing to do with the country I am phoning from, rather that the currency setting in My Account reflect either US or Canadian dollars (which it does), and that my calls are TO either the US or Canada (which they are) in qualifying for the terms of the UCP.

Norman, I see absolutely nothing about overriding connection fee charges for IP addresses outside North America, not even in the small print. Nor would such information even make sense as skype is a VoiP service and it makes no difference where the VioP call is initiated, rather at what point the service is applied (the connection from VoiP to landline or mobile telefony). In my case, the service is applied in Chicago, my SkypeOut calls are all charged applicable fees "as if I were in Chicago".
"Connection fees are based on your currency setting in My Account, and not on the country you are phoning to or from."

Hi again Paul,
There are no connection fees with the UCP.
Where connection fees are applicable they are based on the currency setting in your account - in your case (and mine) they are based on the dollar value.
When you make a call from outside NA your IP address will signal that fact and it will trigger a connection fee.
When you make a call from within NA to outside NA, the country access code will similarly trigger a connection fee charge.
Only when you make a call from within NA to a NA number and you have the UCP will there be no connection fee or indeed any charge at all.

Thank you for your explanatory remarks, Norman. I contend that the skype information (not yours) is, at the least, misleading and obfuscated.

As I mentioned earlier, I travel often and am currently in the UK although my currency setting is US dollars, my SkypeIn number is in Chicago etc. If I want to call a telephone number in, say, Germany, the rate I am charged by Skype is "as if I were calling from the US", correct???? Even though my IP address is in the UK???

I believe you can confirm that the answer is "yes", I would be charged from any location outside the US for any call "as if I were calling from the US" because that my currency setting is US Dollars.

Then why the ofuscation on the Unlimited Calling Plan? As in the example above, ANY call I make is charged according to my currency setting, not according to what country I am calling to or from. Therefore, ANY call I make to the US or Canada should be free of any connection fee becuase I have already paid the UCP and all calls are charged "as if I were in the US anyway"!

No, Norman, the UCP interpretation from skype is either entirely misleading, or outright fraud.

I have requested of customer support the contact information for the legal department for Skype, but so far have not received any word. If you could supply the information here it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

Paul,

I have had the same situation with regards to what's claimed and what's done inside of the Skype system or lack thereof.

As a world traveler I was obliged to take advantage of their "end of year special" whereby I paid the reduced rate for what I thought was going to be a continuation of the current "deal" I had with them for unlimited calls in the US and Canada from my Skype phone number. I was mistaken and unfortunately, I never, ever, never received a response from their "support" or "customer support" areas despite numerous attempts.

I and others in the US are now of the opinion that Skype is practicing bait and switch tactics and despite bringing the same information to their attention a number of times, we have not received any logical reply other than the same "lame" answer you received.

Becuase there have been more than just one or two people that have lodged complaints about Skype's billing practices it is becoming an issue that the US Courts will address with approval for prosecution from other soverigns to address this issue either without Skype's assistance. I have lodged a formal complaint with the State of Illinois Attorney's General's Office about this unfair practice and will continue to move ahead with the possiblity of a class action suit against Skype as well as notifying the appropriate offices in the United Kingdom and Canada so they too may review the complaint and take appropriate action to clear up the issue for the subscribers.

I can assure you and everyone that reads this that the Attorney General and many of the individual states and soverign regulatory agent in other countries don't take bait and switch for granted. They absolutely will not tolerate misleading and dishonest practices.

I would like to assure the good people at Skype that until they decide to change their billing practices to match what they claim, they will be scrutinized at maximum levels for a long time in Canadian, US and United Kingdom areas by attorneys and accountants.

If they decide that they are up to the task and will consider change things will definitely go much better for them. However, if they opt not to play by the rules, that's their option as well. However, given the option of doing nothing and facing legal challenges that will put them in a very bad light regardless of the outcome, they would probably be better off changing and owning up the fact that they've done a dis-service to the subscribers and implement a change to their billing practice or refund the fees and the accompanying additional funds they have overcharged to their subscribers.

Essentially, this is a warning shot across the bow and despite being a small business owner operator, the ability one person to blow the whistle and get the right people involved has happened before. The only question I have is, is Skype ready to dance or are they going to hide and play seek like so many other scam artists?

Roger Tinkerson

Thanks Roger, I knew I wasn't alone on this. I'm also not looking to pick a fight, but will aggressively defend myself from bullying tactics, bait and switch, whatever.

This really sucks because I was with skype in the beginning, there were growing panges for sure, but the attitude was markedly customer oriented.

The brand was purchased but the focus was lost, and I'm pissed that I now have to listen to what the current definition of "is" is.

Thanks Roger, I knew I wasn't alone on this. I'm also not looking to pick a fight, but will aggressively defend myself from bullying tactics, bait and switch, whatever.

This really sucks because I was with skype in the beginning, there were growing panges for sure, but the attitude was markedly customer oriented.

The brand was purchased but the focus was lost, and I'm pissed that I now have to listen to what the current definition of "is" is.

Paul,

I don't want to pick a fight with anyone at all. But when they tell me one thing and do another, that just makes me think that there's more to what they are doing than meets the eye. Now I realize that it may be an honest mistake or an honest accounting process but if it is then they are obligated to fix it or refund the money or do something to take care of their mistake. I certainly don't want them to stop their services or anything similar because that would be counterproductive. I use the service like you and many others but if they don't change they'll end up with an image problem and legal issues that they will have to prove out in either pleadings or motions and negotiations with the various legal processes. They don't want to do that and I don't want them to have to do that.

The solution is simple, either fix the billing and accounting process or change the wording on the web site where they claim one thing and do another. If they change the agreements with the consumers, then they owe us either a service rate rebate equal to what they've charged or a refund. Either way its not that hard to remediate.

Just my thoughts.

Roger

If your calls TO USA/Canada are made from OUTSIDE USA/Canada you will be correctly charged a connection fee as they do not constitute a call under the UCP program.
If, however, you are being charged a connection fee for calls which originate WITHIN USA/Canada and are made to landlines WITHIN USA/Canada(or indeed any charge at all) then this should not be happening with the exception of forwarded calls.
Please advise.

Norman,

The information skype posted on their web site and the agreement mentions nothing about a per minute call fee IF the user pays a UCP and the calls are made TO USA and Canadian phone numbers. in Paul's case he's correctly stating the situation and to be honest, skype is not being honest in their dealings with the consumers when they practive billing from an external IP address. Its not in the service level agreements and not published on their Q and A sections.

If I am incorrect, please feel free to make the correction because I've been over this numerous times and not found the language that outlines that practice.

Thanks for your time,

Roger

Well folks, it looks like we have progressed as far as we are going to progress in this venue.

Norman (or other in-the-know Skype personnel who might be reading this post), please be so kind as to provide the contact details for the legal department at Skype including the corporate headquarters. A point of contact would also be helpful, although not absolutely necessary.

Who knows. In the end, a legal challenge, defense and resolution might just help to better define and clarify the relationship between the new Skype and the old & new Skype customers.

Just a suggestion-- I think that it would be better in the long run for Skype to lose the current attitude of "what can we get away with" and adopt the more customer-oriented "do the right thing." You don't need to nickel-and-dime us with deliberately misleading shadow language. The Corporate-Customer relationship should be symbiotic, not parastic.

Peace-out.

Hey Guys, I've been following your thread, and agree that perhaps a letter from a lawyer or ten (as much as I hate lawyers) may be the only way to get them going. I tried finding Skype office information, but they seem to want to keep that as quiet as possible on their website (go figure).

They do seem to have offices in Luxembourg and Estonia though here's what I found.

Good luck! And let us know if you do anything.

Hey Pat,

Looks like Skype has gone mainstream, found this UK address for them (and tel. number) in London.


Skype Technologies
2 Stephen Street
London, W1T 1AN
United Kingdom

Tel: +44-(0)20 7291 0350 (FYI--if calling from outside the UK, omit the first "0" in parens)

Now we'll see if there is any resolve to be had.

WOW! Where did you find an actual contact number??? Let us know if it actually works!

I called the number and a person answers. They tell me that the only way to contact the legal department is to address a letter to:

Legal Department
Skype Technologies
2 Stephen Street
London, W1T 1AN
United Kingdom

I asked to speak with a person-- not available (go figure). I will therefore have my lawyer address a letter and see what happens.

I do not know how this was resolved, or if it was resolved, but I have run into a somewhat similar problem, that has even more perplexing features.

I live in the US and use Skype to call the US and Canada. I have an unlimited plan for calling the US and Canada. I have not used Skype anywhere outside the US, or even my immediate area.

Suddenly, Skype believes I am outside the US and has started charging me for calls inside the US. This should not happen, since I am inside the US and I am calling within the US. I have tried a couple of different local IP addresses, both US IP addresses, with the same result. I wrote to complain but the response is very slow.

I am now uninstalling and reinstalling, but I do not know if this will fix it. Perhaps some Skype virus or corruption has caused a problem, or perhaps Skype has a bug in their software or systems someplace.

Anyone else with a similar problem? If so, how did you resolve it? Did you? I am a big Skype fan and have used it for several years. I have recommended to several other people who also bought subscriptions. However, this is quite disturbing to me and I certainly am unlikely to continue promoting this product if I do not get some sort of satisfactory response.

This post has been edited by Bob in MD: Sat Dec 6 2008, 02:32

Hello Bob,
Let me have your username and the date you filed your first support ticket - approx. will be OK so I can follow this up and get it resolved.

Thanks Norman. I sent you a message with more particulars, but the trouble ticket I submitted is identified by:

GQW: My skype unlimited calling plan is not working <<#2015226-2950200#>>

I sent this in on December 4 2008.

I have responded to the claim that I am outside the US with evidence. I tested it by using a different US IP, with the same results. I deleted and reinstalled, with the same results. I deleted ADPHONE which I thought might be confusing the Skype software (even though they have coexisted for a few days on my machine with no previous ill effect) but Skype still thought I was outside the US.

Could it be some sort of cookie? I do not think I have a virus causing a problem.

Thanks

I will add that when I look at the main Skype window during these calls, the user interface recognizes that I am in the US and I am calling a US number. And still, Skype wants to charge me for being outside the US.

So at least some part of the software recognizes my correct location and the correct location of the party I am calling. But some other part of the software connected with Billing seems to think I am outside the US.

Does not seem like a good thing.

Skype wants to charge me for being outside the US.

BR98157
Bob,
Are you running an older-style SkypePro program and not an Unlimited Plan?
With Unlimited Plans your location isn't relevant.
It was relevant with SkypePro.
In any case your IP is clearly showing you in MD on my system which I have relayed to SkypeCS.
Also - is your Plan active - not suspended?
I've raised your case for early review.
Please quote the above locator # on future posts.