Voipbuster and the likes

towel401

alright I read some reviews on these guys and they're all bad except one or two that say it's excellent.

i tried it myself with Ekiga and the line was a bit crackly, quite bad actually. 300 minutes free per week isn't bad but on the interweb when something sounds too good to be true it probably always is. calling another SIP address from another provider didn't work. is it supposed to?

they also have a zillion other very similar sites which makes me suspicious. anyone here have any good or bad experiences with em?

MickyJoe

I have a couple of customers using VoipCheap with the AVM Fritz!Boxes and calls are generally grand. The odd call might be a bit dodgy but overall fine. These people are having to only top up (€10 + VAT + admin charge) about every six months so they're really happy. One is making calls to Japan and saving an absolute fortune on what they'd be paying Eircom.

Drakar

They're usually like 13 euro top up (including vat and charges etc) every 3 or 4 months depending on the site. That gives you like 300 minutes a week to the free countries. http://backsla.sh/betamax shows a price comparisson chart (note the prices dont include vat though). Its a bit of a scam in that they charge you vat on the top up, and vat on the calls.

MisterAnarchy

I've been using Betamax voip services for the last few years and I think its a great service.
I have the voip number matched to my home phone number so my number shows up when making voip calls.
Sound quality is fine ,I've no complaints.
Its far cheaper than Skype too and its less cpu intensive unlike bloated Skype.

Merjock

I've been using Blueface for the past couple of years with absolutely
no problems.Call quality is good and the prices are better than Skype.Their minimum top-up for the pay as you go option is only €5.
Free voicemail and 076 number to boot!

Derm

Earth Traveller

Drakar wrote: »

They're usually like 13 euro top up (including vat and charges etc) every 3 or 4 months depending on the site. That gives you like 300 minutes a week to the free countries. http://backsla.sh/betamax shows a price comparisson chart (note the prices dont include vat though). Its a bit of a scam in that they charge you vat on the top up, and vat on the calls.

You could avoid the VAT charge altogether by using an address outside the E.U.

craichoe

Earth Traveller wrote: »

You could avoid the VAT charge altogether by using an address outside the E.U.

Then you'd need a payment method registered to an address outside the EU aswell ..

Earth Traveller

craichoe wrote: »

Then you'd need a payment method registered to an address outside the EU aswell ..

Well, yes, if you were paying by credit card or debit card. Payment is also possible by other methods like UKash vouchers, which can be bought over the counter.

IH77

craichoe wrote: »

Then you'd need a payment method registered to an address outside the EU aswell ..

I pay for a betamax voip (justvoip.com) account using an Australian credit card and still get slogged for VAT?

Is it as simple as changing my address to an Australian address on the justvoip.com website?

Earth Traveller

IH77 wrote: »

I pay for a betamax voip (justvoip.com) account using an Australian credit card and still get slogged for VAT?

Is it as simple as changing my address to an Australian address on the justvoip.com website?

I think you will find that you can change the street, city, etc. but not the name of the country. Set up a new account with your Australian address and you won't be charged VAT.

IH77

ok thanks I will check it out.