Skype - incorrect charging

tjhook

Just a warning about using Skype to call Irish land lines. It doesn't charge correctly.

Skype appears to have a problem with differentiating between Irish land lines and premium rate (or "shared cost") numbers. I called a land line +353 (0)1 514XXXX and was charged approx. €10 for a half-hour call. According to their published rates (3c/min), I should have been charged less than a euro. I think Skype is misidentifying it as a premium rate number with a 1514 prefix. I.e. it sees "+353 1 514XXXX" as a premium "1514" number, rather than a land line number "+353 (0)1 514 XXXX". I assume this can also happen with any Dublin land line number that happens to start with the digits of a premium rate prefix. E.g. GP24, the 24-hour GP service in Dublin has a number "(0)1 518 0808" and is also charged as a premium number.

I contacted Microsoft Support about this, but they only kept repeating "our system says you called a premium rate number". Separately, a volunteer moderator on the Microsoft community support site confirmed he can recreate the issue, but says that's just the way it is.

I've also reached out to Skype (Microsoft) on Twitter and Facebook, but had no reply.

A tenner is no big deal, but I'll be avoiding paid Skype services until and unless they fix this. Or until they can tell me why I'm mistaken.

Ten Pin

There are other options available such as a SIP client and a subscription to a VOIP provider such as...

https://www.sipdiscount.com/calling_rates/

There are other providers within the Dellmont group, each with their own rates that favour different calling patterns (landline, mobile, international etc).

tjhook

Yes, there are alternatives. I hadn't seen sipdiscount.com, but their rates do look good. I might give them a go, thanks!