Free VoipCheap? Oh no it isn't!

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Check your Inboxes if you're subscribed to the Voipcheap service.

I just received an email from them to say that my credit had "expired". I had nearly £5 of credit in my account with these jokers and they just nicked it!!!!

I can't see anything in the T&C's about expiring credit with a cursory look, so I've asked these thieves to refund my credit. They haven't provided a service for the money. They just took it. Anyone else had this happen?

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  • nilocmac
    nilocmac Posts: 507 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
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    Wombat wrote:
    Check your Inboxes if you're subscribed to the Voipcheap service.

    I just received an email from them to say that my credit had "expired". I had nearly £5 of credit in my account with these jokers and they just nicked it!!!!

    I can't see anything in the T&C's about expiring credit with a cursory look, so I've asked these thieves to refund my credit. They haven't provided a service for the money. They just took it. Anyone else had this happen?

    It was the same for me they took the 2p credit that I had left. They did send me an email a few weeks ago telling me that I needed to top it up as it was only valid for 180 days but I can't remember reading anything about that when i signed up.

    I also have voipbuster and I lost 51 cents on that. I would how many people will renew their credit after this?

    Guess I may just use Skype now at least they don't steal your credit.
  • fubar_2
    fubar_2 Posts: 123 Forumite
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    I'm already in contact with the OFT about http://www.voipcheap.co.uk as they do not have this limitation anywhere in their terms of use, or during the sign-up process, it can be found in their FAQ though but only if you go to the feedback section that states.
    How long can I use my credit to make calls outside the VoipCheap network?

    Credit in your VoipCheap balance remains active for 120 days after your last credit purchase. Credit balances on accounts with no activity during a 120 day period will be lost.

    For something as important as this they should have it listed as part of their terms of service and during the applying credit phase or even an easy to find FAQ section on the main page, to me having to click feedback would indicate that I had something to tell them about their package, not the other way around :(
    Be ALERT - The world needs more LERTS
  • pin
    pin Posts: 4,265 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
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    Oh well, there's no such thing as a free lunch now is there.

    Also I think VoipCheap is a Swiss company, so will be tricky to see what the OFT can do in this regard.

    Lets not try and kill off a very decent service in the process.
    "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" - Mahatma Gandhi
  • codetown
    codetown Posts: 685 Forumite
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    I think VoipCheap, while being a generally good service, is also using false advertising and should be reported to the related authorities.

    In fact it will publicise some tariffs, but will apply others.
    Calls to UK landline and Italy landline are advertised as free.
    To some users (e.g. me) these costs have gone to 0.5 pence a minute. The same has happened recently to many other users (see VoipBuster forums), always with 'free' destinations suddenly becoming not free.

    This has happened:
    - with no warning
    - with no indications of the reasons
    - with no indications of real costs on any web site (where tariffs are still mentioned 'free')
    - with an apparent discriminatory policy (i.e. a policy where no-one understands what is going on and some poeple are on one tariff and some others on another with no logic criterium).

    And to be clear: I am only talking about people using the service well within the 120 days above indicated. The changes to the charges happened for example to me after about 50 days of use of the service (to some people even after few days of use of the service).

    I think there should be a clear policy and clear statements from Finarea about their services.

    I don't mind paying if the service is good (and I continued to use it paying in the last few days).
    But I DO mind being discriminated without understanding the criteria for allocating people to different tariffs and I DO mind not knowing what tariff I will have to pay (as the published tariffs do not apply to me anymore).
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