Beware of TopUpDiscount!

hvn

Hello, folks!

I decided to try out TopUpDiscount (not to be confused with TopUpNow!) and was totally disappointed. They are offering some international calls for 5p connection fee + 0p per minute, but it turns out that my credit was running out way before the expected amount of calls was made (I have checked this properly by taking notes of the calls I made).

To make matters worse, they have switched the free access number (0808) to a national rate number (0208), which of course adds more to their fees.

When I contacted their customer services asking for an explanation and a detailed bill, this is what they answered:

"Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for your email.
Topupdiscount cannot overcharge you. Please check you made 30 calls using our service.
We hope this has answered your query.
Should you have any further queries about Topupdiscount please visit our list of Frequently Asked Questions.
Kind regards,
Topupdiscount Customer Services"

Well, it certainly answered my query: I will never use their services again! Did anyone else have the same problem?

Dagobert

hvn wrote:

I decided to try out TopUpDiscount ... They are offering some international calls for 5p connection fee + 0p per minute, but it turns out that my credit was running out way before the expected amount of calls was made.
...
Well, it certainly answered my query: I will never use their services again! Did anyone else have the same problem?

I recently registered with TopUpDiscount and have made 17 calls so far to 0p/min destinations.
Are you sure that the destinations you are calling are still at 0p/min? This happened to me with TopUpNow. At some point they changed from 0p to 0.5p and quite possibly I had not noticed it when they changed the announcement. And all of a sudden my credit was gone.

I don't think top-up calls are such a great idea because the company can change the prices anytime, which changes the value of your call credit. And the only thing you can do is use it up whether that's the cheapest option or not.

A couple of weeks ago the freefone number stopped being available. I now use the 0208 number in the evening or at weekend through BT as BT will only charge 5.5p for the first hour. I have seen my BT phone-bill and it does work indeed. You have to hang up when the hour is up and re-dial if necessary.

I have also tried dialling the 0208 number through call1899 and call18866 but this is not possible. Presumably call1899 and call18866, which I believe are the same company that is behind TopUpDiscount, are blocking this number.

hvn

Yes, I have checked their price list and it's still 0p/min to the destination I was calling (it's even listed in their front page on the Internet).

Anyway, I completely agree that the top-up calls are not such a great idea (especially if a national call is also charged - I was using the same 'evenings and weekends' strategy). Better stick to the good old CallChecker and know exactly what is being paid...

Dagobert

I have just used up my £1.50 credit with TopUpDiscount - all calls to 0p destinations - and I got exactly 30 calls @ 5p connection fee each.

star1_2

Providing there system is billing correctly the only issue could be you were calling mobiles (or premium numbers) in the destination countries. To check to see that the dialing prefix is genuinly a landline I refer to http://www.freetalk.co.uk/InternationalRates.aspx although it's a diffrent provider the code prefixes give you a good guide.

Good Luck. :cool:

mohsinachakzai

Hello, folks!
i have recently topup £5 balance to my mobile from topupdiscount. i am happy with the charges but the massive problem which iam facing is this that they are charge 5 pence as a connection charges, which is not a big deal, however, when ever i make a call the reply come that the number you are dialing is busy. or some times it shows that the dialing tone is going but no one answers the phone. and they charge 5pence again and again. i have asked the person to whom i was calling to and i said that why are u not attending the call , what there reply is that we havent received any calls. in addition to this, if i want to make 1 call , some times iam charged 6 times or 7 times 5 pence for connection charges. which is strange.
if they want to increase charges they should but atleast they should provide a good service to us. how much time is waste when i call the person and they reply is this that his mobile is busy, however, which is not. if i want to make 1 call 6 or 7 times i have to pay connection charges.

mk-donald

One idea is to be 100% sure you are dialing the right number in the right format.

eg I thought I had lost touch with a friend who moved to Italy whose landline number I had but calls always said unobtainable or engaged or something UNTIL I found out that with Italian landline numbers one does NOT drop the leading '0' as one does in the UK
eg not 00 39 2 454.... but 00 39 02 454....
so I was incommunicado simply due to my ignorance rather than anyone's fault.