Skype compared to Dialpad

[Robone]

I am presently in Saudi and have been trying for the last week to get Skype out working.

This is the response I get:

Payment not proccesed for skype out

Hello,

Unfortunately we cannot process your order. Currently we do not support transactions from your country due to technical reasons. We have added alternative payment method to support orders from your location.

You can buy Skype credit in Skype store using payments via moneybookers.com. Moneybookers (www.moneybookers.com) works similarly to PayPal - you first charge your Moneybookers account using a credit card or bank transfer, and can then buy Skype credit. Moneybookers has a domestic bank transfer option available in most European countries and is expanding rapidly just like Skype itself.

Best regards,

Henrik
Customer Support

So I tried Moneybookers and no luck.

Went to Dialpad a Yahoo company and linked up straight away with $2 available for calls and 24 hours to clear the balance of the funds. Costs me now about 8.9 US cents per minute to phone home or elsewhere in SA. 1.7 cents to phone the USA or the UK.

Use google talk to chat when there is a computer available.

But Skype can Skype away for the bad service they give.

 

[newb5000]

Here is something interesting I found:

My credit card (Visa) works perfectly when loading SkypeOut credit. I recently went to Eastern Europe and used the same account I normally use in SA to log into Skype's website. When I wanted to load additional SkypeOut credit, the only payment option I saw was via Moneybookers. Normally I would get more options, one of them being the option to pay via Visa Credit Card. I thought they had changed their systems, so I left it. When I came back to SA, I tried to load SkypeOut credit again and all the payment options I normally get were there.

I don't have any explanation for this other than that the Skype website probably checks your IP and determines whether it is "safe" to offer you more payment options.

I guess it's best to load SkypeOut credit before you go travelling because you never know what surprises you might get.

 

[Daveogg]

your ip and cc number must originate from the same country.
the only way around this when you are travelling is to use a proxy or vpn from your cc country.

 

[newb5000]

Unless Skype takes your past payments into account when checking your IP, then yes, I agree with you Dave. When loading SkypeOut credit, you first need to select your payment method, and only after that are you able to enter your credit card details. You also need to enter your cc details every time, making it possible to use different credit cards to top up your credit. I wasn't able to enter my credit card details when traveling, because I wasn't presented with the "Visa" payment option.

Point taken about the proxy or VPN. I will remember that next time