> Name: Brendan ********
> Skype Name: ******
> E-mail: ********
> Topic: Payments
> Subtopic: SkypeOut rates
> Subject: Payment taken for minutes not exceeding fair usage limits
> Message:
> Looking over my call history this month I've come to the realization that, as of March 8th, my account has been debited for every minute of usage even though it has not exceeded the 10,000 minute/month fair usage limit. I realize of course that I have on more than one occasion exceeded the new 6 hour/day limit, but it seems to me that a daily limit would, by definition, be reset at the conclusion of a 24 hour period. It seems highly irrational to set a daily limit which, once exceeded, never resets, therefore I assume this is an error and not an intentional deception. If it is, as I suspect, the former, please inform me when you have rectified the problem, and reinstate my inappropriately depleted credit. If it is in fact the latter and you have intentionally misled me, please inform me so that I can cancel my account and remove your program from my computer.
From: support@skype.net
> To: ********
> Subject: Re: PA001: Payment taken for minutes not exceeding fair usage limits <<#1418510-3374449#>>
> Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:52:46 +0000
>
>
> Hello Brendan,
>
> Thank you for contacting Skype Support.
>
> We are sorry to hear that you are having difficulties with your subscription.
>
> According to our records, your calls were not covered by your subscription due to the following reason:
>
> You have exceeded the Fair Usage limit included in your subscription.
>
> Calls to phones and mobiles and Skype To Go* calls are included in your subscription subject to a fair usage limit of 10,000 minutes per user per month, with a maximum of 6 hours per day. Also, no more than 50 different numbers in total can be called per day. If your subscription includes more than one country, then this is the total amount of minutes allowed per month on your account, and is not a separate limit for each country.
>
> Once these limits are exceeded Skype will charge normal rates and a connection fee for any additional minutes used. Subscriptions are for individual use only. Each subscription is to be used by one person only and is not to be shared with any other user (whether via a PBX, call centre, computer or any other means).
>
> Please be aware that your calls apply to our fair usage policy. For more information about this policy, please view the following page: http://www.skype.com/go/terms.fairusage
>
> In addition, please note that you have the possibility to see a detailed list of the calls you have made and their exact costs: https://secure.skype.com/store/myaccount/history.html
>
> Should you need more assistance, feel free to contact us again; we will be glad to help.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Zsuzsa Sz. - Skype Support
>
> Visit www.skype.com for latest news, updates and tips.
Thank you for your reply to my question. Unfortunately your answer is not satisfactory. According to you I have exceeded my fair usage limit, yet, looking at my account history for the month of March I find this to be untrue. I have included screen shots of my call history to aid you in understanding my problem.
On March 8th at 15:04 you began charging me "normal rates" and have done so for every call I've made since then. Before we even examine my account history the possibility that I could have used in excess of 10,000 minutes between 12:00 am on March 1st and 3:04 pm on March 8th already seems unlikely since there are only 10,984 minutes separating those 2 times. That means I would have been off the phone for an average of only 2 hours per day. Unless I'm making phone calls in my sleep this seems pretty nonsensical.
So let's look at my call history prior to 15:04 March 8th, shall we? For your convenience, and because your calculators may be broken, I've converted all call times to minutes and added them all up for you.
Call time---------Duration-----Minutes
Mar 08 14:12 -----51:00-------51
Mar 08 13:43------02:49--------2.82
Mar 08 13:43------00:03--------0.05
Mar 08 13:35------08:26--------8.43
Mar 08 12:35------41:12-------41.2
Mar 08 01:42------02:54:50--228.83
Mar 08 01:42------00:06---------0.1
Mar 07 21:41------04:00:00--240
Mar 07 21:14------26:37-------26.61
Mar 07 21:14------00:00---------0
Mar 07 21:13------01:04---------1.07
Mar 07 21:12------00:00---------0
Mar 07 20:42------29:50-------29.83
Mar 07 20:10------04:05--------4.08
Mar 07 19:44------25:35-------25.58
Mar 07 17:48------01:56:15--116.25
Mar 07 11:23------02:41:47--161.78
Mar 07 00:00------01:31:56----91.93
Mar 07 00:00------00:07---------0.12
Mar 06 22:17------01:43:09--103.15
Mar 06 20:13------38:31--------38.52
Mar 06 19:25------01:25----------1.42
Mar 06 14:54------02:16:18---136.3
Mar 06 09:07------02:06:27---106.45
Mar 06 00:57------03:57:58---237.97
Mar 05 18:02------48:36---------48.6
Mar 05 13:33------01:38:32----98.53
Mar 05 12:54------39:25--------39.42
Mar 03 21:58------03:20:29---200.48
Mar 03 21:57------00:31----------0.51
Mar 03 20:40------01:17:07-----77.12
Mar 03 12:09------17:10---------17.17
Mar 03 11:42------26:28---------26.47
Mar 02 22:12------03:34:17----214.28
Mar 02 21:28------44:13---------44.22
Mar 01 23:10------02:23:17----143.28
Mar 01 20:08------02:38:14----158.23
Total ----------------------------2721.32
It's been a while since I've been in a mathematics class, but I do seem to recall that the number 2721.32 is not greater than the number 10,000. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
You will also notice that the majority of the calls made were to the same New Jersey number, and the 50 number daily limit has not even been approached let alone exceeded.
I'm really curious to know where you think I've exceeded the fair usage limit, because, besides a couple of days where I went over 6 hours (for which I notice I wasn't charged), it's pretty clear to me that I have not.
I suggest you check your records again and fix this problem. Reinstating my lost credit obviously being your next step.
-Brendan
I love customer support. So useful.
