Hey Skype, If You're Going To Sell Other People's Numbers, At Least Have A Customer Service Department
George's outgoing Skype calls properly display his SkypeIn number, but if anyone tries to call him back, they're connected the number's rightful owner, a nice old woman in Raleigh, NC. George wants to know why Skype sold him someone else's number, but the internet telecom apparently doesn't pay anyone to answer their phones.
I purchased a SkypeIn number on Tuesday morning (a normal phone number that connects to my Skype account, which should be callable by normal phones). I live in Raleigh, NC, so I chose a 919 number that sounded memorable.
I tried out the service by calling a friend, which worked great. My new number came up on his caller ID, and the voice quality was fine. He then tried calling me back, and was connected to a woman on the other end. Certain he'd dialed incorrectly, we called the number several times and kept reaching the same (amazingly patient) woman.
It seemed obvious at this point that Skype had sold me a number it didn't control, so I attempted to contact their support. Here's what I've done so far:
1) Tried to respond to the purchase confirmation email. However, the email was from noreply@ice.skype.com, and instructed users needing support to check their knowledgebase, and then contact via the online form.
2) Visited said knowledgebase, searched for my problem, and unsurprisingly did not find a match. I was then allowed access to the contact form (you must perform at least one search to have the honor of contacting support). I filled it out, and waited.
3) Emailed support@skype.com, help@skype.com, techsupport@skype.com, webmaster@skype.com, ceo@skype.com and president@skype.com, hoping one of these would at least get someone's attention.
4) Twittered about it, hoping they'd see their brand mentioned negatively and care. No such luck, although given their recent fiasco with the Skype twitter account, I wasn't surprised.
5) After 24 hours, submitted another ticket via the online form, saying I'd tried to contact them several times to no avail. Still nothing.
6) Posted in their community forums. The only response I've gotten is another user who also can't get Skype support to respond.
7) Sent a private message to their forum moderator, who seems to be the only Skype staffer who responds to the alarming number of threads detailing numerous unsuccessful attempts to reach Skype support. The message has been read, and the moderator is active on other threads, but has not responded.
8) Decided to write The Consumerist...
To date, I have not even received an automated email saying a ticket has been created. Dead silence.
I paid Skype all of $20 for this service, but I still think I deserve a response, a refund for the lost service, a new number, and dare I say it, an apology. I would cancel the payment via Paypal, but seeing as eBay owns both companies I don't see this bearing fruit.
At this point, I think I've moved from pissed off to simply amazed. Its become a fascination to see just how badly a company can fail at basic customer support. And to be certain, the irony of a communications company making it so hard to communicate with them is not lost on me.
Skype has managed to stay mostly off of our radar for the past few years, and we've never had any problems with our service. Does anyone have contact information we can share with George? Leave it in the comments.
(Photo: Ryan Fanshaw Photography)
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I don't know much about Skype, but if its a monthly $20 fee, don't pay the fee for a month or two and I'll bet you'll get someone's attention!
eBay's corporate culture is that clients are to be harvested for money, but otherwise are a big nuisance best ignored.
This is translated into general support policies for all their companies. They insulate themselves from direct contact to ridiculous extremes, relying mostly on boilerplate auto-responders for email, and KBs/FAQs.
While they do invest in online automated resources more then many other companies, it remains that for anything urgent, or anything not yet provided a solution therein, getting any action or response from these quasi-monopolies is like seeking water in the desert.
I've been thinking about writing to consumerist about Skype too. Their technical support is non-existant. I've opened trouble tickets, e-mailed 'em, sent tweets, nothing back. I also have a paid account.
Oh, and for the record ? Their "fair use policy" is vague and in definite need of some clarification. We use the conference feature to connect homebound folks with their congregation twice a week, for two hours or so at a time. 6 hours of fair use time should be plenty, right? Nope, it's per caller in the conference call, so these guys get cut off at about the halfway point. Frustration! Trying to get an answer from skype? impossible.
i've had skype for several years but haven't had to use their customer service since before the eBay purchase.
last time i had to use their customer service was sometime before the launch of windows vista, it's been so long.
but when they upgraded to be windows xp compatible, it stopped being compatible with windows 2000, which i was using.
it only took one email before a programmer in poland replied and asked me to describe the results. about a dozen emails and attempted patches later it worked. every time i described the result of a patch he'd write up something new and send it my way to test.
it was pretty awesome customer service.
unfortunately it all tracked back to the same email: support@skype.com
which the OP said already failed to achieve a result
I don't care how much you save immediately, why do people pay money into on going services that don't have a landline support??? Skype has only email support and many many unresolved customer complaints. You people deserve to lose your money under those circumstances. I wanted to purchase unlimited calling from Skype but would not because of no landline support. This is a financial decision and they must pay the price for loss of business. But people and business continue to use the service with a gamblers hope of service not breaking down. Only recourse currently is to lose your money, issue endless emails and cry on Skype forums. Now that truly is a waste of money and time.
Pierre Omidyar must be rolling in his grave.
Ohh wait, he's still alive. Why isn't the founder protesting when he sees "his" company being run like a Viking pillaging party?
@Shappie: I suspect that such a service is more akin to a pay-as-you-go service a la a prepaid cellphone than to a utility; it would simply cease to work once the service period ends if payment for renewal isn't provided.
Now if George paid with his credit card via PayPal, a chargeback might get somebody's attention. If it was an "instant bank transfer" as PayPal tries so hard to steer its users to, then no such luck. But would be worth filing a dispute over the payment through PayPal even if they are ultimately another slice of the same pie as Skype.
Small claims court should do the trick.
Because without that Viking pillaging party, eBay's cash flow would be radically lower, and the stock price would be even worse off?
I think the best course of action here is to cancel your Skype account. They can't perform the most basic function of a phone company (assigning a phone #), and they don't even have a phone # of their own. Those are two big red flags right there.
Once eBay bought Skype, the prices went up and the customer service went down. eBay realized, too late, that buying Skype was a mistake, so they decided to take it out on their customer. Prior to eBay buying them, whenever I had a problem, I'd contact them and receive a reply within a day or two. When I requested a refund, it was done within 48hrs.
I hope Skype founders are able to buy Skype back from eBay and bring back the company we all enjoyed prior to eBay running it to the ground.
...they're connected the number's rightful owner, a nice old woman in Raleigh, NC.
Why won't you call me back, Gammy? Do you hate me because of my lazy eye?
@blash:
Probably not. You'd probably have to file in the county where Skype was headquartered, not where this person lived. I doubt it would be worth it to fly to that location over a $20 fee. And when Skype didn't show up and a default judgment was rendered, having to find a way to collect would be just as big a problem.
I had a similar issue. Their site would not allow me to add my own phone number as my Skype outgoing number. I messaged them several times and tried called. I gave up and just did a chargeback on the $2.99. I used a PayPal Virtual card on it. I expected to just have lost the $2.99 but all I had to do was print a form and mail it- got my money back (less the stamp) in less than a week.
I've been holding out for a very long time subscribing to Skype. (I usually wait long enough for newer technologies to develop).
But after hearing basic customer service stories like these, I have absolutely NO intent of having anything whatsoever to do with Skype.
In the meantime, my DSL company-provided VOIP has served me well AND they respond 24/7.
In the end, with companies like Skype, you really DO get what you pay for.
@Shappie: For me, it was $20 *annually*. I was billed once, and toward the end of the term I got a few email warning me my account would close and my number would go away. All computerized.
I didn't use it very much, so I didn't renew.
I tried to use Skype 18 months ago, starting with outgoing calls only. Call quality was variable, but almost always poor. There is no customer service to speak of. Emails took days to be replied to with only boilerplate responses. Their website is confusing too, as it's difficult to figure out exactly what their plans and charges and discounts are. As you click links, the Skype website will bounce you among their U.S. and European pages without warning or explanation.
@FilippoNubular: It's completely possible that going in, people don't realize that Skype has no telephone CS. After all, they are a telecommunications company of a sort, and people probably (falsely) assume you can call them if you need to; others probably assume that as a modern company, they have reasonably good quality internet-based CS. Very few people bother to check out the quality of CS before buying a product or service--that's rather hard to do anyway.
A bit off-topic, but I figure this is a good place to query.
A couple bills back, I noticed three charges crammed onto my credit card bill, for $10, spaced out one day from each other. $30 ttl, the only notation being "www.skype.com".
Nuked the charges, got a replacement card, it's all good.
But is Skype used sometimes to sneak micro-charges onto bills? How would scammers skim $$$ from Spype into their pockets?
I've used Skype on and off since it was introduced, but never as my main contact number. The reason is their total lack of customer service.
That being said, you've got a few so-so options.
1. Since Skype is a subsidiary of Ebay, you could try contacting Ebay through one of the dozens of phone numbers and email addresses listed in a prior post on this site (06/06/08). Just search Consumerist for "secret Ebay email addresses." The problem with contacting Ebay is that they don't really care about Skype. They overpaid for Skype a few years ago, and now are only interested in selling it or spinning it off. However, Ebay probably doesn't want a bunch of press in the next year about how this company they're trying to spin off doesn't have a customer service department. So, a polite, well placed call might help.
2. Your could also get a new number from Skype, and then cancel your current Skype number (I believe this can all be done from within your current account). I know this might seem like an odd suggestion, but I haven't heard of this particular problem on Skype before, which means it might just be a weird glitch.
3. If that doesn't work, you might consider a chargeback, but those can be a pain.
A note to Ebay: You guys might want to install some sort of customer service department at Skype before you try to spin the company off next year.
@Mr-Mr: Actually, eBay has written down the price that it bought Skype for, and they announced in April that they will perform an IPO to spin off Skype as a separate company.
I have been using Skype as my main phone for over 3 years. Except for very, very, very occasional call quality issues, I am happy with their service. I have a Skype phone, my friends have Skype, my clients (100+) have and use Skype. Their service is better than Verizon's landline...
officeofthepresident@skype.com -- the well-guarded executive email address. You're welcome. :)
Sorry, that should be officeofthepresident@skype.net
I was a Skype user for a while but their customer service has really gone downhill. They don't even read the emails you sent them and just send out stupid after stupid automated response. That's why with a lot of other choices I dumped Skype after five years. As another person posted I was lucky not to use them for my main number, so no biggie to migrate to a new #.
Well I found this blog:
[blog.cartelagency.com]
And the first commenter is a guy named Peter Parkes, a Skype blogger. Which lead me to the Skype blog, [share.skype.com]
Where you may or may not find a Skype username for Mr. Parkes and you may or may not send him a Skype call.
Skype should send that lady a pressed fruit bowl for her troubles.
I had an awful experience with Skype customer service. I sent in a support request about an unauthorized charge on my credit card... wanted to give them a chance to correct it before I went with a chargeback. I got a reply after about a day asking for more information so that they could research the charge... then absolutely no further reply.
I submit a second support request referencing the first -- that went unanswered. The Forum moderator told me multiple times that the rep assigned to my issue was doing further research, and apologized for the delay.
I finally got a reply, 4 weeks after I sent them the follow-up info they requested. The entirety of the response was a canned message saying that my issue had been closed and that Skype recommends customers contact their card-issuing bank for issues related to unauthorized charges.
Skype cancelled a promotional renewed offer when I didn't want them to (I just needed to switch credit cards) then said they couldn't undo it, I could only resubscribe at the new, far more expensive rate, but they gave me some trivial amount of credit.
I went to VoIP provider callcentric.com. They have dirt-cheap-dial numbers, and I could move my landline to them as a voicemail (which they can email anywhere as soon as you get it). Caller ID and the rest is all standard and is about the same price as Skype, but without the chat and the utter lack of service. I haven't contacted CC service but haven't needed to. So I have a VoIP 777 area code number plus a one dial-out from their cheap plan, plus my ancient family number for $5/mo.
Their domain registration claims they are in Luxembourg, with a phone number of 26639134 (probably have to add country and city codes). They've done an amazing job of keeping whatever phone numbers they have hidden, even the various "get-a-human" sites don't seem to have listings for them.
@Trai_Dep: from only skimming the KB and other stuff, i think skype has a "premium" service (think 900 numbers) supposedly designed for people running tech support on various products (I call them "people running phone sex lines out of their home")
@BlueEyesTM: just signed up for skype, brother is going overseas, need a free way to get in touch with him.
skype is free for me, he just has to pay 1.5 euro per hour to use a cybercafe (it's about $2 per hour)
The one time I used Skype was for calling to the US when I was in Belgium last fall. It worked great, and cost me 10c a minute--less than $10 for my entire week in Belgium. (I stayed at Inns with free wireless internet.) I'd definitely use it again for calling overseas, but based on what I'm reading here, that is all I will ever use it for.
Vonage did this to me, but not after I had set the number out to almost 300 contacts, all they could do was issue me another phone number.
Skype on the other hand did one worse, I use paypal to pay my account, there was a snafu on Paypal's side that prevented my account from being charged, so Skype send me an email saying that my service would be canceled in 24 hours. Ok, I contact customer service via email, and it takes them three days to get back to me, you know what happened to the account right? I lost my number, so I just said goodbye to Skype, to bad, I kinda liked their service.
@FilippoNubular: You mean sorta like voting in a governor or a president (for the people) then try calling or writing to one of them to get them to work for you. The phones will be answered by people that will listen, take notes and then file your messages somewhere (federal file base/trashcan) that no one will ever see again. Unless you're angry make any type of threatening statement, then the feds will come out personally and ban you from ever calling/writing them again. Those governors and president will never hear anything you have to say, but have your entire life in their hands.
You mean something like that? It's the American way!
BTW, I just found an unopened bill due today! I tried to call one of my Major Gas Credit Cards this weekend to pay my bill. Normally open 24 hours, 7 days, 365 days a year. I now have a late fee since they decided to close down on the weekends and 9-5 hours on weekdays! so I could not pay.... They did this without any notice!
@blash: except you have to serve someone, bet their listed addresses are just mail drops with no employees. No proof of service.
@FilippoNubular: No the only recourse is to sue them. I am doing that. While it may only be for 29.50USD it is my money and I want it back, they did nothing to earn it and took it without authorization.
I always start with the local Court's alternative dispute resolution service (ADR) the letter from the County Court ADR scheduling a mediation conference always seems to get the attention and is free! Try your local Court or ask the clerk if they have such a program - with budget cuts some of these programs are going away. Remember if your city or county does not have such a program you can use the county in which you entered the contract, the county in which you work, the locale of the business, or some other location as long as there is nexus - a connection between you and the defendant and the contract.
As always, this is not legal adivce, if you need legal adivce seek competent counsel.
@metaled: You could serve their registered agent in California. The California Secretary of State has that information: [kepler.sos.ca.gov]
Of course this is not legal advice. If you want legal advice don't rely on clowns on the Internet, get a lawyer that represents you.
I have been in email contact with "Katri L." billing@skype.net regarding an invalid voucher code. It took them quite some time to respond.
Well from Wikipedia it says
There have been a multitude of complaints about Skype's poor customer support. As of April 2009, Skype does not provide a way to contact customer support, offering indirect assistance through its web portal only.
But I looked Skype up on Google Finance and here is their contact info:
22/24 Boulevard Royal
Luxembourg, L-2449
LUX
+352-26-20-15-82 (Phone)
+352-26-27-05-88 (Fax)
I am unsure how they got a hold of support, but our company had this same problem - a SkypeIn number we bought for our foreign markets went to a Hot Dog vendor in Mexico City. It was great.
Standard non-human CSR model that eBay and Paypal follow on a regular basis. These services are great unitl you have a problem with them, then you might as well just suck it up...
@Trai_Dep: if you have a PayPal account, it's possible that it's been fraudulently taken over and used to buy Skype Credit - definitely worth checking.
I'm not surprised at all. After all skype is an ebay company.
I'm beginning to think that crappy customer service isn't just eBay and PayPal, but all eBay companies.