High cost of overseas calls with voiptalk.co.uk and VAT double-whammy

I've been using voiptalk for a couple of days in order to see how I get on
with it. I'm surprised at the high cost of calls, in comparison with the
traditional low-cost calling companies, where you use your BT line to route
calls via a low-cost provider.

I'm new to VOIP - are voiptalk's costs higher than average or are they the
norm?

My calls are to Asia and are costing 7p per minute with Voiptalk, in
contrast to 18185 which are only 1p per minute. Voiptalk's line quality is
better but not substantially.

Also, Voiptalk's VAT charge on the top-up system is a bit suspicious. When
you top up with a £5.00 credit, they charge you the extra 0.88 VAT but when
you enquire on your call credit, it tells you that you have £5.00. However,
their quoted prices don't include the VAT so in actual fact you're paying a
double-whammy on the VAT.

On Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:12:07 -0000, "Charlie"
<charlie47664824832@cnjfh943fh439hf43.com> wrote:

>I've been using voiptalk for a couple of days in order to see how I get on
>with it. I'm surprised at the high cost of calls, in comparison with the
>traditional low-cost calling companies, where you use your BT line to route
>calls via a low-cost provider.
>
>I'm new to VOIP - are voiptalk's costs higher than average or are they the
>norm?
>
>My calls are to Asia and are costing 7p per minute with Voiptalk, in
>contrast to 18185 which are only 1p per minute. Voiptalk's line quality is
>better but not substantially.
>
>Also, Voiptalk's VAT charge on the top-up system is a bit suspicious. When
>you top up with a £5.00 credit, they charge you the extra 0.88 VAT but when
>you enquire on your call credit, it tells you that you have £5.00. However,
>their quoted prices don't include the VAT so in actual fact you're paying a
>double-whammy on the VAT.
>
There are hundreds of VSPs (VoIP Service Providers) to choose from.
You don't have to tie yourself to just one VSP. Sometimes it is better
to use a VSP based in or near the country you are wanting to call.
What part of Asia are you wanting to call? I, or others, might be
able to suggest a VSP.

Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.

Charlie wrote:
> I've been using voiptalk for a couple of days in order to see how I get on
> with it. I'm surprised at the high cost of calls,
....
>>
> Also, Voiptalk's VAT charge on the top-up system is a bit suspicious. When
> you top up with a £5.00 credit, they charge you the extra 0.88 VAT but when
> you enquire on your call credit, it tells you that you have £5.00. However,
> their quoted prices don't include the VAT so in actual fact you're payinga
> double-whammy on the VAT.

This seems to be common to many operators. The VAT is charged on top-up
but doesn't appear in the call credit, which is used up at the non-VAT
listed tariff, so no double charge

Charlie wrote:
> I've been using voiptalk for a couple of days in order to see how I get on
> with it. I'm surprised at the high cost of calls,
....
>>
> Also, Voiptalk's VAT charge on the top-up system is a bit suspicious. When
> you top up with a £5.00 credit, they charge you the extra 0.88 VAT but when
> you enquire on your call credit, it tells you that you have £5.00. However,
> their quoted prices don't include the VAT so in actual fact you're payinga
> double-whammy on the VAT.

This seems to be common to many operators. The VAT is charged on top-up
but doesn't appear in the call credit, which is used up at the non-VAT
listed tariff, so no double charge

Brian A wrote
> There are hundreds of VSPs (VoIP Service Providers) to choose from.
> You don't have to tie yourself to just one VSP. Sometimes it is better
> to use a VSP based in or near the country you are wanting to call.
> What part of Asia are you wanting to call? I, or others, might be
> able to suggest a VSP.

Thanks Brian - It's Thailand I need to call.

On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:22:16 -0000, "Charlie"
<charlie47664824832@cnjfh943fh439hf43.com> wrote:

>Brian A wrote
>> There are hundreds of VSPs (VoIP Service Providers) to choose from.
>> You don't have to tie yourself to just one VSP. Sometimes it is better
>> to use a VSP based in or near the country you are wanting to call.
>> What part of Asia are you wanting to call? I, or others, might be
>> able to suggest a VSP.
>
>Thanks Brian - It's Thailand I need to call.
>
Thailand. With a quick trawl I couldn't find a VSP that did a flat
rate per call for Thailand. However, here is one that does 1p/min
(actually US$0.023/min).
http://www.unifieddirect.net/pdf/Rates_Web.pdf
If you check out the site click on 'Pay As You Go' to get these rates.

For a list of hundreds of providers check out www.sipbroker.com
Also, here is a condensed list here
http://tinyurl.com/y5p3xz

Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.

Brian A wrote:
> On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:22:16 -0000, "Charlie"
> <charlie47664824832@cnjfh943fh439hf43.com> wrote:
>
> >Brian A wrote
> >> There are hundreds of VSPs (VoIP Service Providers) to choose from.
> >> You don't have to tie yourself to just one VSP. Sometimes it is better
> >> to use a VSP based in or near the country you are wanting to call.
> >> What part of Asia are you wanting to call? I, or others, might be
> >> able to suggest a VSP.
> >
> >Thanks Brian - It's Thailand I need to call.
> >
> Thailand. With a quick trawl I couldn't find a VSP that did a flat
> rate per call for Thailand. However, here is one that does 1p/min
> (actually US$0.023/min).
> http://www.unifieddirect.net/pdf/Rates_Web.pdf
> If you check out the site click on 'Pay As You Go' to get these rates.
>
> For a list of hundreds of providers check out www.sipbroker.com
> Also, here is a condensed list here
> http://tinyurl.com/y5p3xz

Also, Lowratevoip has a zero tariff to Thailand. It doesn't mean free,
as it needs occasional top-ups to qualify for Freedays, like other
Betamax clones

But you'd get 300 free minutes a week and have the credit to spend on
other calls

"andy" <andy.ggrps@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:1168874802.370769.233340@38g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
>
> Also, Lowratevoip has a zero tariff to Thailand. It doesn't mean free,
> as it needs occasional top-ups to qualify for Freedays, like other
> Betamax clones
>
> But you'd get 300 free minutes a week and have the credit to spend on
> other calls
Same for voipcheap.co.uk, NOT voipcheap.com

On 15 Jan 2007 07:26:42 -0800, "andy" <andy.ggrps@googlemail.com>
wrote:

>
>Brian A wrote:
>> On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:22:16 -0000, "Charlie"
>> <charlie47664824832@cnjfh943fh439hf43.com> wrote:
>>
>> >Brian A wrote
>> >> There are hundreds of VSPs (VoIP Service Providers) to choose from.
>> >> You don't have to tie yourself to just one VSP. Sometimes it is better
>> >> to use a VSP based in or near the country you are wanting to call.
>> >> What part of Asia are you wanting to call? I, or others, might be
>> >> able to suggest a VSP.
>> >
>> >Thanks Brian - It's Thailand I need to call.
>> >
>> Thailand. With a quick trawl I couldn't find a VSP that did a flat
>> rate per call for Thailand. However, here is one that does 1p/min
>> (actually US$0.023/min).
>> http://www.unifieddirect.net/pdf/Rates_Web.pdf
>> If you check out the site click on 'Pay As You Go' to get these rates.
>>
>> For a list of hundreds of providers check out www.sipbroker.com
>> Also, here is a condensed list here
>> http://tinyurl.com/y5p3xz
>
>Also, Lowratevoip has a zero tariff to Thailand. It doesn't mean free,
>as it needs occasional top-ups to qualify for Freedays, like other
>Betamax clones
>
>But you'd get 300 free minutes a week and have the credit to spend on
>other calls
Just read that it is now 200 mins/week (bottom of home page) -
typical moving of the goalposts by Betamax.
Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.

"Brian A" <no_spam_bca1000@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:v8tnq2pu5tj052ui481tpr42jl8kjdg2g2@4ax.com...
> On 15 Jan 2007 07:26:42 -0800, "andy" <andy.ggrps@googlemail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>Brian A wrote:
>>> On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:22:16 -0000, "Charlie"
>>> <charlie47664824832@cnjfh943fh439hf43.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> >Brian A wrote
>>> >> There are hundreds of VSPs (VoIP Service Providers) to choose from.
>>> >> You don't have to tie yourself to just one VSP. Sometimes it is
>>> >> better
>>> >> to use a VSP based in or near the country you are wanting to call.
>>> >> What part of Asia are you wanting to call? I, or others, might be
>>> >> able to suggest a VSP.
>>> >
>>> >Thanks Brian - It's Thailand I need to call.
>>> >
>>> Thailand. With a quick trawl I couldn't find a VSP that did a flat
>>> rate per call for Thailand. However, here is one that does 1p/min
>>> (actually US$0.023/min).
>>> http://www.unifieddirect.net/pdf/Rates_Web.pdf
>>> If you check out the site click on 'Pay As You Go' to get these rates.
>>>
>>> For a list of hundreds of providers check out www.sipbroker.com
>>> Also, here is a condensed list here
>>> http://tinyurl.com/y5p3xz
>>
>>Also, Lowratevoip has a zero tariff to Thailand. It doesn't mean free,
>>as it needs occasional top-ups to qualify for Freedays, like other
>>Betamax clones
>>
>>But you'd get 300 free minutes a week and have the credit to spend on
>>other calls
> Just read that it is now 200 mins/week (bottom of home page) -
> typical moving of the goalposts by Betamax.
> Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
Still 300 on voipcheap.co.uk but with an interesting twist:

Max 300 minutes per week of free calls, measured over the last 7 days and
per unique IP address

Looks unenforcable to me, and an opportunity to use more than 300 minutes!
Just reboot your modem to get a new IP address!

Herman wrote :

> Still 300 on voipcheap.co.uk but with an interesting twist:
>
> Max 300 minutes per week of free calls, measured over the last 7 days and per
> unique IP address
>
> Looks unenforcable to me, and an opportunity to use more than 300 minutes!
> Just reboot your modem to get a new IP address!

Do you think the opposite might be their intention? Consider the fact
that I, for instance, have one of my accounts set up as a gateway on my
Mum's SPA3000

Brian A wrote:
> On 15 Jan 2007 07:26:42 -0800, "andy" <andy.ggrps@googlemail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >Brian A wrote:
> >> On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:22:16 -0000, "Charlie"
> >> <charlie47664824832@cnjfh943fh439hf43.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> >Brian A wrote
> >> >> There are hundreds of VSPs (VoIP Service Providers) to choose from.
> >> >> You don't have to tie yourself to just one VSP. Sometimes it is better
> >> >> to use a VSP based in or near the country you are wanting to call.
> >> >> What part of Asia are you wanting to call? I, or others, might be
> >> >> able to suggest a VSP.
> >> >
> >> >Thanks Brian - It's Thailand I need to call.
> >> >
> >> Thailand. With a quick trawl I couldn't find a VSP that did a flat
> >> rate per call for Thailand. However, here is one that does 1p/min
> >> (actually US$0.023/min).
> >> http://www.unifieddirect.net/pdf/Rates_Web.pdf
> >> If you check out the site click on 'Pay As You Go' to get these rates.
> >>
> >> For a list of hundreds of providers check out www.sipbroker.com
> >> Also, here is a condensed list here
> >> http://tinyurl.com/y5p3xz
> >
> >Also, Lowratevoip has a zero tariff to Thailand. It doesn't mean free,
> >as it needs occasional top-ups to qualify for Freedays, like other
> >Betamax clones
> >
> >But you'd get 300 free minutes a week and have the credit to spend on
> >other calls
> Just read that it is now 200 mins/week (bottom of home page) -
> typical moving of the goalposts by Betamax.

My mistake - lowratevoip has been 200 minutes from the start