Thus, if a user buys $100 of Skype credit, uses $5 worth, and then doesn't use her account for roughly six months, her account balance returns to zero, even though $95 of her purchase was never used. There's one caveat: if a user's account remains inactive for more than 180 days, the credit is wiped out entirely. For these services, users can purchase a certain amount of Skype 'credit,' which they can use until it is depleted. While Skype is free for consumers who call each other over the internet, there is a fee to connect to a landline or cell phone, to use features like voicemail and text messaging, or to personalize accounts or buy a phone number than can be reached by other callers. All Rights Reserved.Skype, the popular website that lets consumers make online phone calls, has agreed to settle a class action that took issue with the company's policy of expiring credits that were older than 180 days. So making a single call, or sending a single text message will ensure your Skype Credit is active for a further 180 days.'Īs part of the settlement, the company agreed to rescind the practice of seizing inactive accounts in the future.Ĭopyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Until the settlement, the company's policy was that those users who don't tap their accounts for 180 days forfeited any money that was left.Ī statement on the Skype's Website explains their policy, 'Skype Credit remains active for 180 days after your last use of a product or feature that uses credit. Unless users buy a monthly subscription, they must open a $10 account for SkypeOut calls. SkypeOut calls cost a penny or two a minute and users can add credit to their SkypeOut accounts. In general, computer-to-computer Skype calls to anywhere around the world is free of charge, but the settlement refers to a service called SkypeOut that allows customers to make phone calls to people on cellphones or landlines.

Skype credit expiry date