{"id":1053,"date":"2009-04-17T16:31:37","date_gmt":"2009-04-17T16:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=1053"},"modified":"2009-04-17T16:31:37","modified_gmt":"2009-04-17T16:31:37","slug":"sending-fax-via-skype-be-careful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=1053","title":{"rendered":"Sending Fax Via Skype – Be Careful!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SkypeOK. So I switched my phone provider from BT to Virgin and, as a result, I do not have an extension upstairs. I needed to send a fax urgently from my PC\u00a0so I started looking around for something which would let me do it.<\/p>\n

Initially I tried using a DECT transmitter to get a signal upstairs, and although it worked fine for sending the fax it would simply not ring the phones on any incoming call. So I had to do away with it, even though it was really a great piece of kit… on paper, anyway.<\/p>\n

The fact I hadn’t got a fax system was eating me up, so I thought that there simply must <\/em> be something for Skype . Surprisingly little, as it happens – at least if you are thinking free or cheap.<\/p>\n

I found something called PamFax<\/a>. Looks the business, and I just needed to send another fax so I fired it up. The pay-as-you-go option costs something like \u20ac 0.14 per page (allegedly – see below), charged to your Skype account, and that’s not too bad… are you ready for this?<\/p>\n

I scanned in my document, and after PamFax refusing to send it because it couldn’t count the number of pages in the PDF file I’d created, I downloaded some freeware which converts PDF to DOC files. So I fired up Word 2007 and tried again.<\/p>\n

I was informed that the number I was sending the fax to (an 0870 number) was “either slow or a mobile\/business number” so the cost was “adjusted slightly”.<\/p>\n

My heart spontaneously began beating again when I realised there was a “cancel” button… but it had\u00a0stopped shortly\u00a0after I read ” the new charge will be \u20ac33.43<\/strong> “.<\/p>\n

Yep. The price was going to jump from 14 cents up to nearly 34 Euros – 240 times the original price <\/strong>. No excuse for this whatsoever and it is a total rip-off\u00a0– I can call that 0870 landline number from Skype for a standard rate, and fax using a normal fax system for the same rate on a landline.<\/p>\n

PamFax is going to be saying hello to Mr Recycle Bin later tonight. I thought I’d found something decent, but I was sadly mistaken – don’t fall for this and be aware of it if you install PamFax .<\/p>\n

Now, if it kills me I’m going to figure out how to use my smartphone as a modem.<\/p>\n

EDIT:<\/strong> As it happens, PamFax and Mr Recycle Bin didn’t get on too well (it wouldn’t uninstall cleanly). I had to get rid of most of it by editing the Registry directly. Pile of garbage, it is. <\/p>\n

EDIT 02\/05\/2010:<\/strong> Just for the record, I installed Sky HD in an upstairs room and part of the agreement is that I have to have it connected to a phone line for the first 12 months (I don’t have an issue with that – the only problem was: NO PHONE LINE UPSTAIRS). <\/p>\n

Now, it would cost close to \u00a3100 to have an extension fitted, so I returned to the idea of the DECT transmitter sold by Maplin . This time, though, instead of connecting the downstairs phone to the base unit, I just used a splitter on the main socket and plugged the phone into one side and the DECT unit to the other. It works perfectly, so I have a phone line I can use for faxes near my PC now. <\/p>\n

EDIT 29\/12\/2011:<\/strong>\u00a0I noticed someone found this page using “can you use PamFax to send a fax to an 0870 number”. In summary, yes you can – but when I tried it, it tried to bill me \u20ac33.43. That’s over \u00a330 (or nearly $50) for a single page in my case (at current exchange rates). <\/p>\n

Take my advice,\u00a0DO NOT USE PAMFAX – IT IS A RIP-OFF<\/strong>. You would not know how much it was billing you unless you sat and watched every fax it sent. And \u00a330 per page is criminal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OK. So I switched my phone provider from BT to Virgin and, as a result, I do not have an extension upstairs. I needed to send a fax urgently from my PC\u00a0so I started looking around for something which would let me do it. Initially I tried using a DECT transmitter to get a signal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computer-tech-related"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t