Bye Bye Skype
Published on 2016-06-28
Yesterday I closed my Skype account. In an attempt to reduce the number of services I use for communicating. It was getting out of hand. At last count there were at least 10 ways in which people can contact me. Madness!
To close your Skype account you actually have to contact "Skype Live Support". There is no quick way to close your account. Reading this I got curious and decided to go through the process. You can read the transcript below.
Welcome to Skype Live Support. My name is Jeffrey B. In case we got disconnected, simply click on the Chat Support Link and you will be reconnected to us in no time.
Jeffrey B: at 19:32:18
Jeffrey B: at 19:32:18
With that being said, how may I help you today?
François Kooman: at 19:32:37
I'd like to delete my skype account.
Jeffrey B: at 19:33:00
Nothing to worry, I can definitely assist you with your request.
Jeffrey B: at 19:33:00
I was wondering if there's a specific reason why you wish to close your account?
François Kooman: at 19:33:15
mostly privacy concerns :)
Jeffrey B: at 19:33:36
I definitely understand the importance of your privacy. Let me help you out.
Jeffrey B: at 19:33:45
To start with, may I have your Skype name you wanted to delete and your name please?
François Kooman: at 19:33:51
fkooman
François Kooman: at 19:33:54
François Kooman
Jeffrey B: at 19:34:44
Thanks.
Jeffrey B: at 19:35:25
Do you have an access to your email address in Skype?
Jeffrey B: at 19:35:25
I'll be sending a code to your email that we have in file.
François Kooman: at 19:36:01
I got an email "You just earned a new badge!"
Jeffrey B: at 19:36:11
Okay.
Jeffrey B: at 19:36:20
Kindly check your email address and read back the code to me so we can pull up your account.
Jeffrey B: at 19:36:20
Once you have it. Please provide me the code.
François Kooman: at 19:37:05
27272271
Jeffrey B: at 19:37:59
Thanks.
Jeffrey B: at 19:38:10
Perfect. I was able to access the account.
Jeffrey B: at 19:38:16
Before we permanently delete your account, have you already removed any personal details on your account page?
François Kooman: at 19:38:43
no, that won't be taken care of by the account removal?
Jeffrey B: at 19:39:39
The reason why you need to remove your personal details on the account is because It takes up to 30 days to remove the customer's Skype Name from the directory, during which time it will still show up in searches.
Jeffrey B: at 19:40:05
Please Remove your information from the Personal Information and Contact Details sections.
Jeffrey B: at 19:40:05
Some fields are mandatory - replace the info in these with random characters, because you won’t be able to save it if the fields are empty. Click Save.
Jeffrey B: at 19:40:05
Let me know Once you have removed it.
Jeffrey B: at 19:42:12
Were you able to remove your personal details on the account?
François Kooman: at 19:43:00
i think so, i changed my name to something random, but it still shows my real name in the top bar
François Kooman: at 19:43:05
but on the profile page it is changed
Jeffrey B: at 19:43:38
Thanks for verifiyng.
Jeffrey B: at 19:43:43
Just a heads up, once your account has been closed, it cannot be reactivated and is permanently deleted.
Jeffrey B: at 19:43:44
Your previous Skype Name cannot be re-used if you create a new Skype account. And, It takes up to 30 days to remove the customer's Skype Name from the directory, during which time it will still show up in searches.
Jeffrey B: at 19:43:44
With your permission. Can I delete the account?
François Kooman: at 19:44:02
sure.
Jeffrey B: at 19:44:16
Alright.
Jeffrey B: at 19:44:21
I hope you find reasons to use Skype again, if that happens, we will be more than happy to have you back!
Jeffrey B: at 19:44:46
I can see that there is still Skype credits on the account. Would you like me to still proceed?
François Kooman: at 19:44:54
yes.
Jeffrey B: at 19:45:00
Okay.
François Kooman: at 19:45:14
you can transfer them to someone from my contact list :)
Jeffrey B: at 19:46:04
As much as I would like to. We can only transfer a minimum of $2 Skype credits on to another account.
Jeffrey B: at 19:46:35
Upon checking, It shows that it is less than 2 euros I mean on the account.
François Kooman: at 19:46:53
yeah, which is more than $2? :)
Jeffrey B: at 19:47:38
It shows you have 1.97 euro on the account.
François Kooman: at 19:48:02
which is about $2.17
Jeffrey B: at 19:48:07
We will not be able to transfer it. The options on transferring Skype Credits are 2,5 and 10.
Jeffrey B: at 19:48:27
Since your currency is euro. We based it Euro.
François Kooman: at 19:48:45
how convenient ;)
Jeffrey B: at 19:49:01
I hope you understand.
François Kooman: at 19:49:03
anyway, I don't care.
François Kooman: at 19:49:09
i don't, but whatever
Jeffrey B: at 19:49:24
Alright.
Jeffrey B: at 19:49:39
Can I go ahead and proceed with the deletion of the account??
François Kooman: at 19:49:44
yes please.
Jeffrey B: at 19:49:51
Thanks.
Jeffrey B: at 19:50:18
Now that I have deleted the account.
Jeffrey B: at 19:50:23
Before we end the conversation. Have I resolved your concern for today?
Jeffrey B: at 19:50:23
Is there anything else that I can assist you with?
François Kooman: at 19:51:11
i think i have more concerns now than before, but alright. Nice to go through this process, I was kinda curious how it would go.
François Kooman: at 19:51:23
I could have just changed the password and throw it away, but this was fun.
François Kooman: at 19:51:24
Thanks!
Jeffrey B: at 19:51:34
You are most welcome. I understand.
Jeffrey B: at 19:51:41
I'm so glad I was able to help. Have a great day and take care. :)
Jeffrey B: at 19:51:45
It's been a pleasure assisting you today. I hope you continue to enjoy Skype again. Again, this is Jeffrey B. Thank you for contacting Skype Live Support, have a great day!
François Kooman: at 19:51:48
Thanks, same!
Anyway, it takes quite long to go through the process. But I managed!