Swifnet. Don’t.

Swiftnet are a UK company – I get the impression they’re a ‘five-guys-above-a-shop-in-Barnet‘ kind of company – who provide an email2fax service. The great thing is that they charge no monthly costs – just a pre-pay account – and so are good for occasional ad-hoc use when I want to send a fax (without a fax machine).

The bad thing is that my faxes through them never get through! I always get “No Dial Tone” updates, “VOD (Voice Detected)“, or “No Fax Answer“. Aside from not delivering the fax, it is guaranteed to p*** off the guy on the other end of the line if they’re using a combined fax/voice line, and Swiftnet just won’t talk to their fax machine.

So: avoid. They’re a nice thought, and I’ve not yet found another reasonable email2fax service with no standing charge (anyone?) – but it never works. The fact that their automated administration system is actually a guy reading the emails and deleting/redirecting faxes (rather than a bot), AND that I paid £25 over 15 years ago, and my account is still working – suggests things aren’t quite right with Swifnet. I suspect their carpet is old and worn, and their potted plants are plastic.