Patent ID: 8229395

Claim:
A system for facilitating communications between a first and second party, each having a communications device for communicating with the communication facilitator, and at least the first party having credit with the communication facilitator, where, to assist the second party to communicate with the first party: the first party sends a first communication message using the first communications device to a first destination address associated with the communication facilitator; the communication facilitator operable to determine unique identifiers of the communications devices possessed by the first and second party, respectively, from the first communication message or information associated with the first communication message; the communication facilitator includes the first communication message, or at least a portion thereof, in a second communication message which is sent to the communications device of the second party, as determined by its unique identifier, via a second destination address; the second party replies to the second communication message using its communications device, the reply being received by the communication facilitator; and the communication facilitator operates to forward the reply to the second communication message to the first communications device of the first party, as determined by its unique identifier, and make a charge against the credit the first party has with the communication facilitator for at least the first communication message and the reply to the second communication message, the credit the first party has with the communication facilitator being identified by way of the unique identifier of the first communications device.