Does choosing to switch plans at end of cycle with autopay cause service interruption or bill issues

[droidlover]

I have an old grandfathered $81/90 days plan from 2 years ago with unlimited provincial talk and unlimited international text/picture. I used a prepaid add-on bucket for data.

I decided to change my plan last night to the new $25/month unlimited canada-wide talk + unlimited international text/picture + 1 GB 3G data.

It gave me two options: Top up your account or Change on Next Renewal Date. I chose to change on next renewal date (April 17th, tomorrow).

Even though I changed my plan, my account overview shows that I still have $81 due by 11:59PM on April 16th. When my new plan is supposed to be $25 (for 30 days). You have to go into plan details to see that my new $25/30 day plan kicks in April 17th.

Are there going to be problems with the system migrating me to the new plan tomorrow? Like service interruption. Or being charged $81 minus rewards instead of $25 minus rewards.

I heard someone before mention that you should pre top-up your account before a plan change goes into effect instead of letting auto-pay do its thing. Though I'm more concerned about the payment for next cycle: $81 bit. Because if I get charged $81 instead of $25, I have to get Public Mobile to give me a partial refund.

Thanks,

[stonechucker]

Downgrading plans really should never be an issue.  I started on a $42/30-day, upgraded to a $120/90-day (which stalled with AutoPay) then did a change to the Fall 2016 Promo at the same cost without issue.

The only downgrade issues I've witnessed in the community were during a weekend planned (not very well) maintenance early morning.

In general, any actions on an account should be done 2 or more days before the Payment Date, and then nothing until after the plan is active again.

[droidlover]

Yeah I just left it alone and it auto-paid correctly ($25 - $2 auto-pay bonus - $1 loyalty + HST) and switched to the new plan ($25/30 day) correctly.

Either Public Mobile worked out the bugs that some people were experiencing before when changing the plan at renewal while having auto-pay enabled. Or I just got lucky.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@droidlover  - It is normal to have that message on the evening just before your plan renews.  If the phone is working, DO NOTHING tonight.  If there is a problem with the service tomorrow, then it will be time to take action.

[droidlover]

Update:

I just noticed that my account status changed to "Plan Expired" this evening (the auto-pay kicks in on the 17th) but it still shows Payment for Next Cycle: $81.00. My service still works btw.

[abbiethomas93]

You are able to change your plan at any point throughout the cycle, seeing as you completed this transaction before your next billing date, you should only be charged with the new $25 plan fee on the 17th (tomorrow). It may be best to remove the auto payment and then re-add the payment method just to ensure that you don't get charged $81. 

Also your add on on data doesn't have an expiry date, so that should remain and you can use that if your data runs out on the $25 plan. 

[Anonymous]

 @droidlover 

I would do the top up too and let it renew. From what I've gathered around here, downgrading plans with autopay can be problematic. So best to avoid the chance. Next renewal fine like normal.

[sunflowershine]

@droidlover As long as your next cycle is close enough, you can change your plan one day BEFORE the next cycle. 

[will13am]

I would do a top up and let the system renew the plan automatically.  These days with more moderators, the lead time to fixing account issues is relatively short.  The degree of response should reflect risk associated with renewal failure. 

[mimmo]

Yeah I would just do an immediate plan change, avoid any possible issues.  There have been a bunch of cases recently with autopay dates being different than renewal dates. The peace of mind  I think is better than risking anything.

If your rewards don't show up within 24 hours, message the mods and they should  credit your account. 

[Chanah]

The system is a little persnickety on plan renewal day. If your date is tomorrow, could you switch to the new plan today instead? It may work tomorrow, as well, but I tend to be on the paranoid side.