Community

Jwpearce87 · ‎01-25-2019

Hey! Is it possible to renew my plan a couple of days early if I run out of data? I thought I read this somewhere. Can anyone help?

Anonymous · ‎06-11-2019

@stonechucker wrote:
This is happening a great deal it seems @Alan_K. Please ensure the entire Moderator_Team is informed and allows members to renew early, as they have not been.

By "this" you mean mis-information from the moderators? This is the first I recall hearing that moderators were saying no to early renewal requests.

Other mis-information yes 🙂 I'm wondering if Alan will reply to another question about the Bell/3G promo where moderators might be confusing things.

stonechucker · ‎06-11-2019

@Alan_K wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@NBruinsma
Wow. That does indeed go against what I've been reading here for a year now. Thanks for sharing those interactions. I've not seen people come back after those instructions saying that the mods didn't let them. So this is new news.
So once again... @Alan_K: would you be able to shed light on whether this is a new policy that early renewals via moderators is no longer possible? It has been understood that this was a capability. Now moderators are saying they won't.
Hi all, thanks for flagging. I've shared this feedback and Moderators can continue to assist with early renewal requests. Early renewals are on the roadmap for us as we look to make it Self-Serve possible.

This is happening a great deal it seems @Alan_K. Please ensure the entire Moderator_Team is informed and allows members to renew early, as they have not been.

Alan_K · ‎06-11-2019

@Anonymous wrote:

@NBruinsma

Wow. That does indeed go against what I've been reading here for a year now. Thanks for sharing those interactions. I've not seen people come back after those instructions saying that the mods didn't let them. So this is new news.

So once again... @Alan_K: would you be able to shed light on whether this is a new policy that early renewals via moderators is no longer possible? It has been understood that this was a capability. Now moderators are saying they won't.

Hi all, thanks for flagging. I've shared this feedback and Moderators can continue to assist with early renewal requests. Early renewals are on the roadmap for us as we look to make it Self-Serve possible.

Anonymous · ‎06-11-2019

@NBruinsma

Wow. That does indeed go against what I've been reading here for a year now. Thanks for sharing those interactions. I've not seen people come back after those instructions saying that the mods didn't let them. So this is new news.

So once again... @Alan_K: would you be able to shed light on whether this is a new policy that early renewals via moderators is no longer possible? It has been understood that this was a capability. Now moderators are saying they won't.

NBruinsma · ‎06-11-2019

@geopublic that is a good solution. The other option might be to change to the equivalent plan of a different length (change from $180, 90 day plan to the $60, 30 day plan) and then set it to change back next renewal.

@Anonymous wrote:
@NBruinsma
So the official method is to run it through the mods. The mods will eventually ask you to put money in your account. So doing that ahead of time just saves the time and energy for that part of the interaction with them.

That is what I am saying, if that is the official method then be aware that it doesn't always work. If it is not the method at all then it is a problem that everyone thinks it is. To make it completely clear, here is the message I received when I asked:

and in case it matters, I was not trying to change to a plan that no longer exists. It is still readily available in self-serve.

Here are a couple more.

I could supply the whole thread if anyone cares, but the important thing is that I was told by multiple moderators that they CAN NOT, not that they will not. The fact that everyone in the message board thinks that they can still either means that they were incorrect in their responses to me, or that there is misinformation in the forum that I am trying to clear up. Would be good to have a moderator weigh in and clarify.

stonechucker · ‎06-11-2019

@NBruinsma well then use $10 of your available balance (which you say you've loaded), and change to the $10 plan. It's your money - instead of waiting, do the change, and reschedule now.

geopublic · ‎06-11-2019

@NBruinsma wrote:
I am not playing a victim. I don't care how you feel about my situation. I am simply stating for other people who attempt to renew early that:
1. Despite the advice in the forum to ask the moderators to renew early, that is not a dependable option - as they will not always do it
2. Do not put money in your account before you check with a moderator if they will renew your account, as you cannot get a refund
3. It probably isn't worth trying to renew early as it will take days for you to do it, even if you catch the moderators in the right mood.

I would have been happy to just pay the 10 dollars to switch plans and then switch immediately back to my current plan - the problem is not that there is no way to do it, the problem is that the forum tells you the wrong way, and that the wrong way costs people money and causes them to delay doing it themselves.
Because I was unable to do so, I think that it is important to let people in the forum know that before they attempt to do the same thing. That is how the community is supposed to work. If other people have had the same issues as me, it would have been useful for me if they had mentioned it in the forum.

@stonechucker wrote:
@NBruinsma the reason we ask for you to load the funds when you send the request in is so that it's available and the moderator_team can load it sooner, rather than later.
Immediate plan change being a final choice if you can't be bothered to wait for the Moderator_Team's assistance.
You seem to misunderstand what I am trying to say altogether. I have no problem with the speed at which the moderators respond to requests, I was well aware that it might take a couple of days for a response. The problem is that the information is all over the forum to add funds to your account and then contact a moderator for early renewal. That doesn't work, or at least I can say for sure that it doesn't always work. Because it doesn't work, be prepared for several messages back and forth, each of which may take days.

@NBruinsma Thanks for the update good to know if this is the case. I'm just thinking out loud, from what you describe maybe it's best to just do a plan change to the one higher up plan immediately. i.e. from the $35.00 to the $45.00 and once that is done then schedule a plan change back to the $35.00 plan on your next renewal. That way you pay the extra $10 but upgrade your plan and benefit from the additional data instead of switching to the $10 and then back to your existing plan.

Anonymous · ‎06-11-2019

@NBruinsma

It's kind of unfortunate that a *self-serve* place doesn't have an easy ability to do early renewals.

One needs to be aware that there is no pro-rating here. So an immediate plan change starts a new plan term and the old plan is gone along with its features that you paid for previously.

So the official method is to run it through the mods. The mods will eventually ask you to put money in your account. So doing that ahead of time just saves the time and energy for that part of the interaction with them.

The other method is to spend even more money on going down to the $10 plan and back up to your previous plan if it's a current plan. Yet another option is to use the BYO and pick up the features you had and then afterwards do a future plan change to your previous plan if it's a current plan.

If you're on a promo plan that is no longer offered then you lose it when you change. You can't go back to a promo plan.

NBruinsma · ‎06-11-2019

I am not playing a victim. I don't care how you feel about my situation. I am simply stating for other people who attempt to renew early that:

1. Despite the advice in the forum to ask the moderators to renew early, that is not a dependable option - as they will not always do it

2. Do not put money in your account before you check with a moderator if they will renew your account, as you cannot get a refund

3. It probably isn't worth trying to renew early as it will take days for you to do it, even if you catch the moderators in the right mood.

I would have been happy to just pay the 10 dollars to switch plans and then switch immediately back to my current plan - the problem is not that there is no way to do it, the problem is that the forum tells you the wrong way, and that the wrong way costs people money and causes them to delay doing it themselves.

Because I was unable to do so, I think that it is important to let people in the forum know that before they attempt to do the same thing. That is how the community is supposed to work. If other people have had the same issues as me, it would have been useful for me if they had mentioned it in the forum.

@stonechucker wrote:
@NBruinsma the reason we ask for you to load the funds when you send the request in is so that it's available and the moderator_team can load it sooner, rather than later.

Immediate plan change being a final choice if you can't be bothered to wait for the Moderator_Team's assistance.

You seem to misunderstand what I am trying to say altogether. I have no problem with the speed at which the moderators respond to requests, I was well aware that it might take a couple of days for a response. The problem is that the information is all over the forum to add funds to your account and then contact a moderator for early renewal. That doesn't work, or at least I can say for sure that it doesn't always work. Because it doesn't work, be prepared for several messages back and forth, each of which may take days.

stonechucker · ‎06-11-2019

@NBruinsma the reason we ask for you to load the funds when you send the request in is so that it's available and the moderator_team can load it sooner, rather than later. Personally, renewing a plan early is a waiting game. If you really need to have your service running at full capacity, rather than trying to renew, purchase the required add-on (note not all features have an add-on), or change your plan to something that will work for you.

I know changing plans isn't ideal, but if you're on a currently still-in-market option, changing to a different plan, and future dating for next renewal the current plan will keep you going with minimal delay and the cost difference.

If it's just a couple days, get the $10 or $15 plan for call and texting abilities. For data, buy the $30 1 GB if it's just a few days until renewal. For longer periods until top-up, change plan, and reschedule plan for next renewal.

Don't play the victim here - it's self-serve, and you have the ability to control and monitor your plan buckets, and there are options to get more (except SMS) via add-ons. Immediate plan change being a final choice if you can't be bothered to wait for the Moderator_Team's assistance.

The community tries to help the best we can, as we're only customers like you. Maybe public mobile isn't suited for you, but I know it works just fine for me, and many other subscribers.

popping · ‎06-10-2019

@NBruinsma

Yes. You are creating a virtual contract by putting in more fund to a prepaid account.

NBruinsma · ‎06-10-2019

I don't doubt that they are able to. In fact I have seen a lot of references to it in the forums.

I am just not a big fan of playing the lottery on it every time I could use some help.

For me, I think the few extra dollars for customer service is worth it. Just wish I hadn't put the money in my account first. Not a big deal that I need to use public mobile for a couple more months before I can get out, but there are some deals I would prefer not to miss and I don't like the idea of having to watch my account and time it so I don't have an interuption of service when the money in my account runs out.

Just seems silly that the whole draw of public mobile is that you are not locked into any kind of contract, but here I am - either abandoning 120 dollars or sticking with them for 2 months.

For anyone else who is looking to renew early, I would suggest not putting any money in until after they contact the mods (contrary to the advise in the forum). it also takes a couple days for each message and a couple messages back and forth, so if you are just a few days shy of renewing and want the data early it is not the most practical solution anyway.

stonechucker · ‎06-05-2019

@@@NBruinsma wrote:
Yup it will cost you $10 at least. One alternative is to change from the 90 day plan to the equivalent 30 day plan (or the other way around) and then set it to change your plan back at the next payment date. Might be worth a look anyway, I ended up paying an extra 2 dollars a month for an extra GB on the 30 day plan anyway.
Do NOT follow the instructions for contacting the mods after topping up your account (which is all over the forum). Not only will they act like you are crazy for suggesting it - there is no way to get your money back out. I paid for an early renewal of a 90 day $180 plan. They wouldn't do it and when I inquired about getting the money I put in back they acted like I was even more crazy and offered to transfer $70 to a Koodo account as though giving me a portion of my money back was a favor.
I've decided to pay the extra couple of dollars extra and go somewhere with some actual customer service, but unfortunately I am stuck running down my account on here first

@NBruinsma, moderators are authorized to do early renewals. Have been for years now.

Try again if you wish, or leave it’s your choice.

NBruinsma · ‎06-05-2019

Yup it will cost you $10 at least. One alternative is to change from the 90 day plan to the equivalent 30 day plan (or the other way around) and then set it to change your plan back at the next payment date. Might be worth a look anyway, I ended up paying an extra 2 dollars a month for an extra GB on the 30 day plan anyway.

Do NOT follow the instructions for contacting the mods after topping up your account (which is all over the forum). Not only will they act like you are crazy for suggesting it - there is no way to get your money back out. I paid for an early renewal of a 90 day $180 plan. They wouldn't do it and when I inquired about getting the money I put in back they acted like I was even more crazy and offered to transfer $70 to a Koodo account as though giving me a portion of my money back was a favor.

I've decided to pay the extra couple of dollars extra and go somewhere with some actual customer service, but unfortunately I am stuck running down my account on here first

Anonymous · ‎01-25-2019

@Jwpearce87 wrote:
Hey! Is it possible to renew my plan a couple of days early if I run out of data? I thought I read this somewhere. Can anyone help?

You can do an immediate plan *change* but you need moderator assistance to do an early renewal. Keep in mind that an immediate plan change forfeits what you've already spent. There are no refunds or credits prorated or otherwise.

Edit: Nice find @DSM18 but that's now expired info. (the OP...I didn't read the whole thing)

But yes...if one is on a standard, still-available plan and need to do an early renewal then you could do an immediate change to the $10 plan. Then immediate change to the plan you had. Costs you the days you had left in your original plan and the $10 plan. And now full cost for your "new" plan.

This is all to avoid needing moderators. But if your plan was a promo plan no longer available then it would be lost to you forever. No going back.

Alex888 · ‎01-25-2019

Only if you choose to change your plan immediately. You could buy a data addon, and any addon data left over at the end of the month rolls over, so if you don't uses it all before the end of the month it will remain in your account.

DSM18 · ‎01-25-2019

I read that in the forums as well (https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Paying-for-your-service/Early-Renewal-for-the-Data-Hu...)

There's a walkthrough in the link attached as well.

Community

Early Renewal