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Extended Absence

Luddite
Oracle
Oracle

UPDATED: Oct/19 ☘️   En français ci-dessous
[Thanks to @mimmo for catching some errors]


AN ABSENCE OF MORE THAN 90 DAYS IS POSSIBLE BUT SOMEWHAT COMPLEX

Public Mobile allows reactivation of an account up to 90 days after Expiry. If reactivation is missed the account is deleted, the phone number lost, and SIM deactivated. If you have, and wish to retain, a legacy (pre Jan 27/15), grandfathered plan (fall 2016 promo plan, Freedom promo for example) this is the only option you have as you can only keep a "grandfathered" plan by reactivating your current plan within the suspension period. So, 90 days (say 85 to be safe) is the longest you can wait after expiry to reactivate.

If you are willing to reactivate on your return with any current plan, longer absences can be managed. The easiest will cost $13/30 days: leave autopay activate and select the $15 (net $13) plan to take effect as soon as your current plan expires after you have left. On your return reactivate a current plan. As it would be on autopay, you can just ignore Public Mobile until you return.

 

If $13/30 days seems to rich, then you need to be prepared to track dates carefully. The cheaper way is accomplished by activating the 30 day limited calling/texting plan (currently $15) every 85 - 89 days in order to maintain your account and phone number. This can be done from anywhere you have an internet connection by logging into your account. When you return to Canada, just activate the plan you want.

The procedure is to first deactivate autopay, then login to your account each time you need to extend your absence and make a one-time payment of $15. The first time you would select Change Plan now, on each subsequent extension the $15 payment "should" reactivate the current $15 plan. Be sure to confirm the plan is Active after each payment.
When you return to Canada login to your account and make a one-time payment equal to the plan you want, then select Change Plan now. 
__________________________________________________________________

MISE À JOUR: Oct/19 ☘️

UNE ABSENCE DE PLUS DE 90 JOURS EST POSSIBLE MAIS QUELQUE PEU COMPLEXE

Public Mobile permet la réactivation d'un compte jusqu'à 90 jours après l'expiration. Si la réactivation est manquée, le compte est supprimé, le numéro de téléphone est perdu et la carte SIM est désactivée. Si vous avez, et souhaitez conserver, un legs (avant le 27 janvier 2015), un régime d'antériorité (plan promo automne 2016, promotion Freedom par exemple), c'est la seule option que vous avez, car vous ne pouvez garder un régime de «droits acquis» réactiver votre plan actuel pendant la période de suspension. Donc, 90 jours (disons 85 pour être sûr) est le plus long que vous pouvez attendre après l'expiration pour réactiver.

 

Si vous êtes prêt à réactiver votre retour avec un plan en cours, vous pouvez gérer des absences plus longues. Le plus simple coûtera 13 $ / 30 jours: laissez l'autopay activé et sélectionnez le plan à 15 $ (13 $ nets) qui prendra effet dès que votre plan actuel expirera après votre départ. À votre retour, réactivez un plan en cours. Comme ce serait le cas pour le paiement automatique, vous pouvez simplement ignorer Public Mobile jusqu'à votre retour.

Si 13/30 $ paraissent trop riches, vous devez être prêt à suivre les dates avec soin. Le moyen le plus économique consiste à activer le plan d’appels / SMS limité à 30 jours (15 $ actuellement) tous les 85 à 89 jours afin de conserver votre compte et votre numéro de téléphone. Cela peut être fait à partir de n'importe quel endroit où vous avez une connexion Internet en vous connectant à votre compte. Lorsque vous revenez au Canada, activez simplement le plan que vous souhaitez.
La procédure consiste d'abord à désactiver le paiement automatique, puis à vous connecter à votre compte chaque fois que vous devez prolonger votre absence et effectuer un paiement unique de 15 $. La première fois que vous sélectionnez Change Plan maintenant, à chaque extension ultérieure, le paiement de 15 $ "devrait" réactiver le plan actuel de 15 $. Assurez-vous de confirmer que le plan est actif après chaque paiement.
Lorsque vous revenez au Canada, connectez-vous à votre compte et effectuez un paiement ponctuel égal au forfait souhaité, puis sélectionnez Modifier le forfait maintenant.


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.
48 REPLIES 48

I remember the glitch also.  90 days is correct.

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@briansaccount I'm 97.7773% sure that I remember this being a known bug in the display of the date shown, and that your account will actually be okay for the 90 days, not the 30.  But to be sure, I'd suggest you contact the @CS_Agent via private message, using this link.  


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.

briansaccount
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

hey there,

I recently left the country having read public mobile's policies on account suspensions and absences.

when I went to check my account today, it showed me this:

IMG_20170911_170654.jpg

 

it's showing that my account will be deactivated on October 2, which is only 31 days after the plan expired, rather than the 90 that people here have mentioned.

 

am I understanding this correctly? is there a way to contact public mobile to correct this? thanks in advance!

bplalonde
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

Understand the busy and no problem with the delay in returning a response....and thank you for for the information.  It is unfortunate there isn't a better option to suspend one's service as the procedure Luddite provided seems more than tedious with no real guarantee of immediate return to service.  The service provider I use in the US does not terminate service for 6 months nor do I loose my number during that time (works great as that is the time I am away).  Although I have liked Public Mobile to date I will have to re-evaluate them as my mobile provider.  At least my previous provider had the option to convert from a monthly plan to a per minute plan which only expired in a year if I put $100 on the account.  I obviously didn't use the phone and when I return I just converted back to the monthly plan and still had the $100 in my account.  Staying with PM while trying to suspend my service the way I thought was possible was going to cost me more money but I was willing to accept that.  Now it's back to looking for a better option.  Thanks again for the response.....

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@bplalonde sorry @Luddite hasn't gotten back to you--it's been a little crazy around the community the past several days.  To answer your question, unfortunately no, a no talk, no text, no data plan is not a valid plan and cannot be used to extend your absence. 


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.

bplalonde
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

Thanks for the info Luddite.  I am new here and don't see anything more recent so I will tag onto this conversation if still valid.  I also winter in the south for 6 months each year and am looking for an extended absence option.  This might seem like a silly question but can a person just choose a 90 day plan = $25 with no call, text or data requirements?  I don't mind paying the $25 and doing this twice while away to maintain my account and retain my phone number.  I still have some time before leaving but would like to know my options well in advance of leaving.  Thank you.....

@ianc That is correct. DO NOT go past 90 days or your account and number will be deleted. If you have a grandfathered plan you will lose it.


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.

ianc
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

@Luddite thanks for the info!

 

So just so I'm clear, there's nothing I have to do to put my account into "expiry", right? So in order to hold my number, I just don't pay my bill when its due (say end of July)... wait 90 days (~end of Oct), pay for 30 day texting plan (~end of Dec), wait another 90 days, pay,  wait 30 days etc etc. 

 

Please let me know if I'm not understanding correctly!

Darby
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@Luddite yeah, I noticed they took that 10-day option away. 

 

I still appreciate all the other info you explained here. Not planning to need to use it anytime soon, but it's good to know!

 

Thanks for following up to be sure I understood you. 🙂

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

Thanks for updating this guide, @Luddite.  I meant to remind you but forgot.  🙂


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.

@Darby Thanks for the kudo. Unfortunately 10 day plans are no longer available so you'd be stuck using a 30 day plan. Robot Sad


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.

Great post Luddite. Thank you for the Wonderful explanation.

Acekiller
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

pinning this would be a good idea!

Chaos_Scorpio
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@Jeremy_M Mr boss man, Can we pin this post by Lud? 

 

Seems like at least once every couple days someone is asking about what happens when they go overseas. It makes common sense to pin this ... 

Acekiller
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

great info on how to keep the number over a long period of absence.

 

 

I don't see how this is "too relaxed".  A lot companies offer some type of dormant account, in some cases, for free.

@TheOldVR This rule is not that relaxed. A similar operation in the UK allows 6 months after expiry; speakout7eleven 45 days plus you only need to pay $25 once a year for pay-as-you-go.


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.

TheOldVR
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

 

@Luddite: great post, thank you!

 

@Chaos_Scorpio: Not sure that PM wants to promote this as a feature or benefit of being with PM for fear of abuse.

 

I would suggest that these rules are a bit too relaxed but then that might make peeps un-happy so I won't Smiley Very Happy.

 

Happy Monday Everyone, and keep safe in the snow in case you're dealing with a storm like we are!

Chaos_Scorpio
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

you should be able to pin stuff as Oracles ... cause this needs to be up there. 

 

Well writen Lud!

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