Moving from BC-London UK Aug 26th. 3 month billing cycle renews Aug 1st. Want to Keep Phone #

[turkeyscanfly]

Hi All!

*****Attached below are my phone plan details in screenshots*****

My predicament summary is this:

My Current Subscription Cycle is May 03, 2024 - Aug 01, 2024

I move Aug 26th to London, UK.

I want to keep my phone number while gone 1 to 2yrs & pay as little as possible to do that. I want to pay as little as possible for the period of Aug 1st-Aug 26th too & want to know if I can use up all my rewards without a plan or need the cheapest 30 day plan? is there a pay as you go plan option?

That seems an ideal fix for this because I will have a UK plan while over there..

Details/questions:

1. For Aug 1-26 I want to pay as little as possible. Happy to burn through my rewards with the cheapest plan, or, (if possible) without a plan? For example can I simply cancel the renewal for August 1st, & 'float by' on rewards until I leave in August 26th, then keep my phone number until I come back?

2. I want to keep my current phone number so when I come back one or two years from now, I still have the same number. How do I do this while spending as little as possible? Is there a way to not have a monthly plan but just 'float by' on my public rewards? Of course, my understanding is I will have a uk sim card & phone plan, but my understanding of what to do for keeping my Canadian number is fuzzy at best.

I have screenshots of all my rewards & whatnot. I will include them for details.

Cheers to anyone who can help with either question

[BKNS27]

@turkeyscanfly 

Why don’t you port your number over to Fongo? When you return back to Canada. Get a new SIM and port your number back to PM. But you will loss all your More is Merrier bonuses.

https://www.fongo.com/services/fongo-home-phone/transfer-your-phone-number/#:~:text=%2425%20After%20... 

[maurelle]

Do you need this number for 2FA while you are abroad? 

Since PM doesn't support service outside of Canada and the US, you should line up a reliable alternative before leaving.

Be aware that the VoIP options mentioned above can be hit-or-miss for getting 2FA texts. 

Oh, and to clarify, PM is not a pay-as-you-go provider. You will need an active plan to use any of your add-ons. If possible, I'd schedule a change at next renewal to the lowest cost plan available. Check web based account portal as well as the app - there might be different offers between the two.

[eddieO]

@turkeyscanfly, after reading @softech's suggestion I would go with the $15 fongo option for sure, it will end up being a lot cheaper than going to TELUS for $100 a year plus you won't need to worry about renewing if you are there for longer than a year making it over $200

[slusagm]

since you don't have too many friend rewards, there is really no need to keep your account with PM

Check those service that you can part of your number for a small fess, like numberbarn or those services

[eddieO]

@turkeyscanfly, Since you're going to be away for 1 to 2 years and wanting to keep your number I think your best option would be to move over to TELUS Mobility (who happens to own PM) and go on their $100/365 day plan 

If you try to stay with PM that's an option too but you'll need to unsubscribe from your and very important that you remember to renew before 90 days is up otherwise your plan will close and you will lose your number, so renewing a few days before you hit the 90 days is recommended. I think it would be easier to just port out to TELUS though as you only have to renew once or twice depending on how long you stay in the UK.

[softech · Accepted solution]

@turkeyscanfly 

if you are moving to UK for 1 to 2 years, you need to pay  at least $20 every 85 days, so, it is about $100 per year to keep the number

A better way is to port the number to Fongo, which has a $15 port in fees. And Fongo is VoIP phone, so it is FREE after you ported in.    Then when you are back in Canada, you can port the number back to a proper mobile provider, which is free to port out by then

For the part that you are not leaving until April 26, go to My Account and pick a plan that suit your needs for the 26 days

But if you decide to keep it with PM, here are what to do:

PM only allows the account to be suspended for 90 days or your account will be permanently closed, and you will loss the number.

So, your option is temporarily suspending the account and reactivate for 30 days before the 90 days deadline.

Here is what you can do:

1.  You might want to change the plan to a cheaper one to cut down the cost.  Go to your My Account , Change Subscription and see what is the cheapest plan you can get
   While this step might save you money, but please be aware that you might not be able to get back your current plan if that plan is no longer available when you are back.  If you are worried, or your current plan is already not available, skip this plan change step but you can still follow this pause subscription steps with higher cost
2.  If your Available funds = $0,  couple days before you want to stop the service, disable "Subscribed" from Payment page (Payment page, Managed Subscription, toggle off the "Subscribed" there 
   If you have some Available Funds, then mark your service as Lost-Stolen on the day you want to stop the service (Profile page, Report Lost/Stolen Phone)
3.  On the next renewal date, since pre-authorized payment is disabled, it won't be renewed.   
         Make note of that day 1 of the suspension date
4. !!!!VERY IMPORTANT!!!   Come back at around 85th days after the first date of the suspension to make a manual payment to renew the account for 30 days.  You can simply click "Pay Now and Resume Services" button and follow the step to make a manual payment.
   If you have changed the plan on Step 1, it will just cost you the lower amount for that 30-days cycle. 
   After you make the payment, make sure you see clearly that the account status is changed to ACTIVE.  If not, you will either have to open ticket with PM support or come and seek help here in the Community.
   (Don't wait till the 89th or 90th days as My Account could be down for maintenance or payment could be an issue, you want to give yourself enough time to sort it out)
5.  If your Available funds = $0 and Subscribed still disabled, make note of that date, again, the account will be active for 30 days only and will be suspended again after the 30 days.  Make note of the date it got suspended again.
   If you have Available Funds, you have to come back on the 29th or 30th days and mark the account Lost/Stolen again
6.  As the Autopay toggle "Subscribed" is already toggled off, it won't renew after that-30 days cycle.
   
   Since you still not back to Canada by the end of that 90 days, then come back NO LATER than 85th date and repeat from step 4 again.   You will have to repeat this for the whole duration when you are away from Canada