03-20-202212:14 PM - last edited on 03-20-202204:14 PM by computergeek541
Hi I'm new to Public Mobile and have made a mistake with add-ons. I am out of town and just wanted to get some talk time so added 1000 US minutes. Then when I tried to use it wouldn't allow me to call as I didn't have US roaming. I didn't choose that as it was limited to 10 days and I am away for 12. Of course, then the system was down for maintenance so I couldn't add it last night. Anyway, now I have purchased roaming and I could make my call. Any possibility of being able to get refund for the1000 minutes add-on which is of no benefit to me with roaming package? Thanks for your assistance, whichever way the dollar drops:)
Exactly. If you make regular calls to the US and don't need a large data plan (All $50+ plans include calling to the US from Canada) then the $15/1000 min calling add on is a very affordable add on to have as its a one time purchase that doesn't expire. It rolls over every 30 days and is just sitting on your account when needed. At $0.015/min if you spend on average 1 hour a month calling people in the US the add on will last nearly a year and a half with an averaged cost of less than $1/30 days.
The $5/500min Canada wide calling add on works similarily for really low data users. If you dont really need the data in the $25/1gb plan then paying an extra $10/30 days for unlimited outgoing calling isn't worth it when you can supplement the 100 outgoing minutes on the $15 plan with the $5/500min add on. We really dont talk as much on the phone as we think we do or as much as we used to be before texting or the internet came along....
Hi Thanks for the info. I think I had an Ah Ha moment. I thought that purchasing the US minutes was only able to be used in the US. However, now I think it works this way: I purchase a roaming package when in the US and can make calls with that package when in the US, either to US number or back to Canada. The 1000 US minute package I can use in Canada to make calls to the US without having a US roaming package. Is that correct?
It's a common mistake.....luckily CSA's very understanding about honest mistakes. Ask the CSA to kindly remove the add on and credit your account. When they are all done ask or a review link to provide feedback on your customer support experience so that pm can learn throw to improve their customer service and CSA's will get the kudos they deserve or extra training when needed.
The community is here to help you learn and avoid making an error that can't be reversed so if you are ever unsure or just want to play it safe before you make any changes in your self serve account come here first and ask your question.
Here's some additional info on US Roaming you may find helpful.....
While you have to have an active plan to purchase and use US roaming add ons the type of plan you have does not affect the roaming add ons features.
US roaming add ons start the moment you confirm and submit your purchase in your self serve account and expire 240 hours later (10 days×24 hours).
You can pre-load the funds needed to purchase the add ons in your self serve account so you only have to log in, select the US roaming add on and then confirm and submit your purchase.
Wait til late as possible to purchase since they are immediately valid so on free wifi at the destination airport or stopping shortly before the border at mcd's or timmy's to buy the add on while on free wifi.
If you are staying longer than 10 days you must wait a minimum of 24 hours to purchase the same US roaming add on or contact the moderators to add it before the waiting period ends.
If you have two US roaming add ons with a talk feature that overlap the talk feature basically gets disabled. Avoid this....but you will have to get one removed by a moderator to get your calling feature back if this happens.
After purchase reboot your phone and manually select either at&t or T-mobile to get better reception. Some areas have better coverage by either provider so when travelling around the US you will be better served by choosing the provider with better signal strength by locale.
You will recieve incoming texts without any US roaming add ons. Adding the fongo app and textnow app for use on wifi are good to use for a back up plan or you could call forward your pm phone # to your fongo # before you leave Canada and purchase just the US data roaming add on. Fongo also works on mobile data (1 min=0.5mb/100 min=50mb) so you could still recieve incoming pm texts, recieve incoming pm calls to your fongo #/app, outgoing calls from your fongo number and outgoing texts from textnow for free or small fee from fongo.
All US roaming add ons have either unlimted text, talk or both. Only data has limits depending on your purchase 250mb/500mb/1gb. Once the data is consumed it will just stop you could then purchase different roaming add on, wait 24 hr to buy or contact the moderator to buy the same US roaming add on again. (* except talk as previously mentioned.)
Happy travels and Stay--Safe!
Please note currently due to the decommissioning of the 3G network in the US by pm's roaming partners at&t has already begun this process but as of March 20th 2022 still has some areas that are still served by the 3G network. T-Mobile has an end date of July 1st 2022. This will affect the ability of pm customers to send and receive voice calls and emergency service such as 911 while in the US and using pm's US roaming add ons. The current work around is to download a voip app such as textnow or fongo for use while on wifi or mobile data for voice calls when in areas no longer served by the 3G network which will eventually include all areas served by at&t and T-Mobile.
@Boopster Do you ever make calls to the US from Canada? That add-on can stay on your account if do make calls to the US as it doesn't expire until completely depleted unlike the US roaming option as you noted is only available for 10 days.
However, if you're never likely to use that add-on then you need to submit a ticket to customer support via chatbot and ask them for an account credit which can be used to pay for a future renewal or another more suitable add-on if needed.
Here's a couple of links for customer support, first try chatbot and if unable to submit a ticket then you can send a private message to CS_Agent.
