Subscription Expiration -- paying with Vouchers

[geogolem]

My friend wanted to switch to PublicMobile. He does not have a credit card and intends to keep his plan active by paying with vouchers. At some point in the past, he was with PublicMobile and had an account without a credit card on file and paid only with vouchers. He is not trying to reactivate the same account as that old account is long gone. 

I already had an extra unused/new SIM for him to use for his activation and so we went to the store where he bought a $25 voucher. It was not possible to activate his new SIM/account using the voucher we had bought. The activation process required a credit card. 

In order to help him out, he gave me $24+tax cash and I proceeded to use my credit card to make his first payment, setup his account and activate his SIM card. Everything went well and his phone is activted and working on the $24 4GB per month "subscription".  There was no way to remove my credit card from his account and so I contacted @CS_Agent who was able to remove the credit card from the account. 

He then added the $25 voucher that he had previously bought to his account. His account balance now shows $25... but in "My Account" it says his "subscription will expire on March 11th 2024" (30 days from now)... There doesn't seem to be anyway to reactivate the "subscription" without adding a credit card. 

but he wants his "subscription" (service) to continue and renew on March 11th using the funds from his account.

Is this what will happen? or will his service stop working on March 11th despite havign the 25$ account balance (which is more than enough to cover his "subscriptions" renewal)

I am more familiar with the autopay terminology before Public Mobile made all these changes...

At first I thought that "subscription" just referred to autopay and automatic payments with credit card etc; however public mobile is also referring to the plan itself as "current subscription" with the ability to "change subscription" referring to actually changing the plan .... it also uses "subscription expiring" and "manage subscription" to refer to what was previously called autopay etc.

My friend does not want his service/plan (what public mobile is referring to as his "current subscription") to stop functioning on March 11th. He has more than paid the necesary fees to keep this plan active as indicated by his current account balance etc. but apparently his "subscription" is set to expire on March 11th and the only thing "manage subscription" seems to allow him to do is add a credit card which he does not want to and should not need to do.

What exactly is "subscription" referring to.. and will my friend be ok if he ensures he continues to buy 25$ vouchers every 30 days going forward.

PublicMobile's use of the word "subscription" doesn't seem to make sense and is inconsistent/confusing.

It seems the term "subscription" is being used for both the "Currently selected Plan" and for whether or not autopayments are active with a credit card. They are independent and distinct things and it is incorrect/confusing/unclear to refer to both of them using the same term "subscription".. 

[mitchnet12]

That was very kind to use your credit card to help your friend to activate their account. If they aren't able to have a credit card, or choose not to, do they have a bank debit card that can work as a credit card to use as a backup payment method? A friend of mine had to initially setup their account with their CIBC debit Visa.

I agree with payment voucher approach. I have been using vouchers since April 2020 after having been inconvenienced with a Public Mobile payment glitch. I have been getting an extra 2.5% back in credit card rewards from purchasing vouchers at the grocery store.

This is probably a late tip, but do they see a breakdown for an upcoming payment on March 12th on the payment tab? It should show a projected payment balace after taking the current funds in the account into consideration.

[Dunkman]

---

@hairbag1 wrote:

@geogolem 

it'll renew on March 11th because there's $25 in Available Funds.

added...he can continue to renew using vouchers. He can even get one of those prepaid debit cards and set account to Subscribed to get autopay points.

---

New customers will not get any autopay points/credits.  Only legacy rewards get the $2/30 days autopay credit.  New customers get 5% back in points every 30 days. 

[ulearn]

@geogolem   If I can recall when I first signed up with Public Mobile, I started off using vouchers too, but I quickly switched to using a credit card instead. With vouchers, there was this annoying 72-hour delay before the money would actually show up. I didn't quite read the fine print!

So, you'd add money to the voucher, but then had to sit tight for three days... Yeah, my voucher was a whopping $150 because I went for the 90-day subscription at $40 per 30 days. Wanted to make sure I had enough to cover taxes and all, you know? Luckily, the moderator I dealt with was super patient and walk me through the process and understood my concerns.

Oh, and about those prepaid Visa or Mastercard gift cards, yeah, they're an option, but they usually come with some fees attached too..

Here's another idea: consider getting a new credit card specifically for online purchases. You can ask your financial institution to lower the credit card limit to help keep your spending in check (and avoid potential over-limit fees or loss if it's misplaced). Then, simply make sure to pay off the balance every month to avoid paying any interest on top of your purchases!

[hairbag1]

@geogolem 

agreed...it is confusing alright. They recently switched the term Autopay for Subscribed...for some reason.

[geogolem]

Thanks for your response --> that is what I hoped and thought and am glad you are able to confirm it.

Having said that -- don't you agree that PublicMobile is describing 2 different and distinct things using the same term "subscription". I don't think they should do that. They are distinct things... 

One usage of the term "subscription" is referring to the specification of the type of services to be provided.. as noted by the use of "current subscriptions or "change subscription" on the "Subscriptions & Add-ons" page in the following 2 images:

The other usage is referring to whether or not automatic payment using a credit card is active.  as noted by the use of "subscription is expiring", "subscribe now", "subscription expiration date" or "you're not subscribed" on the "Overview" page seen in the following image:

Note --> even in the top right of the Overview page in the above image there is a "change subscription" button which is not referring to the autopay stuff...

They are 2 unique things that need to be differentiated.. Does anybody else see the problem here?

[hairbag1]

@geogolem 

it'll renew on March 11th because there's $25 in Available Funds.

added...he can continue to renew using vouchers. He can even get one of those prepaid debit cards and set account to Subscribed to get autopay points.