charged twice.

[zainalvi80]

Hi, I am using public mobile from last 8 months and had a plan of 5 GB data for 40 $ for 30 days but recently I wanted to upgrade my plan from 5 GB to 8.5 GB so first, I added 56.50 funds to my account through my credit card although my account has auto payment setting, first, I chose to upgrade my plan to next renewal date but two days ago I choose the option of upgrade immediately. so today I was looking at my credit card statement online. I have been charged twice so what can I do in this case?

[darlicious]

@zainalvi80  Did you get a resolution to your issue?

[Mitch1]

@darlicious 

Exampling the vending machine is an interesting point although I don't think it applies because buying a product from a vending machine and receivng stale chips would most likely prompt a complaint to the property owner or at least a feeling of distrust . However not as easy to compare to cellular service providers . Since customer service isn't as static as a vending machine business much thought needs to go into a business transaction to have both parties continue such a relationship. 

Recovering the cost of a service or product your not satisfied with isn't necessarily a non-productive or moot.

Even if the customer is to some degree at fault it doesn't mean that they shouldn't be considered a refund by public mobile. 

However  proving to a credit card that he or she was unjustly charged , the burden of proof is on the customer as I've pointed out. 

I do give validation to the suggestion that you are pointing out - to deal with public mobile customer service.

[darlicious]

@Mitch1  I see your point. I am only pointing out pm is prepaid. When you go to be vending machine put your money or your card in and the chips you bought are stale do you dispute the charge or phone the vending machine company and complain? No because the outcome may be positive but the hassle is probably not worth it. The OP will probably get a positive outcome right away. Making your worst case scenario suggestion a moot point. Not a moo point as Joey would say but then again we are probably are just two cows here chewing our cud. Moooooooo! Moo!

[darlicious]

@zainalvi80  Ignoring all the last 5 or 6 posts it sounds like you scheduled a change on next renewal to the $50 plan. But because you did not cancel the scheduled change it ended up changing it on what was originally your renewal date ( when you were on the $40plan)  to the $50 plan even though you had already done so. This indeed seems to be a glitch on part of the autopay system not recognizing that your renewal date had changed by way of you changing your plan "now". If indeed this is the case the moderators can credit your account accordingly or issue a refund which takes up to 30 days to process.

[Mitch1]

@darlicious 

I believe that I suggested contacting public mobile customer service to the person's question in each of my comments. Although I am not recalling it as verbatim.

Disputing an amount that you believe you were changed for yet did not receive service would be something that is not unusual and has been queried before. 

As far as negative outcomes I'm not here to coddle public mobile rather to be realistic. That the consumer has options and switching cellphone providers is also not uncommon .

I understand that the majority of people have the ability to gather their own information and logically choose a course of action. My suggestion to contact public mobile first would be the option people would likley choose as it's the easiest and most reasonable choice. I  example disputing a charge on your credit card then switching service providers in the context I said if you adimitley believe you were wrongfully charged . Personally if I'm not satisfied with something I've purchased I typically will not purchase it again and will want my money back. 

[darlicious]

@Mitch1  I am by no means arguing ones rights as a consumer and the choices you can make in the marketplace. If you reread the OP you will see the customer  thinks they were charged twice. Except for autopay public mobile cannot charge you twice or overcharge you. The customer can submit a payment to their credit card twice or if they have a balance and change their plan immediately on the same day and they have of their own free will charged themself twice. Pm has not charged them twice or overcharged them. This a prepaid service so pm does not have any obligation to refund or credit them back but will likely do so. If the customer is unhappy that they do not get the result they want your suggestion to dispute the charge is really just a waste of time and suffering the ensuing consequences. As i said before disputing the charge by the OP who has admitted has made a mistake is not recommended. So following your advice to dispute is not recommended. This all I was trying to point out to you...be careful what you advise people to do unless you have done it yourself and the outcome was positive. Previously customers disputing charges with their credit card companies in regards to public mobile have only had a negative outcome.

[Mitch1]

@darlicious 

MasterCard doesn't let it's cardholders just call in and make dispute claims without considering evidence. I also have not been wrongly overcharged. So unfortunately I can not meet your request to "test my theory" 

Furthermore your suggestion didn't include a situation of an overpayment or a stepped approach to deal with public mobile customer service which I think Is clear to everyone to use as a first step to resolve a complaint. 

That being said if I were to be wrongfully charged I would have no problem getting my  money back and switching service if need be. 

[darlicious]

@Mitch1  Why dont you test out your theory and tell us how it turns out. @mimmo is correct and others have had to send money orders. Thats not to say you cant dispute a charge with your credit card company that is your right as a consumer and public mobile is usually very good with credits and refunds take about 30 days. A disputed charge can take much longer and is an aggravated complaint so pm if it so chooses may deem you a " frustrated" contract per se and enact special circumstances if you wish to continue your prepaid technically non refundable services with pm. That is why I say it is not recommended and would not want to suggest it to another customer to find out the hard way that it was bad advice.

[Mitch1]

At that point then I would recommend switching service . Everyone has the right protect themselves from retailers. If you've already tried to get your money back through public mobile customer service and you still believe you were overcharged then I think it's reasonable to dispute the charge and switch providers. 

[mimmo]

@Mitch1  are you sure? There have been several cases of people needing to send certified cheques to PM to restore service once they have disputed a charge with their credit card.

[Mitch1]

@darlicious 

Choosing to dispute a charge through MasterCard wouldn't result in a loss of use with public mobile at all if it was the first time. If it ever would then it would prove that public mobile is unreasonable and I'd stop using them.

Customer service from retailers accept that this is a benift of a cardholder that can legally be used. The first step in recovery of an overcharge would be to work with the retailer (public mobile) if that doesn't work then there is nothing wrong disputing a charge . Especially for those with low credit limits (300) dollars. Public mobile will then have the option of refunding MasterCard rather then the cardholder or informing MasterCard that the charges are legitimate. 

Knowing your options as a consumer will protect your rights if it's dealing with the question posed or another retailer in the future. 

[darlicious]

@zainalvi80 @Mitch1  Please note disputing a charge with your credit card company from public mobile if successful can cause pm to refuse to accept credit card payments from you and require you to use vouchers only. This is not recommended. Just deal with the moderators to issue an account credit or a refund (takes up to 1 month.)

[Mitch1]

For the overpayment issues goto the help section and from the drop down menu then you will ask the "chatbot simon" to speak to a moderater or a real person . From there explain your situation to the moderator as a question to them. 

They will then respond back to you in your account messages . The process should take about a day , they will double check everything then issue a credit if you overpaid . 

If for example you adimitley believe you were overcharged and for some reason can't get it back you can just call MasterCard and they will reverse the charge as a dispute - although the moderator should easily credit your account once they receive your request.

[LovesToPM]

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@zainalvi80 wrote:

yes, that's the problem first I added funds to my account so I was charged I said it's fine but when I upgraded it immediately, I was charged again and there are no funds in my account showing zero dollars.

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@zainalvi80 

Can you do a screenshot of your payment/transaction history?

We can take a look and tell you if Moderators can help.

Block any personal info before posting here.

[akram2456]

Normally you will see funds as 0 because you are paying for the plan and not the $ top up .

You might have paid earlier for the $40 and then you upgraded to 8.5 GB plan that could be reason you were charged twice. 

You can submit a ticket with Moderator and they will look into your issue.

[zainalvi80]

yes, that's the problem first I added funds to my account so I was charged I said it's fine but when I upgraded it immediately, I was charged again and there are no funds in my account showing zero dollars.

[LovesToPM]

@zainalvi80 

Also make sure the 2 charges to your credit card statement are indeed 2 separate charges.

When a charge gets added to your credit card, it will first show up as pending. Then when it is approved, it will be added to your list of charges. The same charge can be listed as both pending and charged until the pending entry is removed by your credit card company.

[totalUser]

Hi @zainalvi80 

something like that happened to me

When you choose to change over renewal then you change your mind and change right away, you must manually cancel your scheduled change, it doesn't cancel by itself.

Please contact moderators asap by clicking the question mark

There is no guarantees that you will get your money back, but they are usually nice and will try their best. You may have to try couple of times

Best luck

[LovesToPM]

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@zainalvi80 wrote:

Hi, I am using public mobile from last 8 months and had a plan of 5 GB data for 40 $ for 30 days but recently I wanted to upgrade my plan from 5 GB to 8.5 GB so first, I added 56.50 funds to my account through my credit card although my account has auto payment setting, first, I chose to upgrade my plan to next renewal date but two days ago I choose the option of upgrade immediately. so today I was looking at my credit card statement online. I have been charged twice so what can I do in this case?

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When you logon your self-serve account, do you see the additional payment amount in your Available Funds?

If yes, then there's no problem. The funds will be used to cover your next renewal in 30 days.