Plan Change question: New plan will cost more

[Kruetter]

I have poured over the support topics and found no concrete answer.

I got the 201 dollars, 90day/Nation wide calling/unlimited text/12GB plan. And paid already with my CC on autopay.

I want to change to the 216 dollar, 90day/Canada and US wide calling/unlimited text/12GB plan.

However when I try to do this it says i have 12 dollars of credit on my account and owe 204 dollars to make this change. So I am now going to be charged another 204 dollars on top of the 201 after i just started my plan 10 days ago?

[srlawren]

@WearySky I agree with @xCameron94x.  We've been conditioned over years of post-paid and contracts, but PM is operated differently.  People are busy and can't always spend a lot of time researching before choosing a service (or a product--this issue is far from unique here, just look at literally any support forum and you'll see people that didn't understand the product or service before purchasing).  The challenge with PM is that the onus really is on the customer, since there's no phone number you can call up for assistance.  We [the community] always have to remember that not everyone will have had time to locate and understand all relevant info, so we have to be a little extra patient here whenever possible.

[xCameron94x]

it could be because so many people could be porting over from a postpaid plan. I have always been on postpaid until i ported over to PM during the fall promo. It's just a bit of a learning curve. Yes they should do research a head of time, but stuff can be forgotten when trying something new

[WearySky]

It always amazes me just how many people sign up for Public Mobile either not understanding that it's a prepaid provider, or not understanding what a prepaid provider even is.

[srlawren]

@Kruetter I think you've gotten some good explanations. Essentially you can think of the 90 day plan as being committed to the exact plan you picked and paid for for the full 90 days.  You could schedule the plan change for your next renewal date, which avoids the issue but leaves you on your current plan until then.  As stated you could use some long-distance add-on minutes to get by until the plan change, or you could potentially use a VoIP app such as Fongo, Hangouts Dialer, etc to make the calls for free over data or WiFi.  

If you really need the plan change right now, contact one of the community moderators and ask them nicely if they can help.  They usually make exceptions for situations like this and should be able to assist you.

If you'd like to see Public Mobile allow these types of changes during your cycle while paying/crediting the pro-rated difference, please consider reading and clicking bravo on this idea to vote it up: http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Public-Lab/Ability-to-just-change-your-plan-right-away...

[CaNuCk07]

@Kruetter  Keep in mind, PM is a prepaid service.  So you essentially have already paid for and used some of your 90days.  I know the mods will sometimes assist in changing plans, however if they are unable to get you a sufficient resolution then just post date the change and wait until this time is up.

[xCameron94x]

I would suggest that you do the future date plan change option, in order to avoid paying another $200+ within a two week span. What you could do, since you want both canada and US calling, is add a long distance add on (i would recommend the $14 one if you intend to make a lot of calls.

Also you could use google hangouts to call numbers in Canada and the US for Free.

[ShawnC13]

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@Kruetter wrote:

So if I was to want to change it I would have to pay 201  + 216 dollars so 417 dollars just to make the change?

That makes absolutely no sense.

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@Kruetter, yes if you were to change it now when you are already into your plan you have paid $201 for the next 90 days on this plan.  If you want to go to a new plan right away you would have to pay the cost of that plan for the next 90 days.  As suggested you can contact a MOD but this is a prepaid service and by switching today you would be voiding out the remaing 80 days of your current plan and the cost associated with it.

[Someone_here]

@Kruetter

Option 1: contact mods and hope 🙂

Option 2: change today and pay a lot 😞

Option 3a: plan a future dated plan change

Option 3b: plan a future dated plan change and buy a 200 or 400 minutes add-on to be able to call in the USA for the next ~80 days before your plan changes.

[Samianauman]

That's why I suggest try with mod if they can manually fixed it if you request that would be a bonus for you if not then set a future date for next renewal 2 options for you

[Kruetter]

So if I was to want to change it I would have to pay 201  + 216 dollars so 417 dollars just to make the change?

That makes absolutely no sense.

[Samianauman]

Since you only been on plan for 10 days only I would try out with mod nicely lol you never know there s always a maybe

[Someone_here]

@Kruetter

@ShawnC13got the exact answer. You can try @Samianauman suggestion, and moderators might be able to help you with this (and they are usually willing to help), but just so you know, there is no certitude they will.

[ShawnC13]

@Kruetter, short answer is yes.  As a prepaid service you have paid for hte next 90 days with that plan.  You can future date your plan change to take affect on your next renewal that way you won't lose out on what you have already paid.  If you want it to change immediately you will need to pay the new price for a new 90 day plan.

[Samianauman]

I would say send a msg to mod they will do it manually
Contact mod dept they will help you with the process
In your private message to any moderator include whatever bits of the following info you have:
* PM account email address
* PM phone number
* Detailed explanation
* Community Moderators are available from Mon-Thursday 9am(EST) to 9pm(EST) and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9am(EST) to 5:30pm(EST)
Here is the link for how to contact moderators http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Knowledge-Base/Updiated-Contacting-our-Community-Moder...

What you do click on link then webpage will open. You will see a mod team click on any name then scroll down all the way and click on send a private msg then explain your reason with account and email address
Thanks