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calling without answering still counted as a minute

Nickbest
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

just got a phone number with 100 mins, calling between two phone numbers to test out without answering, then 1 minute was counted toward this 100 mins, now 99 minutes left.

15 REPLIES 15

@Chalupa_Batman- Thanks for the real life corroboration of my testing. There are and have been many things in the service that go against what they claim and state in policies. And indeed they could change and follow policy whenever they like. The most recent adherence is calling some international destinations that were not included in the countries list. They've since clamped down on those oddities.

All regulars should be well aware of most of these oddities. Maybe we shouldn't be talking about them. But this minutes things has been this way since I've been here and with Telus for years before that. It's about the connected call. Not the attempted call.

thanks @Chalupa_Batman  for confirming

I guess like 1-800 numbers, they are supposed to be counted but PM has not been counting them.  Of course, one day PM system can start working by the rule  🙂

@softech may be confirmed on it's ToS however I just tested it myself. I have 3 minutes used so far this month. I just make 3 calls to my other number. Let it ring twice each time and hung up. Waited for the website to update and I'm still at 3 minutes. I'm pretty confident as long as you don't connected or the other parties voice mail doesn't kick in, you don't get charged the minute. 

I updated my recent post. @computergeek541 - I did not interpret the OP that way. But I suppose maybe. Tested.

Adding - nope. No minutes for the called side.


@Handy1 wrote:

@Nickbest  Just calling your voice mail for 10 seconds will count as a minute 

adding it’s not per second billing . So you need to talk fast @Nickbest  🙂


While the person who is making the call and was given the opportunity to leave a voice message and a minute does get used by the person even if hanging up right away, the point here is how the person who didn't answer the call isn't supposed to have a minute deducted from the remaining usage.

@Nickbest just confirmed PM has such term on its ToS, too

......upon call connection. Just calling and not connecting or not dropping to voicemail will not take minutes.

It's always good to test these things. Tested.

Adding - yup. No minutes. Clicked the spinner. Called a number. Rang 3 times at calling end. Hung up. Clicked spinner. No minutes taken. This is entirely common for as long as I've had a cellphone. It all matters when the call is connected. ToS, policies, wordings etc. - when call connected. So in this thread, it is a likelihood that the call did happen to drop to voicemail and they didn't realize it.

softech
Oracle
Oracle

@Nickbest 

this is from Telus terms of service, pretty sure it applies here

https://www.telus.com/en/support/article/service-terms-between-you-and-telus

Charges for voice calls are based o the airtime used when you make and receive calls on your mobile phone. Voice airtime is calculated, for both incoming and outgoing calls, from the time the call is initiated to the time it is disconnected, including the time used to route the call through the network and any ring time. The airtime for each voice call is rounded up to the nearest minute.

@Chalupa_Batman 

good point...I "assumed" the op meant his call went to voicemail so he hung up w/o talking. For clarity..no minutes will be debited for a call that simply rings only. Soon as voicemail is picked up, then the meter starts.  🤔

@Chalupa_Batman- I think that's the likely cause here too. The mere fact of it dropping to voicemail at the other end is deemed an answered call. The toll for that is 1 minute please.

Chalupa_Batman
Mayor / Maire

I get the feeling everyone has misunderstood @Nickbest here. Or maybe I have.

Just so I, we, understand. You made a call from your Public Mobile number to another number and didn't pick up the other phone? If that is the case, this should not use a minute. This is what I think happened. You made a call from your Public Mobile number, it may have rang a few times on your PM phone but didn't ring right away on your other phone. There was a short delay in connecting the call that some don't even notice. I'm thinking when you took the phone away from your ear to push the end button, in that time, your voicemail on the other phone activated setting the call to start, hence the one minute. It happens more often than people know. People who have unlimited talk don't even know it happens. But the other 4 suggestion is worth it. $5 500 Canadian LD minutes. It can be used if you go over the 100 minutes. I'm not sure how long you've been with PM so far but at Christmas, PM gives you gifts!!! 400-500 Intl minutes (which can be used after your 100 minutes and never expire) and 1GB of data. I have the exact same plan you're on and I have 1800 of those minutes and 8GB of data I have from Christmas gifts just sitting there. I'm holding them for when I retire or get divorced! LOL. Hope this made sense.

BKNS27
Mayor / Maire

@Nickbest 

If you are cautious about using up your 100 minutes. You can call your number from another phone as there are unlimited incoming calls.

You can also text (unlimited) your friends and family to call you.

GR
Mayor / Maire

@Nickbest  just buy the 5$ 500 Canadian minute add on for when you pass your 100 minutes.  Every month if you only go a few minutes over then the 500 minutes will last a long time because they stay on your account till all used up! 

hairbag1
Mayor / Maire

@Nickbest 

even just a short 5 sec call will count as 1 full minute. added...checking you voicemail also counts against those 100 minutes.

For the $15 plan with only 100 minutes of outgoing calls, I suggest you also buy the $5 / 500 minutes of Canada wide calling add-on...for times when you use all your regular plan minutes.

Handy1
Mayor / Maire

@Nickbest  Just calling your voice mail for 10 seconds will count as a minute 

adding it’s not per second billing . So you need to talk fast @Nickbest  🙂

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