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Ana428's profile

Contributor

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3 Messages

Friday, May 24th, 2013 5:18 AM

Rate plan expiration (Prepaid GoPhone)

Hi

 

I have an ATT GoPhone number for my occasional trips to the US. My account summary is as follows:

 

 

 

Main Account Balance

$35.68

Account Status

Active 

Account Balance Expiration Date

02/28/2014 

Cancel Date

04/29/2014 

Rate Plan

$50 Monthly Unlimited Plan 

Rate Plan Status

Expired

Rate Plan Expiration Date

05/19/2013 

 

 

 

My questions are:

 

1. By when do I have to refill my account so that I can continue with the same number and rate plan?  And with how many dollars? 

 

2. My next trip to the US will not be for another 6 to 8 months at least, in the meantime, do I have to keep refilling my account with 50 bucks every month/ few months? Is there a way to maintain the same number that allows me to re-filI only when required? 

 

My main concern is maintaining the same number. 

 

I have read most of the literature available on the forum/ ATT website regarding this, but wasn't able to figure out a definite answer.

 

Thanks!

Scholar

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110 Messages

11 years ago

@hme83    As far as i know his $130 would still have an expiration date of 365 days. Your last refill expiration would not take effect if the current expiration is longer.  W/c in his case the last $15 refill good for 30 days could not beat the $100 good for 365 days. Not unless he's gonna refill days before the expiration date or much better a day before  to maximize the next expiry period.

Master

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5.9K Messages

11 years ago


@LG_21 wrote:

@@hme833    As far as i know his $130 would still have an expiration date of 365 days. Your last refill expiration would not take effect if the current expiration is longer.  W/c in his case the last $15 refill good for 30 days could not beat the $100 good for 365 days. Not unless he's gonna refill days before the expiration date or much better a day before  to maximize the next expiry period.


Thanks for the clarification. 🙂  

 

That's definitely how it worked when I used at&t's prepaid service.  For some reason I was thinking at&t had changed things to allow you to stack one refill on the end of the existing period so that you don't have to wait until virtually the last minute to refill in order to maxmize the benefit from the refill.  It's been so long since I've had their prepaid service though - I may be misrecalling (or misunderstood) what I thought I saw.

Former Community Manager

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10.4K Messages

11 years ago


@ptitelaure wrote:

Hi

 

Thanks Doug

Unfortunately the cancel date shows nov 2014... although I called customer service yesterday...

What's the best way to reach customer service btw? 611 makes it very hard to have an operator on the line...

 

thank you..

Laure


Hello Laure,

 

Why unfortunately? You wanted to confirm that your number stays active until August 31st 2014, this confirms that it will be active until November 2014, 2 months after the date you want, right? $130 refill will be good for 1 full year, balance expiration date will be September 1st and if you don't refill at that time the number will get canceled in 60 days, November 2014.

 

To get in touch with a customer care rep, call 611, first say "More Options" and then "Representative", might have to repeat "Representative" couple of times, that's how I always get them on the line.

 

Dmitriy

Scholar

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110 Messages

11 years ago

 Unfortunately not. Then it would be bad for business 🙂

Voyager

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3 Messages

10 years ago

Hello,

 

In this case, I understand if I refilled $100 on 02/28 before Account Balance Expiration Date, Main Account Balance would become $35.68+100=$135.68 and Account Balance Expiration Date would be extended to 04/28.

My questions are:

01. As soon as I refilled $100 on 2/28, would Rate Plan Status be activated and monthly plan start on 2/28, even if my next trip to the US is on 6/1?

03. This means will $100 be wasted without using monthly plan?

04. Or can I keep Main Account Balance of $135.68 until my next trip and start monthly plan from 6/1?

05. If I refill $100, $50 monthly plan will be activated continuously for two months or can I divide into two, for example from 6/1 to 30 and 9/1 to 30?

 

Master

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10.2K Messages

10 years ago


@goombay wrote:

Hello,

 

In this case, I understand if I refilled $100 on 02/28 before Account Balance Expiration Date, Main Account Balance would become $35.68+100=$135.68 and Account Balance Expiration Date would be extended to 04/28.

My questions are:

01. As soon as I refilled $100 on 2/28, would Rate Plan Status be activated and monthly plan start on 2/28, even if my next trip to the US is on 6/1?

03. This means will $100 be wasted without using monthly plan?

04. Or can I keep Main Account Balance of $135.68 until my next trip and start monthly plan from 6/1?

05. If I refill $100, $50 monthly plan will be activated continuously for two months or can I divide into two, for example from 6/1 to 30 and 9/1 to 30?

 


Assuming that 30 days went by out of the 90 day account expiration date from a prior refill, yes, your account expiration date would be extended to 4/28 of next year, i.e. 4/28/15.

 

1. It depends on the plan. If you are signed up for a monthly plan like you indicated below, your rate plan would become active and deduct $50 every month out of your balance as many times as the amount will allow. 

3. Yes, that is correct. 

4. Yes, you can do this. In fact, this is what I would recommend that you do in order to avoid forfeiting any funds or usage time. 

5. The plan would be active for two consecutive months (or however many the leftover account balance will allow). Unfortunately, the customer cannot pick the dates to divide the time. 

 

Hope this helps! 

Former Community Manager

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10.4K Messages

10 years ago

"In this case, I understand if I refilled $100 on 02/28 before Account Balance Expiration Date, Main Account Balance would become $35.68+100=$135.68 and Account Balance Expiration Date would be extended to 04/28."

 

No, while account balance accumulates, expiration dates DO NOT stock up on top of another, if you refill with $100, 1 year expiration, your expiration date will be 1 year from 2/28, so 2/28 of 2015.

 

Dmitriy

Voyager

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3 Messages

10 years ago

Thank you so much for your reply.

I understood that if I refill $100 on 2/28 2014 Account expiration date will be 2/28 2015 and cancel date when I loose my phone number will be 4/28 2015. 

01.  Is this correct?

02.  Does my one month for $50 plan start on 2/28 2014 automatically and end on 4/28 2014?

03.  I live out of the US and I do not use this plan from 2/28 to 4/28 2014. If my next trip to the US is 9/1 2014 for two weeks and another next trip is 2/1 2015 for two weeks, is there good way to use $100 just for both trip of 9/1 2014 and 2/1 2015 not loosing my phone number?

 

 

 

Master

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10.2K Messages

10 years ago


@goombay wrote:

Thank you so much for your reply.

I understood that if I refill $100 on 2/28 2014 Account expiration date will be 2/28 2015 and cancel date when I loose my phone number will be 4/28 2015. 

01.  Is this correct?

02.  Does my one month for $50 plan start on 2/28 2014 automatically and end on 4/28 2014?

03.  I live out of the US and I do not use this plan from 2/28 to 4/28 2014. If my next trip to the US is 9/1 2014 for two weeks and another next trip is 2/1 2015 for two weeks, is there good way to use $100 just for both trip of 9/1 2014 and 2/1 2015 not loosing my phone number?

 

 

 


1.   Yes, that is correct. There is a 60 day "grace period" that follows the account expiration date that keeps the account from expiring altogether. After 60 days, the account would be ruled inactive, and eventually cancelled. 

 

2.   If you added money to your account on 2/28/14, then yes, the $50 plan would take effect for the MONTH - A.K.A. 30 days. The service for that particular month would end around 3/30/14; not 4/28/14.

 

3.   Yes, there is a way to get the most bang for your buck per a $100 refill. The best thing to do would be to temporarily switch your rate plan from the $50 monthly plan to the $0.10 per minute pay per use plan. This way, you would avoid having to add even more money because the account would remain active, but no money would be deducted - provided that nobody excessively calls and/or texts your phone number.  When you return to the U.S., you have the option to switch back to the $50 plan whenever you like. 

 

Depending on if you are using a smartphone, which I presume you are based on your rate plan selection, you may not be able to take advantage of the traditional way of switching your plan by calling 611. If you are using a smartphone, you will have to call customer service and ask them to switch the plan(s) over for you.

 

Hope this helps! 

Voyager

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3 Messages

10 years ago

Oh, the answer of number 3 is what I wanted!!!!!!

But actually I use " $50 - 5 GB Monthly Mobile Hotspot Plan ".

Can I do the same way you recommended?

 

 

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