New Pay As You Go Maximum Balance

[lmcjipo]

Had my prepaid phone off during the holidays and just turned it on today to receive the following text from Rogers:

Rogers service msg: Starting at the end of 2018, our prepaid services will have a maximum allowed balance of $150. Any balance above $150 will no longer be available as of end of 2018. We will be in touch with more information on how you can use your balance soon, but in the meantime you can continue to use your balance as normal. Questions? http://rogers.com/contactus

What are the options? The option that I think that they will do is to force those high balance users to go to postpaid. Unless they give me the option to get a new phone, there is no way that I would be able to use my balance or reduce it to under $150 before the end of 2018. The only other thing which would reduce my balance is for me to take options/services that I don't need (like data/SMS/addon services) that I don't need for the sake of just reducing my balance.

This seems ridiculous.

***EDITED LABELS***

[barndoor]

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@Sarcee wrote:

So I just got an email from Rogers:

We're topping up your PAY AS YOU GO plan

Call 1-800-575-9090

Imagine not having to worry about your mobile plan for 6 months. You currently have unused credit on your PAY AS YOU GO plan that can be used to keep your account active.

Exchange $50 of your current balance now and don't worry about topping up for six months.*

Here's an example of how it works:

Your unused account balance as of 8 March, 2018: $83.36
The amount exchanged to pay for the next six months: -$50
Your new account balance: $33.36

The next date you're required to top-up: 8 September, 2018

*The six months expiry extension may only be used once per account per year. This offer allows customers to keep their account active for 6 months without topping up monthly. Customer must have positive account balance to be able to continue to use wireless phone services.

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Yes, imagine Rogers stealing $50.00 from me just to extend a service I already paid for. Holding my account hostage unless I pay a $50.00 ransom to keep it alive!  They even present this as if they're doing me a favor.

Looks like I'm going to have to call some more CSRs.

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I'm not going to comment on whether  it is a good tool to help keep your balance down if used properly  but I will say that I think it is a slimy misleading presentation of the product .  

My wife saw the email and said, Hey look ...better sign up for that we won't have to add any money for 6 months . 

I said this is Rogers  ...you have to read the fine print ,they aren't giving us anything . Activation means you can keep the phone line.... it doesn't mean you can use the phone if  there isn't any extra balance  and our balance will be gone  two months after  we do that top up . 

"you don't have to worry about your mobile plan for 6 months"  what a load of misleading garbage .  

[Sarcee]

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@OLDYELLR wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Except I wouldn't be 'using' part of my balance, I would simply be giving / forfeiting part of my balance to Rogers. If I pay $100.00 to renew for another year, that's $100.00 I can actually 'use' in air time.

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You would be taking $100 from your unused balance to renew for another year. This is to your benefit unless you expect to be suddenly using over $100 of air time in a year, which you don't seem to have been doing in the past. While some people might find some security in having a balance of hundreds of dollars in case they want to use it for foreign travel or some emergency, I don't think the basic PayGo plan has all the roaming capabilities of the higher plans.  And as I mentioned before, Rogers will be capping balances at $150 at the end ofv this year, so use it or lose it.

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Forfeiting $100. from my balance so that I can't use it is not to my benefit. My usage sometimes fluctuates depending on the year. I could very well end up using $100. over the next year. I don't know that ahead of time though.

[barndoor]

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Forfeiting $100. from my balance so that I can't use it is not to my benefit. My usage sometimes fluctuates depending on the year. I could very well end up using $100. over the next year. I don't know that ahead of time though.

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"Forfeiting " suggests you are getting no value from it ...but you are. . Your expiry date has been extended by a year ...6 months if the $50 option works for you. 

 It all boils down to the fact  that if you have a use for that big balance ...by all means keep it ..sounds like you might..  I don't  have a use for that big balance  nor do most people other than those that get  an endorphin release to see that big number, so we use that $100 balance renewal  to our benefit . 

[RobTheGob]

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@57 wrote:

@Sarcee: As we've discussed in previous posts, you obviously disagree with everyone else on this forum.  You may choose to select this option, or not. It's up to you.  If' you'd rather keep adding money to your PAYGo account instead, please feel free to do so.  No one is forcing you to do anything.

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@Sarceedoesn't disagree with me.  I would rather pay the $100 to top up per year and know that if I ever need (or want) to use the remaining balance (in my case - about $40 per year) - it's there for me to use. Going from $0 per year to access their system to $100 per year is not a great deal, IMO. If it works for you (and "everybody else") - great.

For more than fifteen years - I've not been charge $100 per year to access their system. The ONLY reason why I'd consider taking this option is because of the $150 limit that is to be imposed.

But I won't be happy about it. Once my "credit" is consumed - I'll obviously be shopping around.

[barndoor]

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@RobTheGob wrote:

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Going from $0 per year to access their system to $100 per year is not a great deal, IMO.

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Not sure how you got such special treatment  .... I had to pay $100 a year to access the system and in return  they  gave me $100 worth of airtime to use as I  saw fit and carry over  if I didn't use it . 

Just let that system access expire   ... and see how many calls you can make with that airtime balance . 

[Sarcee]

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@barndoor wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Forfeiting $100. from my balance so that I can't use it is not to my benefit. My usage sometimes fluctuates depending on the year. I could very well end up using $100. over the next year. I don't know that ahead of time though.

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"Forfeiting " suggests you are getting no value from it ...but you are. . Your expiry date has been extended by a year ...6 months if the $50 option works for you. 

 It all boils down to the fact  that if you have a use for that big balance ...by all means keep it ..sounds like you might..  I don't  have a use for that big balance  nor do most people other than those that get  an endorphin release to see that big number, so we use that $100 balance renewal  to our benefit . 

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What value is the $100. or the $50. if I can't use it for air time? According to Rogers corporate logic, if I had $51.00 as my balance, and Rogers used $50. of it to extend, I should be grateful for the $1.00 I now have left to use for the next 6 months!

[RobTheGob]

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@barndoor wrote:

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@RobTheGob wrote:

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Going from $0 per year to access their system to $100 per year is not a great deal, IMO.

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Not sure how you got such special treatment  .... I had to pay $100 a year to access the system and in return  they  gave me $100 worth of airtime to use as I  saw fit and carry over  if I didn't use it . 

Just let that system access expire   ... and see how many calls you can make with that airtime balance . 

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It was never "special treatment" - it was how the Pay-As-You-Go has worked since the beginning. In return for me purchasing $100 credit per year ($10 per month in the beginning) - they allowed me to access their system (without *much* cost - maybe the 911 fee?).  In the early days - my monthly cost was close to zero... Many years ago, I added SMS for $5 per month.

As per the "rules" - I've never allowed my account credit to expire and I was always given system access.

[RobTheGob]

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@Sarcee wrote:

What value is the $100. or the $50. if I can't use it for air time? According to Rogers corporate logic, if I had $51.00 as my balance, and Rogers used $50. of it to extend, I should be grateful for the $1.00 I now have left to use for the next 6 months!

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Exactly. It's just an easy way for Roger's to drain the credit that they originally indicated would always carry over...

[barndoor]

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@RobTheGob wrote:

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 In return for me purchasing $100 credit per year ($10 per month in the beginning) - they allowed me to access their system (without *much* cost - maybe the 911 fee?). 

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Yup that's right  ... it cost you $100 a year or $10  a month  to access their system  .... you have to give them that value from somewhere to renew  or they don't let you access the system  ... like I said  don't pay that $100 /yr or $10/month   for the system access and see how far you get with that free airtime they gave you .  

[57]

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RobTheGob wrote

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It was never "special treatment" - it was how the Pay-As-You-Go has worked since the beginning. In return for me purchasing $100 credit per year ($10 per month in the beginning) - they allowed me to access their system

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So you've been averaging $100/year (or $120/year in the early days), while using very little airtime.  Using the "suspension" option from my balance, I've been able to average less than $75/year. Who's getting the better deal?

As stated previously, many people see the benefit in using money from their balance to "suspend" payments for a year. Other people do not.  The choice is yours, but if you prefer to spend more money (per year), while not making many calls, then that is certainly your prerogative.

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Pay-as-You-Go/New-Pay-As-You-Go-Maximum-Balance/m-p/416221#M232...

[OLDYELLR]

There seems to be a lot of confusion here with some people over "accessing the system" and "air time". Prepaid is basically buying air time for a certain period. With Rogers it's for 30 days unless you buy $100 worth, which is good for 365 days. With 7-11 Speakout any prepaid amount is good for 365 days. That's the basic plan. There are also all kinds of hybrid plans now for fixed periods that don't run a balance and you get what you get until you've used up the "free" stuff. All the plans that run a balance will roll it over when you renew.  Choose whichever is best (except the original talk anytime plan, which is no longer available).  If you only need a phone for dire emergencies you don't need any plan because 911 calls from any phone are free whether your plan is expired or not.

[Sarcee]

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@OLDYELLR wrote:

There seems to be a lot of confusion here with some people over "accessing the system" and "air time". Prepaid is basically buying air time for a certain period. With Rogers it's for 30 days unless you buy $100 worth, which is good for 365 days. With 7-11 Speakout any prepaid amount is good for 365 days. That's the basic plan. There are also all kinds of hybrid plans now for fixed periods that don't run a balance and you get what you get until you've used up the "free" stuff. All the plans that run a balance will roll it over when you renew.  Choose whichever is best (except the original talk anytime plan, which is no longer available).  If you only need a phone for dire emergencies you don't need any plan because 911 calls from any phone are free whether your plan is expired or not.

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I believe the 7-11 Speak Out uses the Rogers network. Do you happen to know if I switched to Speak Out, if they would transfer my PAYG plan balance?

[OLDYELLR]

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@Sarcee wrote:

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I believe the 7-11 Speak Out uses the Rogers network. Do you happen to know if I switched to Speak Out, if they would transfer my PAYG plan balance?

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No, I can't imagine any carrier doing that. Why would they?  That's one good reason for keeping your balance low and renewing from it, so you don't lose much if you switch.

[BS]

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@RobTheGob wrote:

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@BS wrote:

This game of let's make a deal gets tiresome, and because of forums like this one, people get to see what others got - even though technically we aren't supposed to report the details of conversations with reps.

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"Technically" according to who?

As long as a person is part of the conversation (and not just overhearing it) - the same person is allowed to discuss the conversation with others. So I don't think any rules are being broken to discuss details of deals...

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According to who - the terms of use of the forum.

You further agree and warrant that you shall not submit any content that:

...

In the terms of use note:

"contains reference to any moderator or community manager actions, including the reposting of all or any part of a private conversation with a moderator or community manager or of a communication with any Rogers employee;"

I may be misinterpreting, but what I am speaking of is any part of a private discussion with ... or a communication with any Rogers employee."

There is latitude given in what we post in many areas of the terms and sometimes we may get edited - example when we make reference to another company offer, but back to this one "technically", a moderator would be within the terms to edit out post of information between us and the Rogers employee.  Sure anywhere else, you can discuss it with, but there are terms of our use on this forum.

Just commenting.

Bruce

[BS]

After being away from all discussion for almost a week, I was reading this whole thread and related threads and realized something.

I took some time to catch up on terms, and in particular, I spent some time with the Pay as You Go terms.

I can't find them at the moment, but there were two that stand out for me

The first was that the plan options, prices, etc can be changed at any time with 30 days notice.  As I read in an education piece from the CRTC, that it is important that we as consumers know and understand the conditions that we agree to use our services under.

The second is that any balances are non-refundable.  Other than that, they say nothing about what happens with balances.

So what we have here is that many are upset that 1. A change to a plan that has had many variations to how balances were dealt with, some known, some unknown (e.g., some didn't know they could cash in their balance to top up and for those who did know, they used them over time when it was beneficial to them)

Some used the roll over balances as an insurance of protected amounts of air time and usage costs for that unfortunate time where you suddenly are in need of large amounts - say like a car crash, or life crisis that required lots of time - it allowed you to do these out of the ordinary usage calls and not have to pay out of pocket during a difficult time.

There were many ways it appears that people have been using the plan offers and carry overs.

Many of these, it would appear were often not well communicated or the communication may have been so distance that they became a vague memory of the past.

In my case, when these changes came out, I had been thinking of moving from my post paid plan to prepaid because I barely use my phone anymore.  When this change came forward, the new plans are no longer beneficial to me, so I have begun to consider other options, but have stayed in touch with the discussion so that I can understand fully what people did with their plans, as some companies out there still offer similiar plans to the old models, and it helps me to understand my options.

So, what I see is that there has been a change in the plan models for existing customers - with 30 days notice, although the form of communication is not a reliable one for all customers.  Those customers who find out in March of this change, or later on and did not get communication, have options under the wireless codes requiring communication, and the terms of their previous contracts of 30 days notice.

But the reality is that Rogers, under the terms is allowed to unilaterally make these changes, and that any price, option, or condition can be changed by them, and we are free to try to negotiate how these are applied, and some have been able to do this and various options have been offered, some accepted, some not, some customers leaving, and various other approaches.  Some choose to rant, and I don't have a problem, I believe that ranting, along as it is within the terms of the forum is good for the soul and helping us to come to a decision of how to move forward, but I have learned over the years, the hard way, that sometimes, my rant gets me in trouble when I step outside of the terms of the forum.

So each involved in this have their own opinion, their own circumstances, and their own decisions on how to go forward. 

The thread has also highlighted the realities, which has been good for me to think about, about how I respond to automated recordings and extension choices from all companies, and how to learn to use these effectively and @57 has a very valid point - that we need to wait it through to the end, and probably do it a few times before we can learn the most effective way to use the choice options to meet our immediate need.  I also have learned from the exercise that sometimes we can comment and find someone to bring our concern to and sometimes, our suggestions lead to a change in the design, or at least as I am beginning to see, much improved FAQ's in many areas based upon the feedback from customers from here and all the channels of communication.

So, what do I see as the reality - each person needs to understand the options in front of them given the formal reported changes of the change to 150.00 max at the end of the year, and the change in March, as well as the new range of plans and options now being offered.

But the fact that Rogers had the right to make the change and they had to give 30 days notice is a reality of the conditions, which whether we knew it or not, we accepted once we agreed to use the plan.  As long as the original terms were given to us, each time a change was made we had to be notified, and if we used the services, we have accepted the terms.

So, I am going to leave this discussion and wish all the best in trying to arrange an implementation of the new rates and conditions for pay as you go plans and it appears that there are some who have had success at varying levels by attempting to discuss the options that Rogers is willing to give to each individual situation.  I have to acknowledge that whether we like the change or not, they have in general attempted to listen and give flexibility, but the bottom line is the plans as we knew them (I used to be on them too), are gone and once we get a final agreement on how we and they go forward, we will be under new terms and conditions, and the reality is that Rogers could have just gone with what they put out there, but in my opinion, they have listened and been flexible.

All the best everybody in negotiating how this change is implemented, or deciding to move on, or just accept it as is.  It is all a choice.

Sincerely,  Bruce

[Sarcee]

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@OLDYELLR wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

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I believe the 7-11 Speak Out uses the Rogers network. Do you happen to know if I switched to Speak Out, if they would transfer my PAYG plan balance?

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No, I can't imagine any carrier doing that. Why would they?  That's one good reason for keeping your balance low and renewing from it, so you don't lose much if you switch.

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Lol...yet I still lose money if I use my balance to renew.

[OLDYELLR]

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Lol...yet I still lose money if I use my balance to renew.

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"Losing" money out of your balance, which has already been spent and taxed and you're not likely to use again, is not nearly as bad as paying money plus tax out of your pocket. 

[Sarcee]

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@OLDYELLR wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Lol...yet I still lose money if I use my balance to renew.

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"Losing" money out of your balance, which has already been spent and taxed and you're not likely to use again, is not nearly as bad as paying money plus tax out of your pocket. 

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Huh? The money I paid into my balance is still money out of my pocket. It hasn't been 'spent' yet since no exchange has taken place. The balance is like a gift certificate, waiting to be spent on air time.

[OLDYELLR]

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Sarcee wrote:

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Huh? The money I paid into my balance is still money out of my pocket. It hasn't been 'spent' yet since no exchange has taken place. The balance is like a gift certificate, waiting to be spent on air time.

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Put it another way. You are like a millionaire with no liquid assets. Your money is all tied up if you want to purchase anything for cash. But you can still buy stuff on credit. Similarly, you can purchase another year (or whatever) PayGo access with $100 out of your balance, but you can't spend your accumulated balance any other way except by using air time, data, or sending and receiving texts.  The only difference in the analogy is that Rogers will cap your balance at $150 at the end of this year, so use whatever you can, or lose it. I'm not going to argue about the fairness of that. If you don't want to use your excess balance to renew for another year, you can go watch movies on your smartphone until it's gone.

[Sarcee]

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@OLDYELLR wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Huh? The money I paid into my balance is still money out of my pocket. It hasn't been 'spent' yet since no exchange has taken place. The balance is like a gift certificate, waiting to be spent on air time.

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Put it another way. You are like a millionaire with no liquid assets. Your money is all tied up if you want to purchase anything for cash. But you can still buy stuff on credit. Similarly, you can purchase another year (or whatever) PayGo access with $100 out of your balance, but you can't spend your accumulated balance any other way except by using air time, data, or sending and receiving texts.  The only difference in the analogy is that Rogers will cap your balance at $150 at the end of this year, so use whatever you can, or lose it. I'm not going to argue about the fairness of that. If you don't want to use your excess balance to renew for another year, you can go watch movies on your smartphone until it's gone.

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Lol....except as a millionaire my money would be tied up in things I've actually bought, acquired and am actually using. Unlike a Rogers balance.

[barndoor]

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@Sarcee wrote:

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The balance is like a gift certificate, waiting to be spent on air time.

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Sure, makes sense ... a limited time gift certificate whose terms you agreed to . Either you buy another gift certificate  at renewal time or you lose the remaining  value of the gift certificate  .... why wouldn't you trade in $100 worth of gift certificate instead of paying $113  in cash ? 

Isn't this all irrelevant anyway @Sarcee  ? Aren't  you going with the $10 /month T&T plan anyway ?  You should be able to just transfer your balance and  use it up at the rate of $10 a month  ... with that plan you just have to be sure your balance  is over $10  when you get to renewal time .