PAYGO balance show 0 after active a new account with 100/yr

[tomtaohu]

I recently actived a new PAYGO number and purchased the $100/yr unlimited message package, but when I check my balance it always shows 0, should it show $100 instead?

Thanks for reply.

[RogersDarrell]

Hello @tomtaohu

For further assistance in regards to your prepaid plan, please contact our Pay-As-You-Go department at 1-800-575-9090.

To reach a representative please choose option 4 then option 4 again. At the end of the information on how to contact Rogers, you will be given an option to speak with one of our agents (option 1).

RogersDarrell

[OLDYELLR]

@tomtaohu no, that is a 'package' account with unlimited texting and 100 calling minutes as shown here. That's what the $100 buys you. It's not the basic $100/year plan where your calls and texts get deducted from the balance. if you intend to do a huge amount of texting it's a good deal, otherwise do the math to see if it suits you.

I fell into the same trap renewing my $100 basic pay by the minute plan when my balance was low, but as soon as the agent said my balance was now zero, I changed my mind and she renewed it as my old basic plan.  If you haven't made any calls or texts yet, you could probably call and get it switched.  The basic plan is good if you don't do a lot of calls and texts because the remaining balance carries forward when you renew. after 2 or 3 years, if you have an accumulated balance over $100 you can ask to use $100 of it to renew for another year.  That works out to a cheaper monthly cost over time.  otherwise, if the unlimited texting and 100 calling minutes covers what you need, just keep your plan and never worry about any balance. it does look like that $100 plan is a promotion, but I was told it can be renewed year after year. 

[OLDYELLR]

Just to add to what I said above, for the life of me I can't seem to find any of the original $25, $50 and $100 pay-by-the-minute text and talk plans among what Rogers now shows as Prepaid. I only found out about the $100 for a year basic plan by word-of-mouth, because I never did see it on the website. For all I know, I may have it grandfathered and it's not available for new accounts. Can anyone from Rogers clarify this?

[ShakTiburon]

Hey @OLDYELLR

Do you mean this plan? $100/year

and Hello @tomtaohu - as @RogersDarrell you can always call Customer Service to make sure.

As @OLDYELLR stated, that is the plan. Since you got that plan and pre-paid for it. The balance is deducted. Your balance does show $0 and should show $0 (personally I would have $10 or $15 dollars for emergency on top of that IMO, but that's how I would plan it.

Our RE OLDYELLR is a PayGo user, and has had few discussion about the PayGO plans before; do the math, your usage style is very important to know for PayGO.

You can find all the PayGO plans here.

[OLDYELLR]

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@ShakTib wrote:

Hey @OLDYELLR

Do you mean this plan? $100/year

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No, but I presume the first one is what @tomtaohu got. When I started with Paygo, before GSM, there were none of those monthly plans, just vouchers you bought at the Rogers store from $10 to $50, but none were for a year. they gave you the dollar amount of air time and the balance depleted as you used up minutes or texts, good for a month or whatever. The $100 voucher was the only one good for a whole year and the best value, but I don't think it was advertised. The last couple of years when I tried to buy a voucher at the Rogers store I was told they never sold them and to call the Paygo number. Must be a high turnover of  newbie agents. Anyway, maybe @RogersDarrell can enlighten us on the old basic plans, what happened to them and whether they're available to new customers, or if they'll continue to be available to grandfathered customers.

[RogersDarrell]

For any information on older PayGo options you would need to speak with the PayGo team at 1-800-575-9090

They're best equipped to handle PayGo options and questions.

RogersDarrell

[OLDYELLR]

So what you're implying is that Rogers would prefer people signed up for the new plans.

[ShakTiburon]

No I think what @RogersDarrell is stating, is for older plan of PayGO; it is best to speak to PayGO customer service as they will have access for details.

What @RogersDarrell was implying was the same thing he stated. Best to speak to PayGO customer service.

Which is true. I personally know nothing of old PayGO plans. I do remember PayGO (and other prepaid services) all having vouchers and it just used the balance, there we no plans...

That was 15 years ago... So I am outdated.

I know information I have learned is mainly through the website and few users who talk about it. Yourself included @OLDYELLR

[OLDYELLR]

I can't remember exactly how long I've had Paygo, but it was from before Rogers switched to GSM. I'd lost my phone and I got a letter from Rogers that they will send me a new GSM phone. The fact that Rogers no longer promotes the old per minute plan tells me they'd rather new customers got one of the new plans. In fact, if I'd known about the 7-11 Speakout phones in the beginning, which offer cheaper rates and all plans are good for a year, that's where I would have gone for my needs.

[RogersMaude]

Hello @OLDYELLR,

Thank you for sharing this information with us. To adress your concern regarding the granfathered plan, it remains on your account until you request to change it. However, it might be suybject to rate increases etc. and a new customer would not have the ability to benefit from an expired plan. For the details of the basic monthly plans currently available, click the link included in @ShakTiburon's post! 

Essentially, if you wish to benefit from one of the $100 yearly plans (see below), you need to make sure that your balance is more than $100 (plus the applicable taxes).

UNLIMITED Canadian Text Messaging

UNLIMITED Evening and Weekend Calling

$100 for a year ·         Unlimited outgoing Canadian text messages ·         Unlimited incoming text messages ·         100 anytime local calling minutes for the year ·         $0.50/minute for additional anytime local calls ·         $0.50/minute for Canadian and US long distance calls ·         Included services - Voicemail, Call Display, and Call Waiting ·         Plan is valid for 12 months from the day of activation

$100 for a year ·         Unlimited local evening (6 pm 7 am) & weekend (6 pm Friday to 7 am Monday) calling ·         100 anytime local calling minutes for the year ·         $0.50/minute for additional local daytime calls ·         $0.50/minute for Canadian and US long distance calls ·         $0.30/Canadian outgoing/incoming text messages ·         Included services - Voicemail, Call Display, and Call Waiting ·         Plan is valid for 12 months from the day of activation

To answer your question @tomtaohu, once you have selected your plan, it means that the amount corresponding to it has been deducted from your account balance.

Therefore, if you had a balance of $115 dollars before selecting the plan that is valid for a period of 12 months from the moment where you activate it it should be close to $0 now. But you are basically covered for a full year of service!

Don't forget - Certain provinces charge an additional 9-1-1 government fee which may also apply.  Additional cost also applies to all other available pay-per-use services.

Hope this helps!

RogersMaude

[OLDYELLR]

Yes, I know the rate increases come through every year, regular as clockwork with no attempt at competing with other carriers. In 2014 it was bumped from 25¢ to 35¢ a minute and this year from 35¢ to 50¢ a minute, while 7-11 Speakout is still just 25¢. Oddly enough, when I renewed my plan just recently and mentioned the rate, I was told it was back down to 35¢, which I have verified. Bonus!

I think there may be another hidden cost to the two promoted $100 plans, the 75¢ per month 911 access fee. If that isn't included in the $100, the the annual cost is actually $100 + $13 HST + $9 911 access, for a total of $122. (I do notice that Speakout charges $1.25/month for 911, so Rogers is cheaper there.)

Clearly, which plan suits which customer best will depend on `how much they need to use their phone. The old $100 plan suits me best because I don't actually use that much in a year so it rolls over and can eventually be drawn from for renewal.

[vanisland]

I have a very basic plan on $100/year free Canadian text messages.  I have made some calls and would like to know the balance remaining on the 100 dollars that I have prepaid.  However, in my billing, it lists the calls as a charge of $0.  Obviously this call did cost something - but what???  I can't even work it out myself as the duration of the call is not listed in the billing either.  HELP!  How can I find out how much is left of my $100??  Receiving a text with $3 to go really isn't of much use to me....

Thanks in advance for you help. 

[OLDYELLR]

The $100/year free Canadian text plan does not run a balance. Your $100 is gone from the beginning, but all your calls and texts are free within the terms of the plan:

Unlimited outgoing Canadian text messages
Unlimited incoming text messages
100 anytime local calling minutes for the year
$0.50/minute for additional anytime local calls
$0.50/minute for Canadian and US long distance calls
Included services - Voicemail, Call Display, and Call Waiting
Plan is valid for 12 months from the day of activation

When you've used up the free minutes you'll be charged as above on top of the $100. I guess what you need to know is how many of your 100 free minutes you've used up. Is there not a place on the Rogers site you can see that? I have the regular $100 plan with no free stuff that runs a balance and I can see it and my calls when I sign into MyRogers, select my PayGo account from the pop-up, click Bills & Payments and then select my cellphone number from the Account Information dropdown. I don't know if yours would be the same or not.