Mobile contracts

*Boris*

With a normal pay monthly contract, are you actually paying in advance each month for the calls/texts/data as per your tariff?

I'm talking about 18 or 24 month tariffs by the way.

Thanks,
B.

ZhugeEX

No, you pay after the month.

It's pay as you go when you pay in advance

username

I suppose it varies with provider. Three, who I am with, charge a month in advance, and then any over-use/out of allowance will be charged to your next month's bill.

*Boris*

username wrote: »

I suppose it varies with provider. Three, who I am with, charge a month in advance, and then any over-use/out of allowance will be charged to your next month's bill.

I'm also with Three, on a 24 month contract.

The reason I wanted to check is because my contract runs out in April. They said I have to give 30 days notice to cancel my contract (fair enough). My last direct debit came out a few days ago, so I had assumed that would be my last payment - however they are now telling me that I will have to pay another bill next month too?

Edit - I phoned up to cancel 30 days before the end of the contract, in case anyone was wondering.

grumbler

ZhugeEX wrote: »

No, you pay after the month.

How come? Normally you get billed one month in advance and have about 2 weeks to pay.
It's only the extra usage that you pay after.

ZhugeEX

You don't actually pay till after you've started using it though. For example if i take out a contract today on the 31st April i won't pay my first bill until maybe the 20th-25th May or something like that. So yes the bill is generated at the beginning of the month, but the payment doesn't leave until towards the end of the month.

And like mentioned, extra usage is normally on the bill after.

grumbler

ZhugeEX wrote: »

...So yes the bill is generated at the beginning of the month, but the payment doesn't leave until towards the end of the month.

No. The due date is normally about two weeks after the bill is generated. And the first bill is not a good example as, unlike all other bills, it often/usually covers more than one billing month.

ZhugeEX

grumbler wrote: »

No. The due date is normally about two weeks after the bill is generated. And the first bill is not a good example as, unlike all other bills, it often/usually covers more than one billing month.

So you're still paying after you've started the new month then. It's not paying in advance (before you use any of the allowance). And besides, and extra calls are always billed afterwards as well.

It's not like pay as you go where you pay the £10 in advance before you can even start using your allowance.

grumbler

I don't understand what you are arguing about.
The bill is issued at the start of the billing month. You get it instantly online or a few days later by mail. It has to be paid before the middle of the billing month.
So, the facts are:

• You get billed one month in advance.
• You pay at least half a month in advance.
• Your statement "you pay after the month" was misleading.

And of course, it's simply impossible to pay for extra usage in advance as it's unpredictable and pretty much unlimited. However, one must be stupid to use a lot extra on a contract even if paying for this later.

mobilejunkie

As Grumbler says, you ALWAYS pay in advance. Apart from the first bill, which includes the interim period until the first statement date AND a full second month. The fact the direct debit out comes out two weeks into a month is hardly relevant - you are still paying for the new month long before it ends.

oopsadaisydoddle

You pay line rental charges in advance and additional call charges in arrears. Apart from the first bill, as others have said.

So if you join the network today (for e.g.) but your billing cycle date is (for e.g.) the 15th of the month, your first bill would look something like this:

Bill no:00000000000"
Date: 15 April ('cos that is when the first one would be produced)

Line Rental 31/3/13 - 14/4/13 £xx.xx
(Sometimes here it tells you what allowances you get with it being a part month)

Line Rental 15/4/13 - 14/5/13 £xx.xx
(Sometimes it tells you here what you get in your allowances as normal)