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Avoiding Unexpected Charges on Prepaid Plans

justMakingSure
Neighbour

Hi everyone,

 

I’m currently on a Telus prepaid plan (Talk and Text 100) and want to make sure I don’t get hit with any unexpected charges. Specifically:

  1. If my account balance is $0, will Telus prevent me from making or receiving calls to avoid overage charges?

  2. If I call a 1-800 number, will it just use my plan minutes?

  3. Are there any scenarios where I might accidentally incur charges on a prepaid plan?

I’d appreciate any advice or tips to help me manage my usage and avoid surprises. Thanks in advance!

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Blue_Tree34
Neighbour

Hi!

The Talk & Text 100 gives you 400 texts + 400 (incoming + outgoing) Canadian minutes. You pre-paid the plan for an entire year with your initial 100$ payment (hence the 0$ balance, until your anniversary date). 

 

A1: Since your balance is 0$, you'll only be able to use up all your plan minutes and texts (400/400). Once these are exhausted (you can track online), you'll only be able to reach Telus (611) and 911.

A2: Yes, all toll-free numbers use airtime (minutes), just like calling any local other #. Beware 🙂

A3: If your balance was more than 0$, you could incur charges such as: 1-900 (non toll-free), long-dist calls (to numbers outside Canada, since the 400 mins include any Canadian #s). You could also get dinged for 'Premium' sms (search online if you're unsure what these are).

 

By the way, we have this plan, but activated last month and got the 1-year unlimited Canadian talk + unlimited SMS. If you have such a bonus offer, then you don't have to worry about the 400/400 just yet.

But again, since your balance is 0$ (plan all paid up for 12-months) there's nothing you can be additionally charged for. This is the beauty of Prepaid 😁.

 

Hope this helps!

View solution in original post

2 REPLIES 2

Blue_Tree34
Neighbour

Hi!

The Talk & Text 100 gives you 400 texts + 400 (incoming + outgoing) Canadian minutes. You pre-paid the plan for an entire year with your initial 100$ payment (hence the 0$ balance, until your anniversary date). 

 

A1: Since your balance is 0$, you'll only be able to use up all your plan minutes and texts (400/400). Once these are exhausted (you can track online), you'll only be able to reach Telus (611) and 911.

A2: Yes, all toll-free numbers use airtime (minutes), just like calling any local other #. Beware 🙂

A3: If your balance was more than 0$, you could incur charges such as: 1-900 (non toll-free), long-dist calls (to numbers outside Canada, since the 400 mins include any Canadian #s). You could also get dinged for 'Premium' sms (search online if you're unsure what these are).

 

By the way, we have this plan, but activated last month and got the 1-year unlimited Canadian talk + unlimited SMS. If you have such a bonus offer, then you don't have to worry about the 400/400 just yet.

But again, since your balance is 0$ (plan all paid up for 12-months) there's nothing you can be additionally charged for. This is the beauty of Prepaid 😁.

 

Hope this helps!

justMakingSure
Neighbour

Thank you for your reply-- I really appreciate it! 🙂