One
of our biggest objections to going Prepaid was the cumbersome payment
cycle required by prepaid accounts. You didn't pay the bill once a
month like the electric bill, you paid at or near an exact payment date
or you lost your account value, and
your service if you were one day late. These types of
payments still exist but finally most Prepaid operators now offer some form of
"Auto-Pay", or "Auto-Refill", where your monthly payment is
automatically deducted from a
credit card, debit card or checking account.
The upside with Auto-Pay is it's easier
to pay than
the electric bill because the payment is made without any hassle.
In most cases you get an Text or email that the charge to
your card or checking account is
being made, and no action is required on your part. Having an
associated account also makes it easy to change features or add-ons to
your account. The
downside includes the challenge of stopping Auto-Pay. Some carriers make you go through a menu of choices before you find a way to cancel. Additionally, credit cards have expiration dates
that can interrupt the Auto-Pay process suddenly finding yourself with no wireless service.
Some carriers are better than others in making Auto-Pay consumer-friendly. There are carriers that even offer a discount
when you sign up. Most carriers offer both online and app access to your
account. Several will notify you long before there is a
problem including an upcoming expiration date. Our advice sometimes includes backing away and allowing for
the fact that something will cause your account to be charged a
slightly different amount than you expect, and it may cause less trouble to grin and
bear it than pressing to get back a few dollars.
Keep in mind that if you choose not to use Auto-Pay, Mountain Prepaid offers Discount
Wireless Refills which can be applied automatically or with a
PIN, and we offer
refills in more denominations than the carriers themselves to better
match your Prepaid usage.
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