Reply With QuoteThis has happened to others. Getting the autopay discount when paying with an airtime card seems more like a loophole than a documented AT&T perk.
As for industry practice, what other operators offer a prepaid discount when paying by airtime card?
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I've climbed a cellphone tower
ATT prepaid payment process error, lost $50 auto-pay discount, ATT rep blames pre-paid card use
There was an issue with AT&T prepaid auto-pay on Saturday. I got a text message that the auto-pay was not successful.
I tried calling 6 times and could not get through to customer service. I had $300 in prepaid credit balance so I was not worried about payment not being applied.
I looked this morning in my ATT account, and found that ATT did not apply the autopay discount ($50 for 5 lines) from the account, and my $300 account balance had the full monthly fee deducted ($190 instead of $140).
I called ATT prepaid customer service today, and the agent looked into it, with his supervisor. He said that the auto-pay was unsuccessful on Saturday, my card may have been at fault. When I disputed that, and said I use this credit card every day, even just last night, he changed his stance.
He said that he can see I applied $300 prepaid card to the account last month, and auto-pay discount only applies to credit card payments pulled by the system, not when I have applied prepaid cards to the account.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That using prepaid cards would eliminate the auto-pay discount. This goes against all prepaid industry norms. The CSR would not budge. I'm shocked, after years of ATT prepaid service, this is how it is going to end.
Their backend systems are horribly outdated, and the CSRs can't resolve issues, and come up with incredulous excuses instead.
This goes against all common sense. The CSR was adamant that if there's a prepaid balance on the account, auto-pay would not apply, because it has to pull payment from the card on file. Just incredulous.
Would filing a FCC complaint help with this? Trying to figure out how to go from here. Maybe small claims court?
I've climbed a cellphone tower
This has happened to others. Getting the autopay discount when paying with an airtime card seems more like a loophole than a documented AT&T perk.
As for industry practice, what other operators offer a prepaid discount when paying by airtime card?
Find and compare prepaid plans at https://prepaidcompare.net
My screen is bigger than yours
Verizon prepaidOriginally Posted by Yeswap
I've climbed a cellphone tower
Every other carrier I have had experience with - Cricket, Total Wireless, Verizon Prepaid, etc.
And in the (incorrect) case that prepaid cards would not apply, then there should be big warning on prepaid cards that using them will invalidate any auto-pay discounts.
I've got more phones than fingers
I have never lost an autopay discount for having a balance enough to cover the monthly charge (which it always does). Even if my CC doesn't get charged I still get the autopay discount as a credit two days before the monthly charge hits. (You can see it in the OLAM transaction history under Add-Ons/Adjustments/Other). I hope this is not some type of new rule at&t came up with. Will find out in a week or so.
What I just noticed is that the autopay discount for one of my lines in the "old" $45/mo plan was quietly reduced from $10 to just $5 three months ago. I know they can change it whenever the want but it's still very sneaky.
I've climbed a cellphone tower
Don't go to small claims court because you'll have to pay to file a complaint, and when I did a quick search, AT&T-Prepaid seems to list credit cards, debit cards, checks and PayPal as the only payment methods that are eligible for autopay discounts.
An FCC complaint may still help you get your money back because I've read that carriers try to placate consumers who complain to the FCC. So AT&T may make a one-time exception for you. You can file a complaint here: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us
Hope it works out! Good luck to you!
(I help an elderly couple with their AT&T-Prepaid service and have to call in every month to make a $1 payment on the account to keep the balance active. Like you wrote, their customer service reps aren't the best, to put it mildly. And AT&T-Prepaid's plan offerings too are pretty inadequate, in my opinion).
Why yes, that is a bag phone
It is funny. I see a lot of people and reviewers complain about AT&T's plan offerings, but I've struggled the limitations of all the other prepaid services I've tried. From the poor coverage of T-Mobile MVNOs to the extreme throttling of Verizon MVNOs to missing or extra-cost functionality on most MVNO plans across the board, I've yet to find another option that gives me the same features and performance of AT&T Prepaid at a similar price. I can also say that the other MVNOs' I've tried customer service is just as bad, if not worse than AT&T Prepaid's. Visible's was especially bad. I think this is one of the places where MVNOs cut corners to keep the prices so low.
I've got more phones than fingers
I may be splitting hairs here, but if you have a valid payment method registered to your account to obtain the autopay discount, that should be enough (according to their own current terms), and it shouldn't matter if the charge to that payment method took place or not because of an existing positive balance in the account that made the charge to the registered payment method unnecessary.
Obviously they can quickly update the terms of autopay discount and say it is only applied if the full monthly charge is made to the registered payment method.
I've got more phones than fingers
I'm surprised they take that $1 monthly payment.
If you find having to call and deal with CSR every month to be too much of a hassle, you can refill online directly from OLAM, but the minimum deposit they allow is $5. That's how I maintain one line alive.
I've climbed a cellphone tower
From what the elderly couple told me, prior to Jan 2022, AT&TPrepaid was better - they have a large balance built up, and they could call in just once a year and get the expiration date extended by 1 year. Apparently, if you had over $100 in balance, a one-year extension was granted by calling CS once a year.
Currently, based on what customer service told me, it is a $10 minimum payment if paid online. Their new rules post-Jan2022 allow a monthly extension of expiration date if you make a $1 payment by calling their 800 number.
I've asked several times if customer service can set up some sort of autopay of $1 per month, instead of me having to call on the 29th day each time. I've been told that's not possible. Sometimes the CSR even gets all high and mighty with me when I ask them about it, and tells me condescendingly that they're doing me a favor by taking the $1 payment.
I've got more phones than fingers
Update: Still got my autopay discount this weekend, despite of having enough balance to cover the monthly charge so my registered CC wasn't charged.
I've got more phones than fingers
The T&C (Below) clearly state that the autopay will deduct for the current charge minus any account balance. So you are right and the customer service agent is mistaken. I suspect it was just a issue with the credit card processing either on their end or on your card company end. You might try using a different card next month.
Important Information about AT&T PREPAID℠ AutoPay – Monthly and Non-Monthly Plans & Electronic Communication Consent
By entering Your checking account, credit or debit card, PayPal or other payment method (each a Payment Method) information and then clicking Agree as Your electronic signature, You authorize AT&T and/or its agents to store the Payment Method information You have provided to Us, and to automatically charge to this Payment Method (1) each AutoPay amount as described below and (2) any amounts outstanding if Your AT&T service is terminated, including any applicable cancellation fees and equipment non-return fees. You certify you are the Payment Method owner or have authorization to use the Payment Method information You provided, and are authorized to make charges to and permit Us to store the Payment Method information You provided. Monthly plans may require a payment each month or a payment for multiple months of service. Account holders on a monthly plan will be charged on the AutoPay due date the amount of the plan plus the cost of any recurring Add-Ons or other charges to the account and any applicable taxes and fees based on account holder's billing address, minus any existing balance on the AT&T PREPAID account, any discounts applicable to the plan, including the AutoPay discount, and any promotional credits or other offers. Please note that taxes and fees may change the payment amount up to 10% without additional notice. AT&T PREPAID account holders who are not on a monthly plan will be charged the amount of $25, regardless of any existing account balance.
I've climbed a cellphone tower
Related autopay thread, on reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NoContract/...to_pay_issues/
Phone Collector
My mother in law had her autopay canceled last month.
She doesn't use prepaid cards.
I've got more phones than fingers
I'm one of those who have autopay activated but pay only with prepaid cards, so I might be in at&t's naughty list.
If I were to lose autopay discount because of that, I'd rather do than paying with my CC, especially now that my autopay discount has been reduced to a mere total $5 for 4 lines I have. I save much more with discounted prepaid cards.
I do feel for the people whose autopay discount is significant and have to choose between giving up prepaid cards or the autopay discount.
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