Service Interruption despite automatic payments (can it be avoided?)

Simon
Simon Posts: 147 ✭✭
edited May 19 in My Mobile

I was surprised to discover my mobile service not working, so I contact Fizz who claimed:
I see that you recently made a payment for your mobile plan, but your services have not been reactivated. Now that we have received your payment, your plan has been renewed.

This reply is odd, in part because Fizz automatically processes my credit card payments (they've been doing so for years), and this month was no exception.

Questions and/or advice are needed for the following:
(1) Is the processing of payments something that requires human intervention? I believe they process the payments a few days in advance, hence I’m not sure how a “delay” could result. Thoughts?
(2) Is it standard practice for plans to be “deactivated” and then “reactivated” each month? I was under the impression that, with my credit card info in their system, service continuity would be maintained seamlessly month to month. Is there a better way to pay which ensures continuity?
(3) It wasn’t the case for me (since my credit was in good standing) but, if ever there was an issue with a payment, can we request that Fizz send a warning message? Something along the lines that “service will be cut off in 60 minutes unless a payment is received” would be a nice touch.

Best Answers

  • Simon
    Simon Posts: 147 ✭✭
    edited May 20 Answer ✓

    @MobileFizzer_VBMV6
    I had never experienced a payment-related service interruption before this incident. My credit card account has consistently been in good standing, including this month.
    I would appreciate hearing from someone at Fizz regarding the procedure followed when a payment processing error originates on Fizz’s side rather than the client’s. It does not seem reasonable to deactivate a customer’s line when the issue was caused by an error on their end.

  • Beau
    Beau Posts: 3 ✭✭
    Answer ✓

    Fizz should not deactivate a client’s mobile plan when a payment has not been processed due to internal issues on Fizz’s end — particularly when payments are intended to be processed several days in advance.

    If a payment cannot be processed for any reason, clients should be notified beforehand. Discovering that one’s phone service is unavailable during an emergency is far from appropriate timing.

    @Whizz do plans get deactivated/reactivated each month (despite Fizz having CC info on file)?

Answers

  • Simon
    Simon Posts: 147 ✭✭

    BTW, I have been with Fizz for many years and have noticed occasional service disruption in the past, but it had never occurred to me that it might take place do to Fizz payment processing (which is obviously not something controlled by the client)

  • MobileFizzer_VBMV6
    MobileFizzer_VBMV6 Posts: 844 ✭✭

    Fizz payments are being taken three days before they are "due" from your registered payment card. This is besides of what is being written on the website, which just states when payment is "due". For example, my plan's monthly renewal date is the 20th. The website currently says payment is due in 1 day. However, the payment has already been taken from my credit card two days ago. So, Fizz' statements on the website could be better and are in fact somewhat misleading.
    No human intervention is necessary as long as your method of payment stays valid. Obviously, make sure to not beyond your credit limit and keep in mind your payment method's expiry date. I've also never noticed any service interruption on either of my plan's renewal dates.

  • alexanderluo10890
    alexanderluo10890 Posts: 2,530 ✭✭

    I think if there is an issue with a payment, Fizz will sent an email to you.

  • Simon
    Simon Posts: 147 ✭✭

    @alexanderluo10890
    I would agree that it would make sense that Fizz would email/text a client if there was an issue, but I can confirm that, in my case:
    (1) no message was sent to me, and
    (2) I only noticed that the line was dead when I needed to make an important call

  • Whizz
    Whizz Posts: 27,826 admin

    Hello @Simon ,

    Sorry to hear that you`ve had issues with your plan.

    From what I verified the account was in good standing and the plan was not suspended in that day.
    It`s just possible that there was a technical issue with the service in that moment.

    Usually the payments are taken automatically also - the only times when it`s not taken automatically is if the plan is suspended.

    Our system usually sends notifications via e-mail especially if that were to happen as clients have 72 hours to prepare for the next payment trigger in case they have issues with their bank or funds.

    If the automatic payments fail ( for which you are informed ) the plan is then suspended.
    Once you log to your account an option to manually make the payment is shown on your account as more details can be found here : https://fizz.ca/en/faq/how-do-i-fix-payment-issue

    As stated previously, it`s possible that there was just a slight technical issue with the service then, as I did not see anything wrong with the account in that moment.

    Just make sure to reach our colleagues on chat if you have any further issues.

    Thank you for your understanding.
    Have a good one,
    Raul, Community Moderator

This discussion has been closed.

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