Notice: VM charging next months service starting 5/20/12.

[mikefxu]

Just recieved this via text from VM: http://vm.tmce.biz/wap4?app=virginmobile&c=vir&NEXT=P29

Starting 5/20/12, the next time you add money to your account and your cash balance is equal to or greater than your next monthly charge, your next month will be paid in advance automatically. If you add enough to cover more than one monthly payment, only one month will be paid in advance. The rest of your money will remain in your account balance.

If you want to begin a new month immediately, you will need to restart your service after you've added money. Log in to My Account and look for "Restart My Plan Month" under the "I Want To…." list.

You can make or cancel an Advance Payment online, in a store or by calling 1-888-322-1122. By making your payment early, you ensure your service will not be interrupted.

[cookedgoose]

Edit: Nvm!

[Yakuman]

How does this make any real-world difference?

[BuonaDomenica]

Don't really understand that text either? What difference does this make from the usual top up? I usually keep 1 month of top up in my account. So what are the changes here?



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[Churner]

How does this make any real-world difference?

It matters if you have a balance and plan to leave the service within a month, but use all of your remaining cash balance to buy a phone. Other than that, I doubt this will be an issue. Subs who are leaving likely spend their balances down first.

It also might affect people who let their service lapse, but keep a balance on the account since they intend to pick it back up again before the account expires.

[BradC]

There's one other case I can think of where this matters.

Right now, I always pay one month ahead, but that's so I have a balance in the extremely rare event that I exceed my monthly allotment of minutes (where VM starts charging 10 cents per minute). If I used up my minutes and had no balance, I assume my outgoing calls wouldn't go through.

Now, my just-in-case funds will be applied to next month's monthly charge, instead of lying-in-wait in my account for possible per-minute charges instead.

[QE2]

Just top up a couple of days before your charge date. Your top-up will be applied to the next month's charge and your previous balance will be carried over.

[primetechv2]

From what it looks like, it means you can't just hold your money in your account at will. Virgin Mobile is very good at converting your credit card balance (permanently) into their reserves, and now they're securing another step to automatically pay for whatever they deem fit with it.

e.g. this is just one more way bad things can happen...