Auto Top Up vs Actual Cost of Monthly Service

[xd]

Hi...I just joined Lucky today, and one thing I'm struggling to understand is the auto top up system. When I set it up, the text beneath the button says: "We will automatically charge your credit card, Visa Debit or bank account every month to cover your Plan and Add-Ons."

But it seems that my only option is to add preset amounts of funds, in $5 increments, to automatically drop into my account so it remains active. And I believe I have to choose the higher increment so that taxes are covered (so for my $25 plan I need to choose a $30 top up or else my plan will be disabled). Is this really how it works?

Is there a way to have the exact amount of my service plus tax simply charged to my credit card?

The way it seems to work (unless I've missed something, which is why I'm asking here) means that every month I'll have a little extra money transferred into my Lucky account and effectively locked away since the terms say amounts are non-refundable. I really hope this isn't the case.

Thanks for your help!

[User266]

The lucky mobile plans that it provides and is in contractual agreement with the customer that don't fit the top-up amount categories should offer the customer to pay only that contractual agreement monthly amount balance as top-up not restrict the customer to top-up amount categories that are not in the contractual agreement between lucky mobile and the customer.

[User266]

The solution does not answer my question nor does it answer another members exact same question.

If I decide to port to another provider with credit on my account that credit will not be credited back to my payment method. Therefore, lucky gets to pocket the unused credit plus a portion of the pre-charged HST since they are collecting the HST on behalf of the government.

[Jake]

Unfortunately there is no way around the situation you describe. As per Lucky's terms and conditions, unused funds are nonrefundable. I don't particularly like the way they do their accounting either. When you log into your account and look at your payment history, tax is not shown. Of course you are paying the HST and it is being debited and credited to your account, it just doesn't show. They only display the cost of your plan, the amount you top up and the remaining balance. I've seen many complaints of people leaving a large amount of money in their Lucky account when they leave. Definitely not a good thing. So, I just don't let that happen. My plan is $29 per month so I manually top up with the $30 selection. After the $29 is debited from my account on the monthly charge date my balance shows $1.00. After 2 months I have a $2.00 balance, 3 months/$3.00, 4 months/$4.00. On the fifth month I manually top up with the $25.00 selection. My balance of $4.00 plus my $25.00 top up is $29.00 and after Lucky debits my account on the monthly charge date my balance is 0. I monitor all my accounts closely anyway so it's no big deal for me. I just don't let a balance accumulate in my Lucky account. Sure, I don't get the 5 gigabyte bonus each month for automatic top up but I don't need it anyway. 20 gigabytes is more than enough for my needs. All this being said they really should have an option to pay exactly what your plan costs so that you never carry a balance in your account. It makes me wonder how much extra money Lucky (Bell) makes from people who carry a balance in their account and then leave. Maybe that's why Lucky (Bell) does it.......

[whoishere]

Like seriously.

I have a $27 plan, but top-ups are only $25 or $30.

And what I'm supposed to do in this situation?

Why no just have an option to charge exact amount of my plan?

This is so dumb...

[Titi]

My plan is $25 per month but $28 has been deducted from my bank since 5months ago?

[BB_]

I'm on the same $25/month Lucky Mobile plan and $28 is the amount I have always paid via auto-deduction. I believe the extra is for tax/processing fees, perhaps? I know there was one time when I mixed up my days and didn't have enough to cover it once, (yeah, I'm poor lol), and once I realized what happened, I called Lucky Mobile and they told me I could just pay through the website. When paying through the website I was only required to pay the actual $25, so yeah, that extra three bucks is probably to cover processing fees.

[Jake]

Hello BB, no it is not a processing fee. It is the GST on your monthly charge. I assume you are in either BC or Manitoba with a GST amount of 12%. A $25 monthly plan with GST of 12% ($3) equals $28. This is the charge you will see on your credit card. For whatever reason Lucky Mobile only shows the cost of your monthly plan and the amount you top up each month in your online account but they do (and have to) charge you GST. If you do manual top ups each month it clearly shows the GST when you do your payment. It is actually quite easy to follow once you get used to it but just keep in mind you are paying GST on top of your monthly plan cost.

[Jake]

Hello Titi,

See my response below to BB.

[Jake]

Hello whoishere, I should have answered this long ago. See my post right above yours. You can do the same thing I do. Month 1 top up $30 and $27 comes out leaving a balance in your account of $3. Month 2 top up $30, $27 comes out leaving a balance of $6. Month 3 top up $30, $27 comes out leaving a balance of $9. Month 4 top up $30, $27 comes out leaving a balance of $12. So now on month 5 you only top up $15. Your $15 top up and your balance of $12 equals $27 so your monthly plan cost is covered and will leave you a balance of 0 after your account is debited the $27. Then the cycle starts over. This way you never carry a large balance in your account.

[Disappointed customer]

This is for others to know how lucky mobile manage payment for plans, in a direct plain and simple way, according to my experience.

1. Unlike any other normal autopayment system, lucky charge a fixed amount (30$, 40$, ...) not the exact rate of the plan (27$, ...).

2. Lucky enforce customer to pay more money than the announced plan rate.

3. The extra money remains dormant in customer balance who can't use them unless customer cancels autopayment so loses bonus data.

4. Even canceling autopayment isn't a solution as manual top up system uses the same fixed amount system (30$, 40$, ...).

5. Lucky enforces customer to choose between losing bonus data to be able to use the accumulated unrefundable balance OR pay extra money that is untouchable by the customer.

These are the mere facts so my fellow customers, accept them or ...

[luwei]

When I pre-pay next month's fee, the web give me options like 10, 15, 20, 25... dollars. But my monthly fee is 22, so there is always a surplus. And I hear that the pre-paid money cannot be withdrawn. If this is true, I hope there should be a top-up option of arbitrary value.

[Kam]

Hi Kris,

I'm new to Lucky and have a few questions about the payment process. My current balance is $6, and my monthly plan is $19 before tax. I’d like to set up automatic payments to be deducted from my credit card, but I only see the "top-up" option. I would prefer to pay exactly the monthly amount, without carrying over any extra balance. Could you please guide me on how to set this up?

Thank you!

[Jake]

Hello luwei,

Unfortunately Lucky Mobile only allows top ups in $5 increments which leaves a balance in your account. Look up a few posts to see how I deal with the balance that accumulates. 

[Jake]

Hello Kam,

Unfortunately Lucky Mobile does not allow exact payment amounts. Look up a few posts to see how I deal with the balance that accumulates in my  account each month. It's not difficult, you just have to remember to be on top of it. I have no issues with Lucky Mobile at all other than their payment options. Over than that they've been great.