So I guess we find out Dec 9th?
Yes, something does seem off here. Tello has changed their T&C some with Sept. 10, 2019 now taking the place of the 2017 effective date in the previous terms and conditions. I'm still uneasy with the lack of clarity in the two statements below. Or worried both statements are true and clear.
Pay As You Go Service Agreement
"Pay As You Go credit is available for a period of 3 months since customer's last order. If no order was placed in a period of 3 months, Pay As You Go credit will expire and the Tello service will be disconnected. This policy is effective since September 10, 2019."
"Pay As You Go refunds - tello.com will refund the total unused amount still available in an account as long as the Pay As You Go balance is still active. The PAYG balance becomes inactive if the service is not used (there are no calls or data usage sessions or orders placed) for 3 months in a row."
So sounds like either use something every 90 or add top-up every 90. If this is the case, it's even better for those living overseas but maintain a Tello phone to use when in the US.
As I understand the statements, if one does a top-up (order) every 90 days, then all is good, but if one only uses talk, text, or data every 90 days without "also" doing a top-up, then Tello would hypothetically have the right to terminate one's account, no matter what CS said in their chat with D_D. But who knows what they exactly mean?
But the last part talks about Tello Refunds, so I guess you get your money back, sign up again, and get your number back? Looks like a lot of work for nothing.
Pretty good conversation about Tello's "new" must order every 90 days T&C over at reddit.
Saw this at Reddit posted about 3 hours ago.
level 1
user92280
2 points
·
3 days ago
/u/tellomobile Please confirm if this is true or not
level 2
tellomobile
Tello Representative
1 point
·
3 hours ago
Hey, sorry for the delay.
Yes, true story.
If no order was placed in a period of 3 months, Pay As You Go credit will expire and the Tello service will be disconnected. However, this policy is in effect since September 10, 2019, and not 2017, as originally posted on our site. When it's Monday, and you didn't have your coffee yet, time travel happens :)). Thanks!
Thanks for the update Isamorph. I understand why they are doing it but that will mean a lot of customers leave. It was the best thing about Tello for me.
Yep, I get the why but at the same time, it’s time it will change things for many of us that either saved a number that way or simply had a glovebox phone using them.
I'll try swapping phones on the account every 90 days to see if that works since they are orders. More reminders to add to the calendar.
"Thank you for choosing Tello!
The pay as you go has changed to where you will have to add service every 3 months.
We made the change to make things easier for people to remember they still have service and not forget about it and lose a number they would want to keep.
Thanks for your concern and your business!"
BS response.
It is kind of annoying that chat never seems to be available. It used to be there all the time.
Hello Tello--anybody home? Tello's stellar CS reputation just took a big hit because rather than just be honest and forthcoming and clearly announcing the big Paygo change while explaining that the current PayGo system was hurting them financially and was unsustainable Tello chose the low road by silently changing the T&C hoping few would notice. It sounds as if even their CS agents were left in the dark about the changes. Tello still has some great plans and a great dashboard for customers to change things, swap phones, etc., so Tello should have taken the high road which would have been less damaging for them. Fortunately, some Nth members have suggested some end arounds to the Paygo-gate situation.
For the way a lot of folks use Tello Paygo, this is really unfortunate.
For a small percentage (probably), it's a disaster.
A case in point I saw on Howard Forums: imagine that someone recently started a PayGo account with $30 in desposits, planning to use the line lightly as a main phone, long term. In 90 days, that line will either be dropped or require a $20 purchase. Another line, started at the same time, and used the same way, with only $10 credit, might take advantage of auto-top-up within each 90 day period. The same $30 would last much longer.
I understand the need to shed parked numbers. I think a lot of folks still have 2+ year old numbers, still running on an original free $10 promo credit.
But, I'd rather see Tello move to an minimum monthly use requirement (to cover their wholesale line charges). A $2 minimum use charge (or $??) would shed the parked numbers, or make them sustainable. (FP/Red Pocket seems to think they can make $3 sustainable, including modest buckets) For those normally exceeding the minimum use requirement, there would be no impact.
This is the sticky wicket. While a $2/month fee might cover wholesale cost of the line (I don't know their wholesale prices and wholesale pricing is NOT uniform), it probably doesn't cover the cost of ongoing development (new features from the Sprint API, for example) or customer service. The previous never-expires model certainly doesn't
It sucks for sure, but if true, this change tracks with the tenuous race to the bottom that saw the end of RingPlus and FreedomPop CDMA. You gotta charge SOMETHING for your service.
As long as it isn't $6 a month lol.
Seriously though I don't see why the no min top up is not possible in the USA but works in other countries. I guess there are more number parkers in the USA or something and generally more paygo use in other countries. For me I am now faced with $320 per year for my four lines to remain with tello paygo which isn't something I want to pay. My family use them all but not that much. So it will mean the end of my tello relationship. If I am costing tello money then I guess they achieved their aim to get rid of me but I can see their subscriber numbers decrease significantly with this change.
Yet we're consistently one of the highest ranks for customer service that is actually effective at resolving issues. It's a magic price point.
Size of the industry. The whole of the UK is about Wisconsin. Fewer towers, less expensive to maintain.
$6 x 4 x 12 = $288 on Ting, barring light usage. 
$3 a month for T-Mobile Paygo is sustainable for T-Mobile. Truphone Sims, at $0 to a few dollars a month, is apparently sustainable since Truphone has been around for some time. It took a long time for Tello to determine their Paygo system wasn't sustainable as it was. Evidently low PayGo usage and not enough people transitioning to their paid plans were behind the recent change decision. Why not just do away with Paygo altogether since few will now continue with it or sign up for it. Yet maybe Tello did just that in a sloppy way.
I don't mind the 90 days rule if it makes Tello remains competitive and in business. I do find the $20 minimum purchase for PAYG is too high now that the 90 days rule is in effect. I'd like it to be $10 minimum again...$10 every 90 days seems happy medium for most users who are on PAYG account.
That's my maximum threshold of pain for a PAYG account.
I've got some on plans and some on PAYG. As much as I love Tello, it's probably Red Pocket time for all of our lines.