From: customerservice@tello.com
Just a message to say:
Due to your account inactivity, your Tello number +1 (XXX) XXX XXXX has been permanently deactivated and can not be retrieved.
To get a new Tello number you need to subscribe again to one of our plans.
Also, I did test an expired phone's MEID on Tello, Ting, and Twigby, and all say it is eligible for use, so it appears to have been freed up quickly and properly.
interesting info for anyone that wants/needs it.
emails came. i logged into one of the accounts using google login in. i have a 0 balance showing and no phone number or phone info listed on my dashboard. however i am still allowed to top up using the green top up button at the bottom of my dashboard. also when going to my information tab it still lists my phone number.
have not tried calling my number to see if it still goes through. have not tried using the phone. have not checked the other 2 phones. mainly went to see if they pulled a r+ and locked me out & to see if my paypal had been unlinked/saved or if i was going to need to contact cs. will leave the account & paypal info alone for now. see how long the green top up button stays may re top up and start new number at a later date.
Just to note, the phone number shown in "my information" for me was the same number for all of my Tello accounts. I put my main number in there, and that info has not changed since expiration of the accounts. So, that number showing under "my information" doesn't really mean anything as far as the number being active or inactive.
Not liking this quick expiry purge they are doing. Seems like short notice to permaneneltly deactivate a number.
A week isn't much time and it is easy to miss an email like that. Normally accounts that expire get at least 30 days to port out. Seems like that doesn't apply here.
Got my email this morning. Time to say good bye!
....still waiting on mine....
Thank you for all your tips. Just to sum up, seems like best low usage PAYGO are
For one year, PagePlus costs $30 totaling 498min
For one year, Tello costs $29.2 totaling 400min, BIG WARNING, you have no minutes 2 out of 3 months unless you use TopUp
For one year, UltraMobile $36 totaling 1200min
Since my Tello expire tomorrow, I joined their $5 (w/fee $7.3), but I am ordering a PagePlus Sim($1) now.
(Edited: Ding it, my Sprint phone can't be used on PagePlus)
H2O still has $10 PAYGO for 90 days. They charge $.05/minute or text. Their credits can also be used for data but I would never do that because it's really expensive. If used only for calls, this work out to about 800 minutes at $40/year
AFAIK pageplus paygo does have a data rate. Be sure to turn & keep data off if you don't want to burn through your $10.
ETA - $0.05/MB
https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/10-standard-pin/
If you added the 500 meg data only plan for $5, all you should pay is $5. At least for me, in Mass., no taxes or fees on that. And since I have a PAYGO balance, I can use that for calls at one cent a minute.
Of course, the pain-in-the-neck is turning off auto renew, going back to PAYGO for 60 days, and starting the $5 plan again. But doing it this way, it will only cost me $20 a year, and I will always have minutes, data, and texts available.
Same here for Tello $5 plan--no taxes, fee in Calif., whatever--$5 period.
I received EMail this morning 8/18 my line will be shut off/canceled on August 25th unless I renew. Not happening goodbye Tello
Got an email on 1 line out of 3. Just swapped a phone to log on order as
an experiment. Will see if that is enough to reset the clock.
I for one am grateful that Tello exists. Not only are they low cost, they do everything well and are arguably a better consumer experience than anywhere else.
Because I would like to see them continue to succeed, I'm glad to see they are kicking off customers who negatively affect their bottom line.
Agreed.
Will Sprint MVNO's like Tello die eventually, due to the merger?
Evolve or die.
I suspect Tmo will be kind - for a little while at least.
Just got an email for one of my lines that had a phone swap 60 days ago and no other orders. So looks like they are ignoring phone swaps even though they are listed as orders.
Technically that is bad of them since they specify "order" in the terms and not buying something which is what they really mean.
"Bad of them?"
Really?
They are an honest, well run, more than fairly priced company who want to ensure their viability. During a recession no less.
We are fortunate to have them.
Yes bad of them.
How is a consumer to navigate the rules if they say one thing and mean another?
If they meant paid order say that. Simple.