Top up or be cut off

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Top up or be cut off

solaybro

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#160357 3-Jan-2015 21:51

I got a text back in early December from Spark telling me if I don't top up before mid January then my number would be disconnected. How often am I required to top up? I don't have a smartphone so I don't pay for data, I don't text very often, and I almost never make calls. My balance was quite low anyway but why do I have to top up if I'm still using my phone, I probably send 20-30 texts a month so the phone wasn't inactive.

richms

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#1207846 3-Jan-2015 21:53

You have to top up once every 12 months. Its in the terms you probably threw away as soon as you got your sim card.

Telcos are not charities. They have costs for every phone number on the network that is assigned.

Richard rich.ms

solaybro

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#1207847 3-Jan-2015 22:02

richms: You have to top up once every 12 months. Its in the terms you probably threw away as soon as you got your sim card.

Telcos are not charities. They have costs for every phone number on the network that is assigned.

Wow, 12 months. That confuses me because I should have run out of credit long ago since I top up $20 a time and I would easily send a few hundred texts a year. I never thought about costs to Spark and 12 months is quite a long time.

AKLWestie

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#1207872 3-Jan-2015 22:33

Minimum top up for Spark is $10.

michaelmurfy

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#1207879 3-Jan-2015 23:24

It costs Spark in network resources just to have your phone sitting there. Just shove $10 on it or put it onto OneBill.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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solaybro

628 posts

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#1207886 3-Jan-2015 23:30

michaelmurfy: It costs Spark in network resources just to have your phone sitting there. Just shove $10 on it or put it onto OneBill.

I just added $20 today, I'll see if I can last another year.

scuwp

3880 posts

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#1207927 4-Jan-2015 08:00

michaelmurfy: It costs Spark in network resources just to have your phone sitting there. Just shove $10 on it or put it onto OneBill.

We use to use Onebill for a spare phone, but from memory they charge $5 a month now for that, although you did get 15 minutes call time...or something like that.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

quickymart

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#1207932 4-Jan-2015 08:28

I think it's $3, and yes you do get 15 minutes.

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plambrechtsen

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#1208117 4-Jan-2015 18:52

quickymart: I think it's $3, and yes you do get 15 minutes.

Yes it's $3... and I have used it to park a few cool numbers for my parents.

Another thing that is useful is to login to mobile self service and add a secondary mobile and email for notification. That way you should get a text on the other number as long as it's also on spark if the glovebox phone is off.