Not skinnys fault, but older people get confused with their system.

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Not skinnys fault, but older people get confused with their system.

surfisup1000

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#275848 13-Sep-2020 11:01

Mum's CC expired, and her skinny $16 prepay plan expired and she couldn't use her phone.

She thought it was simply because she wasn't paying enough money each month... so tried to change plan herself, also called skinny -- resulting in two $36 top-ups to her account and now she is on the $36 plan.....mistakenly thinking it will last longer because she paid more.

Not sure how to fix this, I don't think you can change plan's so the new plan starts at the end of the current plan.

A little funny, but it shows how older people just get so confused with these things. Even skinnys website does not explain things well at all.

linw

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#2563239 13-Sep-2020 11:08

Tried help line? I have found them most helpful in the past.

robjg63

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#2563245 13-Sep-2020 11:33

Pretty sure I got sent a message that the credit card I was using was due to expire and that I would need to check/add new card details. Was easy to do online.

Maybe your mum doesn't do things online, that is becoming more of an issue for people who can't or won't use online self service.

Agree with the comment above though about calling the help line. They should be able to fix it up for her.

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surfisup1000

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#2563265 13-Sep-2020 13:57

robjg63: Pretty sure I got sent a message that the credit card I was using was due to expire and that I would need to check/add new card details. Was easy to do online.

Maybe your mum doesn't do things online, that is becoming more of an issue for people who can't or won't use online self service.

Agree with the comment above though about calling the help line. They should be able to fix it up for her.

It's all good. Just saying, it is hard for older people to figure out these things.

We'll just let the $36 plan run out, then switch back to the $16 plan. I don't think it is possible to switch mid-plan.

surfisup1000

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#2563266 13-Sep-2020 14:01

robjg63: Pretty sure I got sent a message that the credit card I was using was due to expire and that I would need to check/add new card details. Was easy to do online.

Maybe your mum doesn't do things online, that is becoming more of an issue for people who can't or won't use online self service.

Agree with the comment above though about calling the help line. They should be able to fix it up for her.

Yes, you're right. I get get a bit frustrated with her lack of ability when it comes to really simple tech stuff. She is clever at other things, but just can't wrap her mind around simple things like prepay plans .

andrewNZ

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#2563324 13-Sep-2020 19:54

Whenever I've changed skinny plans, the change and charge has happened immediately

Eva888

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#2563472 14-Sep-2020 09:35

I have done the following for others. Downloaded the skinny app on to their phone and signed them up to it. There’s a Top Up menu item at the bottom of the screen. They click on that and follow the very simple prompts. You can add the credit card to this app so it makes it easier for them and they don’t need to keep filling in the details. I write down the steps for them and take a photo of the paper it’s written on so it is also in the phone if they lose it. Have done this for a number of totally tech useless older folk and they have managed to top up each month and it’s really easy and they get a text message congratulating them on the top up so they know it’s worked.

The other option is to put enough credit in their skinny account app to cover six months or a year of top ups and it will keep topping up monthly until the money runs out and they are warned by text a few days before. You can also gift money to their phones if not living close.

Another thing to watch out for with older people is making sure they know how to hang up a call. I’ve seen Prepay run out very fast because they forget to hang up or can’t figure out how hard to press and just close the phone cover. The app is good for this as you can see how long each call is and that’s how I worked out what was happening when a call would show as going for an hour or more when all other calls were a couple minutes long.

I switched an 82 yr old to Skinny from Vodafone where he was on a plan and Vodafone kept losing his payment and threatening to cut off the phone via text message which stressed the old fellow to the point he couldn’t sleep for days worrying. I spent ages with him and Vodafone and the same thing kept happening each month. Skinny was a godsend and he refers to his written instructions which I stuck to his laptop lid. The simplicity of the app made him feel in control and confident because he can do it for himself.

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Bung

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#2563531 14-Sep-2020 09:52

Eva888: Another thing to watch out for with older people is making sure they know how to hang up a call. I’ve seen Prepay run out very fast because they forget to hang up or can’t figure out how hard to press and just close the phone cover. The app is good for this as you can see how long each call is and that’s how I worked out what was happening when a call would show as going for an hour or more when all other calls were a couple minutes long.

Is this assuming that both just walk away from a live conversation? Doesn't it take just one party to release the call?