data pack auto renewal from card, as opposed to from credit

[ovcovc]

Hi all,

I switched to Three a few months ago and am experienceing a true nightmare with my renewals. They just won't.

I set up two accounts around the same time, mine and my daughter's. Hers goes through as auto renewal from my card, no issues. Conveniently for me, it is set up that it even goes through when the card is "frozen" in the app, eg as CPA.

Mine keeps failing all the time, causing various issues. In short, it just won't go from a card, and I need to manually top up. It keep saying either that my auto renewal is in danger because account is 0, without explaining why it can't just charge the card directly - then previously it tried to charge the card each time anyway, but doesnt do CPA so if it happens to be locked payment fails. Basically it tries in my case to do two steps instead of one, it tries to top up account balance  (or doesnt even try) separately from trying to renew pack then from that account, instead of just renewing pack from a card.

I just dont understand what I have done differently in both cases causing it to not do the same thing in mine as it does in my daughter's.

 I keep having to manually renew it, eg basically buy a new plan completely each month. I can't do it from the phone (three website claims payment failed if I leave the screen to open the bank app to approve it, I have been double charged and had to ask for chargeback which itself is a nightmare)  so must be done from a computer.

Principally. It kept trying to do two things instead of one, eg auto topup and then renew from balance. I think it used to then try to auto-topup balance from card (but not as CPA) but now it hasnt even done that. I got a chippy overnight text that renewal failed without it ever trying to charge the card. 

This itime it did not even send any warning texts. So I thought this time it was set up correctly.

But no.

Right now it did that Saturday night and now I have no service and my bank is in maintenance till 11 am and I can't unfreeze the card. Thanks a bunch Three. Why so complicated? I have been with GiffGaff for 11 years prior to that and no issues like that.  

All of this is a nightmare. What setting should I look for, meanwhile, to make sure it stops happening? I just need it to set up a CPA to be doing it directly FROM THE CARD!

I like the service but I just dont understand why won't it renew normally. 

 Thanks for any thoughts

[PeteG]

Hello there. 

Ah, that sounds like a very frustrating issue to be having. My understanding is that when activating Auto Renew, the options are given between having the add be purchased through credit, or directly from credit/debit card. I have no idea why it would be failing. Since it's happened on multiple cards though, I imagine it must be something account related. I'd recommend reaching out to the PAYG support team on chat in order to have them check it out, and to see if it's possible for them to add it. 

Pete.

[ovcovc]

UPDATE

Spent three hours on this again, my card was stored but was impossible to set up an auto renew datapack. Kept saying it was failing which was not true.

I then tried to remove the card and do it with a different card but that failed also.

Ended up having to buy a one time datapack which went through for the same amount wiuth the same card they kept saying was failing.

What frauds. I about had enough of it. .