Here’s what to do if you missed paying your mobile bill
People find plenty of reasons for delaying or skipping their postpaid bill payments. They are no doubt stressed at the very thought of missing out a professional commitment, say, meeting. But little do they focus on things that are mundane (regular) yet important at the same time- like paying monthly mobile bills.
A survey by Citi states that 50% of Americans have delayed mobile bill payments at some point in time, of which 88% messed up completely in the past years.
Find out below, the various consequences that subscribers face following non-payment of bills. And understand why they skip paying their postpaid mobile bills and what can be done to overcome those habits in the long run.
Consequences of not paying mobile bills on time
Subscribers generally face serious consequences for prolonging delays in bill payments. Below is a list of them. Service providers like Vodafone, Airtel and Jio have a way of tackling postpaid/prepaid bill payment skippers.
1. Skipping bill payments for more than two consecutive months will bar you from using any chargeable services like outgoing calls and texts from your service provider. You’ll be warned with a series of bill reminder calls and texts on your phone.
2. At the next level, all services including the free ones are also barred and your number will be temporarily disconnected. All reminder calls and texts are sent to an alternative number which you shared with them. Services will be resumed only on the condition that you fill the payment dues after a set time.
3. If you further fail to pay your postpaid bills, your number will be permanently disconnected irrespective of whether you pay bills or not. If you want a new connection again, you’ll have to re-apply for a new connection, with no guarantee of availing the same number.
4. Moving ahead, your service provider will keep sending bill reminders on the alternative number you provided, till you fulfil any outstanding bill dues. Later, they will slam a legal notice on you which will have a bad impact on your CIBIL score. Beware, as it will black mark your credit image and you are likely to be barred from any credit card facilities in the future.
Your service provider (to who you owe bill amount) will not hesitate to blacklist you under FMS (Fraud Management System). Once listed here, you cannot use postpaid services from any other service providers for more than 2 months. Legal actions will keep knocking your doors till you fulfil all your previous bill dues with the previous service providers.
Why people skip their bills and what can be done to avoid that
Forgetfulness
Sometimes reasons can be as silly as just forgetting about bill payments. Anthony Merola, Managing Director of Citi cards, states that the biggest reason why most customers skip their mobile bill payments is that they forget.
Solution: Create a master calendar reminding you about what and when you must pay or set up email or calendar alerts reminding you about dues in advance.
Lack of Money
For some people, lifestyle expenses go way beyond their actual incomes. And, whilst keeping their living standards high, they often neglect their mobile bill payments.
Solution: There are two ways to deal with this problem. The first way is to talk to your service provider and request a due date extension, so you can gain cushion time for making bill pays.
The second thing is to start a negotiation with your service provider stating that you have a better deal elsewhere. Or, you can opt for a prepaid service so that you’ll need to pay only for the services that you use.
Busy Schedules
It is easy to skip from making bill payments if one is stuck between family and work priorities.
Solution: One best solution to address this issue is to automate postpaid bill payments every month either through your service provider’s website or through your bank or credit union’s web portal. Make payments online only.
Procrastination
Some people delay simply out of mere tendencies and not due to financial issues or busy schedules.
Solution:
Procrastinators can confront their tendency to delay mobile bill payments on their social media accounts. The motivation to pay bills or the shame it will bring if they don’t pay bills will be effective. This way they stay conscious of their approaching bill date without causing any more payment delays.
Final Word of Advice
It is not in anyone’s interests to skip mobile bill payments. Unfortunately, such scenarios exist but you need to stand up and deal with the problem yourself. Open a consensual negotiation with your service provider and set up a bill payment solution that suits both of you. They will be ready to help you.