Why your Mobility bill may be higher than you expected

There are two common reasons that contribute to higher first bills. They are:

Also known as prorated charges or proration.

To help explain partial charges, we’ll need to start with an explanation of how billing cycles work.

A billing cycle is a 1-month period for which you are charged for your services. You typically pay for your month of service at the start of the billing cycle.

: Let’s use your favourite video streaming service as an example. They have a billing cycle that starts on the very day you signed up, and that ends exactly 1 month later. For that month of video streaming, you pay the monthly fee at the start of the billing cycle for the month of service you’re about to use. You then pay it again when the cycle renews, at the start of the next 1 month cycle.

TELUS and other telecoms also use 1-month billing cycles, but we operate a little bit differently. TELUS does not start your billing cycle on the day you activate your mobility service. Instead, we have a few select days in a month when a billing cycle can start. For example, you may have activated your new TELUS service on June 11, but our closest billing cycle start date may not be until June 15.

So you may ask, what happens between the 11th and the 15th? Well, that is where the partial charges come in.

If your service plan is $90 a month, you will pay that $90 on June 15 for the service used up to July 14. That’s your billing cycle in this example. Then, for the days between your start date (June 11) and the start of the billing cycle (June 15) you will pay a partial charge for those 4 extra days (June 11 + 12 + 13 + 14).

To calculate this charge, you would need to take the monthly amount of $90 and divide it by 30 days to get your daily charge. In this example, it’s $3. Then you would take the $3 daily charge and multiply it by the number of partial days. In this example, it's 4 days. That gives you a partial charge of $12.

Add that onto your monthly charge, and you would be paying $102 for your first bill. For all the bills after your first, assuming there are no changes or additional usage charges, you would pay the $90 per month each bill.

Check out this video to learn more about partial charges on your first bill.

To help with the costs associated with getting a new mobility service up and running, we do often charge a fee. The $50 connection fee includes a SIM card and access to a TELUS team member to process your activation or renewal along with other exclusive TELUS services such as Smart Start, Learning Sessions and the Device Checkup app.

If you purchased a new phone alongside your plan using TELUS Easy Payment®, you’ll notice that the sales tax on your first bill may be higher than you were expecting.

This is because sales tax is not divided up among your 24 payment periods. When you sign up for a 2-year device term with TELUS Easy Payment®, you pay taxes for the full cost of the device up front at the time of purchase. As a result, the monthly amount you repay towards your TELUS Easy Payment® term is not subject to any tax.

It’s likely because you’ve been charged partial charges, also known as prorated charges or proration.

To help explain partial charges, we’ll need to start with an explanation of how billing cycles work.

A billing cycle is a 1-month period for which you are charged for your services. You typically pay for your month of service at the start of the billing cycle.

: Let’s use your favourite video streaming service as an example. They have a billing cycle that starts on the very day you signed up, and that ends exactly 1 month later. For that month of video streaming, you pay the monthly fee at the start of the billing cycle for the month of service you’re about to use. You then pay it again when the cycle renews, at the start of the next 1 month cycle.

TELUS and other telecoms also use 1-month billing cycles, but we operate a little bit differently. TELUS does not start your billing cycle on the day you signed up for your additional service, or on the day the technician installed the service. Instead, we have a few select days in a month when a billing cycle can start.

Given that you're an existing TELUS customer, you already have a billing cycle date assigned to you that you’re likely familiar with. It shows up on all of your bills. For example, you may notice that your billing cycle starts on the 15th of every month like clockwork.

Now when you change your service, you’ll likely do so on a day that doesn’t line up with your billing cycle date. For example, let’s say you changed your Mobility service on June 11 but your billing cycle starts on June 15. You may ask, what happens between the 11th and the 14th?

You’ll be charged a partial amount those 4 days (the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th) at your new rate, along with the new monthly amount starting June 15. You’ll also be given a credit (essentially a refund) for the same 4 days at your old rate.

Continuing with this example, let’s say that the new monthly amount for your mobility plan is $90 a month. If we divide that by 30 days, the daily amount is $3 a day. For the 4 days before your billing cycle starts, you’ll pay $12 in partial charges to cover those days, plus the $90 you would have paid anyway for the billing cycle that starts on June 15.

Now for the credit, let’s say that your old monthly amount is $80. Similarly, if we divide that by 30 days, the daily amount is $2.67 a day. For those 4 days, you’ve already paid for them and a credit is in order for the daily amount multiplied by 4 days, $10.68.

In the end, you would pay $102 for your first bill after your service plan change plus the partial charges, and then subtract $10.68 for the credit. This brings the total to $91.32 for that bill and then $90 per month after that.

It’s likely because you’ve been charged partial charges, also known as prorated charges or proration.

To help explain partial charges, we’ll need to start with an explanation of how billing cycles work.

A billing cycle is a 1-month period for which you are charged for your services. You typically pay for your month of service at the start of the billing cycle.

: Let’s use your favourite video streaming service as an example. They have a billing cycle that starts on the very day you signed up, and that ends exactly 1 month later. For that month of video streaming, you pay the monthly fee at the start of the billing cycle for the month of service you’re about to use. You then pay it again when the cycle renews, at the start of the next 1 month cycle.

TELUS and other telecoms also use 1-month billing cycles, but we operate a little bit differently. TELUS does not start your billing cycle on the day you signed up for your additional service, or on the day the technician installed the service. Instead, we have a few select days in a month when a billing cycle can start.

Given that you're an existing TELUS customer, you already have a billing cycle date assigned to you that you’re likely familiar with. It shows up on all of your bills. For example, you may notice that your billing cycle starts on the 15th of every month like clockwork.

Now when you add a new product to your roster of services, you’ll likely do so on a day that doesn’t line up with your billing cycle date. For example, let’s say you added a second Mobility phone plan and it’s activated on June 11 but your billing cycle starts on June 15. You may ask, what happens between the 11th and the 14th?

You’ll be charged a partial amount those 4 days (the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th), along with the normal monthly amount starting June 15.

Continuing with this example, let’s say that the normal monthly amount for your additional phone plan is $90 a month. If we divide that by 30 days, the daily amount is $3 a day. For the 4 days before your billing cycle starts, you’ll pay $12 in partial charges to cover those days, plus the $90 you would have paid anyway for the billing cycle that starts on June 15. In total, you would pay $102 for your first bill after adding the additional phone plan, and then the normal $90 every month after that.

There are two common reasons your promotional credit may be missing depending on if the credit was recently applied or if you’ve had it for some time.

If you recently signed up for a new service or had a credit applied to your account, it can take 1 to 2 billing cycles for it to appear. This means that it may not show up until your next bill, or the one after that.

Rest assured that you’ll still be getting the full value of the credit. For example, if the credit is valid for 12 months, the 12-month period will start once you’ve received your first credit so you’re not missing out on any savings.

If you got a great deal when you signed up for your service, it’s important to keep in mind that these discounts are applied in the form of a monthly credit that has an expiry date.

On your bill, it may look like you’re paying the full amount, but then you’ll see a credit applied.

If your bill has gone up suddenly after being a customer for a while, it’s very possible that the credit may have expired.

Not to worry, we have other promotions that you’re likely eligible for. To view them, you can visit the

offers section of your My TELUS profile

.

: If you have a Bundle Discount, this is a separate discount from promotion credits, and will not expire as long as you have bundle services.

When you are given a bill credit that is discretionary, either one time or recurring on a temporary basis, it includes taxes based on the applicable taxes levied in the province of supply. This means it is displayed on your bill as the before tax value.

For example, let's say you are in Ontario and were offered a $10 credit for activating a new subscriber with TELUS Mobility. Here is how it breaks down on your bill:

Another example is a BC customer who was offered a $10 credit for renewing their Home phone service. Here is how it breaks down on your bill:

Another example is a BC customer receiving a $10 credit for renewing their Internet service. Here is how it breaks down on your bill:

Your Easy Payment balance is the remaining balance on the upfront discount you receive towards your device at the time of purchase. If you decide to upgrade your device or cancel your service before the end of your service term, you will need to pay back the remainder of this discount. You will see two line items. One will be the Easy Payment balance from your previous device, which will be charged until the end of your previous service term, and the other ‌will be your monthly payment for the new device discount balance moving forward.