why we’re moving to billing in advance

We’re continually working to improve Honest Mobile and over the last few months, we’ve discovered that the way we bill can sometimes be confusing.

Currently, we bill customers upfront for the first month, and then we bill you at the end of the month from then on.

We thought this was great as it meant you didn’t pay until you’d made use of the service. 

Unfortunately, we’ve found two problems:

1. When people cancel their contract, they still owe Honest Mobile money, and some of our members found this odd as it’s not what they’re used to.
2. Unfortunately, some people (sadly, more than you would think) cancel direct debits and then don’t pay their outstanding bill.

We want to keep billing as simple and straightforward as possible which is why we bill using calendar months. Over the last eight weeks we’ve tested a simpler approach where we always bill in advance.

This is what it looks like:

1. 31 March – Sign up and pay £13.50 for your first month
2. 1 April – Activate your SIM (your first month starts the day you activate your SIM)
3. Early May – You’ll receive a bill that includes:
   1. Your data plan for May (e.g. £13.50 for 4GB)
   2. Your Smart Signal or Signal Boosters for May (if you have either)
   3. Any out of plan charges from April (e.g. premium calls, international calls or using dynamic bolt-ons such as Smart Travel)

We have had no complaints or queries relating to bills for customers who are billed in advance compared to a query rate of about 5% previously. 

So from now on, all new customers will be billed in advance, and from 01 April 2021 all existing customers will be moved to advance billing. 

If you’d like to move to a bill in advance sooner, you’ll find a toggle in the account section of the app where you can switch right away.

FAQs

What happens if you leave in the middle of a month you’ve already paid for? 

Simple, we refund you the difference straight back to the card you originally checked out with. Couldn’t be easier.

I’m currently paying in arrears, I don’t want to move to bill in advance. What can I do?

No problem. If you do nothing, you’ll continue to pay in arrears until 2021. In April 2021, we’ll move you to billing in advance which gives you time to plan for the change.

What happens if I switch to bill in advance? Do I get a bigger bill?

The month you switch you’ll end up with a larger bill than usual, that’s because you’ll have to pay for the month that’s just been, and the current month. From then on, you’ll just be paying for a single month at a time.