"I heard that a prepaid plan can be cheaper than signing a cellphone contract. So I got a prepaid plan and put $100 on my account. After two months, I got a bill for $150. The provider said that I’d used more minutes than were covered by my prepaid balance, and so they charged me for it afterwards. I later learned that this wasn’t truly a prepaid plan."
– Li, Courtenay
Prepaid services are cellphone services bought in advance of use — for example, a prepaid card or a pay-as-you-go service. You put money (called credit) onto an account. Every time you use the phone, the cost is taken out of your prepaid account balance. When your balance runs out, you buy more credit, topping up your account. Here are six key things to be aware of when getting prepaid cellphone service.