If your card is declined when your plan renews or your free days end, nothing is deleted and your children can keep reading. Our payment provider tries the card again for about two weeks, and we write to you along the way. If you update your card in that time, everything carries on as before.
What you will see
- An email called "Your payment did not go through", on the day it happens.
- A banner at the top of every grown-up page that begins "A payment did not go through", with an "Update your card" button.
- On Plan and books, the "Manage your plan" button reads "Update your card" instead.
- On your Home page, the plan card is marked "Payment did not go through".
The emails, and when they arrive
The days are counted from the day the payment first failed.
| When | |
|---|---|
| The day it fails | "Your payment did not go through" |
| 3 days later | "That payment still has not gone through" |
| 7 days later | "Your TaleTykes plan is about to stop" |
| 12 days later | "Your TaleTykes plan is about to stop", a second time |
| If a payment then goes through | "That is sorted" |
| If none does | "Your plan has ended" |
These emails are about your account, so they are not among the optional emails you can switch off in Settings > "Emails and reminders". Emails we send lists the rest.
How long we keep trying
Our payment provider tries your card again several times over about two weeks. If none of those tries works, your plan ends, and we email you "Your plan has ended". Nothing is deleted when that happens. Cancel your plan lists what you keep when a plan ends.
What still works in the meantime
The banner says new books are paused until the card works. That is true of the books from your plan, but not of books you bought.
- Every book your children have made stays on their shelves, and they can keep reading.
- Your readers can still sign in.
- Your extra books, including books from gifts, codes and friends, can still be used to make new books, and you can still buy more.
- You can still remove an extra reader you no longer need.
What waits until a payment goes through:
- Your monthly books. They cannot be used while the payment is outstanding, and when it goes through, the month's allowance comes back in full.
- Adding an extra reader. The card on Plan and books says "Your last payment did not go through. Once your card is updated, you can add a reader."
- Changing plan, if you pay for extra readers.
Putting it right
- Open Plan and books.
- Press "Update your card".
- On our payment provider's page, add a card that works and make it the card your plan uses.
- Return to Plan and books.
Once a payment goes through, the banner goes away, your monthly books come back, and we email you "That is sorted". There is nothing else you need to do. Update your card has more on changing cards.
If a payment keeps failing and you cannot see why, write to us from Help in your dashboard and choose "A payment, a plan or a refund".