You paid and the credit has not appeared
Purchases go through Apple or Google, not through us, so a delay usually sits between their receipt and the app. Most of these resolve without anybody doing anything — and the ones that do not are quick to escalate.
- Restore purchases first
- Apple and Google handle payment
- Order ID is what we need
Do this first
Open the app and use Restore purchases. Payment is handled by the App Store or Google Play, which issues a receipt, and the app credits your balance when it sees that receipt. A restore asks the store for the receipt again and resolves most cases immediately.
If that does not work, give it up to twenty-four hours before treating it as a fault — bank verification, a card check or a store-side delay can hold a purchase in a pending state, and credit is applied when the payment settles rather than when you tap buy. If it is still missing after that, email [email protected] with the store order ID.
Work through these
- 1
Restore purchases in the app
This is the single most effective step and it resolves the majority of these reports. It re-reads the receipt from the store, which is the thing that credits the balance. Nothing is charged again — a restore cannot cost you money.
- 2
Check that the payment actually completed
Look for the store's own receipt. On iOS: reportaproblem.apple.com, or Settings → your name → Media & Purchases → Purchase History. On Android: Google Play → your profile → Payments & subscriptions → Budget & history. A purchase that is pending or declined there has not completed, and no amount of restoring will produce credit for it.
- 3
Confirm you are on the same store account
Credit is tied to the store account that bought it. A phone signed into a different Apple ID or Google account than the one used for the purchase — a family device, a second account, a work profile — will not see it. Switch back to the purchasing account and restore.
- 4
Reopen the app after a full close
Close the app entirely rather than backgrounding it, then reopen. The balance is refreshed on launch, and an app left running since before the purchase can show a stale figure while the credit is already there.
- 5
Wait out a pending payment
Card checks, bank verification steps and first purchases on a new payment method can hold a charge as pending for several hours. Credit follows settlement, not the tap. Twenty-four hours is the point at which it stops being normal.
Why the payment does not go through us
Every purchase inside the app is processed by Apple or by Google, because both stores require it for digital goods. That has consequences worth understanding, because they explain what we can and cannot do when something goes wrong.
We never see your card. The store takes the payment, holds the payment details, and issues a signed receipt that the app verifies. That is a real privacy benefit — there is no card number on our side to lose — and it is also why we cannot look up your payment, cannot see whether your bank declined it, and cannot reverse a charge.
What we can do is see whether a receipt reached us and whether credit was applied against it. That is the half of the transaction we hold, and with the store's order ID we can match the two halves and tell you which side is stuck. It is why the order ID is the one thing worth putting in the first email.
The pack you bought, and what it should show
Credit is bought in fixed packs and is denominated in currency rather than in minutes, because a minute costs a different amount to different countries. A pack adds its face value to your balance and the balance is then consumed per second at the destination's rate.
So the number to check after a purchase is the balance, not a minute count. If your balance rose by the pack's value, the purchase worked and any confusion is about how far it goes rather than whether it arrived — what a call actually costs covers that, and the rates page lists every destination's price.
Credit does not expire. There is no inactivity clock, no monthly deduction and no forfeiture, so a balance you bought and did not use is still there. That is unusual enough in this market to be worth stating: several well-known services void unused credit after a period of inactivity.
What to send us
- The store order ID. Apple's begins with M and appears on the emailed receipt and in Purchase History. Google's appears in Play under Payments and subscriptions. This is the single most useful item and usually the only one needed.
- The date and time of the purchase, with your time zone.
- Which pack you bought and the amount charged, including the currency.
- What the app shows now — the balance before and after, if you noted it, and whether Restore purchases changed anything.
- Whether the charge appears on your card statement as settled or still pending.
Moving your credit to a new phone
This is the same problem wearing a different hat, and it catches people out when they replace a handset.
Credit is held against an anonymous installation identifier generated on the device, and it is tied to the store account that bought it. On a new phone signed into the same Apple ID or Google account, Restore purchases is what re-associates it — the store still holds the receipt, and the app asks for it again. On a phone signed into a different account it will not appear, because the receipt belongs to the other account and there is no name or email on our side to look you up by instead.
Before you wipe or trade in an old phone, note the installation ID from the app's settings screen. It is the only handle that connects you to your records, and it is what support needs if a restore does not bring the balance back. Recovering a balance without it is genuinely difficult, and that is the cost of a service that never asked who you are.
There is no expiry pressure on any of this. Credit does not lapse, so a balance stranded on an old handset is not being eaten by an inactivity clock while you sort it out.
Bottom line
Use Restore purchases first. It re-reads the store receipt that credits the balance, cannot charge you again, and resolves most cases on the spot.
Confirm the purchase completed in the store's own purchase history, and that the device is signed into the account that bought it. A pending payment credits on settlement, which can take several hours.
Still missing after twenty-four hours: email [email protected] with the store order ID. Payment runs through Apple and Google, so that ID is what lets us match your receipt to our side of the transaction.
Frequently asked questions
I paid for credit and it did not appear. What should I do first?
Use Restore purchases in the app. It asks the store for the receipt again, which is what applies the credit, and it cannot charge you a second time. This resolves the majority of missing-credit reports immediately.
How long should credit take to arrive?
Usually seconds. A payment held as pending by a bank or card check can take several hours, because credit follows settlement rather than the moment you tap buy. Twenty-four hours is the point at which it is worth reporting.
Can Telvio see my payment or my card?
No. Apple and Google process every in-app purchase and hold the payment details; we receive only a signed receipt. That means we cannot look up your payment or reverse a charge, but it also means there is no card number stored on our side.
Why does my credit not show on my other phone?
Credit is tied to the store account that bought it, so a device signed into a different Apple ID or Google account will not see it. Sign in with the purchasing account and use Restore purchases.
Does Telvio credit expire?
No. There is no expiry, no inactivity clock and no monthly deduction, so a balance you bought and did not use remains available. Several well-known calling services void unused credit after a period of inactivity; this one does not.
Where do I find my order ID?
On iOS it is on the emailed receipt and in Settings under your name, Media and Purchases, Purchase History, and it begins with M. On Android it is in Google Play under your profile, Payments and subscriptions, Budget and history.
How do I move my credit to a new phone?
Sign in with the same Apple ID or Google account that bought the credit and use Restore purchases. The store still holds the receipt and the app asks for it again. A phone signed into a different account will not see the balance.
What should I note before replacing my phone?
The installation ID from the app's settings screen. It is the only handle linking you to your records, and it is what support needs if a restore does not bring the balance back.
Related answers
- Refunds, and charges you did not expect
- The free minute did not work
- That call cost more than you expected
- WiFi or mobile data?
Still stuck?
Write to us with the date, the time and your time zone, and say what you saw. A person reads every message and we aim to reply within 24 hours.
Email support