A letter from Dave on the infamous $40 for 4GB price change

[Dave_M]

Hey Community,

I am writing to you today to let you know that we will not be moving forward with a price increase on the infamous “$40 for 4GB” plan ($120 90-day Province-Wide Talk + Text + 12GB Data), contrary to the SMS that customers on that plan received yesterday.

After sending out an offer to select customers, we heard your feedback loud and clear: we said no surprises, and we surprised you. While all good things must come to an end at some point – that point is not today. As a brand, we have always been proud of our transparency, and of our commitment to our customers. We are sincerely sorry for any frustration caused and we want you to know that this has been a learning experience for us all.

We have been reminded that you, our customers, are vocal and passionate. We’ve seen how much some of you love Public Mobile and we’ve also seen how many of you like the added value that our sister brand, Koodo, has to offer. To that end, we are happy to say that the Koodo offer that our Public customers on the “$40 for 4GB” plan received still remains available for anyone who wishes to take advantage of it.

Thank you for your continued support,

Dave

[Wolfcore]

---

@Kattzwrote:

I knew that we would win. We were right. 

This "letter from Dave" only proves that they just don't get it. The whole thing is very simple and anyone who has taken a high school business class should understand this. They made an offer of a promotion. They promised that we would be able to keep this proce and plan as long as we were customers. We accepted. 

Offer + acceptance = contract. It doesn't require a signature. 

They are contractually obligated to continue to provide this plan to us as long as we are customers. It doesn't matter if they back off and try again in a few months. The results will be the same. 

But, I'm sure that the CRTC will explain all of this to them during the spanking they are about to get. 

All this letter does is show the sheer arogance of this company and the telecommunications industry in general. I encourage everyone to check out openmedia.org. They are there to help all of us when the telecommunications industry tries to walk all over us. Even if you can't afford to donate, you can help them by signing online petitions. I reported this nonsense to them and I wouldn't be surprised if they had a hand in reversing this. They are currently fighting Bell's efforts to block access to Web sites. Please get informed about this as well. It is very important to stop them if you want a free and open Internet. 

---

Exactly.

Also, I'm still waiting for all of those people that attacked us, and said this would never be reversed, to come out of their shells and say hello. I'll be nice and won't name any names. These people don't understand businesses and how they deal with consumers. Nothing is worth losing your customers. Companies are willing to take losses all the time, in order to bring people in, that's just how it works. I tried to warn people all day yesterday, to not jump the gun, and to breathe, but far too many people don't have patience.

[kav2001c]

@Dave_M so tell us when it will be?

---

@Dave_Mwrote:

Hey Community,

I am writing to you today to let you know that we will not be moving forward with a price increase on the infamous “$40 for 4GB” plan ($120 90-day Province-Wide Talk + Text + 12GB Data), contrary to the SMS that customers on that plan received yesterday.

After sending out an offer to select customers, we heard your feedback loud and clear: we said no surprises, and we surprised you. While all good things must come to an end at some point – that point is not today. As a brand, we have always been proud of our transparency, and of our commitment to our customers. We are sincerely sorry for any frustration caused and we want you to know that this has been a learning experience for us all.

We have been reminded that you, our customers, are vocal and passionate. We’ve seen how much some of you love Public Mobile and we’ve also seen how many of you like the added value that our sister brand, Koodo, has to offer. To that end, we are happy to say that the Koodo offer that our Public customers on the “$40 for 4GB” plan received still remains available for anyone who wishes to take advantage of it.

Thank you for your continued support,

Dave

---

[lukevader]

---

@amallyawrote:

---

@lukevaderwrote:

---

@Alexowrote:Found the shill!

Said the troll.

By the way to be a shill I would have to be a customer........ which I am NOT anymore. I left with the $60/10 plan which you were too cheap to follow

---

Can you please leave the forums, and delete your account. Thx

---

Show me how by setting the example fido girl

[DavidNS]

Oh and to Telus / Koodo / Public Mobile, just as an FYI the credit card I use for autopay is one I use for monthl bills and and I pay off at the end of every month.  I carry ZERO balance and my credit limit on it is easily 5x what I spend in a month, so any mysterious "credit card processing issues" will be on your end, and I fully expect you to resolve them and continue giving me the service I pay for.

(yes, that's how little I trust you now)

[empyr3al]

I'm not even sure you will get the actual $100 credit from Koodo. Some people on mobilesyrup have said it will not be $100.

[jairolevi]

---

@DavidNSwrote:

The fundamental problem is we need more competition in the market place.  The next time there is an opportunity to let US companies come in and compete I am going to write my MP and insist they get welcomed with open arms.

I travel to the US probably twice a year on business, the last time was for a month.  I went into a walmart in the US and bought a prepaid sim for $40 a month that gave me:

Unliminted WORLDWIDE calling (yes... WORLDWIDE calling!  I called a friend of mine in the UK and one in Australia to test it!!)

Unlimited WORLDWIDE text with pictures

6 GB of 4G LTE Data (you read that right!)

and it was PREPAID in a manner similar to public mobile.

If they were allowed in an allowed to compete in the market, I am 100% sure this kind of bait and switch BS wouldn't even be *attempted*.

---

Which brand @DavidNS ? If you dont midn sharing..

[jonhache]

I'm glad this isn't going through, especially after all the love I've been giving to PM, trying my hardest to get people to move over to more sensible plans...

I know prices always rise, but maybe take a more stepped approach...10 bucks on 40 was quite a jump

[kav2001c]

@will13am no because next time it will be a more legit way of forcing us to leave

The big mistake was the nearly forced migration to Koodo

I already think rewards are going soon

And more to follow

They have spoken

Its not like they didn't increase the $15 plans to $19, then $22, then $27

---

@will13amwrote:

---

And you think we can't mount the same response next time?  If we are going to score round 1, I would say the customer came out way on top.  The damage control of having to clean up the CCTS mess will take months.  The publicity nightmare will have an effect.

---

[Kattz]

I knew that we would win. We were right. 

This "letter from Dave" only proves that they just don't get it. The whole thing is very simple and anyone who has taken a high school business class should understand this. They made an offer of a promotion. They promised that we would be able to keep this proce and plan as long as we were customers. We accepted. 

Offer + acceptance = contract. It doesn't require a signature. 

They are contractually obligated to continue to provide this plan to us as long as we are customers. It doesn't matter if they back off and try again in a few months. The results will be the same. 

But, I'm sure that the CRTC will explain all of this to them during the spanking they are about to get. 

All this letter does is show the sheer arogance of this company and the telecommunications industry in general. I encourage everyone to check out openmedia.org. They are there to help all of us when the telecommunications industry tries to walk all over us. Even if you can't afford to donate, you can help them by signing online petitions. I reported this nonsense to them and I wouldn't be surprised if they had a hand in reversing this. They are currently fighting Bell's efforts to block access to Web sites. Please get informed about this as well. It is very important to stop them if you want a free and open Internet. 

[litlkitty]

me too, I am so angry. my due date is Feb 21, so I changed today. I have referral, loyalty, 3 month pre paid discount. I paid 16 for the koodo SIM card.  and then I received a text said they will keep the plan. fine! give it back to me then.

[Korth]

(Just wanna apologize if anything I type in this thread has already been said before, haha, the activity is too crazed, Notifications about replies to this thread keep on blinking away before I can even finish typing any posts.)

[kav2001c]

@remik I suspect more will lose refers than gain community rewards

We shall see

---

@remikwrote:

If anything good came out of this it's that a **bleep** load of people will be getting "community discounts" on their next renewal for bad mouthing PM 😛

---

[pub2]

Hi , I am a newbie and only joined the community to protest it.

Me and my husband is on fall 2016 promo, my husband had received the sms and I had not.

while my husband again received a sms that the price increase is no more be done, I still see the price increase message on my online account?

is it going to be removed from the overview page?

I never recived the original sms so not sure.

thx

[kav2001c]

& 105 people bravo his post?

Insane

---

@Civic_Ewrote:

What a joke!!!

So I have already moved to Koodo because today Feb 16th was my renewal date for next 90 days. Now I lose the plan!!! and also had to pay for Koodo SIM card! !! !

---

[litlkitty]

I want my plan back. I am so mad today

[kav2001c]

@alicejhwong TXT message notification is not legal anyways

Think this way

If I was account holder and gave the SIM to my child for his phone service

He is not 18 so can not agree / accept price increase

And Public never informed me directly

Easy to fight it

---

@alicejhwongwrote:

Is it going to be removed from our account msg or sent again this note via text to inform all customers of this change of heart? 

---

[SD08]

---

@Dave_M wrote:

Hey Community,

I am writing to you today to let you know that we will not be moving forward with a price increase on the infamous “$40 for 4GB” plan ($120 90-day Province-Wide Talk + Text + 12GB Data), contrary to the SMS that customers on that plan received yesterday.

After sending out an offer to select customers, we heard your feedback loud and clear: we said no surprises, and we surprised you. While all good things must come to an end at some point – that point is not today. As a brand, we have always been proud of our transparency, and of our commitment to our customers. We are sincerely sorry for any frustration caused and we want you to know that this has been a learning experience for us all.

We have been reminded that you, our customers, are vocal and passionate. We’ve seen how much some of you love Public Mobile and we’ve also seen how many of you like the added value that our sister brand, Koodo, has to offer. To that end, we are happy to say that the Koodo offer that our Public customers on the “$40 for 4GB” plan received still remains available for anyone who wishes to take advantage of it.

Thank you for your continued support,

Dave

---

Wow...it's like I got a serious case of whiplash in the last couple of days. First I get a shocking text message yesterday about the $10 price increase (+25% or more after rewards) on our Fall 2016 12GB promo plan.  Then, as I was reading the firestorm of feedback, I suddenly see this retraction announcement today.  

Good grief, this sounds like the decision-makers behind this (read: Telus) were completely unprepared for this level of blowback.  If that's the case, their customer engagement and marketing savvy earns a big fail.  How can they NOT expect shock and dismay at an increase that is at least an order of magnitude greater than the inflation rate?  This was the marketing equivalent of being tone-deaf, to put it mildly.   To Telus/PM, if you're going to hike the price, it needs to be more gradual, so customers have a chance to assimilate it, and have time to consider their options.  Also, there are customers who carry substantial balances on their accounts from vouchers and little provision was offered beyond a paltry $100 credit to mitigate their losses for switching.  This is not how you treat customers.

Thankfully, there is now a reprieve, mainly due to the customer response.  I wish I had been more available to add my voice earlier, but thank you very much to all those who spoke out against this hike.  Together, you all made a difference this time.  Who knows how long this will delay the inevitable, but I'm hoping whenever the hike does come, it will be more measured and reasonable.  I will take this episode as an early warning of things to come.

[DavidNS]

The fundamental problem is we need more competition in the market place.  The next time there is an opportunity to let US companies come in and compete I am going to write my MP and insist they get welcomed with open arms.

I travel to the US probably twice a year on business, the last time was for a month.  I went into a walmart in the US and bought a prepaid sim for $40 a month that gave me:

Unliminted WORLDWIDE calling (yes... WORLDWIDE calling!  I called a friend of mine in the UK and one in Australia to test it!!)

Unlimited WORLDWIDE text with pictures

6 GB of 4G LTE Data (you read that right!)

and it was PREPAID in a manner similar to public mobile.

If they were allowed in an allowed to compete in the market, I am 100% sure this kind of bait and switch BS wouldn't even be *attempted*.

[Frustratedwitch]

I'm very annoyed, I switched to Koodo because I thought public mobile was going to increase their rate.  I am upset because I paid Public Mobile $120 for 90 days on feb 12.  With the switch, the $100 credit from Koodo does not offset the amount I paid.  I essentially paid $20 for 4 days at Public Mobile and then Koodo informed me that I will be charged a prorated amount plus the monthly bill of $40(taxes). I will be receiving a $100 credit over 4 bill cycles starting after my 2nd month bill ...technically I'm out $120 + 40 + prorated amount ...that's $160 this month...I'm better of with sticking with public mobile.  How do I switch back to Public Mobile? Will they honour the full payment I made on Feb 12?

[kav2001c]

No he said there WILL be an increase

They just will not do it so shady like they did this time (eg renew then an hour later get a txt your rates increased)

Its coming

---

@MK78wrote:

So there will not be a price increase for the active users on the Fall2016 Promo?

---

[Mana]

Unfortunately, this is too late for some people who have already switched to koodo because they thought that they had no choice. I feel bad for those. 

This has also caused some damage in terms of customers trust. 

[familyzdeals]

Thank you for being honourable and keeping the promise you made to your customers!

[Korth]

---

@Charanth182wrote:

---

---

I think people (myself included) are mostly mad about the language used, "for now" means its just buying time.

As for the Koodo plan. There was no loyalty ($1/year/month) and some of us are at a couple bucks there. There are no referals (I'm at zero but some are really high) there was no $2 auto renew. No Community bonuses.... all these things add up each month.

Biggest for many, overages charges at kodoo where PM doesn't allow overages.

Plus $15 activation for the SIM card. 

And i'm assuming Kodoo doesn't have other service charges related to post paid.... 

---

All true.  I save a few bucks every month on loyalty, referrals, community, etc, it's not much but it does add up.

Koodo and Telus do offer prepaid "pay-as-you-go" options, if avoiding postpaid billing suprises is important ... although it's true these options aren't the best deals in town.  The SIM card fee is a one-time annoyance, and some former-PM users report that Koodo will waive it.

I agree that this whole scenario wasn't a good business move.  Cellphone providers always want to balance ARPU vs subscribers vs operating expenses ... so it's reasonable for them to continually try upselling and increasing their ARPU but it's also suicidal for them to knock happy customers out of their boxes because these just become disgruntled customers who join competitors.  PM is especially vulnerable since it happens to lean heavily on word of mouth advertising, they need happy people advertising the brand, they don't need angry people condemning the brand.

"For now" is indeed ominous ... but I imagine that if/when PM does finally commit to pushing through this forced migration then the Telus network as a whole will lose a lot of people who'd rather go elsewhere (anywhere!) before ever going to Koodo.

I was initially attracted to PM because it was literally the best deal available, good service and good plans at good prices.  I stay with PM because it's still a good deal - perhaps not the very best deal anymore, if I examine every alternative - but close enough and it pays for itself in other ways.  I also love the "DIY" PM support model.  But I imagine that if things suddenly got costly and inconvenient then I'd be researching all my (non-PM, non-Koodo, non-Telus) alternatives pretty quick.

[antifreeze1100]

Despite the retraction, it is hard to overstate what a bad taste this leaves in your customers' mouths.

Prior to this, I was an actual fan -- something I don't say lightly about the Canadian telecoms, and probably never will again. Despite a few technical hiccups when I originally signed up (PRIOR to the Fall 2016 promo in question, which I switched to later), Public Mobile had more than lived up to my expectations. In my first month or two, they even had a fun little forum promo where they awarded 3 months of free Netflix...nice touch. The moderators were ever helpful with the aforementioned technical issues, and everything went smoothly when I referred family and friends.

Now...not so much. The trust is broken. The ominous writing (i.e., "just not today") is on the wall. I will be keeping my eye out for alternatives. Hope it was worth it. Let us know how this plan to herd us all "up the value chain" works out for you. Right now, I'd put it at about 2500 CCTS complaints and counting...

[mimmo]

Hey @Dave_M thanks for the update.  I hope this was a learning experience for all.  The koodo offer was decent, the price increase was too much too soon. I believe you would have had less pushback if you allowed people to complete their terms / give  4 months advance notice , prorate plans and  Carry over balances.

A $3 -5$ increase would in my mind with the above would not have caused as many issues.

I am sure you will be discussing this in future meatings.

Thanks for listening

[Charanth182]

 @Litvinau_A

Dave isn't the best one to go to as i dont' think he'll answer. Most of who you'll need to talk to will be Koodo but I'll put a shout out here to see what mod we can get to help you on PM's side.

@Luddite I've been off the forums for a while. Could you give @Litvinau_A a suggestion as to a mod that may be able to help him?

Edit: Sorry i didn't quote @Litvinau_A so that @Luddite would know what we are talking about.

---

@Litvinau_Awrote:

Dear @Dave_M please DM me asap! I have already switched to koodo today because i didn't want to get charged on my renewal date in few days, and now i want to be back with all my rewards gained up to date. Thank you.

---

[markuswarren]

As others have said, this situation has seriously damaged the reputation of PM. Be it existing customers, on any plan - how do they know their plans aren’t going to be subject to similar changes. - or potential new customers - they don’t know if their “good” plan will suddenly become “bad”

Stating that the change is not coming today doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Obviously stated that way so they have something to fall back on to claim they never said never.

one hopes that when they next think of an increase that they look back to this and realize that the customer might not appreciate the surprise. Maybe the customer base might give them their own surprise again!

I also wonder why the push to Koodoo? Yes, I suspect there is a monetary incentive for PM to switch customers to another Telus partner. 

[Charanth182]

@stonechucker

Its possible I'm wrong and you may be right but the push to get us to go elsewhere seems very foreign to me.

For most the loyalty (or what is left of it after this) isn't with Telus it's with PM and Koodo is no different than any other competitor. Maybe i'm old fashioned but If you want us to pay more, offer more with the company we think we're loyal to.

[sheytoon]

We live to fight another day! 🙂

[jairolevi]

TOO LATE! YOU ALREADY LOST MY TRUST!

I will keep the plan, but will keep an eye for deals from NON TELUS Companies.

Before the price increase was called off, I had said I would prefer to be cellphone-less than give my money to a TELUS brand again.

That whole "lets switch our users to postpaid" stunt was real BS.

JL.