Effective April 1, changes are happening to Legacy/ Pioneer rate plans

[Brooke_C]

Hey Community,

Public Mobile is continuing our evolution to an online-only brand with the goal to provide customers more choice in a clear and uncomplicated way.  Along this journey, we are making some changes. On April 1, 2017, all Legacy/ Pioneer rate plans will increase by $3 per month.

If you are not on a Legacy rate plan this increase does not apply to you.

You are considered a Legacy/ Pioneer customer if you are currently on one of the following rate plans that was available prior to January 27, 2015:

• $19 Province-Wide Talk
• $25 Canada-Wide Talk + Text
• $40 Canada-Wide Talk + Text + 1GB Data
• $45 Canadian & U.S. Talk + Text + 1GB Data
• $60 Canadian & U.S. Talk + Text + 2GB Data

To learn more, click here.

Thanks,

Public Mobile Community team

[commonsens]

From an 19$ unlimited talk (no text) with PM, in order to get the same "talk", we will now have to pay 35$?Months with Koodo!

https://www.koodomobile.com/rate-plans

so the 3$ increase claimed by PM, is pretty much false as we actually gets a 200% increase in fees with their "sister" (which is basically the same company)

[commonsens]

many years on the 19$ plan...

SOME may think am not paying much but what they fail to see is that am not using it much as I probably make 2 or 3 phone call per month with this phone and receive about the same. (no text at all).

so paying 19$ plus taxes to get 6 phone calls per months......AM the one who pays the most.

[commonsens]

SO...if everyone jumps off the bridge, you do it too....

[Quest]

There is a reason why I mentioned Rogers and its family here.Their record and strategy is not any better than Bell and Telus. 

People usually scream, complain and threaten lawsuits but deep inside they know that there are only two choices here. Fighting for a principle, regardless of outcome, of course there is nothing wrong with it if you have time money and great support of community or looking for alternatives and at this point there is none.

[kav2001c]

@Quest its funny you mention Mobilicity / Chatr / Rogers since they just screwed over their entire client base with migration plans / lifetime plans

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@Quest wrote:

We can even encourage Pioneer Customers to leave for Rogers, Mobilicity or chatr and probably that would be a better solution than any lawsuit but believe me no one will do that for one simple reason even with future hike Legacy Customers never going to find prepaid plan with access to LTE network for such a price on any other network. 

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[Quest]

I have posted that letter for people to know that in the past indeed New Public Mobile in order to prevent Old Public Mobile’s Customers to switch to another phone company and to stay with them issued a letter, at that time, to their customers that there rate plan never going to change as long as they continue to make payments. I would say it is not so much a binding legal agreement but gentlemen’s agreement. Unfortunately, consequences for broken promises like that or let’s call it birches of trust are purely optical, symbolic and inconsequential.
Please don’t understand me wrong we have to remind Telus/Public Mobile that we are not happy about what they have done to us and through the media, we can name and shame Telus as not very trustworthy company, we can boycott or encourage friends and acquaintances not to join their network etc. We can even encourage Pioneer Customers to leave for Rogers, Mobilicity or chatr and probably that would be a better solution than any lawsuit but believe me no one will do that for one simple reason even with future hike Legacy Customers never going to find prepaid plan with access to LTE network for such a price on any other network. So, let’s be real and serious here.
I think we are barking at a wrong tree in that case.

[Someone_here]

@Marc @Quest  @Siméon @computergeek541  @ottawa  and all concerned / et tout ceux qui se sentent concernés

Hi/Bonjour,

Thanks for the answers, that's great!
I am not sure where to take it from now/what would be the next steps, if you have ideas feel free to post... And other people with these letters or other PM communication in hand as well...

However, I suggest you take note of this email and send one email there so we can keep contact, just so we can stay in touch if these posts would suddenly disappear: organisation.pm@outlook.com

Merci pour les réponses, c'est super!

Je ne suis pas certain de ce qu'on devrait faire à partir de ça ni des prochaines étapes, si vous avez des idées n'hésitez pas à les écrire... Et les autres qui ont aussi une telle lettre en main ou d'autre communications de PM allant dans ce sens!

Par contre je suggère que vous preniez cette adresse courriel en note et d'y envoyer un message pour que l'on puisse garder contact, juste au cas où ces publications disparaîtraient de la communauté : organisation.pm@outlook.com

[computergeek541]

"...your rate plan will not be changing as long as you continue to make your payments."

I think that's pretty clear that most people will see that as a promise by Public Mobile not change what's included in the plan or the price.  I see that letter as causing ambiguity because it directly contradicts the terms of service that indicate that Public Mobile can change existing plans and prices at any time by giving appropriate notice.

To play devil's advocate, any company has the right to refuse service to a customer, and they could just simply provide 30 days notice and say that they don't want your business any longer.  I know companies don't usually do that becuase it would be extremely bad PR, but I'm just putting that out there.

if anything, this may be considered a advertising/compitition bureau issue.

[ottawa]

I suspect they will claim "rate plan" is not the same as "rate". IOW, we still get a plan with unlimited nationwide talk and text, phone centre support, etc., etc., and that comprises the rate plan, but that the $25 was not guaranteed. I doubt the term "rate plan" was used (instead of rate) accidentally.

=aw

[Quest]

 

[Quest]

I have proof.

[Marc]

 ''Public Mobile souhaite devenir une marque en ligne seulement''.

Perso je suis prêt-à perdre le service à la clientèle ''611'' et a communiqué avec les modérateurs en cas de problèmes,mais le 3$ d'augmentation.....25$ pas de donnée est parfait pour mes besoins.

[Siméon]

@Marc , @Someone_here Bien que PM n'ait pas garanti le maintien des prix pendant une durée x,y,z, il est clair que le discours en était un de continuité. Le public peut avoir des attentes raisonnables à l'effet que la tarification, à service égal, soit maintenue. Comme le service n'est pas égal, vu l'abolition graduelle du service à la clientèle et l'automatisation des réponses insipides, il est à prévoir que la hausse de prix proposée ne soit pas justifiée dans les circonstances.

[Marc]

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Someone_here a écrit :

Hi all,

I do remember, as many of you, that PM reps and messages were saying prices would never change for legacy plans.

Does anybody have an actual proof of that? I couldn't find it on PM old website (using https://web.archive.org/), but I was still able to find this wording on PM's Facebook page:

• February 3rd, 2015
  We’ve made some exciting changes to the Public Mobile brand, products and service.
  To make sure everything runs smoothly, we’re launching in BETA only to a small group of customers. This way we can learn from their experience and improve along the way.
  But don’t worry! If you joined us before January 27th, 2015 everything will remain “Business As Usual”. And that means you get to keep your current rate plan and service for as long as you remain an active customer.
  Check out the website to see our new look! www.publicmobile.ca

Tried calling the call center to see what they think about it, with no results.

So, anybody with more proof about the price-protection?

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in french

Ne vous inquiétez pas. Vous pouvez continuer à profiter des tarifs exclusifs de votre forfait de base et du centre de soutien, tant et aussi longtemps que votre compte demeure actif

http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Pionniers/J-ai-joint-Public-Mobile-avant-le-27-janvier...

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[Someone_here]

Hi all,

I do remember, as many of you, that PM reps and messages were saying prices would never change for legacy plans.

Does anybody have an actual proof of that? I couldn't find it on PM old website (using https://web.archive.org/), but I was still able to find this wording on PM's Facebook page:

• February 3rd, 2015
  We’ve made some exciting changes to the Public Mobile brand, products and service.
  To make sure everything runs smoothly, we’re launching in BETA only to a small group of customers. This way we can learn from their experience and improve along the way.
  But don’t worry! If you joined us before January 27th, 2015 everything will remain “Business As Usual”. And that means you get to keep your current rate plan and service for as long as you remain an active customer.
  Check out the website to see our new look! www.publicmobile.ca

Tried calling the call center to see what they think about it, with no results.

So, anybody with more proof about the price-protection?

[ottawa]

Also with prepaid you can let your account go inactive (i.e. don't pay) for up to 89 days (or is it 90 days?). Even if Koodo will give you T&T for $25 vs PM's new price of $28, that $28/mo saving could be significant if you're away for an extended period (i.e. more than a month).

=aw

[kav2001c]

@Siméon yes for light users the $15 long distance and $30 data addons can last a year (or more)

I left that out of original comparison but updated after you mentioned it

[Siméon]

The con is the loss of the data add/on for light internet use (GPS) especially on the 19$ and 25$ legacy plans

[Siméon]

@ShawnC Do you work for PM? 

[Siméon]

Wrong. For light internet use (maps) PM is better because the Internet option does not vanish every month!

[Siméon]

Great analysis. One point is missing - the Internet Options at PM are purchased for good. They are not expensive monthly leases as with Koodo

[kav2001c]

@fidorulz if no phone is purchased the credit check is not as tough, but it still exists

Remember on postpaid you can do things (roaming, international long distance, dialing for taxi or info) which can run your bill into the thousands pretty quickly

And of course, overages

Public (and all prepay) you can not hence easier for many people

[imm1304]

Hey @fidorulz,

My understanding is that the Koodo migration is to a post-paid plan.  Thats why there would be a credit check.  However, there is no term commitment contract.  You have the option of getting a phone on tab and pay off the tab in instalments or faster if you like.  But, if you are not getting a phone from Koodo on tab, then you are under no obligation to stay with them and you will not pay any penalty if you were to leave Koodo whenever you want.

This is the important difference that everyone should consider.  @kav2001c highlighted it earlier that Koodo will be postpaid which requires a credit check.  For those who want to remain strictly prepaid, the choice is to pay $3/month more at PM or move to one of the new pick and pay plans from PM which are better value for most people.  

[kav2001c]

@SD08 yeah I am assuming somehow it won't work too, just funny

Saray had posted before to send a shortcode TXT to 5255 Offer to confirm

Edit - just saw second post, this is not hypotetical, this is a bug

I'm so tempted to get friend to try it just to see what happens next 

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@SDO8 wrote:

If a former PM customer tried to use the promo code to switch to Koodo, I would guess they'd be blocked for lack of an active Public Mobile account number, which would be required for porting.  Not sure if the Koodo CSR would also check that the phone itself shows Public Mobile/Telus as carrier.

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[fidorulz]

For those thinking of switching to mood here is some info that isnt mentioned.

I went to koodo and the only way to keep your price and change to koodo is to get a contract and have a credit check performed.

Even if no phone is purchased.

So for people looking strictly at a prepaid service or having no credit check or contract this may not be the best option for you

[SD08]

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@publicman wrote:

@kav2001c  Curious, why would you want to "switch-out" from PM, then come back - just to finally transfer that line to Koodo?   Why not transfer directly to Koodo...

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@publicman

I think kav2001c was merely posing a hypothetical situation where a PM legacy customer already left PM by the time they got the offer to move to Koodo.  The question is, would they still be able to take advantage of the offer.  As I mentioned before, I'm guessing no, due to not having an active account with PM.

[publicman]

@kav2001c  Curious, why would you want to "switch-out" from PM, then come back - just to finally transfer that line to Koodo?   Why not transfer directly to Koodo...

[SD08]

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@kav2001c wrote:

Hmm in the weird category

A Public Mobile number on a Legacy plan

Ports out to another carrier

THEN gets the eligible to convert over to Koodo

I wonder what would happen ...

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@kav2001c

According to the PM FAQ, to take advantage of the offer, the customer would need:
    Phone
    2 pieces of valid ID including 1 piece of photo ID for verification
    Public Mobile account number
    Promo code in the text message

If a former PM customer tried to use the promo code to switch to Koodo, I would guess they'd be blocked for lack of an active Public Mobile account number, which would be required for porting.  Not sure if the Koodo CSR would also check that the phone itself shows Public Mobile/Telus as carrier.

[kav2001c]

Hmm in the weird category

A Public Mobile number on a Legacy plan

Ports out to another carrier

THEN gets the eligible to convert over to Koodo

I wonder what would happen ...

[ottawa]

Thanks, I guess I shouldn't count on the Loyalty Reward then. There's no way the LR is worth the $80-$100 saving for going dark for 2+ months. Though on a 90-day cycle it would be harder to stay inactive for 60 days. 🙂

I respect the plan though.

=aw