Upcoming Changes to our Old Rewards Program

[J_PM]

Hey Community,

We have an important announcement to share with our subscribers who are currently enrolled in our old Rewards program.

We’re making changes to our rewards program and are sharing how these changes impact some of our subscribers. Starting in May, we’ll be retiring our old Rewards program and moving all subscribers to our Public Points™ program. 

We launched the Public Points™ program in January 2022 to provide our subscribers with more ways to earn and spend rewards, with greater flexibility. As part of our commitment to continuously evolve our products and services, it's time to retire our old Rewards program and shift our focus on enhancing our Points program.

To show our appreciation for your continued loyalty, subscribers on our old Rewards program will receive a special thank you. We'll send you a text message when it has been added to your account by March 31st. 

We’re excited to continue providing you, our valued subscribers, more opportunities to earn and spend rewards with Public Points™ moving forward.

To learn more about your move to Public Points, check out our FAQ here.

The Public Mobile Team

[PmEugeS]

This is terrible. I’m losing my loyalty for having been with the company for over 7 years. 

[fixin]

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@Salvo1 wrote:

Well they should !  ( If they care ).  Like they say you lose 1 you gain another one 

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Basically half of the people who joined after Jan 2022 don't realize they are accumulating points.

[ShawnC13]

This makes that price increase look little as it is over double fire the members over 5 years

[Zahir_h]

Regardless of it being a prepaid service or not. 

They have basically raised the cost of everyone monthly plan. They have allowed us to make changes to our plans which left us under the impression that we would be having our current rewards in place.  

Their email sent to us from January 2022 states - "We want to emphasize that joining Public Points

is optional for all existing customers.

If you decide not to join, your current Rewards will remain the same.

You’ll continue to earn in the same ways, and save the same amount."

I understand that their terms and conditions can be changed anytime with notice, and that CCTS will NOT side with me, but this is a way to penalize Telus... And if they realize that they are receiving lots if complaints, they may backtrack their decision based in the fees being incurred from CCTS as these can potentially add up to being MORE then just grandfathering those of us on the old rewards system 

[samsunga31]

To all those that mocked and laughed at and dismissed fellow customers about the $10 30% price hike...I hope you enjoy your crow and yummy just desserts.

[Salvo1]

Well thay should !  ( If thay care ).  Like thay say you lose 1 you gain another one 

[Dunkman]

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@Lolo_1234 wrote:

Second, apparently we'll be losing all existing bill credit??? How is that even possible/related to the reward program??

Third, the previous compensation for voluntarily switching to the new program is being replaced by a useless expirable data bonus for being forced to switch...

Fourth, PM has the guts to say it'll be beneficial to us? At least don't sugarcoat this change with nonsense...

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@Lolo_1234 

Whatever credit in your available funds will not change with the switch. 

From the FAQ:

I still have leftover rewards from the old program that I want to use - do I lose these  rewards?

No, you won’t lose any leftover rewards from the old program. Any credits earned up to May 2024 will remain on your account and be applied to your future bills.

As for eliminating the one time legacy points bonus, I agree that it was underhanded to eliminate this one time bonus points.  It would have soften the blow to some long time customers.

Bottom line that this was a business decision.  The loyalty (up to $5/month) reward was costing the company too much money and this change was aimed at eliminating this reward. 

[fixin]

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@DennyCrane wrote:

@Zahir_h What exactly would your complaint to the CCTS say? You're not locked into a contract, and neither is PM. They are providing the necessary notice to make the change. This is a prepaid service after all.

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CCTS telling them to not make the switch??? No! The media (CTV / CBC / Global) may help out PM with backlash to keep the Legacy Rewards System.

[fixin]

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@DennyCrane wrote:

Unpopular Opinion

This makes compete sense, and I'm actually surprised it took them this long. The value of the plans has increased significantly, yet we've still been able to stack our legacy discounts on there all this time (with the exception of the $15 and $25 plans which are only there to satisfy a regulatory requirement anyway). At this price point it doesn't make business sense to continue to offer these discounts on top of the current low prices.

For those threatening to leave, go for it. There's no other provider that offers these discounts, so that would seem to be a decision based on spite rather than financial logic.

I also suspect this will give greater access to plans that have, as of lately, been reserved for new activations only. I've said it before, and I still believe that the primary reason for the new activation limitation on some plans was to avoid legacy reward subscribers from dropping that price down even further and making it unprofitable. It's possible we'll still see the odd exception, but I suspect we'll see less of that segregation now that we're all on Public Points.

This is definitely unfortunate for the consumer, but at the end of the day we're going to have to let go of the past and decide whether we're still getting enough overall value to stay. For the 6 lines I manage for my family, the value is still absolutely there. To each their own though.

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Some people are too fond of the legacy rewards & that they save on their bill rather than accumulating Points. Every other company other than TELUS Services (Not Koodo) has a Points / Bill system similar to this. Also Fizz Beta program is only for 6 months before you pay full price.

I am staying and (Possibly) getting put higher up since more people will delete their EverSafe ID's.
 

[will13am]

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@MikeyMcP1 wrote:

Although I don't like it, I want to understand it. I have a $34 per 30-day plan.

So right now I am saving $4 (4 years loyalty) + $2 (auto-pay) + $3 (3 friend referrals) = $9 per 30 days.

Under the new plan:

$1.70 ($34 x 5%) + $0.83 ($10 per year / 12 months) + $3 (3 friend referrals) = $5.53

The difference is $3.47 per month or $41.60 per year. I also have to log in to actually use my points too.

Are my calculations correct?

FIZZ looking quite affordable...

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You have to ask yourself, how many of your referrals are going to stay.  Adjust your calculation accordingly.  

[fixin]

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@Lolo_1234 wrote:

Wow, I'm very disappointed... 

First, by this forced change to the new program.

Second, apparently we'll be losing all existing bill credit??? How is that even possible/related to the reward program??

Third, the previous compensation for voluntarily switching to the new program is being replaced by a useless expirable data bonus for being forced to switch...

Fourth, PM has the guts to say it'll be beneficial to us? At least don't sugarcoat this change with nonsense...

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J_PM later said that the auto transition - you won't lose your bill credits. It is unpopular, but what we will have to go with.

[DennyCrane]

@Zahir_h What exactly would your complaint to the CCTS say? You're not locked into a contract, and neither is PM. They are providing the necessary notice to make the change. This is a prepaid service after all.

[Dunkman]

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@Chalupa_Batman wrote:

And what's this other thing I'm hearing? No more $10 credit to new customers who use a referral code that took effect on Monday? I didn't see any announcements about that. If this is true, then the 6 people I just signed up on Monday will now be upset that I lied to them. I hope this isn't true. Because now they will leave too. 

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@Chalupa_Batman 

The referral code credit of $10 is still available to all new customers who sign up with a referral code.  That is not affected by the migration from legacy to points system.  

[DennyCrane]

Unpopular Opinion

This makes compete sense, and I'm actually surprised it took them this long. The value of the plans has increased significantly, yet we've still been able to stack our legacy discounts on there all this time (with the exception of the $15 and $25 plans which are only there to satisfy a regulatory requirement anyway). At this price point it doesn't make business sense to continue to offer these discounts on top of the current low prices.

For those threatening to leave, go for it. There's no other provider that offers these discounts, so that would seem to be a decision based on spite rather than financial logic.

I also suspect this will give greater access to plans that have, as of lately, been reserved for new activations only. I've said it before, and I still believe that the primary reason for the new activation limitation on some plans was to avoid legacy reward subscribers from dropping that price down even further and making it unprofitable. It's possible we'll still see the odd exception, but I suspect we'll see less of that segregation now that we're all on Public Points.

This is definitely unfortunate for the consumer, but at the end of the day we're going to have to let go of the past and decide whether we're still getting enough overall value to stay. For the 6 lines I manage for my family, the value is still absolutely there. To each their own though.

[Lolo_1234]

Wow, I'm very disappointed... 

First, by this forced change to the new program.

Second, apparently we'll be losing all existing bill credit??? How is that even possible/related to the reward program??

Third, the previous compensation for voluntarily switching to the new program is being replaced by a useless expirable data bonus for being forced to switch...

Fourth, PM has the guts to say it'll be beneficial to us? At least don't sugarcoat this change with nonsense...

[AS1992]

This is extremely disappointing. As a long term customer who’s been with Public Mobile for over 5 years, this is a big let down, especially after just upping my monthly plan. I really hope that they reconsider this decision to retain their loyal, long-term customers who helped to build this brand.

If they’re really set on moving everyone to points, could they at least offer some lower cost plans for long-term customers only? Or at the very least let us convert our months of service to points like they were doing until recently. 

[fixin]

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@Chalupa_Batman wrote:

Well, I guess I'll chime in here.

I think this is a wrong move for Public Mobile aka Telus 3rd Tier to make. They will lose a ton of customers. They just opened the door for other service providers to take their customers. 

Myself, my bill will still be under $20 a month for the $34 Can/US plan. I can't fully complain. I'm more than confident that 10-12 of my referrals will leave who are on Legacy Rewards. 

I JUST ported over my Telus phone number to Public Mobile on Monday for the $34 plan. I will probably be keeping my one plan here for under $20 if my referrals stay. The one I just ported over, I really have no reason to keep it here now. I will be porting to Fizz now.

And what's this other thing I'm hearing? No more $10 credit to new customers who use a referral code that took effect on Monday? I didn't see any announcements about that. If this is true, then the 6 people I just signed up on Monday will now be upset that I lied to them. I hope this isn't true. Because now they will leave too. 

In closing. For Public Mobile to introduce these really great promotions recently and allowing EVERYONE to order them and allowing them to think it's OK to increase our plans because we have the loyalty rewards and autopay credit, that helps me save a bit, then pull the carpet from under them days later by removing the $7 worth of credits??? Very immoral and unethical move on Public Mobile's part.  A bate and switch if you will. I'm sure several customers who have social media will be tagging news outlets about this and word will get out. But like the saying goes, bad publicity is good publicity seen by some. The question is however, is enough bad press enough to over turn Public Mobile's bad decision? Guess we'll see.

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Yeah, maybe they might overturn it since there is less than 2 months till full transition but PM made a bad change, bad change! Maybe we should contact Mobile Syrup or iPhone in Canada (But CBC Will definitely give off TELUS some hate!)

[fixin]

At least they aren't taking the credits from our accounts so - Example: someone who has accumulated $3000 has a $65 plan, they get at least 2.9 years of free service left from all of their credits.

[Chalupa_Batman]

Well, I guess I'll chime in here.

I think this is a wrong move for Public Mobile aka Telus 3rd Tier to make. They will lose a ton of customers. They just opened the door for other service providers to take their customers. 

Myself, my bill will still be under $20 a month for the $34 Can/US plan. I can't fully complain. I'm more than confident that 10-12 of my referrals will leave who are on Legacy Rewards. 

I JUST ported over my Telus phone number to Public Mobile on Monday for the $34 plan. I will probably be keeping my one plan here for under $20 if my referrals stay. The one I just ported over, I really have no reason to keep it here now. I will be porting to Fizz now.

And what's this other thing I'm hearing? No more $10 credit to new customers who use a referral code that took effect on Monday? I didn't see any announcements about that. If this is true, then the 6 people I just signed up on Monday will now be upset that I lied to them. I hope this isn't true. Because now they will leave too. 

In closing. For Public Mobile to introduce these really great promotions recently and allowing EVERYONE to order them and allowing them to think it's OK to increase our plans because we have the loyalty rewards and autopay credit, that helps me save a bit, then pull the carpet from under them days later by removing the $7 worth of credits??? Very immoral and unethical move on Public Mobile's part.  A bate and switch if you will. I'm sure several customers who have social media will be tagging news outlets about this and word will get out. But like the saying goes, bad publicity is good publicity seen by some. The question is however, is enough bad press enough to over turn Public Mobile's bad decision? Guess we'll see.

[Zahir_h]

This would be a great compromise.

But then again, why would Telus do something which is reasonable and makes sense.. I should have seen this coming.  Ever since Telus took over clearnet back in the days.  They lost all compassion and empathy and became a money hungry scummy company.

We should all move to freedom. Yes we may need to put up with some dead zones, but they allow national roaming on the big 3, and have a price guarantee that they will not raise their prices on their customers.   

If we all band together and force the big 3 to lose customers and revenue by moving to a up and coming company like freedom, this will inturn bring us all lower costs in the long run. 

But in the short term, everyone needs to file a CCTS complaint. The complaint will not go out way and they will side with Telus/PM on this, but there is a cost which gets passed to the Telco each time a case is filed against them as a way for them to try to come to a rational reasonable compromise before getting esclated.  Which in PMs case will not happen.   As already seen in some peoples replied from cs_agent that nothing can be done.   So let's cost them money with these fees and a loss in revenue by moving to freedom

[Chalupa_Batman]

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@Salvo1 wrote:

Does public mobile even read our post ? 

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The answer is no.

[fixin]

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@powerserge wrote:

I mean why does PM not just come up with a compromise? The goal is to have everyone under one rewards system, this is understandable.

If you have been with PM for multiple years then that "10 points for every 12 months you stay with us" should be changed to "10 points for every 12 months for every year you stay with us, up to 50 points every 12 months". Not as good as the legacy system but better.

With a $40 plan you still get your $2 autopay basically = 2 points. Lower priced plans and you lose much of your autopay bonus. At least it's something in the middle. Then PM does not leave long term customers angry or mislead.

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@powerserge - Yes, I agree with you!

[fixin]

@J_PM - If you remove something, add something like Wi-Fi Calling!!! Then I don't have to use call forwarding to TextNow anymore in a building with poor cell coverage.

[powerserge]

I mean why does PM not just come up with a compromise? The goal is to have everyone under one rewards system, this is understandable.

If you have been with PM for multiple years then that "10 points for every 12 months you stay with us" should be changed to "10 points for every 12 months for every year you stay with us, up to 50 points every 12 months". Not as good as the legacy system but better.

With a $40 plan you still get your $2 autopay basically = 2 points. Lower priced plans and you lose much of your autopay bonus. At least it's something in the middle. Then PM does not leave long term customers angry or mislead.

[ShawnC13]

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@golfball wrote:

Honestly, this is freeing. Now I have nothing to lose by leaving.

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FOMO free

[ninjastar]

If I lose my 6 years of rewards, I'll just move my 4 accounts elsewhere. Brutal decision. Adios. 

[pmbc]

I think all of us on the old plan knew this would come one day but it's still shocking when it gets announced.  Unfortunately PM/Telus is a large company and just look at the bottom line/share price.  They make a calculation of how much more revenue they'll generate when they take away the old awards plan vs make a projection of how many customers will leave.  Obviously they felt this was the right time and the lost customers will be offset by the additional revenue from discontinuing the old rewards program.

In my opinion this transition could have been handled much better.  Rather than giving us all a useless block of data that 99% won't use and that expires, they could have easily offered a replacement of the old rewards program with giving us a higher percentage of points than new customers.  That would have been a token gesture but I think we would have felt better about this transition.  It would have cost them less than the old rewards program and could have used the new points system with a bit of a coding change.  But alas, it was easier to just cancel the old rewards program and give us the expiring block of data.

So fortunately for us, this makes moving providers much less sticky.  Whenever a competitor had a good plan come up, I really had to think that I was getting a bit of a discount with the old rewards and I'd lose that by porting out.  Now when black friday comes, I'll be taking a closer look at all providers to see who will offer the best plan for me and my family.  Maybe it will be PM, but if it's not, it'll be a lot easier to port out now.

[golfball]

Honestly, this is freeing. Now I have nothing to lose by leaving.

[Benfica71]

That's ok.  Word will get around and the ex community will get together to help each other find better options.

[ShawnC13]

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@Benfica71 wrote:

We all have 2 months to find another provider.  I suggest everyone start posting best options to change to.  If anyone has a referral program let everyone know.  

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@Benfica71 THat won't be allowed here.  We are not RFD that is the place for that type of discussion.