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

[AnnoyedByPublic]

How do we even get through to a human to complain? Every link takes me to the bot. Does this count as an attempt to communicate?

[DamnB]

Taking advantage of loyal customers will have its own repercussions, the only reason most old customer stayed with Public Mobile over the years was the loyalty rewards you are now taking away from us. Your policy was clear from the beginning and now you arbitrarily change it, putting back Public Mobile at a similar rate than other Canadian providers. With this decision,  you are definitely giving us a good reason to leave Public Mobile and change providers. Hope you will find good incentives (not just Point programs)  to keep paying customers as myself here and not filing complaints, otherwise we'll be switching providers, including all our referrals . 

[Korth_]

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@Chalupa_Batman wrote:

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@mikasik2 wrote:

Complain to CCTS https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/for-consumers/complaints/complaint-form/

Complain to CRTC https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/contact/question.htm (not as easy)

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So according to the CCTS complaint form, you must inform Public Mobile about your concerns. They will not take the complaint if you don't. Two options I guess qualify. 1. Posting here on the forum which is considered "contact" since this is an official Public Mobile website. 2. Sending a message to a CS Agent. Now, I know option #2 will tie them up, however, if you wish to file a complaint with the CCTS you must do this. And take a screen shot as proof. I understand folks here will say don't do that as it will tie their hands to help others. However, this MUST be done in order to file a complaint. Just remember, they did this to themselves. 

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Just get a support ticket. With your complaint. And Public Mobile's response (or lack of response) before the deadline.

This is what you need to screenshot.

[sersonz]

5 year customer. Will be leaving when this change takes effect. Shameful behavior by Public Mobile, hope they change course

[Stelawrat]

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@Zahir_h wrote:

https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/2024/03/06/public-mobile-end-rewards-program-may/

https://forums.redflagdeals.com/public-mobile-retiring-their-old-rewards-program-may-2024-2679876/

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Redflag at 10 pages & counting...

[Korth_]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Swing and miss. The only reason I am still here is the savings I get from the loyalty of being on the rewards vs the points. With the difference moving forward. I might as well go with the cheaper company that has a number to call.

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A number to call. A human to talk to. A store to go to. A place you can walk into with your problem and walk out of with your problem solved.

The original reason Public Mobile could pass on savings (low prices and REWARDS) to subscribers was that they didn't have to pay for stores, kiosks, sales staff, etc. "The phone company without a phone number", "No frills", and "Less for Less".

We still don't get the "frills" but now we also won't get the savings.

There is no reason to stay. Public Mobile doesn't offer anything better than competitors.

[mikasik2]

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@Chalupa_Batman wrote:

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@mikasik2 wrote:

Complain to CCTS https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/for-consumers/complaints/complaint-form/

Complain to CRTC https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/contact/question.htm (not as easy)

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So according to the CCTS complaint form, you must inform Public Mobile about your concerns. They will not take the complaint if you don't. Two options I guess qualify. 1. Posting here on the forum which is considered "contact" since this is an official Public Mobile website. 2. Sending a message to a CS Agent. Now, I know option #2 will tie them up, however, if you wish to file a complaint with the CCTS you must do this. And take a screen shot as proof. I understand folks here will say don't do that as it will tie their hands to help others. However, this MUST be done in order to file a complaint. Just remember, they did this to themselves. 

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I just said I posted my complaint on the official PM forums and it was accepted.  Wouldn't hurt to open a ticket though!

[Chalupa_Batman]

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@mikasik2 wrote:

Complain to CCTS https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/for-consumers/complaints/complaint-form/

Complain to CRTC https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/contact/question.htm (not as easy)

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So according to the CCTS complaint form, you must inform Public Mobile about your concerns. They will not take the complaint if you don't. Two options I guess qualify. 1. Posting here on the forum which is considered "contact" since this is an official Public Mobile website. 2. Sending a message to a CS Agent. Now, I know option #2 will tie them up, however, if you wish to file a complaint with the CCTS you must do this. And take a screen shot as proof. I understand folks here will say don't do that as it will tie their hands to help others. However, this MUST be done in order to file a complaint. Just remember, they did this to themselves. 

[Anonymous]

Swing and miss. The only reason I am still here is the savings I get from the loyalty of being on the rewards vs the points. With the difference moving forward. I might as well go with the cheaper company that has a number to call.

[Korth_]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

Good point @dabr !!

If prior posts promising legacy reward holders would not be switched are being removed after the fact, that's lower than low.   That's damage control in action, folks.

I do hope Public Mobile is NOT doing that.

However, this is their forum, their site.   They completely own it's content.

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Contrary to assurances from certain Oracles ... yes, I have observed some censorship on this site. Sometimes posts simply vanish. Sometimes posts are just deprioritized on searches so unless you submit very specific and exacting details you just don't find the posts you're looking for. And the "missing" posts seem to consistently attack, or diminish Public Mobile a little more vehemently than usual.

I'm not talking about disruptive posts which are removed by the Oracles.

But yes, this site is owned and operated by Public Mobile (Telus). It is their "property". It is essentially their advertising and "support" platform. They can do whatever they want with it, they can put anything they want onto it, they can remove anything they don't want off it it. And we're talking about Telus here, a corporation which is driven by money and revenues and profits above other (ethical) considerations.

[sharkusmarkus]

I was just logging in to mention the rate plan increase thing, and how there was a massive backlash against it, mainly as the T&C's mentioned something about rates never going up.

I wonder if there is anything like that for the rewards vs points setup?

I suspect many, myself included, have not switched to the apparently oh-so-wonderful rewards system, as it does not seem to provide the same benefits as what we have now. 

[Stelawrat]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

C'mon @Slick66 , I know this sucks, but ....

You have $2163 in available funds ... and you're upset?

Some might be happy to have built up such a credit for years of rewards.

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If I understand the new points system correctly, Slick will only be able to apply that cash credit to his bill payment, meaning he'd be locked into PM for the next 5 years!

He'll be able to redeem any points he earns going forward for other rewards.

If I'm wrong, then I suppose if he wanted to convert some of that cash to points, he could, but what are the chances there'll be something worthwhile for him to do that? 

[pm-smayer97]

Correction... I should have said, you can migrate back to your old community account... access to any posts under the new community account will be lost. That is the catch. It should be straightforward, as long as the CSA does it correctly. That is the only potential glitch.

(I have corrected my previous post).

[AnnoyedByPublic]

Big miss, the “compensation” is pathetic and I will be looking to switch to somewhere else

[Korth_]

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@JJLuke1 wrote:

... I felt I did not want to lose "tenure" to capture a few dollars, knowing full well I'd make it up in the long run with loyalty ...

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And there it is. We've remained "loyal" to Public Mobile as a sort of "investment" into future savings.

Which we're now being denied.

[mikasik2]

Anyone remember this fiasco?

Public Mobile here. Starting March 20th, 2018 your rate plan price will increase by $10 per 30 days, making your plan $150 for 90 days. But don't worry! Our sister brand, Koodo, has a way for you to keep your $40 price point. Until March 15th, 2018, join Koodo and get 4GB of data, unlimited text and now additionally get UNLIMITED CANADA-WIDE minutes for $40/month PLUS get a one-time $100 bill credit! Offer valid for 16479999. Redeem at your nearest Koodo location or online at https://koo.do/gocustomer-service Show this msg and use promo code XXXXXXXX to redeem along with 2 pieces of ID. Your phone number is your validation code. You're included on the list for Public Mobile offers and deals. To be excluded, reply unsubscribe. Conditions apply.

[Stelawrat]

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@JJLuke1 wrote:

I normally don’t post on this forum, but thought I’d chime in a few points here, albeit from a different angle.

I am a long-term heavily invested Telus shareholder so I understand this move is meant to in theory increase overall average revenue per user (ARPU) by converting a direct discount into extra revenues two ways: 1. By sidelining cash savings to points which need to be applied by the customer, and 2. By squeezing margin from existing customers. Telus with their Optik Internet/TV and Mobile plans do something similar by periodically adjusting their prices to create greater profitability from the existing customer base, churn aside and all else equal.

I strongly feel this decision was made without considering the strategy of what Public Mobile was/is SUPPOSED to be, and this is a knee-jerk reaction from Telus management to overcome their recent performance slumps. By design, PM is positioned to be a higher volume, low cost/margin “fighter” or “flanker” brand, meaning they capture the price-conscious, self-serve types of customers that their other brands (Telus, Koodoo) cannot offer due to their strategies. For the reasons everyone here has explained in their replies, PM customers are very price sensitive. Personally, I moved to PM as I was tired of Telus/Koodo doing their price squeezes and having to deal with their loyalty teams. I do the “bring my own device” plans to maximize my flexibility.

What the previous direct discount model brought Public Mobile, frankly, is “indifference” to other options, which was a brilliant tactic. In other words, the yearly loyalty discount created a price disparity favouring PM and thus customer indifference to other competitor offerings. In many cases, when an appealing offer came up from a competitor, the yearly tabulated loyalty savings created this indifference and thus maintained the revenue streams. I felt I did not want to lose "tenure" to capture a few dollars, knowing full well I'd make it up in the long run with loyalty. This is a user base PM can count on. You may not make everyone happy, but it was an easy and working system. Plus with PM, this was an equitable mechanism for loyalty (short of having incredible negotiating skills with Telus loyalty teams).

Removing these direct discounts now exposes the existing customer (remember, these are price sensitive and generally savvy customers in BYOD situations) in a position to be more elastic and sensitive towards competitor offerings. I wonder how many new customers are required to replace the lifetime revenues of a long term churned customer lost to this change, i.e., those who would have stuck it out four or five years to maximize their discounts. These new customers will only stay as long as they can until something better comes along, and average customer tenure will plummet. Above all else, these customers are not on contracts and can navigate between providers at will.

I realize the PM/Telus folks likely have modelled or analyzed the potential impact of this change. I’m really hoping they did the full math to consider the consequential secondary fallout. I am in a unique position as an investor - I am all for more profits as my yearly Telus dividends exceed what I pay for my family’s phone plans. However, I am gravely concerned and I fear the domino effect of this change, particularly when you consider referrals and loyalty frameworks can begin to collapse and implode, and the new customer base coming in will not have incentive to put in the tenure due to the offerings. This is a fundamental mission misalignment with PM. The margin squeezing strategy can and does work for Telus and maybe Koodo to an extent but will cause some significant uproar with PM and significant, possibly irreparable, collateral damage down the line.

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Appreciate all of your post, but this in particular is what I wondered about as well,

"I wonder how many new customers are required to replace the lifetime revenues of a long term churned customer lost to this change, i.e., those who would have stuck it out four or five years to maximize their discounts."

Especially in today's market, I suspect that the income from these new customers can't offset the income lost from long time customers, their referrals & the referrals' referrals & on down the line.

Based on the comments in this thread, it's already happening. Ironically, we long term customers chose to stay immobile all these years. That won't be the case with new customers who, like the rest of us, are cost conscious & for whom, mobility & flexibility are a way of life. 

The writing is on the wall though & I have no expectations that Telus / PM will change directions at this stage.

[Wolfcore]

Nope, now you'll be treated the same as somebody who joins tomorrow, and has no proven loyalty. Without referrals, you'll be rewarded around $2 per month, if you're lucky. And you'll be forced to jump hurdles and deal with restrictions.

Or as PM likes to put it, you're being given this superior and amazing new rewards system, that you'll value greatly! 🤣

[Salvo1]

Nope I'm hoping it's an early April Fool's joke

[Stelawrat]

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@GKPublic wrote:

I’m gutted by this change like most of us are, but I’m going to break down the difference here.  I’m due to earn one more month of the old rewards: $2 autopay, $2 refer a friend, $5 loyalty (just rolled over to $5 from $4 ☹️)  = $9.

 New Public Points: 2 points refer a friend, 1.7 points (5% of $34) , about 0.83 points per month paid out on the anniversary date = 4.53 points per month, roughly $4.50 in value.  

So for me, the new Public Points are half as good, which isn’t that bad, but my referred family members fare worse with the dropping of the autopay bonus.  

My bill is rising from $25 to about $29.50, but in another important way, Public Points are worse: it’s not immediately discounted, so I have to pay $34 plus tax instead of $25 plus tax, then remember to use the points periodically.  A good proportion of people will forget about them or not know how to redeem them.  Use them or not, we’re paying sales taxes on a higher base.  

So that’s why we were holding out on converting to the new points system, and a bucket of data I don’t need for 150 days isn’t worth anything to me, sadly… unless perhaps I downgrade for a few months?  Anyone considering this?

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As per their email, the Legacy Rewards will be discontinued in May, so I'm definitely going to put off joining the Points system for my payments on the 13th. of this month & again in April. 

The email from PM seems to indicate that the change will occur on May 1st., but they've used a strange way to say it, "Starting May". Starting May what? 1st., 15th.?

It leaves me feeling like they can't do the transition all at once, so it might occur over a few days, or they don't yet have a fixed date in May for the switch. 

After the switch, I will downgrade from my $35 to a $25 plan. I'm hopeful PM will open the $24 plan to everyone, not just for new activations, because that's the plan I'd prefer to choose to downgrade to. 

[KatieF]

I guess this means I'm no longer getting credit for being a subscriber for over 9 years on every bill?

[Dunkman]

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@Stelawrat wrote:

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@Dunkman wrote:

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@mischt70 wrote:

This is my confusion, it still says on the website "opt in to points " page in My Rewards that you will recieve 1 point per month. What is the real truth on this?

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@mischt70 

Likely a marketing error.  From my understanding, the loyalty bonus points (one time payment - one point per month with PM) was been removed.  There use to be an actual section with the welcome bonus points of 5 which actually calculated the actual number of months with PM and the actual number of points that you will earn.  Ie. 50 pts for 50 months with PM.  We are asking for clarification from PM management.  

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PM haven't modified the website information shown yet.

The total points I could earn isn't shown though, 36 points in my case. They do show the 10 points I'd earn on this years anniversary date, my fourth year with PM.  

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@Stelawrat 

From my understanding, Public mobile has removed the one time loyalty perks bonus points (ie, one point per month with PM).  Likely a marketing error that we are seeing on our self service account.  Keep that screenshot and you may have a valid argument.  

[mikasik2]

Complain to CCTS https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/for-consumers/complaints/complaint-form/

Complain to CRTC https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/contact/question.htm (not as easy)

[cprnicus]

I just knew it was only a matter of time after highjacking their way back into PM, Telus would arbitrarily screw over longtime members by taking away that which brought them over in the first place. This is just BS. Leave well enough alone. I don't want nor care about your points plan, otherwise I would of switched over when it was originally offered. Just like your "neversafe" epic fail you double down on stupid and take away that which was EARNED through loyalty to service provided. You can't have executive "brainstorming" on improving that which works fine when collectively the boardroom is void of intellect.

[Stelawrat]

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@MajorTalent wrote:

@golffan I saw this too and it confused me... Earning 1 point per month since May 2014 means 12 months x 10 years - so are we supposed to get 120pts monthly, yearly or as a one time deal for being switched to the points rewarding system?

It's not very clear without showing what the first note is referencing, any thoughts or clarification that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated 

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Footnote #1 isn't referenced anywhere on that webpage, but as it's worded identically, it must refer to, "As you know, you'll earn one point for every month you've been with Public Mobile when you join Public Points." 

So from my PM join date to my Public Points join date (if I joined voluntarily), 3 years for me, I'd earn a one time bonus of 36 points. 

I think what remains unclear is if we wait, allowing PM to complete our transition to the Points system, which according to their email will be sometime in May, will we still get the bonus points (36 in my case), or are they lost? 

[Stelawrat]

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@Dunkman wrote:

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@mischt70 wrote:

This is my confusion, it still says on the website "opt in to points " page in My Rewards that you will recieve 1 point per month. What is the real truth on this?

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@mischt70 

Likely a marketing error.  From my understanding, the loyalty bonus points (one time payment - one point per month with PM) was been removed.  There use to be an actual section with the welcome bonus points of 5 which actually calculated the actual number of months with PM and the actual number of points that you will earn.  Ie. 50 pts for 50 months with PM.  We are asking for clarification from PM management.  

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PM haven't modified the website information shown yet.

The total points I could earn isn't shown though, 36 points in my case. They do show the 10 points I'd earn on this years anniversary date, my fourth year with PM.  

[Stelawrat]

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@pm-smayer97 wrote:

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@MiZ_C wrote:
...

Oh and why did the community make me choose a new nic name - there was no way to sign in - I am so Not "New in Town" LOL

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Long outstanding issue, since the rollout of Eversafe. Contact CS_Agent to merge your new community account into your old one.

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I had to do this as well a little while ago, even though I had posted semi-regularly in the past. Interesting to know that we can merge the two accounts. Thank you for pointing that out. Just wondering if it's a smooth process, no unforeseen glitches. 

[Dunkman]

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@Stelawrat wrote:

I've read all of the posts up to page 16... pretty sure no one has asked this so, can anyone please advise if customers located in Quebec will still receive the $5 off per month, or is this lost as well? 

Signed up in July '20 for a $35 plan (- $5 off QC location - $2 Auto pay - $3 Loyalty) = $25 per month currently. 

I've had a quick look at other providers & the choices are limited. When the enforced points system comes into effect, I'm leaning towards downgrading my plan to the one PM provides for $25 per month, meaning I'll lose 1 GB of data per month & forfeit the gift of 240 GB special bonus data. I'll get to keep all of my Add-Ons earned over the years = 6 GB data & 1500 minutes INTL Long Distance incl CA & US.

I really wish I could downgrade to the $24 per month plan, currently available for new activations only. I sincerely believe that if PM made that an option, it would compensate a bit for the loss of our legacy rewards, especially so if Quebec residents lose that $5 per month reduction. 

I can't imagine that the difference in what the two plans provide would have that great an impact on PM's bottom line. Making it available to everyone would restore a fair amount of the good will PM customers normally have for them. Currently it's being drained away by the enforced point system, combined with the restriction to this attractive plan.

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@Stelawrat 

You actually should keep the ongoing $5/month discount as long as you don't change the original plan $35.  Yes, you will lose your loyalty and autopay rewards.  

If you are planning to change as described above, you will need to do it soon.  Some customers have already received the data bonus (ranging from 5GB top 240 GB).  Once you get the data bonus, if you change plan, your data bonus will be removed according to FAQ.  

I agree with you.  Making the $24 and $29 "new activation only" plans available to existing customers would be a positive step in helping with this transition.  Better than the offer of the data bonus for many customers. 

[JoshuaPacker]

Figured this was coming. I have two lines with discounts and two lines without. I see a lot of I'm moving somewhere else posts... I'm not sure there is better out there. The public network is still great(for me), you get a well priced CAN-US.  It was a good run, but not surprised they are moving everyone to the same rewards.

[ninjastar]

"As a Public Mobile valued customer..." Obviously our value has plunged like Telus's reputation.