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

[Markaps]

Do tell!

[ily]

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@ily wrote:

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@ily wrote:

Here are the steps I'm taking in response to this horrific announcement:

1. Contact customer service expressing my deep dissatisfaction and asking to opt out of this forced migration. This is basically my attempt to resolve the issue with the provider, as per CCTS guidelines.
2. Mark March 18th on my calendar: if the issue isn't resolved by then, I will file a CCTS complaint.
3. Mark May 1st on my calendar: if I'm forced to the new points system, I will immediately port out!

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Update: CS Agent got back to me saying that there's no way to stay on the legacy rewards program; no surprises there. In other words, the provider wasn't able to resolve the issue. Moving on to step 2. I'll keep y'all posted.

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Update: I submitted a CCTS complaint. Now I'm just gonna sit back and watch closely until end of April. I'll also be doing some research to find my next provider, although I already have a good idea with who I'll likely end up.

[dabr]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@colleeno wrote:

Just a question about this. → When I see in my notifications (that you and 243 others have replied to this thread), does that mean that there are only 244 unique users who have commented multiple times to bring the thread count to almost 1500?

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@colleeno probably, many posts by the same people in the thread as it usually is.

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Except that for majority of the "original posters" are also probably managing at least one (most more) other family/friend account as well and those customers are unlikely to be posting anything (especially if it's another family account), however will be porting out with the manager of their accounts if the savings are no longer there for a self serve service.

I manage three family accounts (inc. mine) and the other two account members have never posted here.

[Markaps]

And there never will be!

[dabr]

@TECHRANG3R    The workaround for managing other family member accounts (which is what I do) is to use an email alias for the other accounts, then you can ask for the code to be resent and will get an option to have it be resent to the email.  The alias email message will go to your primary email address. 

If you have Gmail, then just add dot or plus sign after your email name and then add an initial or number to note who that alias email is assigned for, e.g., for techrang3r@gmail etc., use techran3r.son@ etc. (or use the + sign instead of dot).

[DkB58]

🤷🤦🏼‍♂️😣 yikes! I got exhausted reading your dilemma. Our real problem this country is that there really isn’t competition in cellular.

[ridgeline]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@edeepm wrote:

@J_PMalso ignored my direct message 😞

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@edeepm, J_PM is very busy taking information from this thread to the internal teams (This could be a positive) and having meetings.  She hasn't answered my direct messages either as I am sure her inbox has been FLOODED with messages.

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That's understandable but Public risks serious damage to the brand if someone from their company @J_PM or someone else) does not step in soon and at least show legacy subscribers that they are listening to their concerns.  Look at the number of posts from customers that are announcing that they are leaving after many years as loyal subscribers.  What a disappointment to see Public let this whole situation unravel the way it has.

[ily]

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@DkB58 wrote:

So in addition to losing my $7 of credits, I get a lower quality loyalty program. So am I correct that I lose any previous referrals and subscription auto-pay credits going forward?

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You get to keep your referrals. It's just that instead of $1 off your bill every month, you'll be accumulating 1 point a month.

[Wolfcore]

This is by design. They know that they'll make far more money this way, not only because this point system pays out less to begin with, but because people are lazy and forgetful in general, and many just consider this a hassle. So in the end, they know this change will be incredibly profitable for them.

[DkB58]

So in addition to losing my $7 of credits, I get a lower quality loyalty program. So am I correct that I lose any previous referrals and subscription auto-pay credits going forward?

[TECHRANG3R]

And....to elaborate on the added difficulty this change will cause me, I will need to login to 3 different accounts each month to apply point rewards.  These accounts also have MFA which texts the verification code to the account's phone number before I can login with said code.  So unless I have all 3 devices in one room, I need to coordinate the retrieval of these verification codes with my 2 teenagers on a monthly basis to apply these points with the new system, vs previously it was all applied automatically and charged with autopay.  God help us if you don't do it on time because I am sure they won't be late to withdraw funds.  Not to mention, even if you set your PC or phone as a 'trusted device', they seem to reset this setting regularly so it doesn't really save.  I can see this new system being a very large exercise in frustration on a monthly basis... 

[public_999]

Thanks for the tip but after having a bit of a hard time getting this number ported from Bell Canada to Ooma to Public Mobile, I prefer not to go with another Voip provider.

[Dunkman]

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@DkB58 wrote:

I’m still confused about the pending switchover from the existing monetary rewards to the points program. In the PM explanation the following question is asked and answered:

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.

So does this mean, for example, that I keep my existing monthly cash credit discounts ($7) and keep receiving them each month as points as long as I stay with PM? Are these converted cash to points auto credited and used to reduce my monthly bill? 

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@DkB58 

It can be confusiing.  You will continue to get loyalty/autopay monthly rewards as cash credits until May.  The cash credit will remain in your account until used up.  It will not be converted to points. 

However, starting May 2024, you will lose your monthly $7 legacy/cash rewards.  All customers will be switched to points system.  You will receive 5% back in points on plan costs and once a year receive 10 loyalty points on the anniversary date of sign up.  

[eJonavin]

No. The rewards balance only affects those users that have more credits than their plan costs. So every month they are actually building up a credit balance. Most people don’t have that many credits. In your case it’s $7 higher per month because those credits will be gone, replaced with much lower value points system.

[public_999]

I too value customer reviews, particularly my kids because they heavily rely on their phones,lol.  I have 5 lines on that particular competitor being used in different area's of the GTA and I get no grief from them at all.    The  improvements within the last 3 months with respect to seamless handoff have been nothing short of amazing.  Having said all that I do believe it's imperative to have a modern phone with all of the recommended bands of that provider to have a successful user experience.  

[cnsultnt_pl]

Even cheaper, for $25 one-time, you can port your old number to Fongo Mobile.

[DkB58]

I’m still confused about the pending switchover from the existing monetary rewards to the points program. In the PM explanation the following question is asked and answered:

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.

So does this mean, for example, that I keep my existing monthly cash credit discounts ($7) and keep receiving them each month as points as long as I stay with PM? Are these converted cash to points auto credited and used to reduce my monthly bill? 

[Kydd]

Bell an Rogers now offering 34$ 50gig plans for Quebec.. the market is about to get Intresting 

[ShawnC13]

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@edeepm wrote:

@J_PMalso ignored my direct message 😞

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@edeepm, J_PM is very busy taking information from this thread to the internal teams (This could be a positive) and having meetings.  She hasn't answered my direct messages either as I am sure her inbox has been FLOODED with messages.

[Stelawrat]

@public_999

Not too long after I saw your post, I tried to answer a few times, but kept getting error messages? I saved the following, my reply in a doc.

Yeah I tried not to get too bogged down in the financials of these companies, because it really is like going down a rabbit hole. For Freedom & the other 5 companies, I relied on Cansumer, whose data was updated August 3rd. '23.

Just now I did a rabbit hole dive & while it's clear Québecor acquired Freedom, according to iphoneincanada as of 11 months ago, everything was still very much in transition. I put my trust in the customer reviews more than anything else, even though those are subjective as well for sure so...

As always, it's buyer beware.

Thank you for pointing that out. I’ve corrected the posted info.

[Sudso]

Wow.

This is a huge dissapointment. I know PM is a greedy corporation but for some reason I had expected more and better from them. I've been a long time subscriber, somewhere around 10 years I'd imagine, and I always thought I had a pretty good deal with them when you factored in the rewards. That good deal is now going to become a good deal worse, so I guess it's time to look elsewhere. I can't even take advantage of any of their better deals, because they're only available to new subscribers. The reality is, I suppose, we really should be bouncing around to the best deal possible and actually be good consumers. I think Canadians may spend too much time giving money to one corporation or another just because it's too much bother to switch. Well not this Canadian. It's time to go shopping, so far Fizz is looking like a pretty good option!

Happy Hunting!

[ridgeline]

I see that @J_PM from Public Mobile has been silent and not responding to any of the concerns raised by subscribers since this announcement was issued almost one week ago.  They replied to concerns raised in the February 2022 announcement for the new Public Points program, but for some reason not here.

[Wolfcore]

Not only that, but they appear to offer a lot more in terms of the long-term, with their level-up system. Also have upgrades, free bonus data every month, a referral system that gives a bonus + points, etc. They feel like what PM used to be. 

[TECHRANG3R]

I have been a Publicmobile customer since nearly the beginning.  The concept made a lot of sense to me, a no-frills mobility service at a reasonable price... Word of mouth instead of advertising... Reward loyalty... All of which was logical and fair... But now the foundation of what provides all of those benefits, the reward system that encourages those traits has been replaced and essentially reduced with less reward value, increasing the level of effort to claim and reducing the value received, not to mention, with those changes I can't honestly recommend the service any longer in good conscience!  We have 3 accounts in my household and now we will search for a different provider where basically I can pay the same amount for service yet also receive the customer service to go with it.  Honestly Publicmobile, you took a novel, fair idea to provide low maintenance customers some value and ruined it to squeeze a few more dollars and essentially lose  a large part of your customer base!

[hTideGnow]

hi @Matty1234 

follow your wallet 🙂

[Matty1234]

Thanks for this, they look like a great deal. 

[Wolfcore]

Public Mobile (Telus), literally funds the CCTS. We get texts from them all the time, asking if we have complaints. Them removing these posts would just be silly. Even their own Oracles are directing us to CCTS.

As for them streamlining systems, that's just an excuse. Them grandfathering in old users would not be an issue for them technically. It's literally just about making more money (despite having one of their most profitable years on record). If it weren't about money, don't you think they'd want to save all of these customers that they're losing?  Wouldn't they want to avoid paying out all of these CCTS fees? Avoid all of the negative attention and hit to their reputation? If it were just about "streamlining", they would find another way to fix it, in order to avoid all of this. 

As for saying "they could have just removed it completely", yeah, but I don't give them credit for that. That's like the government making your cost of living jump by thousands of dollars, to the point where you can't afford to live or eat, and then thanking them when they send you a one-time $50 cheque. They shouldn't have done what they did in the first place, it's just a slap to your face at that point. 

[Matty1234]

Have the agree with many of the other replies here. There will keep going until the discounts end and switching to another provider, I've seen plenty of decent deals and don't like this process of giving one deal and just pulling it away. 

[Michael6666]

That's not correct. 

Fizz offers up to 6$ off per month based on loyalty.

Also, data rollover for 2 additional billing cycles and sharing with other users

[public_999]

In hindsight maybe I should be thanking Public Mobile?  One of the 2 lines I have with Public is simply to retain an old landline number that is virtually unused. The occasional call received on it is forwarded to my main line which is not with Public.  It currently costs me $67.80 per year to  maintain that old number under the existing reward program but once the new point system comes into effect my annual cost will increase to $158.48.  Not being comfortable with this increased cost just to maintain an old number I decided to look around for other options and have figured I can accomplish the same objective by porting the number to a competitor and the total cost per year will be only $28.25 so for me this is a win lol!  Thanks Public Mobile, I would never have even thought about exploring other options if it weren't for your greed!!