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

[Jp21]

I like to use like to dislike ratio to analyse how satisfied people are with content.

In other news the announcement got 14 Bravos and there are ~1800 negative replies. 

[ridgeline]

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@edeepm wrote:

@J_PMleft a bravo/thumbs up on my message complaining that @J_PM ignored my direct message? Is that supposed to be funny?

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@J_PM also gave a bravo to my post about Public being silent for the past week and not responding to customer concerns.

[Wolfcore]

Wow, that's clear taunting if you ask me. Can't think of any other reason to do that. Crazy that an employee would do that when these customers are clearly upset about how they've been lied to by the company that employs them. Pretty disgusting behavior, but considering who they work for, I guess it makes sense.

[Wolfcore]

If that's true, it's ridiculous. These people have no shame. Imagine an employee laughing at customers who've been blatantly lied to and gaslit by the multibillion dollar company that employs them.

[PumpkinBook]

Hello.

As per the rules of the CCTS, I must reach out to you and inform you that I do not agree with your decision to get rid of the old rewards program.

The reason I disagree is because I had a very affordable plan that met my usage needs, not just due to the overall price, but due to the loyalty and referrals I have done through the years. My willingness to recommend Public Mobile was due to the affordability I earned myself through usage of the old rewards program. Similar to others, I started with a cheaper, $120 per 3 months plan, but as my rewards increased through the years, I decided to upgrade to a more expensive $34 per month plan. From the start, older customers like myself were assured that our prices would be honoured, and we would have the ability to retain our plans. Part of the plan to me was the rewards attached to it. Even when the new rewards system came out, we were assured that we could keep our plan with the old system.

This change is predatory, as it results in less savings under the guise of it being more “flexible”. Public Mobile’s words exactly are: “We launched the Public Points™ program in January 2022 to provide our subscribers with more ways to earn and spend rewards, with greater flexibility”. Please tell me in what way forcing me to use this new points system, which are accrued at a lower rate than my current rewards, is more flexible? The pinnacle of flexibility to me is being able to use the savings that I’ve been earning on my phone bill with the old program as I see fit, not being forced into a rewards program that gives me less, for more spent.

To add to all this, I have an email from January 22, 2022, explicitly stating that "Joining Public Points is optional for all existing customers".

Please accept this as my official complaint.

cc: @J_PM @CS_Agent @PumpkinBook 

[PCIrish]

Actually it’s no longer Public Mobile.  They’re the “puppets” for the take over giant TELUS.  Public had integrity.  Obviously TELUS does NOT!  Nor do they care about customer loyalty.  Yup!  Time to look else where for cell service.

[Dunkman]

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@RevCo17 wrote:

This should be class action as some legacy subscribers aren't properly informed that PM intends to break this contract. 

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@RevCo17 

Public mobile intends to either email or text all affected  legacy customers.  Supposedly, the initial announcement stated the wrong date of March 8.  Should be March 12 (today).  

Out of my 4 accounts, 2 receive a text (weekend) and 2 received an email (today).  Also, if you login to your app, there is a popup explaining the migration to points.  

With PM, there seems often to be a delay unfortunately. The technical team is smaller. 

[RevCo17]

Sorry, just upset since I've been a consumer since 2019 and ported to PM. Being a person on odsp on a tight budget who doesn't use much data (always under a gig) as per 25$ plan, finding out that 240 or 250gb for a few months would be utterly useless for someone like me. Tho I have sent I a ticket, and could you elaborate on what CCTS is for those who aren't familiar? Thank you for your time and recommendations. 

[Chalupa_Batman]

Honestly, not sure I'd go that far. However, I do know 2 co-workers who have not received any text messages or emails from PM. They haven't received any notices on their apps either... as of this afternoon. So you're correct, not everyone has been notified yet. 

Once again, I appreciate that Public Mobile wishes to change over and cancel legacy rewards. However, Public Mobile stated multiple times on multiple medias, "You will continue to get legacy rewards for as long as you are a customer". I'm still a customer. 

[Chalupa_Batman]

Hi @BJ69 

This is what the CCTS said to do.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Upcoming-Changes-to-our-Old-Rewards-Pro...

Then, send it in a PM to a CS Agent to lodge the complaint on record. Not doing this will make your CCTS complaint invalid. Take screenshots for proof.

[RevCo17]

This should be class action as some legacy subscribers aren't properly informed that PM intends to break this contract. 

[BJ69]

Did you put in a "ticket" to lodge your complaint? I'll do the same.

[Chalupa_Batman]

Update:

I received a second reply from a CS Agent.

Hi there!

How are you today? My name is Maria and I just wanted to check if you still need our help. If the conversation is left unanswered for 24h, the system will automatically close it, however, if you need any assistance, our chatbot is available 24/7.   

Respectfully,
Maria_G
Public Mobile CS_Agent

Here is my reply.

Hi Maria,

Are you talking about my registered complaint about cancelling Legacy Rewards and being forced into Public Points?

If so, no, the complaint is still legit. According to the CCTS, to record a complaint against Public Mobile, we must first reach out to Public Mobile to register the complaint. I have done so, now it is on record. I'm sure you have fielded a ton of complaints from customers about this. But I'm sticking to my values. When it says "You will continue to get legacy rewards for as long as you are a customer" part, I'm still a customer, and my rewards should not be cancelled. 

I also understand you're not in Canada. Just know, this is not personal. We believed in the core value of Public Mobile and the Legacy Rewards. To cancel it, isn't something we take lightly. When Public Mobile said "You will continue to get legacy rewards for as long as you are a customer" , we took it to heart, believed and trusted Public Mobile to honour their word. Here in Canada, a company's' WORD means something. 

Thank you.

[JennalynnFlesch]

Thank you for the info!  Will be doing the same

[JennalynnFlesch]

Me as well.  I will be taking my phone and 3 of my referrals with me.

[hTideGnow]

HI @Bottomshelf 

fonus itself is not reliable.  I would avoid

[Bottomshelf]

Has anyone done a comparison of PM and Fonus?

[JennalynnFlesch]

We all need to go to the CCTS!

[Anonymous]

Have to say I am very very disappointed. Didn't think PM would force user to switch to a reward system they did not originally sign up for, after previously PROMISING AND REASSURING us they would NOT force people to switch. Is this not... fraud..?

[JennalynnFlesch]

Yes and yes!  The more of us file a complaint with the CCTS, the better!  We will all need to speak up for this to make a difference.  Please do file a complaint.  I too, will be filing a complaint.  The first step is to contact customer support and tell them you do not agree with having the plan you signed up for and the rewards program promised, changed in any way.  You want them to honor what was promised.  Wait for their reply and move forward if they won't honor your rewards to file with CCTS.

[Robbwell]

My annual cost before tax goes from $96 to $161, a 67.7% increase.

[JennalynnFlesch]

After being a customer of PM since 2020, I will not accept being switched from my rewards promised when I signed up.  I will notify CCTS and I will file a complaint.  I expect PM to uphold what was promised and to this date, delivered. Loyalty rewards, Friend rewards and pre-authorized payment rewards need to remain untouched.  

[Michael6666]

Sorry about that 😔 maybe soon 🙏

[Lolo_1234]

I had high hopes for a second! Oh well, maybe one day...

[Michael6666]

You're right. 

Seems like if I can get my hands on a sim card, I can use it but I can't port in my Quebec based number and would have to activate an Ontario number.

Too bad, the search continues, hopefully fizz matches or merges with freedom. 

[Bottomshelf]

You have the FREEDOM to make that decision.  If you're thinking about $$$, the $15 plan with points, it will be maybe more expensive  - $166.88 (BC) vs $201.60 ($15x12 + BC taxes)  before points.  As I said before, it doesn't account for SIM card and activation costs, if any.  I will ultimately be paying $39.20 more with the new subscriber plan but with more data ( 250 mb versus 1.25 gb monthly that I will never fully use).

For 2 lines (my spouse and I) it works out cheaper by approx. $76 in total.

Having said that if I stayed with PM my new monthly cost will be $180 plus taxes = $201.60 less points of 21 or 43 depending on you interpret the referral point system.  If 1 point per referral per month then its 43 points; if 2 points annually for my 2 referrals then its 21 points (=$21) annual discount subject to minimum 15 point usage.

Assuming 2 points per month (24 annually), the cost of staying with PM is $131.84 (deducting points before taxes)  vs $166.88 for the other carrier.

I will not make a final decision until D-Day.

[HALIMACS]

@CoolAlex 

You can petition them whatever way you choose, here's how you reach them:

To contact a Customer Support Agent, there are 2 methods:

1. Use the ticketing system for a faster response time. Click here to create a support ticket, then type Customer Support Agent, then Contact Us,  or, 
2. Send a private message to Customer Support Agent by clicking here.  You’ll need to be logged into your Community account for the link to work.

Watch for their response in your Community private mailbox which will be indicated by a number on the small envelope icon to the left of your Community avatar.

[PMInfo1]

Its PM, lol... There is no one to talk.  Upcoming costed changes make PM a joke... I suspect it will be folded up eventually on subscriber exodus.  Koodo will return to the "low cost" Telus option. 

[CoolAlex]

Did anyone complain to the CCTS yet? They said you need to talk to the provider first, but what do you say to Customer Service? "Hello, please keep me on the old plan?"

[PMInfo1]

Regarding #2 - PM did not get the (legacy) uptake when they introduced the "new rewards points program" previous because early adopters clearly understood the "new" plan was inferior.

PM largely "glazed over" (more directly clearly misleading) the fact that several reward $'s would be removed completely (auto pay, etc).  Hiding behind the fact subscribers are not under "contract" they have already likely had lawyers working overtime to avoid issues with CCTS.  It's clear "too many" subscribers are sub $20 which is "not acceptable".  I expect Telus needs to move average ARPU to $25+ which they will successfully be doing on the backs of expense-sensitive clients.  Inflation on monthly bills will likely be in the +25% range for most.