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

[RetiredGuy1]

@ShawnC13 

Okay, excuse me then. I’ll stop trying to offer ideas or suggestions to find a way to help ease the very negative impact on those being forced into something they don’t want. There is apparently no room for someone to be open-minded. I’ll go back to complaining about what PM is doing and how awful it is like everybody else. 

[IanP]

Would it not of been a better approach for PM if they had informed us of the change but asked for feedback on solutions to make there planned change acceptable, instead of garnering the ire of most (not all). This could of been done in several ways not just announcement and letting us vent.

[Wolfcore]

Haha yeah, most likely won't happen. That's why places like Fizz look really interesting right now. They have rollover data, data sharing, and appear to have an even better rewards program overall than the old PM system. I'm in their native coverage area most of the time, so I'll definitely be considering them. Them, or Freedom, because their yearly plans are unbeatable.

[SeniorCitizen]

That won't happen..    Remember .... one number, one account, one email address. 

[IanP]

I for one would like the shared data. We have 2 plans in our house both 30gb. I would then downgrade one plan to the cheapest availbe this would negate any loyalty credits we would lose.

That is why it probably won't happen!

[HALIMACS]

A high volume of CCTS complaints, in of itself, isn’t as damaging (other than financially for the cost of such) on the regulated company than a formal CCTS decision/order made against the company’s actions.

The CCTS, like all regulatory bodies, are funded by the companies whom they regulate.

Proceeding with one is, by no means, being suggested as a waste of time by my above comments.

[ShawnC13]

@RetiredGuy1 This thread isn't about shaping the rewards/points system it is announcement to the Change of them.  This Announcement thread isn't a catch-all.  I think there has been a lot of leeway in the discussion that has happened but it doesn't mean there will be a free-for-all.

[mc931]

You are less likely to get rejected if you have them help you over the phone - although when I did that with a complaint about another provider, their system issued me an incorrect complaint number and my complaint got lost, I had to do it over. Their process is slow, too. Still worth doing though, IMO.

As a side note, if you are looking at new providers in SK - don’t bother with Lum. They issue numbers with routing issues and I’m still identifying people/organizations (the first of which was the entire SK Health authority) who couldn’t call my number. They don’t take any responsibility for the problem either.

[jimbobs2023]

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@Geekedout wrote:

Yes! I seen a few people saying that the CCTS wouldn't accept our complaints for some reason or another, but that doesn't seem to be the case!  

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I think anyone who has filed a CCTS complaint knows how difficult it is.  I am sure that many complainants miss a critical field or two which caused the complaint to be rejected.  However, many complaints have also been accepted.  Mine is presently under review. Regardless, the volume of complaints to the CCTS, accepted or rejected, is in itself a statement and will be reflected in their reports.  A high volume of complaints reflects poorly on PM and Telus. 

[Wolfcore]

Yes. We're constantly innovating to enhance our rewards program. Stay tuned for new features, contests, and more redemption options coming soon.

The reason why they are vague like this, is so that they don't have to commit to anything. It gives them a way out. It's also used as bait in an attempt to keep people from leaving, due to the removal of the legacy rewards. If they were to say for example, that one of their upcoming enhancements would be shared data, consumers would make up their minds on the spot "meh, I don't care about shared data, I'm leaving". But if you keep it vague like they did, you keep the consumer guessing, and you give them hope of something great coming. This is enough to convince some people to stick around, sadly. 

[Dunkman]

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@SeniorCitizen wrote:

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@Joe_Crushy wrote:

I'm just not happy with the promises and now changes that are coming to PM, the loss of auto pay, referrals limit to 6, loyalty rewards monthly and the bonus 240gb of data with a six month cap for most people is irrelevant because of the 30gb or higher plans. It's just all about $$ in the end. I'm really hoping people complain and wake up and calculate the extra cost over a year of service with PM now compared to May 1 2024.

Just trying to be a voice. 

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Only 6 referrals per account?

o Where can I confirm that?

o What happens to current accounts with more than 6? 

One other point. When you get a referral the referee gets $10 bill credit. Why not just get 10 points? 

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@SeniorCitizen 

Customers have can more referral friends than six.  I think that OP looked at his own rewards page and likely has 6 friend referrals and the page was indicated that he/she would continue to get 6 referral points per month.  

The $10 bonus for referrals is a one time bonus for new customers who used a friend referral code.  Traditionally, it was meant to cover the cost of the physical SIM card and seem separate from the monthly legacy or points rewards.   I believe that new customers still have to sign up for the points rewards program.   

[RetiredGuy1]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@G_Pomzz wrote:

Is it possible to do a poll on here, like on Twitter? 

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@G_Pomzz if it is on topic but I don't see a poll that would be on topic

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@ShawnC13 

I disagree. There are several aspects that could help shape how the Points program could look moving forward. The linked FAQ in the announcement includes:

Are there any new benefits or features being introduced with Public Points™?

Yes. We're constantly innovating to enhance our rewards program. Stay tuned for new features, contests, and more redemption options coming soon.

————-

Polls could be structured to gauge the level of interest in new features (roll-over data, data sharing, wifi calling, etc. - this is not an exhaustive list), or how much interest there really is in contests, and solicit ideas for more redemption options as well. I’d like to believe that PM is open to consider what clients really want when considering future enhancements.

I do agree there is no point in polling how satisfied people are with the forced migration to the Points program. That message has come through loud and clear in here.

[dmc69]

I'm currently looking at Fizz. They have their beta test right now. 

[mc931]

I did the math when they first introduced public points and knew I’d never want to change. I was just about to refer a friend and now I’m not going to - I don’t like being treated this way as a customer so I’m not going to recommend them anymore, and I’m going to start looking elsewhere for my own plan. If I’m going to have to pay more anyway, I might as well go somewhere else.

[jtennyuk]

Definitely everyone should do this, I did.

[dmc69]

FWIW - I filed a complaint with the CCTS. I may just be one guy but perhaps if CCTS sees enough of this, it'll move the needle. 

[dudesbot]

Hi,

Just to let anyone know who's wondering if they can have this pointless add-on removed. The answer, according to support is no. We'll have to sit back and watch the timer go by, or change plan/service. We're stuck with this "special thank you" referenced above.

[SeniorCitizen]

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@Joe_Crushy wrote:

I'm just not happy with the promises and now changes that are coming to PM, the loss of auto pay, referrals limit to 6, loyalty rewards monthly and the bonus 240gb of data with a six month cap for most people is irrelevant because of the 30gb or higher plans. It's just all about $$ in the end. I'm really hoping people complain and wake up and calculate the extra cost over a year of service with PM now compared to May 1 2024.

Just trying to be a voice. 

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Only 6 referrals per account?

o Where can I confirm that?

o What happens to current accounts with more than 6? 

One other point. When you get a referral the referee gets $10 bill credit. Why not just get 10 points? 

[HALIMACS]

Agree @Joe_Crushy 

[Joe_Crushy]

I'm just not happy with the promises and now changes that are coming to PM, the loss of auto pay, referrals limit to 6, loyalty rewards monthly and the bonus 240gb of data with a six month cap for most people is irrelevant because of the 30gb or higher plans. It's just all about $$ in the end. I'm really hoping people complain and wake up and calculate the extra cost over a year of service with PM now compared to May 1 2024.

Just trying to be a voice. 

[RetiredGuy1]

@Joe_Crushy 

I agree, on principle, its not enough but some concessions by PM are at least better than none and, in fact, it wouldn’t cost PM a penny more as everybody would still only receive the 10 points once between May 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025. If they couldn’t at least make the suggested revision, they’re leaving no doubt whatsoever they don’t care about their legacy reward customers (the ones who built the company up in the first place)

[RetiredGuy1]

@HALIMACS 

Exactly. Your post is the TLDR (as they say today) or readers-digest (as they said back in the day) version of my post lol

[Joe_Crushy]

That's not enough, it doesn't make up my Legacy Rewards that I receive monthly for the 5 years I have been with PM. 

[kb_mv]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

Taking this one step further @RetiredGuy1 , (& perhaps this was your intended message?)  if PM really wanted to do the “best possible”  thing, they would credit everyone being forced to switch over 10 public points on May 1, 2024, and then repeat that every subsequent May 1 thereafter.

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@HALIMACS @RetiredGuy1 In addition to this they could reinstate the clause about 1 point for every month of service. Removing that the day before this announcement was sleazy.

[HALIMACS]

Taking this one step further @RetiredGuy1 , (& perhaps this was your intended message?)  if PM really wanted to do the “best possible”  thing, they would credit everyone being forced to switch over 10 public points on May 1, 2024, and then repeat that every subsequent May 1 thereafter.

[RetiredGuy1]

@ShawnC13 

I’ll use an example to illustrate what I’m getting at. Let’s assume May 1 is the migration date. Let’s also exclude anybody on the Points program already at that time as they accepted the Points program rules upon registration (either by default as new customer or voluntarily by switching from legacy to Points). Let’s use the following 2 fictitious people:

Cory joined PM on May 2, 2021. He is migrated to Points on May 1 and will wait 1 day (May 2) to receive 10 anniversary points.

Shawn joined PM on April 30, 2021. He is migrated to Points on May 1 and will wait 364 days (April 30, 2025) to receive 10 anniversary points.

That is a wide disparity not due to anything Cory or Shawn has done but due to PM changing the rules in an arbitrary fashion by selecting May 1 for changing the rules going forward. Under the legacy program, the anniversary date was critical as it determined when yearly incremental increases (capped at 5 years) to monthly legacy rewards kicked in. With the new Points program, that has been eliminated and replaced by a one-time, once-a-year credit of 10 anniversary points.

My suggestion is to eliminate that wide disparity resulting from one person waiting almost a year longer than the other - despite the fact they originally joined PM within 2 days of each other - in order to receive their first 10 anniversary points.

How to make this possible? PM could update their system for all legacy rewards people being force-migrated onto the Points program on May 1 to reflect a (notional) date of joining PM as of May 1, 2023. The system would then recognize the requirement of 12 months of being a PM member to receive 10 anniversary points and credit their accounts on May 1 accordingly. In this way, everybody is starting out on the same foot going forward. 

[kb_mv]

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@fixin wrote:

@Geekedout - Ohhh so it is Public Mobile who is saying that they didn't do anything wrong, but CCTS wants to keep the case open for all for further investigation because of how many complaints people sent in.

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@fixin That is not how I read that at all. PM hasn't said in the response that they did nothing wrong. It says PM objected to the complaint on the basis that CCTS had no authority to accept it as per the CCTS procedural code. CCTS has said otherwise, IE that they do have the authority so they rejected the objection by PM and will continue the process. It says nothing of any merits of the complaint or rulings outside of this nor does it mention the number of complaints received.

[ShawnC13]

@Chalupa_Batman that is what we were hoping for but it hasn't worked out that way.  Even creating trouble tickets with CSA has had zero result and now I believe that statement has been removed.

[Chalupa_Batman]

Does this mean I'll get 60 points a month because I've been with PM for 5 years? Then 10 points on my anniversary cycle? 

[ShawnC13]

@RetiredGuy1, when I look at the app and info about switching to points it shows that I will get 10 points on November 3.  So while some will wait longer than others I still think it should go by your personal anniversary date