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

[oilers84second]

I do not agree to switch loyalty plans.  I have filed a complaint with CCTS.

[fixin]

@Oakestester - That is because every single complaint - agreed on or not it costs the provider $140 per complaint.

[Skaliger]

PM objected my CCTS complaint as well by stating that I was informed about future change, the company can change their TOS at any time, and blah blah blah. Luckily, CCTS dismissed their objection today! Now, PM has 2 weeks left to provide any other response. Interesting to see what happens next...

[JDBlue1966]

I got the same response. Made up with that.

[Oakestester]

They also objected to my complaint, and CCTS dismissed their objection in my case as well!

Anyone who hasn't yet filed your complaint, do it! The more that complain, the more likely they are to reverse course.

[NoseyNick1]

> Look at the plans available from Bell, Rogers and Telus. You'll see that they offer the exact same thing for the exact same price.
> That's not a ton of choices. That's three companies agreeing not to undersell each other to keep profits high for everyone.

You think the companies agreed amongst themselves? Nah, see https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/mobile/occa.htm - the regulator INSISTED they all offer some plans that are "only" three times as expensive as a typical European plan for 1/10th of the data.   😞

[HALIMACS]

Sure @mc931 

Those are great points as it relates to your individual situation.  It's really troubling that a hospital, and currently your doctor, still cannot get a hold of you, for whatever reason.

I guess I just try not to let my attachment to my mobile phone service be as much of a necessity.  Heck, I still know several people who still don't use mobile phones and they get along fine with other support systems in place. (I still don't really know how they do it, but they do)

Dating myself, I didn't for 30+ years.

Still, I completely understand that it needs to be certain things for certain people, and that's fine.

Thanks for sharing.  🙂

[mc931]

I can see your point - although I’m not sure I fully agree.

if you live in metro Vancouver or Ontario or Quebec, you have way more viable options than elsewhere in Canada. There are definitely options for everyone, but there are way more options for people in certain places.

One thing I learned when I tried out a line on Lum, which is SK’s “discount” provider, is that many people (including me) really count on their phones. For safety, for access to services, etc. It turned out that number had routing issues and some people/businesses just can’t call it successfully. The only reason I figured it out was because there were medical providers who couldn’t contact me - so they emailed or sent letters or phoned an alternate number. I to this day have no idea how many people who didn’t have an alternate contact method for me, tried to call me back on that number and just … couldn’t. At any rate, unreliable service (for whatever reason, whether it’s the provider’s network or the routing or whatever) actually can be a very big deal. If a hospital had tried to call me, they wouldn’t have been able to. My doctor still can’t.

In any case I was really glad I hadn’t ported my number from Public to try that service out, because being able to go back to my Public line saved me a lot of trouble.

So yeah, it’s just a mobile service provider, and there are others … but phones can be lifelines and when providers don’t feel like they have any responsibilities to their customers, you can end up in a really bad situation. 

[Gimli007]

interesting the reaction from CCTS is..  (Yoda voice)

are they really seeing for what it is - or just collecting the billable complaints....  time will tell....

this is the way  ( Mandolorian )

[Gimli007]

I got 240gb - expiring soon - i have half a mind to auto dload 1000 linux iso's to use it all up just outa spite.

[Gimli007]

honestly  - not sure how a poll about how current PM customers are intending to react to this move from PM and big daddy Telus  could possibly be deemed as "off topic"  - dont think it  could get any closer to the topic perfectly.  Hey telus  - heres the way your legacy users and potential clients are re-acting... do as you will anyway.

[Gimli007]

enable roaming... especially if you are located in Ontario and everything will work perfectly.  After all - you are technically "roaming" in ontario - your ip will actually resolve to videotron.

[Gimli007]

havent heard ANYTHING official from PM - wonder why - they just dont care.

[Gimli007]

the nationwide - gives you free roaming on other networks in the zone ( province / country) per your plan - so in theory - you should be fine as long as they show the area in question as covered by partner network.

[HALIMACS]

@hTideGnow , I've always wondered why there have been numerous posters in the Get Help section complaining about Freedom's service.   Is it really that bad, nationally?

To be honest, I haven't really given them much thought, until recently.

[hTideGnow]

HI @Alveeto 

that's why I think some people are not make wise choice to decide to move away without realizing that if they choose a plan of same price elsewhere, they are losing 5% from the move, the saving from new rewards system

Some decide to go with Freedom.  With that, the price is definitely cheaper, but many decide to leave shortly after as the network is not solid like Telus, especially for those travel around a lot or not live in big city area.

[HALIMACS]

Who's  "pretending like people are incapable of caring about multiple things at once" ?

[Wolfcore]

Exactly this.

With your last point though (and you sort of hit on it), yes, of course this isn't life or death, and of course there are more important things in life, but people in this thread are pretending like people are incapable of caring about multiple things at once, which I always find hilarious. 

There will always be something more important going on, it's always gonna be that way. "Who cares about the fact that your heating bill just went up by $120, don't you know that there are starving people in x country!??!". It's just silly logic, because small issues don't become non-existent just because there are larger problems out there. People are capable of worrying about multiple things at once, and fighting for all of them.

Small things lead to bigger problems, whether that's financial, or rights being taken away by your government. They all matter, and can all have big impacts on you. $50 a year may not sound like a lot, but multiply that by 5 family members, and you've got yourself $250 that could pay for your groceries for a week or two. For some people, that's a gamechanger.

[hTideGnow]

sad to see you go @LEGO 

hope all good over there 🙂

[LEGO]

Ported all my lines to Freedom Mobile. Public Mobile, you can keep your new garbage points to yourself.

[HALIMACS]

You believe they're all in collusion @Alveeto ?   

One of 'em jumps in with something 'different', and the others quickly match it or offers something else in an attempt to one up the others - it's all gamesmanship.

Same thing happens with practically every competitive market product/service these days.

And there's also Freedom, PC Mobile, Fizz, Eastlink, etc...

Really, the main point I was making is this is all much ado about nothing (edit: my opinion only, if i'm allowed to express one...) in the grand scheme of our lives  (or at least i think it is...).   To some, perhaps not.   Again, to each their own, and I respect that what's important to some may not be important to all.

Even so, I still wish PM would retain the Legacy Rewards too and have made my displeasure formally known. 

[Alveeto]

Look at the plans available from Bell, Rogers and Telus. You'll see that they offer the exact same thing for the exact same price. That's not a ton of choices. That's three companies agreeing not to undersell each other to keep profits high for everyone.

[HALIMACS]

For sure, @mc931, great points.

I just can't get past the whole fact that .... we're all writing about a mobile service provider.   

It's not a life-saving drug or a life necessity.  There's TONS of choices out there and none of us are beholden to any of them.  Such is why so many people switch from carrier to carrier on the flip of a dime for something as simple as waiting on the line too long to reach a customer support person.

Mobile service providers will all (and most have already) done something which 'troubles us' and makes us doubt our 'loyalty' to them.   

While I would strongly prefer they would not remove the legacy rewards, I'm not a bit surprised they have.  It was pretty clear to most of us it was just a matter of time when Public Points was released in January 2022.

[mc931]

I think the number of people in this situation who will do this is small, but it’s the kind of thing I would do as well.

Any time we base decisions solely on whether or not it directly affects us, we run the risk of accepting further mistreatment when it does affect us.

I see a company flagrantly devalue loyalty from customers, and I wonder what will be next. What new promise (implied or overt) will they backtrack on next time?

This is just a phone plan, it’s not life or death or anything - but when it happens with bigger things (like protected rights) it can be a very big deal. In my opinion people should be mindful of the underlying message that comes from a move like this.

[HALIMACS]

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@egdsdfh wrote:

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@HALIMACS wrote:

Curious, you WERE on Public Points (not the Legacy Rewards) and you decided to leave because Public Mobile is moving its Legacy Reward customers to Public Points?

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Yep, Trying to help you guys out, get change with numbers right? Plus, I hate Telus anyway. I was on the $24 plan with 4GB or something. I have the same with Fizz for $13.50 (6 months) then it's $26.00. It's not so much about the money for me, I just don't use data and work from home. I might look after 6 months but I dont really care either.

---

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Sounds good @egdsdfh .   I was curious if perhaps you may have been leaving with established referral rewards.   The Fizz sounds interesting, if within their established activation areas. 

Does the plan/service have full nationwide coverage?

[Wolfcore]

I'm pretty sure you're being purposely misleading, but just in case you aren't, I'll provide you with some details.

Yes, the price of the Fizz promotional plans nearly double after 6 months, but after 6 months, the price that the plans increase to, is nearly identical to PM's, and in many cases, far cheaper, so why is that a big deal? In fact, it's actually amazing, because you're saving for 6 months. Once you factor in the rewards they have, the prices drop far below the price of PM's plans.

For example, fizz currently has a $34/50GB plan (we'll compare this to PM's $34/50GB plan). Currently, this plan costs $17/month, but after 6 months, it goes back to $34 (same price as PM). But during these 6 months, you will have saved $102. If you calculate the 5% earned from PM, along with the 10-point anniversary bonus, it would take you over 3 years of PM's service, just to save this $102.

Now, once we factor in the rewards that Fizz offers, and the ability to lower your monthly bill in numerous ways, including loyalty rewards just like PM's old system, where they automatically take money off your bill each month, Fizz will actually become far cheaper than PM. Then they have awesome perks, upgrades, bonuses, etc. Data sharing, rollover data, all plans available to all customers, live chat support (phone calls and messaging), and so on, many people would see Fizz as being a far better option than PM. I don't see why somebody would feel forced to come back here, that's for sure. Even places like PC Mobile and Lucky can be more rewarding than PM, as well as have nearly identical pricing.

[egdsdfh]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

Curious, you WERE on Public Points (not the Legacy Rewards) and you decided to leave because Public Mobile is moving its Legacy Reward customers to Public Points?

---

Yep, Trying to help you guys out, get change with numbers right? Plus, I hate Telus anyway. I was on the $24 plan with 4GB or something. I have the same with Fizz for $13.50 (6 months) then it's $26.00. It's not so much about the money for me, I just don't use data and work from home. I might look after 6 months but I dont really care either.

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@eyeswrote

Fizz good deals are only for new accounts for 6 month duration. After the 6 months their plan costs more than doubles. Did you not read the fine print? Are you coming back to PM in 6 months?

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I read the fine print, I know it'll double and I'll never come back to PM or any Telus owned service. the Fizz perks are actually pretty neat.

I have Bell fibre, I kind of want to sign up for Bell Cell for a month then cancel and see what kind of winback deals they offer. I saw on RFDs people have $15 plan with more data then I'll ever use in my life.

[Camera4617]

Your money, your choice. I'm just speaking for myself and want to express my 'thank you' to PM. 

[fixin]

@Camera4617 - Ohhh. I use just different Gmail Accounts for my 2 accounts not Aliases.

Yeah, I am not moving to any other carrier because I am on the pants system & it is cheap to pay. Virgin scammed me with a $10 discount for 15 months and the plan is $50 with 12GB.

[RNk6xib2]

on the Canadian govt website it has "Low-cost and occasional-use wireless service plans" which has a plan that's "Maximum $15/month" and lists what PM Offers for $15/30 days. I'd argue that 30 days is SOME months but not all... So I wonder if there's someone we can complain to about that. Think it'd work?

crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/mobile/occa.htm