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

[SBM1]

This is unacceptable. I chose Public Mobile a number of years ago because of the rewards program. As a senior on a fixed income, it's very important that I control my spending as much as possible. The rewards program allows me to save $$ every month on this essential service and the additional saving of $1/month for each year is a key component of that.

When I first signed up with PM, I was assured the rewards program was a permanent feature. Forcing this change on existing customers who have already declined the new program is unacceptable. If PM goes through with this change, I will have no options other than filing a complaint against PM and looking for a company that treats customers fairly.

[kb_mv]

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@Bunnyhop wrote:

I dont know where to begin with that part unfortunately.

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@Bunnyhop  Maybe call a lawyer?

[Bunnyhop]

I dont know where to begin with that part unfortunately.

[kb_mv]

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@Bunnyhop wrote:

 We could start a class action lawsuit as-well for false advertisement.

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@Bunnyhop Any luck finding a law firm to take on a class action lawsuit?

[Bunnyhop]

You can file complaints here

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

CRTC: https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/plaint.htm

[Bunnyhop]

To the new customers please do not turn on your fellow man saving a few dollars instead use that anger to turn on Telus for ending public mobile's old rewards and demand that they bring it back for all customers. They were still making a killing on the old rewards.

[Bunnyhop]

Thank you. You're doing your part!

[Bunnyhop]

How about this Public Mobile. How about you cancel this unpopular change and let the old customer stay on the rewards system indefinitely and then just focus on maintaining/improving the service while gaining more customers. Be like Valve or Brother.

[Bunnyhop]

Telus is a company of poor quality.

[Bunnyhop]

File your complaint with CCTS and CRTC and oppose all future company mergers. They will rob us dry.

[eyes]

It’s possible that these bad decisions are because they may have a new market team of just recent graduates with no experience. 

[ElectricMayhem]

Wow this is a ridiculous change, I can’t understand why Public would do this? 
Thank you to everyone who has posted complaint info and ideas on new providers, I’ve looked into a few of them and will be switching to Fonus. Bye public!

[cfard]

This is absolutely unacceptable. I’ve been with PM for almost eight years and this is how you treat your most loyal customers. I’m actively looking for another provider for my number (not Rogers or Bell either) and unless PM backtracks on this (which they have done so before) I am absolutely leaving Telus in the dust. Do better.

[Camera4617]

Two CCTS complaints accepted.. Let's see how will PM work with me to resolve this.. 

[Bunnyhop]

Just filed mine. We could start a class action lawsuit as-well for false advertisement.

[Bunnyhop]

PM needs to be regulated. File a complaint to your regulator.

[Kevlar44]

Just thought id post a copy of my service ticket measage as some might find my description of the cause for dispute helpful:

When i signed my wife and I up for public mobile the main selling feature was the loyalty rewards. It was always advertised as an incentive that would never change. For each year you get another dollar off up to 5. "Loyalty pays". The rewards program caused me to recommend PM to many others for many years. When the new program was brought in I was assured i would never have to switch. This is a horrible change that is being disingenuously presented as beneficial. When you offer an incentive program that takes years to accumulate and is based on years of patronage it is not ethical to drop it on a whim. When i signed up i factored in long term costs and made that a part of my consideration as this was a promised benefit of a long term commitment. In other words the deal i was evaluating i considered prudent based on prospective savings over a continued duration of patronage given the advertised benefits of being a long term customer. Because of this i have not considered other carriers and have been deprived of economic opportunities for my own betterment based on false and misleading advertisments/assurances. I hope you consider the justifications of this complaint and reverse this unethical decision as it will result in the loss of my wife and I as customers as well as a formal complaint to the CCTS.

[Lucster]

4000 messages in 4 weeks but only 22 Bravos to the original post.
I'm not sure how many case were opened with CCTS but more are to be expected.

[Lucster]

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@simon247 wrote:

I'm not sure if I can share the details, but CCTS has so far been surprisingly feisty and helpful on my behalf in addressing this change. I'm certainly glad that I filed the complaint. It was very quick and easy too. My issue has been presented as effectively a billing change in PM's favour disguised under the umbrella of a reward program change that's in violation of former written promises (going from a monetary amount impacting how the bill itself is calculated, to receiving arbitrary points with "no cash value"). Neatly, billing falls directly at the very core of CCTS' scope to take action on. 

On top of the above, the big "checkmate" here that I'm not sure how PM could or will respond to is that when the PublicPoints system launched, we've had written assurances mailed by PM that it will be optional for existing users, who will be able to remain on the existing reward system to continue "saving the same amount" (in PM's words). I happen to be the existing user who made it clear that I'm not willing to take them on the option to stop "saving the same amount" as I did under the current rewards scheme.

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I'm truly happy CCTS is helpful with "our" situation.  Keep all of us posted.  I'll be opening 6 cases very soon. 

[abtest]

@ShawnC13 I stand corrected. You are absolutely correct. The example I should have given  would be if you redeem points for credit, and apply the credit, you only get 5% of the plan amount minus the applied Bill credit.

[HALIMACS]

@Oakestester 

In my time here, they seem to involve one of the following reasons:

1. Wording resembling profanity, advertising or services.
2. Incorrect URLS or the wrong format Such as starting with http:/.
3. Text similar to an HTML or elements of it...etc...
4. Any wording that could be misinterpreted as an advertisement.
5. Spelling mistakes or issues related to spelling.
6. Create more paragraphs and/or avoiding long sequences of text. 

[simon247]

I'm not sure if I can share the details, but CCTS has so far been surprisingly feisty and helpful on my behalf in addressing this change. I'm certainly glad that I filed the complaint. It was very quick and easy too. My issue has been presented as effectively a billing change in PM's favour disguised under the umbrella of a reward program change that's in violation of former written promises (going from a monetary amount impacting how the bill itself is calculated, to receiving arbitrary points with "no cash value"). Neatly, billing falls directly at the very core of CCTS' scope to take action on. 

On top of the above, the big "checkmate" here that I'm not sure how PM could or will respond to is that when the PublicPoints system launched, we've had written assurances mailed by PM that it will be optional for existing users, who will be able to remain on the existing reward system to continue "saving the same amount" (in PM's words). I happen to be the existing user who made it clear that I'm not willing to take them on the option to stop "saving the same amount" as I did under the current rewards scheme.

[Oakestester]

They did in fact go there, but it doesn't say why. Character limit?

[HALIMACS]

@Oakestester 

Check if perhaps they went here: (it's where unmoderated items get sent for various reasons...)

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/premod/moderationitemspage/tab/rejected

[Oakestester]

Hi jtennyuk! Check out my RFD post with details here: https://forums.redflagdeals.com/public-mobile-retiring-their-old-rewards-program-may-2024-2679876/51... 

[Oakestester]

Hi Basem! I wanted to post all the details here but they kept getting deleted (maybe too many characters?) so check my RFD post instead: https://forums.redflagdeals.com/public-mobile-retiring-their-old-rewards-program-may-2024-2679876/51... 

[ShawnC13]

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@abtest wrote:

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@Cheefster wrote:

I'm sure this is the case for others: I've been with Public for 5 years. That's $5 loyalty/month, or $60/year. In the new points system, I will only receive 10 pts ($10/year). That's a $50/year, 83% decrease. The 5% back on my $25 plan vs. $2 autopay is a $0.75/month, 38% decrease. Let's call this what it is, raising prices on long time customers. 

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Actually, the 5% is only on money spent.  So if your plan is $25, and you have 5 referrals and no other discounts, then you would get 5% of $20 (not 5% of $25).

On top of that (and I cannot find any clarification in the available information), when you convert your points to a bill credit, will that be applied pre-tax or after tax?  Previous rewards were all before tax.  If the bill credit is after tax, then the 'loos' is even greater! 

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@abtest That is incorrect.  You will get 5% on $25 because that is what you are spending.  Your referrals go into points and will not be automatically deducted from your bill.

[fixin]

@abtest - It will be counted pre tax so for ex you live in Alberta you would only get $15 not $15.75.

Tax to run Trudeaus private Boeing 737 will be extra.

[abtest]

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@Cheefster wrote:

I'm sure this is the case for others: I've been with Public for 5 years. That's $5 loyalty/month, or $60/year. In the new points system, I will only receive 10 pts ($10/year). That's a $50/year, 83% decrease. The 5% back on my $25 plan vs. $2 autopay is a $0.75/month, 38% decrease. Let's call this what it is, raising prices on long time customers. 

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Actually, the 5% is only on money spent.  So if your plan is $25, and you have 5 referrals and no other discounts, then you would get 5% of $20 (not 5% of $25).

On top of that (and I cannot find any clarification in the available information), when you convert your points to a bill credit, will that be applied pre-tax or after tax?  Previous rewards were all before tax.  If the bill credit is after tax, then the 'loos' is even greater! 

[Cheefster]

I'm sure this is the case for others: I've been with Public for 5 years. That's $5 loyalty/month, or $60/year. In the new points system, I will only receive 10 pts ($10/year). That's a $50/year, 83% decrease. The 5% back on my $25 plan vs. $2 autopay is a $0.75/month, 38% decrease. Let's call this what it is, raising prices on long time customers.