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

[softech]

hi @HALIMACS 

I like your unbiased summary of the effect of this change.  It is around $60+tax difference rather than a scary screenshot showing a $39 jump per month  🙂

[softech]

@Handy1 

first, all business simply collect the tax and transfer them to the government.  PM is doing the same here

it is undoubtedly that we are paying more tax because of the full amount we need to pay (unless you have enough available funds).  But "yesterday" PM did not collect any tax from your $0 bill s, there was no tax to transfer to the government.  They do not pay the $34 worth of tax of your $0 bill, ie, PM does not save money "today" because of the extra tax you need to pay. 

I have to agree the Government is the winner in the new points system as they will get more tax $ out of it.  But with a nice country like Canada with all the services and benefits we get out of it, it is a citizen's responsibility to pay tax to keep the system running.  If we keep paying $0 on our government bill, one day our government will have no choice but announcing an "exciting news" about changing the "rewards system" as well 😂

BTW, for the tax part, also, keep in mind we are paying extra tax only on the portion of our rewards.  Most subscribers don't have enough rewards to cover the full bill, so, they are paying some GST already on their plan.   For you, the impact was more significant, you are going from paying $0 tax to $4.42 because you have quite a lot of friend referrals ($29) plus the rewards you earned from your great and steady effort you brought into the Community ( a well-deserved $15 rewards)

[HALIMACS]

@softech @Handy1 

come on folks – we all know the change sucks for a loyal customers and no real need to debate the point.

Most of us are losing at least $60 per year in rewards earned.

(Annually:  $60 down to $10 loyalty, then about $5-$15 less re auto pay vs 5%)

[Handy1]

@softech  Will do when I see them . I know it won’t be as impressive as public mobile of “yesterday” but I think also the plan aside from PM making more money . Is to have people paying tax before rewards are added . Because when a active member has nuff rewards we didn’t pay tax on the PM of “yesterday “ so I think they trying to recoup some tax $ too that they have to pay out to MR Trudeau and his friends 

Adding yes first screen shot supposed to be $0 the - - $17 meant that was going to available funds as those old rewards would just add up for future payment . Not sure the new points will allow for that anymore . As I understand it at one time you couldn’t collect more rewards then what your plan value was . Sure hope that won’t be the case going forward . 

[softech]

@Handy1 

as I further examine your screenshots, the first one showing amount due of $0 was in fact because the system took $17 off your available funds, ie, that "estimated payment" was supposed to be $17 and not $0.   So, it was not  jump from $0 to $39.10.   Not sure if your account now have $0 available funds, but should your account have over $39.10 of available funds, it will show amount due of $0 as well.   

So, two screenshots like those was eye catching,  it does magnify the effect of the rewards system change.  But since it is not an apple-to-apple comparison, it is definitely misleading

Have you gone through a renewal on this account yet?  Would be nice if you update your post showing the points you got from a renewal, so people know how the points helped your future savings 

[asiaminor2k]

Another thought with the *FORCED* migration: Instead of being rewarded for simply being LOYAL and nothing else... now users have to "participate" in the community (with vague rules regarding points earned) to get anywhere near the value of the old rewards. In other words, users have to "work".

Only PM and shareholders benefit from the points program.

[Handy1]

@softech  no not misleading at all I no longer get old loyalty rewards from yesterday automatically added to my account  . Now I  have to pay full price for the plan and yes I earn lousy points . After the fact . With added step of having to redeem them if I happen to remember to and the 10 points you speak of is once a year . You’re assuming I’ll stick around that long to enjoy that measly perk . 

what is MISLEADING however is the way Public mobile went about this roll out to trying to convince folks this was some sorta enhancement for the customers . And taking away the 1 point for each month of service . And giving out a data add on as after thought that still had strings attached to it . Now that’s deceitful I’ll agree . You can’t sugar coat it this is bad for loyal customers all the way around 

[marcnoel]

Regardless of when you joined, plans have come and gone over the years.  I was on the $ 15.00/250 MB plan for over two years.  When they introduced unlimited throttled data, I switched to that.  I then found out how much I would actually use in a month, and it was nowhere near as much as I thought it would be.  I have bounced around the plans, and have been checking offerings every day since they introduced unlimited, because I've seen plans pop up, then disappear a few days later, so I check every day to ensure I can snag the best deal.  I have a daily reminder in my phone, and it's just part of my routine now.

If you had joined two years ago, you would have started out on Points, and the switch wouldn't apply to you.  Also, you would have to be with PM a year to start getting a $ 1.00 per month in loyalty, which would be equivalent to 5% back from a $ 20.00 plan.  AutoPay discount would be the larger amount for possibly three years, until loyalty pulled ahead.  In all that time, you never saw plans decrease in price, and data increase?  I know I have since September 2015.

With all the upset about this, so many people have expressed their reasons for leaving PM.  Flip it around - what reason do any of us have to stay?  Discounts have reduced, so it can't be that.  Plans are similar to offerings elsewhere, so it can't be that.  Only thing is if total cost is lower than elsewhere.  Even though it's higher than before, it's still lower than elsewhere, depending on plan price, needs, and Points entitlement.

[marcnoel]

Prices have not been reduced relative to offerings?  Of course they have.  You can now get 1 GB of 4G data for $ 19.00 a month.  A few months ago, it was $ 25.00 for 1 3G GB.  Prices have come down, and data has gone up.  Once again, we refer back to 2018, where you could get 4 GB for $ 40.00/month.  Now, you can get 50 GB Can/US for $ 34.00.  50 is more than 4.  $ 34.00 is less than $ 40.00.

[softech]

---

@Handy1 wrote:

It’s official the new rewards system looks worse or as bad as it sounds 

public mobile yesterday 

Public mobile today 

---

@Handy1 

the screenshots are misleading!!

your bill jumped from $0 to $39.10, but that are other facts you didn't show and mentioned is that:

• You still get 15 points (=$15) in Community rewards should you participate the same amount as before
  (you have been helping less lately and likely see a drop in Community rewards in the next bill, but that is something you have full control )
• you didn't loss any of your Friend Referral points assuming all your friends stay.  So, the 29 points (=$29) is still there 
• you receive 5% points out of $34  plan, you earned 1.7 points out of it
• you are going to earn 10 points on your anniversary date (=$0.83 /month)

What you have truly lost is the $5 loyalty and $2 autopay rewards.  So, a loss of $7 total but you get 1.7+0.83 =2.53  points back, the net loss is only 4.47 /month

What was deceiving and misleading was that the two screenshots showed a jump of $39.10 in payment, with no follow up screenshots on your rewards transaction showing your rewards earned after the renewal.  The 29 points (=$29) are significant part of your monthly savings and you chose to not mention that at all

[marcnoel]

Good for you.  Unfortunately, in my own case, I'm apprehensive to switch to Bell from Telus, I don't care about US calling, and, even without any referrals, I will still get 20 GB for $ 22.92 per month - $ 3.92 for an extra 17 GB.  To me, that is a better deal.

[Alex111R]

If you don't have a better deal for you and have looked into that already, there you go. Ethics are not terms, not about "how things always had been" or "that's the way it is/ how things work here" talk. The prices have not been reduced relative to offerings; I'm letting you know that I did not just join Public Mobile 2years ago, I know what I just wrote in this sentence.

[marcnoel]

So much fury about lost rewards, even though it says on the dashboard that old referrals may take up to 30 days to show.  See if there's still the same problem in a month.

What are people expecting to see?  Aside from the 5 gift points, the only other things will be 5% back after your next payment, referrals within a month, Community (where applicable), and loyalty 10 on your anniversary date.  These things will happen over time, not as soon as the switch occurs.  I think there are some premature reactions, such as those complaining they lost their rewards.  They will probably show up in the next few weeks.

[marcnoel]

That's a separate issue.  Would you rather they not offer it at all?  The $ 34.00/50 GB plan came up last year for new activations only, then, a while later it was offered to existing, and I got it.  The plan currently offered does NOT have unlimited throttled data, but it has US calling and data.  I prefer the unlimited, as I don't need US stuff, but then, when the $ 29.00/20 GB 30-day plan came up ($ 25.00 if you opt for 90 days), the $ 9.00 decrease drew me in, especially since I don't use much data (it turns out).

[nomadthinker]

Absolutely Sandijam. That would, at least, ensure that those who are losing the most discounts, be compensated by access to the best plan available at the time the rewards discounts were taken away. Giving those who are forced to switch "5 points" as a welcome gift to the Rewards System is pathetic, and only maddened people.

[Sandijam]

long time customers should not “have to wait”. 

[nomadthinker]

Thank you for the reply colleeno. I am aware of the $19 1GB 4G plan. My point is that for the customers who have dutifully supported Public Mobile by not jumping back and forth between providers to get the best current deal, this is an insult. Stripping the longest serving customers of basically all their discounts for remaining loyal customers for 5 years and longer, and not allowing them access to the best current deal available is disgusting. Toilet paper comes on sale; 30 double rolls for about $12, yet Public Mobile chooses to use their most loyal customers as their toilet paper.

[marcnoel]

Once again, wait.  Don't be surprised if the "new activations only" is offered to us in a while.  It's happened before.

[colleeno]

@nomadthinker There is a new $19 plan offered to existing customers but isn’t shown publicly in their plan offerings. When logged into your account, go to Manage Subscription and then to Change Subscription. You should see that one of the plan options is a $19 4G 1Gb 30-day plan with unlimited calling and texting. Yes, it’s not as good as the new activations plan but it is better than your current 3G $25 plan.

[nomadthinker]

There must be a shortage of screwdrivers in Canada; because the decision makers at Public Mobile sure have a lot of loose or missing screws. The absurdity of forcing the change over to Reward Points, while not allowing the same subscriber to, at least, take advantage of a far better plan, that is available for "new activations only", is so pathetic, it is comical. A 5 year subscriber to the $25.00 1GB 3G plan, will have their $5 monthly discount and the $2 auto-pay discount stripped away, in favor of a $1.25 per month discount. This is bad enough, but for Public Mobile to then tell the same customer that we are now offering a  $19.00 3GB 4G plan that is far superior and less expensive than the plan you have now, but oops, sorry, we are not allowing you to have this plan, because it is for "new activations only", goes beyond absurd. The patients are now running the insane asylum when you force your subscribers, who have been with you the longest, to change to the more expensive Rewards System, then force them to remain on an outdated plan, by offering someone who just walked through the door, something far better and less expensive. My last words are that "there are people who should be fired over this".

[Handy1]

It’s official the new rewards system looks worse or as bad as it sounds 

public mobile yesterday 

Public mobile today 

[marcnoel]

I wonder why it is that some people may not have received notice about the change as early as the rest of us.  How much notice is appropriate?

Separately, instead of me trying to find a better deal elsewhere, would all those who have found a better deal, please post it?  Only those who found a better deal than 20 GB/month for $ 14.92 need post, if you're willing.

[marcnoel]

The change is new for those who were on Rewards.  Points have been around since January 2022.

Did you recommend anyone to PM since February 2022?  If so, they would be on Points, not Rewards.  If you did, what's different now?  The change only affects those who subscribed before January 2022.

[Stig]

Wow. What a complete 360 in service. Public Mobile, I recommended you to people I know because your old rewards system was the absolute best around. I am beyond disappointed you would throw away all the goodwill you built with your customers. This new points system is ridiculous and useless. I know it was completely legal to do this but it’s a low blow. I will be looking around for another carrier.

[Miles1]

That's a CCTS complaint as I did not consent to this change and as a result my bill will go up. Have fun dealing with that.

[nicknamessuck]

I contacted Public Mobile in regards to the screw you that is the new rewards program they are forcing people onto and they were only willing to offer me a one time credit for one month's service, when I toold them I am still leaving they told me sorry and that was it. At that point I started looking for and found there are many many other providers that offer better packages for the same price or even cheaper.

I only started looking at other providers because Pubic Mobile decided to screw over their loyal customers.

[Loretac]

I am unhappy with this change. With the auto pay reward, I got $2 off my bill plus $5 off everymonth for loyalty reward (I've been with public for FIVE years!!) 

Now, I am paying full price again... what can I do to get an equivalent deal back now with this system? 

[About2Leave]

The roll out on this was handled poorly. The first time Public communicated this change to me was when I recieved enrollment notification today. I thought someone had hacked my account. 

I received other messages from Public, but not this. Something is broken in your customer service area that should be looked into. 

[hTideGnow]

HI @PmEugeS 

actually, out of the $11, you have 4 ore more friend referrals?

the friend referrals will now show up in points.  You wait a day or two after renewal, then check the Rewards site again, and you should see PM add 5% points plus the friend referrals there.  

After you see you get 15 points, you can then redeem for $15 bill credit