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

[hTideGnow]

HI @mikasik2 

PM can likely say the option is there as long as the legacy rewards is stil lthere, but this moment, the legacy rewards is "dead"

and true, they removed the 1 point 1 month the week before the announcement, that is poor marketing.  at least remove it a lot earlier so people don't awere

[jhhead]

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@SeniorCitizen wrote:

@jhhead 

Nice deal. Is that the plan that is also 19/month if pay 3 months in advance?

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Yes it appears to be - however the text doesn't give you the option to choose the 3 month option 🙄

[mikasik2]

Hey @hTideGnow 

You're probably right about the newer image saying that migration is optional.  I'm slightly more hopeful for the older image that said we'll get the discounts for as long as the account remains active.  I guess it depends on what the TOS said at that point in time.  Its a long shot for sure.  

I also said I would have settled for the 1-point per month since account activation but they got rid of it a week before announcing everyone would be forced over.  Maybe there is something for the CRTC to work with there.

[LizzieDee]

Been with Public Mobile for at least 8 years, was a great reward system, now my bill at $10 higher a month, time to start looking for another provider.  

[RobinL]

I'm very interested in the result of this - I have been with Public for several years, I had some great loyalty perks and referral rewards and only had a monthly bill of $9 because of it. I was a little upset to see my bill go back up to $17.25 after purposely opting out of the points program to keep my rewards. I guess we have no choice but to log in and apply them now? That really sucks. 

[SeniorCitizen]

@jhhead 

Nice deal. Is that the plan that is also 19/month if pay 3 months in advance?

[hTideGnow]

HI @mikasik2 

personally, i don't see it as a false advertisement.  The message basically said you have a choice at that time.  There was no hint there that the legacy program will be here forever or they ever promise that we will stick to this forever.  

So, don't have high hope on it

[jhhead]

Public Mobile just texted me:

Public Mobile here. Get 3GB of data at 4G speeds of up to 100mbps for only $21/month.

Reply YES to get this limited time offer added to your account and will take effect on your next renewal date.

Hurry, offer ends May 28, 2024.

Reply STOP if you no longer wish to hear about Public Mobile offers.

[mikasik2]

Had a chat with someone from the CCTS.  The complaint is outside their perview as we are on a prepaid plan where terms of service can change.  They said they would be sending their investigation to the CRTC however for them to consider their business practices and possible false advertising.  I sent them these images:

Public points is optional

[DY604]

i remember switching rewards program will give you an instant boost of new reward points. I am seeing a very sad amount of points in my rewards account after being a customer for a LONG time. 

[Reachah]

Change isn't easy, but it is inevitable. I was a bit shocked when my bill came out higher than usual. 

I guess it'll all work itself out in the end with the point perks. And they've been a good provider for me, I don't need much and it's been very reasonable. So can't complain. 

[Jadelynliang]

I remembered I did recieved a text. But then the system has changed my plan.  If I didn't checked my credit card bill. I couldn't have notice it.

[G_Pomzz]

I received an email from Stephane, a complaints resolution officer at CCTS. He wants to talk with me about my complaint against PM. Has anyone talked to him yet?

[hTideGnow]

HI @marcnoel 

it is a typical thinking, the "bad" happens to others are good, just not to me.  LoL

i agree what you said before, we should be grateful we saved extra 2 years.  For many of us, that is a $140+ saving

No one like to pay more, but I am smart enough to know good things won't last , enjoy what you have now 🙂

of course, if there are really better, cheaper plans out there, people are free to go, no need to be upset and whine daily.  And if it still save a bit here, just not as much as before, enjoy the savings  

[marcnoel]

It appears that numerous individuals here see this whole situation as "Rewards good, Points bad", instead of "Points good, Rewards better."  Why has it been okay to refer people to PM since January 2022, when all they would get was Points?  Why is Points good enough for new customers but not us?  We all got extra discounts being on Rewards instead of Points, and now that time has passed.  Can we not be grateful for what we did get, instead of bitter about what we've lost?  It's still a better deal at PM than with others, for some plans, just not as good as it used to be.

Separately, to those who've commented about going elsewhere to another carrier that has a good reputation and cares about its customers - I suggest that you check reviews and forums, because all carriers have some issues, sometimes.  

[hTideGnow]

HI @Jenvin1 

you will earn the 5% points and the friend referrals points.  Check back the Rewards site in 2 days and you will see those added. 

Yes, it won't be as much as before, but still a ok savings 

[Jenvin1]

My subscription got renewed today and I noticed that I am now paying full monthly plan price after I was forced to switch over to Public points.  I lost $8 monthly discount for referrals, auto payment and loyalty for being a customer since 2019.  $5 one time welcome reward is hardly a substitute for ongoing monthly $8 discount.  IMO the Public Points should have been only for new customers and all old customers should have been excluded.  I am not looking to switch over to another provider.  So much for Public Mobile.

[hairtothepie]

Exactly. Most were loyal for the savings. That's why I stayed. 

[hTideGnow]

Hi @ATHENS 

no, downgrading plan, the bonus data will be gone as of today

some were able to ask for another set of bonus data but only if they ask and approved

[DownEast]

What loyalty?  You found a better plan and you left that month...

[DownEast]

It's not likely they are going to do anything - receiving the bonus data was conditional on not downgrading your plan.

[funpig1]

Has there been any resolutions to the numerous CCTS complaints, including customers who had there 240 GB loyalty bonus data canceled as a result of downgrading for the purpose of trying to make use of this bonus data? Rather than waste the CCTS time and create more backlogs with customer service, PM should just give back some of the bonus data e.g. at least 5GB or 30GB depending on which plan customers downgraded to. I think this would placate people to some degree.

[rachelwalker]

Well I was switched to public points. I lost my $6 monthly discount and got 5 public mobile points. They lost a 6 year customer today. Not that the company could really care less. Just sad because I was loyal. 
Sad for me. I did like Public Mobile. Now I will never recommend them. They betrayed me. Never underestimate customer loyalty.

[Rionn]

This is garbage.

they have slowly been changing my old plan, I have less capability than before and am now spending nearly twice what I was originally.

I think I’m done with public.

The old points program and how it impacted my cell phone bill was a badge of honor.

now after all these years they basically reset everything and I might as well go somewhere else. No incentive anymore.

[SeniorCitizen]

@marcnoel 

Just my 2 cents worth. Everyone has different needs and shopping for a reliable and trustworthy solution can be tedious. BUT from my point, FIZZ is a fizzle…..nothing attractive at all. Too expensive for a third tier option. Yet Freedom does have some appeal. Both owned by Quebecor and assume both run in same networks. 

[marcnoel]

I tried Fizz, but data didn't work with my phone. Rollover data and data gifting are wonderful ideas, but, gifting works only if there's someone to send it to; otherwise, it's not applicable. The other thing is a paradox - if you are using so much data that you would need rolled-over data, you wouldn't have any data rolled over anyway, and, if your data rolls over, then, you're obviously not using your monthly allotment. Granted, there may be times usage widely fluctuates, so having access to rolled data would be useful.

My point is, keeping in mind the foregoing, Fizz might seem like a dealy-wealy, but, currently, you can get 20 GB for $ 25.00. Looking at the Rewards structure, you would have to pay full price for three years before you started getting $ 1.00 off per month. There would be data perks added to your plan within those three years, but that helps only if you need it. In comparison, you would have already gotten $ 75.00 off in three years with PM, with no referrals.

[marcnoel]

You should see 5% from any payment made while on Points, you will get 10 points on your anniversary date, and, if you had any referrals, the dashboard says it can take up to 30 days for past referrals to appear.  It may be too early to see much, if anything, now.

[sheytoon]

I got a response that CCTS has rejected PM's objection.

[HG6]

I am very disappointed with the new reward program. I lost all the discounts and paid almost 30% more on the new bill, not happy at all. 

[Worrisome0995]

Wow, that was a SERIOUS downgrade from the previous reward program. I'm now paying like 30-40% more than I was last month. I guess being a loyal PM customer no longer pays.

I've been abroad for some time, but chose to continue paying monthly so I'd still have my rewards upon my return. Now it's time to either cancel or move to Fizz if I just want to keep my number. And to remember this so I don't make the mistake of coming back to PM when I return...