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

[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...

[nimnum]

Ah ok. Well, that's considerably worse than the $10 off per month I was receiving before. That's very disappointing. That wasn't made very clear during this transition.

[fixin1]

@nimnum - From automatically depositing within My Account for the next month? Yes

The Loyalty and autopay rewards are the only ones gone while all of the refer a friend are staying with 1 point per referral and community rewards.

Also there is a new 5% back from your plan in points monthly. Also 5 welcome points as a one time thing.

You can redeem points for a $15 bill credit for 15 points, along with add-ons that are slightly cheaper, and promo offers.

[nimnum]

Am I understanding this correctly, that all the loyalty, referral, etc discounts have been removed?

[marcnoel]

Good luck with that.

[Mahmoodkh]

Never trust TELUS or any of its subsidiaries. After almost 6 years with Public Mobile and recommending it to my friends without any referral incentives, I feel betrayed. I'm now looking for another provider with a better reputation that I can trust.

[jhhead]

Got the following email update from my CCTS complaint:

"Thank you for contacting the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS). The CCTS is an independent agency with a mandate to receive, facilitate the resolution of, and, if necessary, resolve eligible customer complaints relating to certain retail telecommunications and retail residential subscription television services.

We acknowledge receipt of your  e-mail,  of May 15,2024, for which we thank you. Please note your file has been moved to our  investigation stage and you should receive an email shortly with more details."

[marcnoel]

Just clarifying the customers that took your recommendation and are upset must have joined before January 2022, or else the change wouldn't affect them.

[jimbobs2023]

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@Pierre wrote:

I know all that... I'm just frustrated to not have a little something more for supporting PM since almost the very beginning... 

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Exactly the way I feel.  Over the years I've been with PM, I recommended them to many family members and friends (wasn't that interested in referrals, etc).  Many of those who signed up are now asking me what to do given the forced changes and effective price increases.  Suspect I'm going to hear a lot more as the May and June renewals roll in.