$40/4GB Plan - getting $10/month price INCREASE!

[alohaya]

Just got this text message from Public Mobile. They are raising my plan price by $10/month, trying to get me to switch to Koodo. Anyone else got this text? 

Public Mobile here. Starting March 20th, 2018 your rate plan price will increase by $10 per 30 days, making your plan $150 for 90 days. But don't worry! Our sister brand, Koodo, has a way for you to keep your $40 price point. Until March 15th, 2018, join Koodo and get 4GB of data, unlimited text and now additionally get UNLIMITED CANADA-WIDE minutes for $40/month PLUS get a one-time $100 bill credit! Offer valid for xxxxxxxxxxx. Redeem at your nearest Koodo location or London Drugs or online at https://koo.do/gocustomer-service. Show this msg and use promo code GOKOODO404GB to redeem along with 2 pieces of ID. Your phone number is your validation code. You're included on the list for Public Mobile offers and deals. To be excluded, reply unsubscribe. Conditions apply.

[neilselden]

Ahhhh, I just read the message from Dave.  No need to answer this question now, of course.

Hi,

@Moderator_Team, can you explain exactly how the billing will work?

My plan renews in May.  Does this mean that I will have to pay anything additional, before my renew date, in order to keep my service?

Or will I continue as is, meaning no additional payment, and will then be paying $50/month when my plan renews (in May)?

Thanks,

Neil

[jpar]

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@CalvinWwrote:

Too late for PM to do damage control, their reputation is down the drain already. They are probably going to try again later this year... 

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I'm sure the uproar will be just as strong the next time around, though. 

[sirkdub]

JUST IN CASE NOT EVERYONE IS AWARE, PM HAS CANCELLED THE PRICE INCREASE! DO NOT FEEL YOU HAVE TO SWITCH TO THE INFERIOR KOODO OFFER. LETS KEEP THE PM COMMUNITY ALIVE, LOUD, AND COHESIVE. THIS WAS HOW WE BATTLED AND WON THIS. LETS HOPE WE DONT HAVE TO DO BATTLE AGAIN!!

the official post from PM:

A letter from Dave on the infamous $40 for 4GB price change
Hey Community,

I am writing to you today to let you know that we will not be moving forward with a price increase on the infamous “$40 for 4GB” plan ($120 90-day Province-Wide Talk + Text + 12GB Data), contrary to the SMS that customers on that plan received yesterday.

After sending out an offer to select customers, we heard your feedback loud and clear: we said no surprises, and we surprised you. While all good things must come to an end at some point – that point is not today. As a brand, we have always been proud of our transparency, and of our commitment to our customers. We are sincerely sorry for any frustration caused and we want you to know that this has been a learning experience for us all.

We have been reminded that you, our customers, are vocal and passionate. We’ve seen how much some of you love Public Mobile and we’ve also seen how many of you like the added value that our sister brand, Koodo, has to offer. To that end, we are happy to say that the Koodo offer that our Public customers on the “$40 for 4GB” plan received still remains available for anyone who wishes to take advantage of it.

Thank you for your continued support,

Dave

[lukevader]

@KingCreole @mike390 Man you two are friggin crazy. You just love to make up things that are not in a contract. But hey, no problem, one day you will get a rude awakening. 

[Randy_Calgary]

I wonder for those that are allowed to come back to PM who switched (I assume this won't happen).....if they were referred previously, will the original person who referred them...get the referral credits back!

[NDesai]

This was just reveresed. See the annoucment: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/A-letter-from-Dave-on-the-infamous-40-for...

[josephyuan]

Hello Public Mobile,

This is a message for a Public Mobile moderator or representative. In order to comply with the requirements for submitting a complaint to CCTS. I am advising you that I would like to keep my current plan with 12GB / 90 days at $120 minus my rewards that I have had since the Fall 2016 Promo. 

Per your own promotional material and answers to customers:

"If you have signed up for the promotional plan, you will be able to keep it after the promo period, as long as you are an active customer. This means that, as long as you are an active customer on this plan, your plan price will remain at $120, even after your initial 90 days. No surprises". Link to website to this quote: https://productioncommunity.publicmobil ... td-p/77350

Please contact me directly to discuss the matter further. If you do not respond within a 24 hr time frame I will assume that you reject all communication on this topic.

p.s. i just heard some news saying there will not be a price increase. however,  I DID NOT RECEIVE ANY OFFICIAL NOTICE FROM YOU SO FAR.  THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. IF I DID NOT HEAR YOUR OFFICIAL NOTICE IN NEXT 24 HRS, I WILL FILE A CCTS COMPLAIN.

Thank you

joseph yuan

[Chanel90]

I've recommended PM to so many friends and I'm even switching my mom over to PM this weekend, but now all of this is just in such bad taste. I hate feeling like I have to keep an eye on a company, but I was hopeful that PM would remain one of the trusty few. Yes, prices go up sometimes, but Canadian cell has always been an absolute ripoff compared to other countries, and PM was on the right track...until now. Womp womp. Fingers crossed that they realize why we stuck with them in the first place

[sirkdub]

Yes same concern for me. Even if PM decides to grandfather this plan, many of us will lose referral credits as I’m sure some will be leaving out of frustration or suckered into the crappy Koodo offer. How does PM/Telus plan to compensate us for these damages?  

[Tallguy11]

well we won for now.. the are not going forward with the price increase

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/A-letter-from-Dave-on-the-infamous-40-for...

[Tallguy11]

well we won for now.. they arnt going forward with the price increase

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/A-letter-from-Dave-on-the-infamous-40-for...

[ute1978]

**UPDATE: NO PRICE INCREASE!**
https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/A-letter-from-Dave-on-the-infamous-40-for...

[Tallguy11]

well we just won for now.. they are not going forward with the price increase

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/A-letter-from-Dave-on-the-infamous-40-for...

[CalvinW]

Too late for PM to do damage control, their reputation is down the drain already. They are probably going to try again later this year... 

[ponghenr]

Thanks for making me aware!

[tevel]

The 30 days notice for a 90 day plan getting a 25% price increase makes it all especially egregious. I actually left Koodo to come to Public Mobile, and one of the things I loved about PM was the sense of community and being different.  Koodo was fine, but it wasn't anything special.

As to whether I expected Public Mobile to continue to allow the $120/12GB plan to live on indefinately as originally offered?  Yes, I thought it would survive unchanged, not forever I suppose but for years at least.  The marginal cost of providing cell service is pretty low from what I understand.  Canada already has some of the highest cell phone plan prices in the developed world.  Public Mobile also gets to avoid the churn.  Low advertising, no kiosks and cell shops, just sit back and collect cash.

That the Telus mothership has stated to investors that they are going to focus on moving customers "up the value chain" from prepaid to postpaid in order to grow profits seems to coincide with all these offers to move people to Koodo in the last month.  I have absolutely zero interest in moving up the so-called value chain in order to be allowed to pay more to bolster corporate profits.

[ute1978]

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@mikefradettewrote:

No carrier is going to give me a good a deal as I have with PM, so I'm pretty upset with PM right now! It's taken a lot of work to move friends and family to PM just for all of them to start getting texts to move to Koodo.

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@mikefradetteWhoaaa, respect. I needed some time to notice that it is not a monthly price but a 90 days price. Unfortunately some of those referral rewards will disappear as many will jump ship.

[Lg85]

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/A-letter-from-Dave-on-the-infamous-40-for...

Public Mobile just confirmed that they are not moving forward with the price increase. 

[ponghenr]

Dear Public Mobile,

I got the text message yesterday informing me that my bill would be going up by $10 per month. You offered a deal to switch to Koodo by March 15, but if I were to do so, I would lose the prepaid value I have on my account which was autorenewed early February. The promotional Koodo plan does not meet my needs, as the data does not roll over from month to month.

When I switched to Public Mobile for the promo plan, I was assured that there would not be any price changes, quoted below:

"If you have signed up for the promotional plan, you will be able to keep it after the promo period, as long as you are an active customer. This means that, as long as you are an active customer on this plan, your plan price will remain at $120, even after your initial 90 days. No surprises."

Source: (https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/UPDATE-Last-day-to-get-our-limited-time...)

Given that you are now increasing the price, you have clearly pulled a bait and switch on me as I'm now faced with a price increase. I had given up a great plan from Rogers to sign with you, and going back to that plan is no longer an option and I'm stuck with your offered plan or worse. Consider this message a formal complaint against you and your practices. If you do not contact me with a proposed resolution within a reasonable time (given the switch deadline that you imposed, I consider 48 hours to be reasonable), I will escalate my complaint to the CCTS and the Competition Bureau. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

[atrtovac]

They advised me that since I’m one of the “special” public mobile clients in this situation, the normal $15 SIM card is free of charge. I’m in Ontario, so maybe it’s different? But I’m not sure 

[will13am]

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@mimmowrote:

@will13am are you referring to the Flash's enemy Zoom by chance?  Do they still offer 4gb loyalty after several months?   

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Yes and yes.  Loyalty kicks in after 6 months.  I have read some being able to obtain loyalty status after 5 months. 

[mikefradette]

No carrier is going to give me a good a deal as I have with PM, so I'm pretty upset with PM right now! It's taken a lot of work to move friends and family to PM just for all of them to start getting texts to move to Koodo.

[89alucas]

Hello Public Mobile,

This is a message for a Public Mobile moderator or representative. In order to comply with the requirements for submitting a complaint to CCTS. I am advising you that I would like to keep my current plan with 12GB / 90 days at $120 minus my rewards that I have had since the Fall 2016 Promo. 

Per your own promotional material and answers to customers:

"If you have signed up for the promotional plan, you will be able to keep it after the promo period, as long as you are an active customer. This means that, as long as you are an active customer on this plan, your plan price will remain at $120, even after your initial 90 days. No surprises". Link to website to this quote: https://productioncommunity.publicmobil ... td-p/77350

Please contact me directly to discuss the matter further. If you do not respond within a 24 hr time frame I will assume that you reject all communication on this topic.

Thank you

[mike390]

That'll never fly.  Honestly if they win and get their way, they are going to lose a ton of customers, even if they lose and have to keep it at $40, they will still have people pissed off enough to jump ship at the next deal that comes around from a competitor.   New customers will hear about this bull**bleep** and be wary to sign up with Public Mobile.

Telus damaged their reputation for $10... 

[parlaminty]

Hello Public Mobile,

This is a message for a Public Mobile moderator or representative. In order to comply with the requirements for submitting a complaint to CCTS. I am advising you that I would like to keep my current plan with 12GB / 90 days at $120 minus my rewards that I have had since the Fall 2016 Promo. 

Per your own promotional material and answers to customers:

"If you have signed up for the promotional plan, you will be able to keep it after the promo period, as long as you are an active customer. This means that, as long as you are an active customer on this plan, your plan price will remain at $120, even after your initial 90 days. No surprises". Link to website to this quote: https://productioncommunity.publicmobil ... td-p/77350

Please contact me directly to discuss the matter further regarding my two affected plans. If you do not respond within a 24 hr time frame I will assume that you reject all communication on this topic.

Thank you,

SalP

[Civic_E]

There is period of time where your account goes into "suspended" mode just before next billing cycle starts. Within this time frame your account is technically not active! Hence they have the right to increase your rate plan before next billing period starts. Even if you have autopay setup your account is designed to trigger that it is "suspended state" so it needs to charge your credit card. Just like a Pestro cards ...if your balance goes below $5 it will automatically charge your credit, if it is setup. If you don't have auto pay your account will go from suspended to inactive!

As a customer we don't notice these time frame (especially if you have autopay) because during that period your phone service remains normal! Compare it to a post-paid account where is bill is past due but you are able to use it for a certain period of time.

This is just a hypothesis. I may be wrong.

[DanteK]

Hello Public Mobile,

This is a message for a Public Mobile moderator or representative. In order to comply with the requirements for submitting a complaint to CCTS. I am advising you that I would like to keep my current plan with 12GB / 90 days at $120 minus my rewards that I have had since the Fall 2016 Promo. 

Per your own promotional material and answers to customers:

"If you have signed up for the promotional plan, you will be able to keep it after the promo period, as long as you are an active customer. This means that, as long as you are an active customer on this plan, your plan price will remain at $120, even after your initial 90 days. No surprises". Link to website to this quote: https://productioncommunity.publicmobil ... td-p/77350

Please contact me directly to discuss the matter further regarding my two affected plans. If you do not respond within a 24 hr time frame I will assume that you reject all communication on this topic.

Thank you,

DanteK

[mimmo]

@will13am are you referring to the Flash's enemy Zoom by chance?  Do they still offer 4gb loyalty after several months?   

[koimr1]

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@sbreakinwrote:

Thanks for helping us get more details on the Koodo offer.

As an FYI I have read that if call forwarding (& no answer etc) are important to you they are an extra $3 (i.e. an extra feature).

Q: Also if anyone could help with the TAB aspect, the ability to get a phone would be a feature that we don't have at PM.

From what I've read the main features: $100 (possibly more with referral), 4G/mo, unlimited calling Canada wide, same network, $40/mo. voicemail/ call display.  Items one is giving up: 90 day averaging for data (no one else has that), pre-paid aspect, loyalty credits (although the $10 increase put a big dent in those). 

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For the tab question, I did get this in a private message from a moderator:

"You may qualify for a $0 phone on a Tab. This will be determined after a credit check"

Hope that helps!

[computergeek541]

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@sbreakinwrote:

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Gosh, you've saved someone a lot of work (normally the recent announcements would be Brooke but as you say they may want a generic PM or higher level announcement. 

Now the only thing for them to add is a bit more about the Koodo offer to clarify that a bit & a bit more detail on a 3G speed & LTE plan that is comparable.  

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Perhaps, I should sell the right to use parts of it in return for a $10 discount every 30 days.  Lol.