Autopay reward: Do not use lost/stolen trick*** Issue now resolved (for all rewards) Edit: its back!

[darlicious]

Edit: This issue has returned as of 11/27/20. I have asked pm to look into why it has returned and why the moderators have reverted to adding rewards manually only if they choose to do so...YMMV!

This is a warning to all the doubters and all the helpful hardworking community members who suggest using the lost/stolen trick to get services in their account working again.

  I can attest that I used this workaround for my boyfriend in his first month when all his incoming calls were going straight to voicemail. He needed his calling and it worked like a charm! Awesome it was minimum 48 hour waits for moderators at that time. I heard you might not have your rewards applied....no problem just get them applied after. Renewal comes, autopay doesn't get applied, I wait til it's not so crazy busy and the moderator happily applies the $2. But I was warned you will not have your rewards applied because of a known bug do not use this as a workaround.

 Next monthly boyfriend actually loses his phone and report it lost/stolen...and I have my purse stolen, all my cards, id,  even a very persistent attempt at my identity. The boyfriend gets a hopelessly smashed phone back but working SIM backas well....put it in my back up flip phone and report it as found. I replace all my cards and go into our accounts and replace the stolen card info with the new card info. Again after renewal I message the moderators and they sympathetically apply the $2.

  Third month the boyfriend wipes out on his bike and loses his phone(mine) and his wallet with my card that is registered for autopay. Report the phone lost...he goes searching and finds the phone but the wallet is long gone. Report the phone found. I message a moderator ahead of renewal asking if he can fix the reward issue ahead of time...no...but they very kindly replaced the card info on all three of the accounts it was on and i would just have to have it applied after renewal.

  I messaged the moderators this morning explain the issue and ask for the $2 to be applied. The answer  NO.  The account was suspended you will not receive the autopay reward this month. After sending all my previous moderator conversations on the issue the autopay reward was applied with this caveat. " please note as this is the second time this has happened we will no longer be able to apply the autopay reward retroactively."

  You have it from the horses mouth....using the lost/stolen feature even if you actually have your phone lost or stolen you will not have your rewards applied retroactively more than twice!

[CannonFodder]

LOL, that's hilarious!!! 😆  Although cats can twist & turn a lot, that 2nd one almost looks like Linda Blair in "The Exorcist", what with the head turned around backwards. 😉 

[AE_Collector]

For those who are short of desk space there is a wall version as well.

AE_Collector

[CannonFodder]

Had to toss a Bravo at ya JUST for the Garfield phone!!! 👍  😁 

[AE_Collector]

@darlicious 

All I can say is "if it weren't for bad luck, you or your boyfriend wouldn't have any luck at all"! I noticed that you were a little less active here quite recently, I even passed you in the Brovos list for a couple of days. This made me wonder what @darlicious was up to. Now I know, cancelling credit cards!

Hopefully all goes much better for you both starting today!

Merry Christmas

AE_Collector ... Terry in Coquitlam.

[Anonymous]

 @darlicious , @Alan_K , @Tiana_V 

"The system cannot distinguish between different types of suspension nor period of time" - this does not make sense to me and I find it entirely unlikely and indeed it penalizes those using it for its intended use.
"or extended absence"? Do you mean self-suspension (lost/stolen)? If not then really, extended absence is the same as non-payment.

I'll just say I don't like the impact all this has on "legitimate" use of the feature. But of course how to distinguish "legitimate". So don't. I'm fine with the obvious stopping of the rewards clock at suspension. Them not coming back after 30 days after the clock restarts is my major problem with these "policies". Autopay and referrals should show in the rewards. The loyalty clock should pick up again and the previous clock total show in rewards. The community doesn't get distributed until early in the month so it's on its own schedule but it should be available again. I would understand that activity in the community "might" not be accounted for while in suspension.

[darlicious]

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@mimmo wrote:

@darlicious  I wonder if disabling and enabling auto pay afyetost stolen would have any effect?

If auto pay was active during renewal I would Fight for it. As I believe autopay being on at renewal is the only requirement for the reward 

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@mimmo  Yours is closest to the solution in how it applies to the autopay reward even though it applies to all rewards...but the previous month has to be paid for (autopay enabled fulfills this requirement) to keep the rewards. An edit to your post to direct those seeking a detailed explanation to my update at the end of the thread would be great! Many thanks...darlicious

[darlicious]

Update: I was given some words of wisdom and more or less the official word on this issue of the lost/stolen feature causing rewards to not be applied upon renewal. First of all...your rewards will not be applied upon renewal when the lost/stolen feature has been used...for one minute or 89 days. Once used the system is programmed to disable the application of rewards so that they cannot be used to pay for your service if you have been suspended for non payment. The system cannot distinguish between different types of suspensions nor the period of time that has passed while suspended. While this makes sense ...it does penalize the those using lost/stolen for its intended use.

    In regards to the moderator stating rewards will not be applied retroactively because pm is a prepaid service. That is incorrect. Moderators are under no obligation to apply them after your renewal the rewards are to accumulate and be applied on your next renewal. (2×reward amount) So if your normal reward amount has not doubled in your account then asking a moderator to apply them is allowable...its up to them if they want to apply them in your rewards or directly to your balance. This only applies if you have paid for your previous months service vs suspension for non payment or an extended absence.

   This clarification of policy will be communicated to the moderator team and going forward this will hopefully prevent members from opening more than one service ticket because a moderator has the incorrect information on policy.

[will13am]

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@darlicious wrote:

@will13am  Does public mobile have set policy in regards to retroactively applying rewards?

The problem I'm having is with the blanket statement: " We will be here to help you with any issues but as a prepaid service we do not provide rewards retroactively." This is one of the primary issues public mobile has....not applying rewards upon renewal. The solution was not they will be applied on your next renewal (as in 2×your rewards on next renewal.) The response was this has happened twice already we will not apply your rewards....period. The rewards were earned (or in this case reward)the reason they were not applied was of no consequence to the customer by way of using the tools given to him to report the phone lost and then found (which caused the non application because of a bug in pm's system) and/or the previous moderator replacing the credit information.

  Public Mobile is a give and take provider we put up with all the bugs and glitches, solve most of our own issues, perform tasks and manage our own accounts, pay for our own mistakes, wait up to 48 hours for moderator assistance often with no working service for cheap plans and rewards. Public Mobile provides the service, gives bare bones customer service and pays out rewards /credits to make up for its shortcomings, its volunteer sales force and trouble shooting "tech " departments . All we really hope for is interruption free services, the application of rewards earned thru dedication and hard work and straight forward online customer service

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TL;DR.  I will give you my simple analysis of the situation.  When an account is put into the lost phone mode, the timer is still running on the current payment cycle.  The customer gains no financial benefit from doing this.  It is purely intended to block the SIM card from being used.  Because of this condition, I believe it is fair that rewards are not lost as a result of using this feature.  Moreover,  I believe that what is happening here is purely the result of how the programming ended up and not a true reflection of policy.  I suggest taking this up with Public Mobile in private to sort things out.  

[darlicious]

@will13am  Does public mobile have set policy in regards to retroactively applying rewards?

The problem I'm having is with the blanket statement: " We will be here to help you with any issues but as a prepaid service we do not provide rewards retroactively." This is one of the primary issues public mobile has....not applying rewards upon renewal. The solution was not they will be applied on your next renewal (as in 2×your rewards on next renewal.) The response was this has happened twice already we will not apply your rewards....period. The rewards were earned (or in this case reward)the reason they were not applied was of no consequence to the customer by way of using the tools given to him to report the phone lost and then found (which caused the non application because of a bug in pm's system) and/or the previous moderator replacing the credit information.

  Public Mobile is a give and take provider we put up with all the bugs and glitches, solve most of our own issues, perform tasks and manage our own accounts, pay for our own mistakes, wait up to 48 hours for moderator assistance often with no working service for cheap plans and rewards. Public Mobile provides the service, gives bare bones customer service and pays out rewards /credits to make up for its shortcomings, its volunteer sales force and trouble shooting "tech " departments . All we really hope for is interruption free services, the application of rewards earned thru dedication and hard work and straight forward online customer service

[will13am]

@darlicious , ask again.  Some moderators are more sympathetic than others.  

[darlicious]

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@YVR wrote:

When I suspended the account, for bit while out of town, using lost/stolen - the autopay reward was not automatically applied.  It is probably since I had to force a payment and the autopay would not trigger?

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I was told this is a known bug so not to use it for work around but if your using it for its actual purpose but for only 24 to 48 hours why should you lose your rewards? The warning may be about the autopay reward but the moderator generalized rewards. It's a kick you when you're down move. Oh you lost your phone....well you don't get your rewards either.

[totalUser]

I guess it should be used only when really lost or stolen and not every time something is wrong with the service. And not rush until you really looked everywhere or notice that calls were made before reporting. I guess it really makes sense to have it pin protected as well

Another time it would make sense is with the extended away as you will be saving more. 

[YVR]

When I suspended the account, for bit while out of town, using lost/stolen - the autopay reward was not automatically applied.  It is probably since I had to force a payment and the autopay would not trigger?

[darlicious]

@mimmo  The moderator used the words "account was suspended" if its the autopay not being enabled...not that I want to blame the other moderator that one gave me great service. I normally replace my credit card info but the moderator offered to do it for me.

[mimmo · Accepted solution]

@darlicious  I wonder if disabling and enabling auto pay afyetost stolen would have any effect?

If auto pay was active during renewal I would Fight for it. As I believe autopay being on at renewal is the only requirement for the reward 

[darlicious]

Apparently if it happens more than twice. And note the update says rewards. My bf only has the autopay reward. I have many more rewards than he does.

[Ed404]

So turning on lost/stolen phone in self-serve loses you the autopay reward that month?

[darlicious]

Update: "We will be here to help you with any issues but as a prepaid service we do not provide rewards retroactively. "