Biggest Scam Ever.

[Steveo]

Charged $120 for no service and no support (on email or forum) for over half a week. This doesn't include the cost of losing my number, the cost of purchasing a temporary prepaid phone, the cost of signing up with another carrier, and on goes the list.

I'll be filing a consumer complaint to the ministry. I'd advise anyone who has been ripped off to do the same.

[mike390]

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@Kellyzhong wrote:
Do you work for PM? Please spend a bit (maybe 5 mins) of your time to fix my porting problem, instead of digging through regulation and my profile, these pointless things to argue with me, if you do.

BTW, does PM require its customer register in the community right after activation?

@Kellyzhong

Sounds like your issues were because you provided inaccurate information when porting your number, this will obviously make things take longer. If people have to manually help you fix errors you made to get through this, especially during this very busy time you will obviously have to wait.  

Did you cancel your accout with your old provider before switching? This could be the reason why you lost your number and also why this could be taking so long.  There are many guides and posts here telling you to not cancel your number before signing up or you can lose your number.  This is true for all carriers, not just PM.

You are not the only customer trying to join PM right now and you expect everyone to drop everything and help you.  You could try to be a bit more understanding instead of calling PM a scam and generally having a terrible attitude while simultaneously expecting to jump to the front of the line for special treatment.  It doesnt work that way.  PM has definitely been great so far but if you reasearched them a bit before jumping in you would have realized that a small percentage of users have had issues porting their number due to the sheer volume from this promotion.  This shouldnt be a suprise to you.

@Steveo

Sounds like you didnt give PM much of a change before you switched.  WIND has spotty reception and you will find yourself paying for WIND away zones alot. That 5GB is going to be slow and will be throttled occasionally as well.  If it works for you then great! But dont put down PM because you had to wait 3 days during their busiest time, chargebacks are not the answer either.  VISA will make you work with PM to get a refund before they issue a chargeback.  Chargebacks are not a good look for you with creditcard companies.

[PeterH]

Nope. You can expect a red carpet treatment and pay little for it all you want. Just don't go around calling it a scam because they don't give it to you. If the business line is critical you should have gotten a business line from a carrier that offers it. They have different service level agreements, but you pay through the roof for it.

Expect to get some heat when you are claiming to be a victim of a scam "it's definitely a scam, at least for me" and making insults to people "I didn't know so many people live on this forum to defend PM.". 

Defending it for others to know it's not a scam and there are growing pains in switching carriers. If you switched TV service or ISP providers, it's the same situation, things happen and may require longer than expected to resolve.

At one point Telus was going to shutdown PM, so it's good they keep growing and drive competition. End of the day it's a numbers game, hopefully other carriers see that and either reduce their prices or step up their coverage. 

[Rockdaddy22]

Of course not but most people don't wait a week if they don't have service. How long has it been since your first message was sent?

[Kellyzhong]

Do you work for PM? Please spend a bit (maybe 5 mins) of your time to fix my porting problem, instead of digging through regulation and my profile, these pointless things to argue with me, if you do.

BTW, does PM require its customer register in the community right after activation?

[PeterH]

If it's worth the wait, it happens ALL the time when waiting for a seat. You have the option of leaving and never returning. Still doesn't make them a scammer just because you were given an estimated time.

Two weeks is a long time to resolve the issue, not sure why you waited a week ("Registered: a week ago") to sign up for the community forums...

[Kellyzhong]

In my case, it's two WEEKS!
For your restaurant scenario, what if bartender tells you to wait 5 mins, but turn out still no seat after two hours. Would you still care about how good their prices?

[suno]

Biggest scam that I fell for is paying Rogers a higher monthly price plan for fewer GB than what Public Mobile is offering at a lesser price.

[PeterH]

lulz. The sirens from the whambulance is strong in this thread. So it's okay to discourage others from joining by making outrageous accusations of fraud? While your situation is not uncommon for ALL carriers, this is the reality when porting over numbers.

If you rely heavily on your business number you should have done the research prior to porting. Clearly you did not and have your expectations set way too high. I could be wrong, but there is no mandate that porting be completed in a defined period. CRTC says it "can" take a few hours and CWTA says it "should be" in 2.5 business hours.

"For mobile phones, it can take a few hours. For landline to mobile or mobile to landline, it typically takes up to 2 business days. You might also experience a disruption in service while it’s being transferred, including disruptions to 9-1-1 services."

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/mobile/num.htm

"If you are transferring your phone number from one wireless service provider to another wireless service provider, your new voice service should be activated within 2.5 business hours. If you are transferring a wireline number to a wireless service provider, or vice versa, the service should be activated within two business days."

https://www.cwta.ca/for-consumers/wireless-number-portability/

If a restaurant with excellent food had a great promotion and you are at the back of the line, does it make them a scammer?

[Kellyzhong]

OMG. I didn't know so many people live on this forum to defend PM.
Case by case look. Saving 100 people doesn't give you the right to kill the next one.
My work relys on my number. What would you think if you were forced to be out of work by your phone company?
If PM can't handle that many transfer, should they at least pause it? If they can't solve my issue in two days, then they should not make some promise that can never be fulfilled.

As for now, I am glad that so many people finally find good deals from PM. But just really disappointed by the way they handled my case.

[PeterH]

@Kellyzhong It's still a scam even though it worked right away for your husband? 

"A dishonest scheme; a fraud:

‘an insurance scam’"

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/scam

[fathom]

I think PM suffered from the RDF effects and got overloaded with transfer requests.
I switched two accounts after over 10 years of corporate accounts with Bell and Rogers.
Now if you want to see how much i spent extra over the last ten years with them, then that's a scam.
Unsuccessful slow port with community support on a cheap plan does not equal scam.

[Kellyzhong]

The successful number was for my hubby, which was instantly, and which is why he referred me. Didn't expect such hassel.....

Anyway, private message sent to @Saray_O

Hope can get this fix soon.

[Saray_O]

Hi @Kellyzhong, 

I'm really sorry about this inconvenient. I found an account under your email address (number ending on 5631) and I can confirm that the number is completed and the service is provitioned?

If you're experiencing problems with another account, send me a private message with your Public Mobile SIM card number and the phone number that you wanted to port and I will look into this as soon as I can.  

Thank you!

[Chaos_Scorpio]

another person complains at PM due to user error entering incorrect data.

I think @Steveo should appologize here.

Far from a scam, been with PM for a full cycle and no issues (yes I had the plan swap issue but it was resolved in 3 days). Provide the correct information, do not yell or complain or say I will leave crap... be calm and courtious and you get service.

B'tch and complain and the other side is less inclined to help (its like that with the big three - they have a comment section for customers mood on your file; angry ones get treated with less respect). 

[Kellyzhong]

All right, they didn't scam you, but me. Fair enough?

[twestacott]

I dont see how you can call this a scam when there are clearly many of us using the service. I understand the frustration of those who are having issues (my wife was one of them) but claiming this to be a scam would insinuate that these people are intentionally being lied too which I dont believe is the case. In my honest opinion PM fully delivers on the services you are purchasing once you get the initial kinks worked out. What PM is guilty of here is doing a very poor job of anticipating the response this promotion would recieve and as a result didnt have the systems and staffing in place to deal with the influx of new customers. 

[Saray_O]

Hi @Steveo, 

I'm really sorry about this inconvenient. 

I see that your account was activated but it seems that the account number you provided from your old service provider was invalid and that's why your port hasn't gone through. My colleague Bladimir asked you for this info yesterday but I'm not sure you got back to him. 

I assure you that we are not ripping off anyone, we are just receiving an unusually high number of messages lately. But we are doing everything we can to assist you and others. 

[Kellyzhong]

Although don't think it's the biggest, it's definitely a scam, at least for me. Two weeks from activating, still no porting. They promised a few times "your issue will be solved within 48 hours", nothing happened.
For me, regardless how less you charge customers, how many data you are providing, if an important part of your promise (porting number) is broken, breaking your promise again and again. It's definitely breaking the contract. Overpromissing is always hated the most.

[daredogg]

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@carryjones23 wrote:

OP, dont pay no attention to these shills. they are trying to earn that extra $1-$2 off discount so if you negatively talks about PM, the shills will come out in full force to earn their keeps.

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It's called loyalty @carryjones23! Maybe a community reward is the only incentive for some, but it's not for the people who come on here daily to help people with their issues. I'll admit, when someone comes on here with a title like Biggest Scam Ever, it definitely draws attention and brings out the PM defenders. That's the loyalty I'm speaking of... but don't pigeonhole us all, as there have been some genuine people on here who've helped you (I being one of them... I remember your name).

Sorry you've had such a bad experience with this. I don't think PM considered if they were ready to handle such an influx of activations considering there were glitches in the system from even 2 years ago that have not yet been addressed. To offer the "hottest deal" on mobile service and not be ready for it... I really feel for the moderators, but even more so, the people who lost their cellular service for up to a week. Most of us RELY on our phones as we've ditched the home phones... so I get it. I get why people are angry, I get why people are threatening action... I get why people are feeling suckered in (I would too).

As I mentioned to someone else today... be the squeaky wheel and you'll get help. Hate that it's come to that, but hopefully that will work for you...

[Garry]

Anyone thinking Koodo is a better option should think twice. I was a Koodo customer for 3 years before changing to PM. 

Have a look at the problems on their community board. Lots of frustrated people. Billing issues, receprtion issues, Self serve issues. SAME PROBLEMS!!!

I myself tried to contact Koodo CS on Saturday (yes they're open) and I was on hold for 62 minutes before finally getting tired of their **bleep**ty music.

Why pay an extra $20/mth for the same service at Koodo? Makes no sense.

[Rockdaddy22]

I'd love to hear one thing the so called shills said that isn't true. I'll be as honest as possible and criticize PM when needed. Ask me anything, I promise I'll be honest.

[Devil_tear]

@carryjones23 yeah sure... It's only for the community rewards.. -.-

I don't care about the rewards, what I care is that PM thrives and lives long. we are overcharged by companies that make us pay double compared to other countries for there services, and if a company like PM is able to offer a very low price for a good service I will try to support them the best I can. That is why I stuck with wind for 4 years and that is why now I am with PM. If PM has to cut on customer service to achieve that I understand and I will bare with the consequences of that... If somebody is not willing to do that I can understand but if you don't like it look elsewhere instead of whining here... It very well seems that in this society people feel entitled to everything other than solving there own problems...

With that said I didn't have a single problem after 5 days with PM, so I really can't understand other peoples frustrations, but if I had problems (which honestly I thought I was going to have) I would have bared with them and I would have waited for better days because I knew that I had to give on something to get what PM is offering at the moment... It comes down to personal choices, but if it doesn't work for you walk away and leave PM for others to enjoy, like I am and like many others...

[carryjones23]

lolz, the shills are so strong in this thread.

although i wouldnt call PM a scam but however i do agree that this so called "community based service" is really sh1tty.

OP, dont pay no attention to these shills. they are trying to earn that extra $1-$2 off discount so if you negatively talks about PM, the shills will come out in full force to earn their keeps.

i am myself trying to get things fixed on my end and by the looks of things i will most likely head back to koodo, albeit less data for the same price but at least if there is an issue, it doesnt have to take over a month and STILL counting to resolve.

[zoomzoom87]

6 years for me, got fed up lately and pm had a deal i couldn't refuse.

[PBForMe]

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@Steveo wrote:
I've had enough. I stopped by Wind mobile, signed up for $40 per month for 5 gbs of data, and my line is active and working within 20 minutes.

I'll be contacting Visa to get my money back from Public Mobile.

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"I've made a huge mistake"

You waited 3 and a half days to get your issue resolved on Public Mobile. I waited more than 3 and a half years for Wind to fix their network... and I'm still waiting. 

I wish you the best of luck in your decision, but I feel in your case patience would have been more fruitful than haste. 

[ASharpTM]

Something didn't work 100% and suddenly it's a scam. Alright then.

I feel like the original poster should maybe do some research before committing to something like Public Mobile. If you run into problems (especially with this promo going on) you should be prepared for delays. It's absolutely no secret that there are issues if you bother to look around and read up on this deal on other sites or even on these message boards.

Sucks for OP but you should know what you're getting yourself into. If you can't live without cell phone access for "over half a week" (God forbid) then maybe you should have planned accordingly.

[Rockdaddy22]

No need to get Visa to do a chargeback, PM will be happy to give you a refund. Visa will just tell you to contact the merchant and try and work it out yourself. Everyone else said enough here, sorry it didn't work out for you.

[Ionut]

I don't quite understand about this "big scam". They are some rules when you come to PM.

I think if you wanna keep your phone number you must have it active to be able to port it

The e-mail and community services are amazing and much faster than dealing with Customers Services on the phone.

i've been for over 6 years with PM and didn't get any trouble. Any kind of issue or questions was answered on the forum in a time manner.

Also you do not give as any details of what's going on. Did you manage to port your number?

Did you manage to activate your sim.? Did you manage to pay for the sevices?

There's a lot of things which can cause this problem and you might just skip steps, or close page.

P.S. i think you should fil a consumer complaint to Canada for Bell/Rogers/Wind and their subsiders

for charging astronamical  price. There's no place on earth where you can purchase a mobile plan for over 80 $ or more beside Canada.

[Devil_tear]

@Steveo happy for you that wind or anybody else can give you what you want, but next time do your research and live with the consequences of your actions! If you would have done that you would know that support is community based with mod's here to help with major issues... but a quick look at your profile and the only posts that you have are bitching whining and complaining with no details of your issues... So please do us a favor and enjoy your "premium service " with wind (company I switched from, and never been happier) and leave us alone!

[zoomzoom87]

Have fun, switched from freedom mobile to this plan. It's working (i switched right when the promo went live) the service is 1000 times better in every way.

edit: freedom mobile