Calls about forced switch from Public

[Ranger677]

Hi all

I just recieved a call from my mother that has me a bit concerned and I am wondering if anyone else has experinced it.

She is with Public Mobile on an automatic monthly plan.  She currently has a flip phone and has a talk and text plan.

She got a text a couple of weeks back supposedlyfrom Koodo with an offer to switch over to them with the same plan.  The wording was defently that of an offer, and I told her to ignore it since she was happy with Public and I did not see any point in it.

Now today she recieved a phone call, again supposedly from Koodo, saying that since Koodo bought out Public, her plan is being switched over and she needs to come in to get a new SIM card.  Although I did not hear the wording like I did with the text, from what my mom was saying it sounded like there was no choice in the matter.

I have never heard about anything like this before and I can not find anything along these lines anywhere, so like I said, I am wondering if anyone else has encountered it and if this is just some shady dealing on behalf of a Koodo rep or something else.

Thanks

[Luddite]

@mhaider Read that; was not aware Koodo was a business unit of Public Mobile. 👺

We'll see what PM's privacy rep has to say. 

[canucks4life]

Sounds to me like they're trying to off load Grandfathered PM clients most likely in hopes to eventually sunset legacy phone support.

[mhaider]

@Luddite In all fairness to Public Mobile, they state this in their privacy policy so you kind of agreed to that when you signed up to Public Mobile.

https://publicmobile.ca/pdfs/Privacy_with_Public_Mobile.pdf

When do we disclose personal information?
- other Public Mobile business units to help us serve our customers better and to provide them with services from different parts of our company;

[Luddite]

@Cat_L This corporate behaviour is nearly enough for me to abandon Telus and ALL its brands.

I did not sign up with Public Mobile for my contact information to be shared with Koodo, Telus or any affiliated companies in order to receive UNSOLICITED SMS or email. YOU ARE NOT AUTHOURIZED by me to share my private information.

[computergeek541]

Some salesperson is just trying to get a commission. 

[Cat_L]

Hi @Ranger677,

@mhaider has it right - that was likely a Koodo Authorized Dealer calling. I can confirm that the offer is real and that it is an offer, not a mandatory migration. I apologize that it was presented as a mandatory migration and for the concern that ambiguity may have caused. 

I will take this back to make sure the offer is not being misrepresented and other customers don't experience what your mom did. On that note, would you mind private messaging me your mom's phone number so I can make sure we follow up with whoever called her specifically?

Thank you for flagging this to us!

[stonechucker]

For reference, this is the entire post from @Cat_L in that other thread.

http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/I-received-this-email-from-Koodo-on-some-n...

[mhaider]

That is probably an attempt from an authorized dealer to guarantee a sale for themself, a practice that should not be promoted and hopefully Public Mobile will look into that.  Perhaps @Cat_L can look into this for you further.

[Ranger677]

Interesting.  Still does not explain why they made it sound like there was no choice in the matter.  That part still seems a bit shady.

[Subbanator96]

Still pretty sketchy though, but super helpful @mhaider! Am I the only legacy customer who hasn't heard anything from koodo about that option?

[Ranger677]

Not exactly the same one, but very simular.  Like I said the initial one was a text, and mentioned an exclusive offer that would allow her to switch with the same plan but also be eligable for Koodo phones.

[ShawnC13]

@mhaider  thanks for sharing that!!

[mhaider · Accepted solution]

Could be legit.. Here is a copy and paste from a mod ( @Cat_L ) from another thread:

---------------- 

We do have an offer on right now that allows select legacy Public customers to move to Koodo. This campaign is being communicated through an SMS from Public, an email from Koodo, and calls from Koodo Authorized Dealers to those customers who are eligible.....This promotion is an offer for loyal Public customers who signed up with us when we had stores and a call centre and we want to ensure that they remain well served by us, and if we’re not meeting their expectations, that they have a choice to join our sister brand, Koodo.

[Subbanator96]

Definitely shady stuff going on. She should consider blocking the number thats been contacting her, and thats definitely unfortunate.

[ShawnC13]

There was a thread with someone else receiveing emails like this.  Could it be from a  franchise store trying to get customers back.  So if they share the same back end as PM I am sure they could probably look into it and see who is a PM customer in there area and contact them and hope to get them onto a Koodo plan.

[canucks4life]

Has she been with PM for a long time? Did she receive a similar Email as post below?

http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/I-received-this-email-from-Koodo-on-some-n...

[CaNuCk07]

Definitely something shady goin on, koodo wouldnt buy PM, theyre both owned by telus.