General update on activation issues - MOD response?

[akagw]

Just throwing this out there @Mary_M et al.

Can we have some sort of general update on the numerous activation issues? It would be nice to know what is going on and have some timelines for when we can expect fixes, who to contact, if we should contact, etc. 

It appears a lot of folks have been waiting for a few days for various porting/activation problems. 

I know it must be frustrating on PM's end but if we had some sort of sticky thread giving us a bit of an update it would go a long way.

Thanks. 

[Stormy]

I was actually able to set up the self serve myself on Wednesday. I also initially had a problem when I first went through the setup. Went through all the steps and when it got to the payment part it threw up an error about my CC (Visa Debit). Then went and checked my bank account and the payment had actually gone  through.

I then went back to the start page and did the self serve setup using my number that I was trying to port over, and it let me set it up, and the self serve is working. Logging into the self serve has never been a problem for me. The problem is the stuck/hung number port.

[KirkK]

@Stormy:   Just to confirm:  you actually received a reply from a moderator, and they were able to set up a Self-Serve account so that you can log in (whereas you were previously unable to), and your plan is at least now correct even if you've been unable to port a number?

Thanks.

[akagw]

The new number worked for me. Not sure what combination of magic made it work. My port wasn't even registered at my old provider so perhaps that's why it allowed be to do it. All services are working and I can send and receive texts now.

Someone mentioned earlier how can you do this without a new SIM card... I believe it's because PM allows you to change your number once per billing period using your existing SIM.

All is good for now.

[stphnp]

That's terrible 😞

[Gino1914]

Yes I was able to get to the Change Number page. When I clicked Confirm it told me the change number request failed. I think once u start to port your old number over u cannot request a new number so I'm stuck till the Mods fix it.

[stphnp]

Are you able to get to the Change Number page of the self serve site? Requesting a new number through there was increasingly looking like my only hope. It will allow me to select a new one but I don't know what will happen if I click Confirm. Are you seeing any of that?

[Gino1914]

I've tried to change to a new PM # & it won't let me do it. I think when u request a port u r stuck. I understand needing to be patient but I noticed that the private messages I sent to the Mods on Nov 3 still have not been read! I think it's going to be a looooooong wait.

[Stormy]

I finally got a response and the port is still stuck and can take up to another 2 business days to complete. So I am potentially looking at up until some time Tuesday for this to get resolved.

There is patience and the there is bordering on ridiculous as that will be close to a week of paying for a service I can't use, that is if you call only being able to send texts and make calls and data usable.

Seeing as I actuallt can access the self serve portal, I am seriously considering doing what akagw did.

[PBForMe]

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@Stormy wrote:

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PBForMe wrote

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People need to be patient or just forgo the switch if they can't handle increased response times should they need assistance. 

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Kind of hard to forgo when PM already has people's money.

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Caveat Emptor.

[KirkK]

@akagw  Yeah, but how did you set up a new number without a new SIM card?  Also, if you went through the whole six page activation process again, how are you not being billed a second time?  

Remember lots of us are unable to access self-serve through any means.

[Gino1914]

Hi akagw: Did u use the same sim to change ur number?

[akagw]

I said screw it and set up a new number through self serve. I wasn't going to wait for my port any longer. I was getting too frustrated with the process. At least all my contacts now have my new number (much easier number to remember than my old number too). Not ideal but at least everything now works. Hopefully it stays this way.

[KirkK]

@outdoorsaddix  @Mary_M

Yes, I did use the same e-mail addy that I had used with Koodo, because I was not directed otherwise by PM's deeply flawed activation process.  (Again, I DID follow the instructions and did NOT try to port the Koodo number, and accepted the temporary one PM assigned... in fact, that number is associated with my SIM card now as reported by my Mac and iPad when I put the new SIM in my iPhone, but my self-service account was not created, there is NO way to access it, and I have no phone/text/data service from PM.)

Later when I discovered on these forums that there could be a potential issue with using the same e-mail, I actually logged into Koodo and changed my e-mail address there... hoping that would make things better.  But 24 hours later there is no response from the moderators, and I still have no access.

Some people are reporting no response 48 hours later.  And Mary is reporting she's the only one working today.

[Gino1914]

Hi Folks@Mary_M: I think the Mods r trying to do the best they can but these hiccups r to be expected from a low overhead service. Ever try to get help at a COSTCO outlet? That being said we need to be patient. Also just to let everyone know, I ported from Koodo with the same email & have been stuck since this past Thur but many have used a diff email & still got stuck so I'm not sure that is the main reason why porting gets stalled. To be noted also is that PM is a prepaid not a postpaid system. Thus it is necassary for them to charge our Credit card to activate our account. But I took a 30 day plan to try it out till Nov. 20. I started my service with a new PM number & it worked great. Just as good as my Koodo service. Then I decided to port 😕 If it doesn't get solved by tomorrow I figure some numbers r harder to port than other & will probably get a new SIM card with a new number & forget about porting my old number but I believe the Mods r doing their best with the resources the company is giving them

[Stormy]

Coming up on 48 hours with no response to PM's from the mods here.

[outdoorsaddix]

@KirkK Oh, so you are coming from Koodo? Did you use a different email address than the one you have on your Koodo account during your activation? I would definatly agree that issue needs to get either fixed or called out better during the activation process. 

All that aside @Shazia_K I think the mod team needs to prioritise getting @KirkK taken care of.

[KirkK]

@outdoorsaddix  But let me emphasize that I haven't even got to the porting the number part... We can't activate a brand new account with a brand new phone number assigned by PM.  (I followed PM's instructions to NOT try to port a Koodo number until after the account was set up, so the issue is tied to new account creation not porting, though obviously there are other issues associated with porting.)

 The central issue is that is actually impossible for us to create a self-service account after the partial activation fails to create it.  So then there is no way to log in, there's no way to recover your password, there's no way to try create a new account with the newly assigned number.  It's a gong show in terms of every e-commerce transaction I've ever done.  I'd be okay with it all if they had also failed to bill my credit card.... but no, they happily billed me $126... that's where I lose it: especially since there's no way for me to cancel the process except to try and call my credit card company.

[outdoorsaddix]

@KirkK Partial ports have been a thing since pretty much ever across all carriers. Porting a number between carriers requires handoff  between both carriers systems and sometimes things go wrong. 

The difference is that Public has no phone line for you to call and speak with someone who will take care of the issue then and there, but instead they tell you to go to the forum and make a post or message a mod to get the issue resolved so of course you are going to see posts going back a year to when they first relaunched because it is the only way to get things done. And you are also going to see way more posts about it than any other carrier as it is again the only way. 

But that is why you are getting a $40 for 4GB plan, all of the overhead has been stripped out to do it profitably and with increased volume from the program and no increased CS headcount (you could definatly argue they need to add mod headcount) wait times are going to go up. 

I myself have ported my number about half a dozen times over the past 13 years and once I got a partial port between Virgin and Fido, annoying but I called somone and had it dealt with immediatly, but I was paying $75 per month for less than we are getting here today.

[Stormy]

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PBForMe wrote

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People need to be patient or just forgo the switch if they can't handle increased response times should they need assistance. 

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Kind of hard to forgo when PM already has people's money.

[KirkK]

OMG... so I did a general google search of "Public Mobile Activation Problems", and this has been an ongoing issue for over a YEAR looking at posts that go back to at least Oct 2015.  It has nothing to do with the promotion, or quite frankly patience.  If this is an ongoing problem then they need to own up to it, or restructure ... I don't know... their e-commerce platform so that people aren't being billed before an account is actually set up!  

[PBForMe]

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@akagw wrote:

Just throwing this out there @Mary_M et al.

Can we have some sort of general update on the numerous activation issues? It would be nice to know what is going on and have some timelines for when we can expect fixes, who to contact, if we should contact, etc. 

It appears a lot of folks have been waiting for a few days for various porting/activation problems. 

I know it must be frustrating on PM's end but if we had some sort of sticky thread giving us a bit of an update it would go a long way.

Thanks. 

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They are getting bombarded with messages and wait times have gone up, which is normal any time you have a promo this good from anywhere. I'm not sure what they could say that we don't already know.

People need to be patient or just forgo the switch if they can't handle increased response times should they need assistance. 

[KirkK]

Thanks for bringing our discussion over to a new thread @akagw .  For myself, I couldn't figure out how to start a *new* thread on this forum: how did you do it?

Well @Mary_M  @Jeremy_M et al. 

Some general communication:

a) acknowledging the problem;

b) outlining what is being done to address it generally;

c) providing a reasonable timeframe that we can expect this to be resolved (while our credit cards are being charged, and while many of our other phone accounts sit in limbo)

is NECESSARY at this point.  It's simply ridiculous.  If your backlog is that bad for your three moderators, then you need to address the problem with a general announcement and ...

... stop blaming it on our browsers, browser caches, etc. when clearly it is *your* database issues that are at fault when tens/hundreds/thousands? of people are reporting exactly the following contradictory error:

"Sorry, your account activation request has failed. Please visit our online community at href=" " Target="_blank">publicmobile.ca/community for assistance.

Thanks for submitting your activation request. Your request has been processed. Full details are below."

... which leaves us all in the limbo of being simultaneously billed and half-activated but unable to access an account that your servers claim doesn't exist, or use the services that you've just billed us for.

As these half-activations (and what I believe are fraudulent billings) pile up, are you Public Mobile (aka Telus) seriously going to have your *three* moderators individually deal with them by this ridiculous private messaging system, or can someone above them step up to the plate and admit there's a problem?  I've never EVER seen an online e-commerce system actually validate a credit card charge without actually successfully completing the transaction.

I've tried polite, but I'll be calling my credit card company in the morning and filing a complaint with CCTS if this isn't resolved by Satuday a.m.

[clogan2]

I'd have to agree, it's rather demoralizing to see all these problems 

Typically things go decently well, and when they don't we get a really quick response. The only explaination that I can gather is that the moderators must be overwhelmed by all of the new activations.

[akagw]

That's great. Glad it worked out for you!

It worked that way on my wife's account last night too moving from Eastlink. Today for my Eastlink port and new account activation, a whole new ballgame. There's really no rhyme or reason to who is affected or not.

[Taco]

I just ported my number from Koodo a few minutes ago.  It was pretty much pain free except an error saying that I must be authorized to port my number.  I managed to get it working though.