Refund for SIM/Voucher

[memccolm]

It seems that I've made a mistake in attempting to switch to Public Mobile from Chatr.

I purchased a SIM and a payment voucher but am now being told by CS_Agent that I can only activate with a credit card.

How can I get a refund for the SIM and payment voucher?

[computergeek541]

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@memccolm wrote:

After filing a complaint with the CCTC, I received the following response from a CS_Agent:

Hello <Firstname>!

Thank you for your reply and for securing your account!

I've found the <AccountNumber> draft account and I've activated the temporary <PhoneNumber> phone number while using the <SIMcardNumber> sim card and I've also gave you the $23 10GB at 4G speed, unlimited Canada-wide calling, unlimited messaging, 30 day plan and you still have an extra 2$ on file and I've set the PIN to <PINNumber>.

I'd also like to add your address and postal code on file so please write them to me and if you another phone number I can change you to a phone number dedicated to your province or if you want to port an existing phone number please provide with the old provider with the old provider account number.

Also there is no fraudulent business practice and yes no refund can be done for vouchers and please cancel your CCTC request as of now since I managed to finish you activation request.

Please turn off/ turn on your device and tell me if you can make and receive calls, send and receive text messages!

Please tell me if you have any other questions or concerns.

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Surprise, surprise! It seems that it is possible to activate an account with a prepaid voucher after all.

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It should have never have come to this as this could and should have been done upon the first time you requested it.  The most up to date information that I have been provided by Public Mobile head office states that this very same procedure to open a new Public Mobile account for a customer who does not have a credit card (or visa/mastercard debit card) is to be followed and is a procedure that customer support agents can perform.

[slusagm]

Happy that it works

but I guess PM just bring nice and let you bend the rule and get it.  next time, check before you activate 

[memccolm]

After filing a complaint with the CCTC, I received the following response from a CS_Agent:

Hello <Firstname>!

Thank you for your reply and for securing your account!

I've found the <AccountNumber> draft account and I've activated the temporary <PhoneNumber> phone number while using the <SIMcardNumber> sim card and I've also gave you the $23 10GB at 4G speed, unlimited Canada-wide calling, unlimited messaging, 30 day plan and you still have an extra 2$ on file and I've set the PIN to <PINNumber>.

I'd also like to add your address and postal code on file so please write them to me and if you another phone number I can change you to a phone number dedicated to your province or if you want to port an existing phone number please provide with the old provider with the old provider account number.

Also there is no fraudulent business practice and yes no refund can be done for vouchers and please cancel your CCTC request as of now since I managed to finish you activation request.

Please turn off/ turn on your device and tell me if you can make and receive calls, send and receive text messages!

Please tell me if you have any other questions or concerns.

-----

Surprise, surprise! It seems that it is possible to activate an account with a prepaid voucher after all.

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[computergeek541]

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@memccolm wrote:

So Public Mobile thinks they can sell payment vouchers, then refuse to accept them as payment, and then point to a "disclaimer" written on a receipt you only receive after you've forked over your money to Public Mobile as justification for refusing to provide service that you paid for and refusing to return the money that paid for that service.

Reported to CCTS.

 This is unfortuante.  The information that I have from the Public Mobile head office teams that I was provided with directly says that for situations such as this, a customer support agent is to open the account for the customer without payment being required.   After the customer support agent finishes opening the account, the voucher is to be use to pay for the plan and take the account out of non-payment service supension.  This is official company policy that was implemented when the activation systems stopped accepting vouchers.  While I have seen some material quoted from a few customer support agents saying that they will not do this, no information has ever been provided to me from the Telus coroporate offices inidcating any change in this policy.

[Sansan]

Sorry to hear that, good luck with your complaint. 

[memccolm]

Received another response from a differeny CS_Agent after asking for a refund.

Here it is:

Hi memccolm

Thanks for reaching out to Public Mobile. This is Angelo and I'll be more than happy to assist you with your concern today.

Would you be as kind as to read the disclaimer perfectly written on the Top Up Voucher you have?

Here you can find our terms and conditions:

https://assets.ctfassets.net/xe7doznj0dju/1TbtVZv98kU1gWD5orA57y/01760196e6adec864609b1ac5e7ee2d0/Pu...

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Kind regards,

Angelo,

Customer support agent.

The reponse included a photo of a payment voucher with a red arrow pointing to the words "NOT REFUNDABLE". Can you feel the snark?

So Public Mobile thinks they can sell payment vouchers, then refuse to accept them as payment, and then point to a "disclaimer" written on a receipt you only receive after you've forked over your money to Public Mobile as justification for refusing to provide service that you paid for and refusing to return the money that paid for that service.

Reported to CCTS.

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[memccolm]

Thank you to all who replied. Looks like I will be (attempting) to return the SIM card tomorrow and I have filed a complaint with the CCTS to seek a refund for the payment voucher.

[memccolm]

[Sansan]

 

[memccolm]

A voucher costs nothing. A prepaid credit card has a fee. I don't want to pay $5 or $6 just so I can give $25 to Public Mobile.

My bank doesn't have Visa or MasterCard debit cards.

Frankly, I'd rather not do business with either of those companies. They are like a mafia who take a percentage of every transaction when the cost to them to provide the transaction is pennies.

[slusagm]

since you are willing to buy voucher, why not buy a prepaid credit card? or you can use a Visa/MC debit, most accounts now have that

or ask friend to help for the activation and ask PM to remove the credit card after

[memccolm]

Went back to the private message from CS_Agent and noticed it actually said "an activation can only be done with a valid Canadian card". It didn't actually say "credit" card and I didn't mention credit card in my ticket.

[memccolm]

Have been paying for phone service for 23 years without a credit card. If I can't activate with Public Mobile, I'll just stick with Chatr and trying to get a refund for the SIM and payment voucher.

[hTideGnow]

HI @memccolm 

not sure why you cannot use voucher to activate, it used to work.   But you can still use Prepaid Credit card if that helps

[memccolm]

I can't understand why Public Mobile would accept payment vouchers and instant topups as payment methods but require a credit card for the first payment. What's the point? This is why I chose not to try Fizz Mobile. At least Fizz Mobile is upfront in telling you that they require a credit card. With Public Mobile, you have to attempt to sign up and fail in order to find out they require a credit card.

[memccolm]

Thanks for your reply. I hope that is the case. I'll let you know when and if I hear back from CS_Agent.

[Sansan]

@memccolm  if cs agents told you that you can only activate by credit card, you have to go back to them and ask them for the refund. 

They are the only ones you can do it for you.

However; there are no refunds so they might decline you. The sign up process did state that plans can onlybe activated using a Canadian Credit card, or Visa/ MC debit. Once it's activated,  you can ask them to remove the cc and pay by voucher.  But, they could/might not allow that anymore either.

[Chalupa_Batman]

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@memccolm wrote:

It seems that I've made a mistake in attempting to switch to Public Mobile from Chatr.

I purchased a SIM and a payment voucher but am now being told by CS_Agent that I can only activate with a credit card.

How can I get a refund for the SIM and payment voucher?

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Hey @memccolm 

I hate to say it but you're out of luck on both counts. The only real option you have is to sell both on Kijiji and hope for the best. 

EDIT: Thanks for sharing that amazing information @computergeek541  ....  this was something I never heard of but can be a game changer for folks who don't have credit cards or bad credit.

[computergeek541]

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@memccolm wrote:

It seems that I've made a mistake in attempting to switch to Public Mobile from Chatr.

I purchased a SIM and a payment voucher but am now being told by CS_Agent that I can only activate with a credit card.

How can I get a refund for the SIM and payment voucher?

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The information that I have been provided by Public Mobile states that the customer support agent should be opening your account for you in a suspended status state.  Once that is done, the voucher can be added to the account to pay for the plan.