Revival of $10 Plan — Especially for Seniors

[sa7375]

PM needs to consider re-introducing the $10 plan for the following reasons:

1. The Seniors wish to keep a cell phone — especially for emergencies — but are conscious of their budget
2. They are neither knowledgeable about nor need the frills — like texting and data
3. Opening the doors to them would be a service to seniors at no expense to PM

Indeed this suggestion can be ruled out outright on the basis that a service like PM is not for those who cannot handle a self-serve phone management service. But we forget that many seniors do have access to their family and friends who can help them create and maintain a self-serve account with PM.

An example. Recently, a senior (90+) needed a phone badly because of his frequent visits to the hospital. I helped him sign into the PM for the $15 Plan and also set up his phone but had to remove the SMS service and Data Usage icons from the screen because he was neither keen nor knowledgeable to use these. I did feel sorry though that he would be paying for something that he was not going to use. All he needed was about a 100 minutes (+)  of monthly talk especially during his occasional visits to the hospital. 

Please, therefore, consider re-introducing the $10 plan — especially for Seniors even if without the frills of texting and data etc. though allowing for the Add-On for talk.
@Alan_K 

[dabr]

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@88cranston wrote:

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@dabr wrote:

@88cranston   If your MIL barely uses Telus's $10 plan, wouldn't it be cheaper to put her on the $100/year plan which include 400 mins (local) and 400 texts?  I know the difference is only $20/year savings, but it's still better than nothing.  JMO:)

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Good point. As you know some folks can get set in their ways. And the $100 a year would be less cost for less service. If you price it by the pound, both are probably the same cost PER minute and per text. And if for some reason she did pick up on her calling due to a change in her life both my wife and MIL felt it was not worth the while to change over for the $20 savings. 

But thanks for the suggestion. It is nice to see you read it all and came up with a cost savings solution. 

Thanks Again Peter

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@88cranston   I suggested the $100/yr plan because it was slightly cheaper but obviously offers less than the $10/month plan.  The $100 plan was one I had for one of our lines until almost a year ago because it offered better value for a phone that required more calling at certain times of the year and very litlle usage at other times.  In fact, there were usually minutes left over by the year end so it served it's purpose, but I didn't like that it only offered local calling and long distance would deduct the equivalent of 5 mins from the plan allotment, luckily we had another line for the long distance usage.  But at the time it was the cheapest option available for light and non-consistent usage.

Obviously, it was a no-brainer once PM introduced their $10/plan (especially with autopay discount and eventually loyalty rewards factoring in), with Canada wide calling, to switch to it, but like your MIL we also had credits of approx. $85 left on the that account and I ended up switching to the $10/plan to wind down the credits.  Luckily I was also able to take advantage of PM's promo of $25/25 for referer/referee offer and open a temporary number until I could port that number from Telus.

Personally, I think it's short sighted of PM to do away with the $10/plan.  I think most people on that plan use it for a spare phone, or a visiting guest or young kid's starter phone, or it is only being used by users with light/occasional calling requirements.  I don't beilieve it was costing PM any extra resources or money to keep that option open.  It seems to be more a decision based upon what the competitors offer these days, rather than offer their own unique plans. 

Oh well, seems like we can only hope that PM might consider bringing it back sometime in the future:)

[88cranston]

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@totalUser wrote:

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@88cranston wrote:

There is a CARP endsorsed phone plan for seniors. 

To be honest @88cranston  those carp endorsements look like pure crap to me. Are they sponsored/greased? Probably.  

I have to make sure my grampa or mom are not getting advices from there. 

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You are right @totalUser and if you can do some of the leg work for your grandparents that is very good and nice of you to do so. And advice of comparisons and need is good to give too. 

Sometimes my MIL will actually  ask before she leaps. But not always. She keeps going to a Telus Kiosk in New Westminster asking very elementary questions that most of know how to handle. I keep telling her they ARE NOT Telus and they are all commission sales waiting to prey on you. New Westminster has a lot of elderly in the downtown area and some shops are attuned to take advantage....I have prevented her from loosing money about 4 times so far.....and today that stuff shouldn't be happening...you have to earn trust as a retailer. She has fell part way for their lies before at the Telus kiosk....but she asked me what she should do first. Whew.  Here last episode was that her iPhone screen would not light up. I told her to charge the phone using her iPad charger for an hour. Thinking the obvious that it might not be charged or the charger was defective. I called her iPhone and it did not light up. My wife went to see her the next day and I showed her how to get into the settings and adjust the bright/dark settings. I was cranked as dark as it could go. I wonder how that happened....I will never know!!!

[popping]

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@88cranston wrote:

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@popping wrote:

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@88cranston wrote:

There is a CARP endsorsed phone plan for seniors. 

Actually CARP https://www.carp.ca endorses this Zoomer plan. 

https://www.zoomerwireless.ca/promotion_offer/byop-offer

For some of the old farts here you may know about CARP. I am NOT a cardholder as even though I am a senior that has lost part of my work pension, due to lack of government intervention.  I don't like how they, CARP,  twist the truth and untruths. Never the less Zoomer phone plans do NOT appeal to me and only a Loyal CARP member might fall for it. 

So Seniors, do your due dilegence and shop around. And for now I will stick with PM. 

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Zoomer $36 4GB loyalty plan with unlimited minutes and a free phone on 2 years contract is not bad.   For cheap senior plan, look for other providers.

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Unless you have dropped your land line this Zoomer plan is $23 per month too much.
And on some of the very low income seniors $36 x 2 = $72, there is no way they could afford one plan yet alone 2. Zoomer is a rip off lurking within CARP. Don't be fooled young ones!!! Keep in mind most of us seniors drove cars with roll up windows, did not have air conditioning, used maps to find out where they were going to, and long distance was $3 a minute. And since Google was not invented we had to go to the library and find the most recent year of a published encyclopedia to get our answers "if" they were there. And we are hard wired to not overly use expensive technology. And we have had the up and down knocks of 18% mortgages and will always be cost conscience and not buy more than what is needed. So once again seniors (and young ones), do your due diligence and compare before you buy and don't lock your self into a 2 year contract based on splashy slick worded ads!!!

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Agree.  As I said, only the $36 4GB plan with a cheap free phone is competitive enough at the 4GB segment.  Other Zoomer plans are expensive.  What are you expecting from a Rogers 2.5 tier provider sitting between Fido and Chatr?

I used to have 5 lines with Zoomer.  I have only 1 Zoomer line now.  I had moved line which needs more than 4GB data and lines which need less than 500MB data to PM.  On top of it, I also moved 1 Speakout and 2 Telus $10 prepaid to PM $8 50/50 plan.

[totalUser]

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@88cranston wrote:

There is a CARP endsorsed phone plan for seniors. 

Actually CARP https://www.carp.ca endorses this Zoomer plan. 

https://www.zoomerwireless.ca/promotion_offer/byop-offer

For some of the old farts here you may know about CARP. I am NOT a cardholder as even though I am a senior that has lost part of my work pension, due to lack of government intervention.  I don't like how they, CARP,  twist the truth and untruths. Never the less Zoomer phone plans do NOT appeal to me and only a Loyal CARP member might fall for it. 

So Seniors, do your due dilegence and shop around. And for now I will stick with PM. 

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To be honest @88cranston  those carp endorsements look like pure crap to me. Are they sponsored/greased? Probably. There are so many better offers out there, if you call, if you Google or if you just walk down the street or inside a mall you WILL find something much better. Unless the body that approved this resides inside a fish tank I totally believe money was pocketed. I have to make sure my grampa or mom are not getting advices from there. 

Thanks for bringing this up

[88cranston]

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@popping wrote:

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@88cranston wrote:

There is a CARP endsorsed phone plan for seniors. 

Actually CARP https://www.carp.ca endorses this Zoomer plan. 

https://www.zoomerwireless.ca/promotion_offer/byop-offer

For some of the old farts here you may know about CARP. I am NOT a cardholder as even though I am a senior that has lost part of my work pension, due to lack of government intervention.  I don't like how they, CARP,  twist the truth and untruths. Never the less Zoomer phone plans do NOT appeal to me and only a Loyal CARP member might fall for it. 

So Seniors, do your due dilegence and shop around. And for now I will stick with PM. 

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Zoomer $36 4GB loyalty plan with unlimited minutes and a free phone on 2 years contract is not bad.   For cheap senior plan, look for other providers.

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Unless you have dropped your land line this Zoomer plan is $23 per month too much.
And on some of the very low income seniors $36 x 2 = $72, there is no way they could afford one plan yet alone 2. Zoomer is a rip off lurking within CARP. Don't be fooled young ones!!! Keep in mind most of us seniors drove cars with roll up windows, did not have air conditioning, used maps to find out where they were going to, and long distance was $3 a minute. And since Google was not invented we had to go to the library and find the most recent year of a published encyclopedia to get our answers "if" they were there. And we are hard wired to not overly use expensive technology. And we have had the up and down knocks of 18% mortgages and will always be cost conscience and not buy more than what is needed. So once again seniors (and young ones), do your due diligence and compare before you buy and don't lock your self into a 2 year contract based on splashy slick worded ads!!!

[88cranston]

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@dabr wrote:

@88cranston   If your MIL barely uses Telus's $10 plan, wouldn't it be cheaper to put her on the $100/year plan which include 400 mins (local) and 400 texts?  I know the difference is only $20/year savings, but it's still better than nothing.  JMO:)

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Good point. As you know some folks can get set in their ways. And the $100 a year would be less cost for less service. If you price it by the pound, both are probably the same cost PER minute and per text. And if for some reason she did pick up on her calling due to a change in her life both my wife and MIL felt it was not worth the while to change over for the $20 savings. 

But thanks for the suggestion. It is nice to see you read it all and came up with a cost savings solution. 

Thanks Again Peter

[totalUser]

@88cranston 

Yes and they don't have a community where they encourage users to share problems so it's just not visible like here.

For most people it's smooth sailing for months or even years before they hit an iceberg. Small portion of them hit it at the start and some drop public instantly while some figure it out and stick around. Those save too. It's not that bad

[popping]

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@88cranston wrote:

There is a CARP endsorsed phone plan for seniors. 

Actually CARP https://www.carp.ca endorses this Zoomer plan. 

https://www.zoomerwireless.ca/promotion_offer/byop-offer

For some of the old farts here you may know about CARP. I am NOT a cardholder as even though I am a senior that has lost part of my work pension, due to lack of government intervention.  I don't like how they, CARP,  twist the truth and untruths. Never the less Zoomer phone plans do NOT appeal to me and only a Loyal CARP member might fall for it. 

So Seniors, do your due dilegence and shop around. And for now I will stick with PM. 

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Zoomer $36 4GB loyalty plan with unlimited minutes and a free phone on 2 years contract is not bad.   For cheap senior plan, look for other providers.

[88cranston]

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@88cranston wrote:

I agree. My mother-in-law, 92, has Telus Starter 10 and is still available.  I know the price would be lower if it was the PM $10 plan. I watch over her Telus account and for months at a time there is zero usage, but she religiously takes it when she goes out. She has a balance of over $100 and they keep billing her credit card even though I have flipped the switch on her account to take funds from her balance. Telus.....your systems and service have gone down hill.  Instead you could use this plan for your second phone or the SpeakOut plan. 

Here is the plan. 

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Just to go a bit further on this. 

I am over seeing my MIL Telus billing for home and Mobile. I asked why she had a $110 credit on her Prepaid Talk 10. She shrugged....I don't know. So I went into her account and flipped a switch to take the monthly payment from the $110 balance and to stop taking the payment from her credit card. Checked every month for 3 months....not done....kept using the credit card. So no doubt she forgot what I was doing for her and she called Telus and asked why she was getting 2 charges on her credit card. They guy noticed the balance and said he could set it up for the monthly payment to be taken from the balance. WOW so much for going online and doing the self serve options yourself at Telus. 

So what I am getting at.  For you PM nayers that are suggesting PM is second class....the first class is just as bad but it does not get publicized.

[88cranston]

There is a CARP endsorsed phone plan for seniors. 

Actually CARP https://www.carp.ca endorses this Zoomer plan. 

https://www.zoomerwireless.ca/promotion_offer/byop-offer

For some of the old farts here you may know about CARP. I am NOT a cardholder as even though I am a senior that has lost part of my work pension, due to lack of government intervention.  I don't like how they, CARP,  twist the truth and untruths. Never the less Zoomer phone plans do NOT appeal to me and only a Loyal CARP member might fall for it. 

So Seniors, do your due dilegence and shop around. And for now I will stick with PM. 

[will13am]

If a carrier brand were to offer deals for seniors, it would be a great marketing schtick.  It might attrack a ton of new customers, but probably not the kind that any carrier brand would want unfortunately.  Selling $10 plans is not consistent with maintaining ARPU in the $50+ range. 

[ShawnC13]

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@sa7375 wrote:

How to confirm that the applicant is a Senior?

• Many government issued IDs like the Driver’s license, Ontario ID, Citizenship card, Passport carry that information.

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@sa7375  PM does not ask for any ID verification.  Sure they ask for a mailing address, name and birthday but doesn't mean anyone has to give the correct verification.  For online activations how would this get verified.  We must remember that PM is a BASIC provider adding specials for certain groups is not what they are about.  They are here to provide a service at a value for all.

[O-t]

O-t         I;m a senior and just bougtht a basic 15 dollar plan at half  the price of my Koodo plan for the same thing.With auto debit payment 2 dollars less.So i realy don't think any senior is going to hagle over 3 bucks when public mobile

 is less than half price of over plans available,thanks

[sa7375]

My sincere thanks to the many community members for their comments. Based on those, here are some clarifications in a FAQ form from the author of the suggestion:

Should the $10 plan be open-to-all or Seniors only?

• Yes, open to all but if PM does not consider that viable the Seniors-only option may be considered as the next best.

How to confirm that the applicant is a Senior?

• Many government issued IDs like the Driver’s license, Ontario ID, Citizenship card, Passport carry that information.

Would PM lose money on a $10 Plan

• Likely not. The business logic — whether in aircraft or hoteling or a mobile network industry — is the same: the service offered should be utilized to its max capacity. That’s how airlines and hotels offer cheap rates for their under-utilized capacities. The PM’s network too is governed by the same logic — that is keeping the PM network optimally-utilized and not underutilized. Also, if the plan is offered as a Seniors-only, some discounts like loyalty etc. may be taken off that plan.

Is PM is anyway obliged to offer any discounts to Seniors?

• No, not at all. If the plan isn’t economically feasible PM must not undertake such a venture. Period.

@Poppin  @totalUser   @kselmak    @Lar   @LP1   @Triguy   @88cranston   @dabr   @Lemony_Snicket   @Korth   @darlicious   @nightbrad   @ShawnC13   @cellphoneuser1  @Alan_K  

[Korth]

"Contract" is always the word. Even when it's sold as "not a contract" or "Tab" or whatever. Even PM prepaid service is a contract, legally binding with obligations/expectations for both parties. You might not sign a piece of paper with PM but you "agree" to the Terms of Service when signing up, when activating, and when continuing to use the service.

I'm sure there must be legal statutes for minimum age... and I'm sure PM doesn't make any special effort to confirmvor enforce them when approached by paying customers online. All you really need on PM is a valid email address, a real or fake name, an unlocked phone, and some cash. 

[cellphoneuser1]

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@darlicious wrote:

There is no credit check or presentation of id when switching to public mobile. You can be any age you want to be really...as long as you are over at least 16. 

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Public Mobile doesn't mind if you are under 16.  If someone is signing up and doesn't have permission from parents, that's a parental issue.

If some 12 year old asks fo buy a sim card and the person pays the $10+tax for the sim card and activates it at home or even in-store, Public Mobile won't say anything.

If a someone isn't age of majority and signs up to postpaid, that's a problem because a minor does not have the capacity to agree to a contact. A prepaid contract doesn't matter but postpaid plan would mean that they can't make the minor pay.  It would be void. Contract is the word legally, not by 1 year or 2 year term that people think of.

[darlicious]

There is no credit check or presentation of id when switching to public mobile. You can be any age you want to be really...as long as you are over at least 16. I'm sure there are some who want to be younger have lied about their age or vice versa. Age has no bearing on The service you recieve at public mobile.

[ShawnC13]

I don't think PM should have plans that are different for people in different age brackets.  Any additional stresses on the already fragile self serve would only ask for more trouble lol

[Ed404]

This is funny because cell service fees are supposed to go down over time, except providers keep removing their cheaper options leading us to more proportionally expensive options.

[Korth]

You don't have to scam to buy what anyone can already buy.

Low-cost talk/text is always going to appeal to many customers, not just seniors and financially-constrained customers.

But low cost is never going to appeal to the carriers. Especially when they don't have to worry about real competitors driving prices down. 

[nightbrad]

@darlicious i was thinking it might be hard to qualify a senior. I don't remember submitting my ID when I signed up for PM ! I thought a lot of people may try to scan this offer 

[darlicious]

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@nightbrad wrote:

I like the idea I don't know how feasible it is!

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@nightbrad  Oh its feasible....they have only just removed it from the plan choices. It's only unfeasible if pm chooses to flat out not offer it again. But constant pressure from customers may influence them to reverse their decision.

[nightbrad]

I like the idea I don't know how feasible it is!

[darlicious]

Yes, yes and yes! The $10 plan is perfectly suited for low usage customers. Seniors, older kids and teens for emergency use and family contact. As a spare or back up phone, to maintain a phone number, flip phone users , back country adventurers or hunters wanting phone to reach civilization with a long battery life or use as house or car phone in a pinch. Like myself I suspect many people will maintain 2 lines rather than one if the second line is cheap enough...$10. Maybe pm should offer it on a 90 day plan guaranteeing at least 3 months of continuous service.

[jluong9]

I agree! Even besides seniors I think giving a flip phone to little kids is beneficial. Just so they can contact you if they ever needed anything or if you need to contact them. The $10 plan was just the right fit honestly.

[sa7375]

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@Larwrote:

How would someone prove they were a senior? SMS in their birth certificate to PM....

Yes I have the $10 plan with extra minutes added and love it. If I'm at home or near wifi then android gives me a choice of PM phone or Google hangout app before I make the call so yesterday I talked to someone in Florida without using any PM minutes. Cheers

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Proving that one is a Senior? While creating a Self-Serve account, the PM's 3-pages walk through asks for the birth date. 
@Lar 

[88cranston]

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@dabr wrote:

@88cranston   If your MIL barely uses Telus's $10 plan, wouldn't it be cheaper to put her on the $100/year plan which include 400 mins (local) and 400 texts?  I know the difference is only $20/year savings, but it's still better than nothing.  JMO:)

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Yes....good point. 

[88cranston]

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@kselmak wrote:

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@Lar wrote:

How would someone prove they were a senior?  SMS in their birth certificate to PM....

Yes I have the $10 plan with extra minutes added and love it. If I'm at home or near wifi then android gives me a choice of PM phone or Google hangout app before I make the call so yesterday I talked to someone in Florida without using any PM minutes.  Cheers

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I think it was more along the lines 'for the sake of seniors' and not 'for seniors only'

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Good point there are other categories that should apply....like low income etc. 

[88cranston]

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@Lemony_Snicket wrote:

Unfortunately, carriers are not charities.  Maybe the plan got removed because it was too popular and making enough money for them.  7/11 has a pay per use service that can be quite cheap if you never use the phone.  Each call can be costly.  

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Yes I agree. But the offered $10 plans suit seniors for emergency needs.  But unfortunately they hide what the top up rates are, for the 365 days before expiry. 

With SpeakOut, your time is yours, good for a full 365 days, and any unused time rolls over when you buy more.

• Local Talk Rate: $0.30/per minute for incoming and outgoing local calls, including toll free numbers. Rate now includes Canada Wide Calling!
• U.S.A. Long Distance Talk Rate: $0.45/per outgoing minute
• International Long Distance Talk Rate: Contact Customer Care for the per minute rate to your destination country
• 411 Calls: $3.50 per call plus Local Talk Rate per minute
• Text messages and short code messages sent to Canadian and US numbers: $0.15/sent message.
• Incoming Messages: FREE!
• A Regulatory Recovery fee of $1.25 will be deducted from your account on a monthly basis. The fee includes costs that are related to federal, provincial and/or municipal mandates, programs and requirements such as provincial 911 fees. The specific amount of these costs can vary as the fees or costs of government mandates/programs change.
• Outgoing MMS: $0.50/sent message, Incoming MMS are Free. Your account must have a data Plan activated to send and receive MMS.

You can activate Automatic 30 Day Top Ups for all your phone numbers, simply by signing up for a SpeakOut account. Just choose the Top Up amount, register and confirm your billing details, and you’re done. Your phone numbers will be topped up every 30 days. 

All calls are charged in full minute increments.