Super Pissed.

[ambrosiasalad]

No idea where to send a complaint, when I try to submit a ticket to a PERSON I just get the virtual help. This is the best I can come up with, no idea if anyone will ever read this.

I got a new bank card recently and never thought to change the card number on my account. Obviously my auto payment didn't go through, and the VERY MINUTE it didn't go, I got a text from public mobile saying I was cut off.

I use my phone primarily for work. I require regular communication with my boss for my job, as well as customers, and as I work outside and sometimes in remote areas, I can lose most of a day's work without my phone. As soon as I got the message I immediately realized my mistake, and deliciously ironically, if I were able to get online on my phone, I could have fixed the problem on the spot. I came home, got on the website and found it not only extremely difficult to navigate but also extremely slow. (It keeps saying "good things come to those who wait", I did NOT get any good things). And of course, can't even find a way to send a complaint to the company. So is this regular practice from public mobile? A single missed payment and not only is my phone cut off, I lose half a day's work? I have never had this problem with another provider, ever. If I would have had a chance I would have fixed the problem as soon as I got the message, but no. AND I have a perfect payment history. I'm about to drop this crap like it's hot, and hot crap is the worst. I suppose I have the problem fixed now but that doesn't change a half days' wages lost over a stupid mistake that anyone can make.

Thanks alot Public Mobile, I really needed this.

[AE_Collector]

I get three texts messages every 30 day:

-First is “Heads Up, Just a reminder that payment is due on Aug 23” which goes out three days in advance.

-Second is a “Congrats, Rewards as follows have been applied to your account” which would be generated during the renewal process.

-Third is “Thank-you for your payment” message. 

AE_Collector

[myrahcaz]

Weird, I usually get at least 2 reminders before my upcoming payment.

[gwhitema]

@ambrosiasalad Public Mobile is not at fault here. This is user fault. Your responsible to update your payment information. Public cuts off service because its prepaied. Service only runs for the amount of time you pay for untill you pay again. 

If you really need phone for your work I would suggest talking to your work about that so they can provide you one. You shouldn't have to rely on a personal phone. 

Oh well. Next time you know to update your payment information when you get a new card. I forgot to do that on one of my accounts that I manage once. It didn't matter as I got the new card registered and service running in 10 minutes. 

[darlicious]

@ambrosiasalad 

I think everyone so far has explained how it works with pm in regards to the payment system, prepaid vs postpaid and that very simple simon guy.....who I steadfastly refuse to deal with. I can only offer a couple of suggestions if this happens in the future or if autopay fails thru no fault of your own.....it just can sometimes.....

1. You have relied on autopay and has served you well til you forgot to update your card. Most people do but some of us ( whose phones are not as vital as yours is for work) simply pay it manually like a bill a couple of days before renewal. Right after you get the reminder text is a good time. It also gives you a chance to check your account to make sure it's all correct. ( I check before and after renewal and take screenshots.)
2. With a valid card on file and a text to tell you if your payment failed you can add funds and reactivate your service thru 611 just make sure you know your pin# for certain purchases. Vouchers can also be added thru 611. Reboot your phone if necessary.
3. Keep a voucher on hand....take a picture of it and/or email a copy of it to yourself. This way if something catastrophic happens with your card you have an immediate way to pay for your plan thru 611.....press (1) then press (1) again and enter your 12 digit pin#. Check out the voucher catalogue for more info and samples of vouchers. https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Paying-for-your-service/Voucher-Catalogue/m-p/479165#...
4. Skip Simon and just send a private message to the Moderator_team in the send to bar, type in a subject and leave a detailed description of your issue. With every initial service request include the following info to verify your identity:
5. Full name, address, ph#, pin# and email address on your account.
6. If you forget your pin# then include your d.o.b, alternate ph# if any, last payment, date, amount, type and last 4 digits. You may be asked your security question and answer.
7. Remember to keep an eye on the envelope icon next to your avatar at the top right corner of your screen for a little number to pop up indicating a message from the moderators. Responding promptly to messages will speed up service times.

Hopefully we've provided some helpful advice and perspective on public mobile for you. If you have a question just ask us were always happy to help. Welcome to the community!

[AE_Collector]

Something to keep in mind when signing up for Prepaid as opposed to Postpaid cell service is that there is NO credit check required with Prepaid...past credit doesn’t matter as you pay for 30 days service and if you stop paying for your next renewal your phone stops working. Postpaid service bills you after the fact and has some time to pay if you are late because they have checked your credit history and are willing to take the chance on you. 

So in my mind it isn’t really fair to compare a prepaid service to a postpaid service where you might expect the provider to chase you down for payment. So not really any point in searching out someone to complain to, its simply how it works and the option is to go back to Postpaid service where you will be paying a bit more for the higher level of service.

I dont know but does 611 work on an expired phone? You would be able to use that but I guess with an expired credit card you would likely be out of luck to top up with 611 as well. Many times here I have seen recommendations that Public Mobile (or any prepaid service) might not be the best choice for people who really need their service to work for work. Besides the problem you encountered it can take longer to get problems resolved here with the type of cost saving support PM uses.

AE_Collector

[popping]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

 @ambrosiasalad 

 @Catherine_T 

Yeah that sucks. It's been a problem for a few customers for as long as I've been here.

Glad you got it going though.

Post-paid services give you some grace time to pay. Pre-paid do not. I'm not sure any pre-paid service has any grace time after the pre-paid term is expired.

And then there's the many thousands that go on without a thought to their autopay. But that doesn't help you.

---

I haven't found many customers who enjoy interacting with SIMon. By me saying what to type in, I've broken the rules about not telling people how to bypass SIMon. "Rep" still works to some extent, but there are extra steps compared to before. Public Mobile doesn't want people to do this, but if I simply tell the person "type of a bunch of stuff and you might get lucky", that wouldn't exactly be helpful when the person already can't figure out how to open a ticket.

---

I have been collecting a few phrases that SIMon knows that I need a human, rep or moderator.    

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Self-Serve/Don-t-let-SIMon-takes-you-for-a-tour-Magic-Phrases-to-feed-SIMon/td-p/588694

[Jb456]

@ambrosiasalad  went through similar today with Koodo for an account I have. It was actually worse trying to speak with someone then Public Mobile. At least here I know I could write on the forums and get pointed in the right direction if it's something I can fix or not. I know Koodo has forum's but signing up and all that bull. I pay more with them to speak to a human not deal with all this.

Anyways received an email that my autopay was declined. No reason of why as it's been that same card for a few years. 

Tried calling Koodo. Tons of press 1, press 2. For system to finally say go to the chat bot and schedule a call. Then it hangs up on you.

I go to the chat bot (same as this silly one) as both PM and Koodo are owned by Telus. What a mess. Tried human, support, rep, call back all just brought me to a big circle of hoops.

I then went to their Facebook and tried writing them on messenger. This was at 930am and as of now midnight EST they still have not read that message. So I started scrolling through the comments and see a post that you have to write callback with no space duh I say to myself lol. Back to chat bot to schedule a call back.

It said due to covid wait times are high we'll call you back within 60 minutes. Ya ok! More like 180 minutes for that call. 

Anyway issue resolved by 1pm. Turns out I never updated my expiry date with the new card. I thought they would at least email or text a reminder like "hey your card is about to expire please update your new expiry date" but nope. 

Thankfully its post paid and the 2 numbers on that account weren't affected unlike PM which is prepaid. It put a damper on my morning as I had no idea why the payment was declined. Even logging into my account you'd think it would list a reason of the decline. Under my transaction history it actually said payment received. That was an other headache as while waiting for them to call back I was on hold with the CC company trying to confirm if the payment went through or not as the automated transaction history was listing an amount that is identical to the Koodo account each month for last few years.

I hope things start to get back to normal soon with the Telus family.  It's beyond me why a space in call back would cause the chat bot to bring you in circles over n over.

[gpixel]

PM should add some sort of keyword manager for SIMon somewhere on the website or embed into SIMon.

ie. if a customer types "help" a list of keywords (preferably categorized) will be presented. then the customer can choose and type the correct issue that applies to them. 

[computergeek541]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

 @ambrosiasalad 

 @Catherine_T 

Yeah that sucks. It's been a problem for a few customers for as long as I've been here.

Glad you got it going though.

Post-paid services give you some grace time to pay. Pre-paid do not. I'm not sure any pre-paid service has any grace time after the pre-paid term is expired.

And then there's the many thousands that go on without a thought to their autopay. But that doesn't help you.

---

I haven't found many customers who enjoy interacting with SIMon. By me saying what to type in, I've broken the rules about not telling people how to bypass SIMon. "Rep" still works to some extent, but there are extra steps compared to before. Public Mobile doesn't want people to do this, but if I simply tell the person "type of a bunch of stuff and you might get lucky", that wouldn't exactly be helpful when the person already can't figure out how to open a ticket.

[ambrosiasalad]

Uh thank you, I don't know how I would have ever figured that out. Thank you very much.

[Anonymous]

 @ambrosiasalad 

 @Catherine_T 

Yeah that sucks. It's been a problem for a few customers for as long as I've been here.

Glad you got it going though.

Post-paid services give you some grace time to pay. Pre-paid does not. I'm not sure any pre-paid service has any grace time after the pre-paid term expires.

And then there's the many thousands that go on without a thought to their autopay. But that doesn't help you.

[computergeek541 · Accepted solution]

After going into the virtual chat (SIMon), type in "account specific question", and then choose  "no, I want a human".