US Add on fail

[Permjit]

Recently I went for a trip to the USA, just before I left I went on the self serv and added $20 for voice and data so I can roam and use maps online using my phone, etc. The option was very clear to select USA roaming for 10 days which I did.

Once I crossed the border I found that the roaming was not activated. This was extremely frustrating for the entire duration of my trip as I had to find WiFi hotspots all the time.

I have since returned and checked my self serv portal which shows $20 credit, having seen other comments this is not a new problem and has effected other customers.

I would like to know how this happened, I am very disppointed with this service and not being able to contact someone at Public Mobile to resolve this right away. Otherwise the day to day service seems to be fine when in Canada.

I would also like to know how this can be prevented in the future, how the heck am I supposed to know if my add on is activated prior to going to the USA??!!

[will13am]

---

@NDesai wrote:

---

@will13am wrote:

I have been with this service for one year now.  This problem was talked about a lot a year ago and still nothing has been done.  What is the excuse for not doing something about it? 

---

Unfortunately, we will never know. 

---

@NDesai, the silence is very disturbing.  What does it say about the business going forward?  This is not just about affecting a few clients wanting to buy a service but can't.  In the era of the internet, these people do not suffer in isolation.  They express their rage in social media.  The consequences of one mis-step is magnified an order of magnitude or more. 

[NDesai]

---

@will13am wrote:

I have been with this service for one year now.  This problem was talked about a lot a year ago and still nothing has been done.  What is the excuse for not doing something about it? 

---

Unfortunately, we will never know. 

[Permjit]

So a year later this is still biting customers who are new to the PM process of buying add ons, interesting.

PM:

If you can't fix this by now then may I suggest you re-word the "US roaming Addon" to something less misleading such as "credit towards roaming*1" where the *1 would then lead customers to reading additional note about repeating this process to apply the purchased CREDIT (and NOT US Roaming) because it isn't no matter which brush you paint it with, the 2 step process is a credit purchase to your account which in turn then is used for purchasing whichever service /addon required and then apply this credit purchase just made to actually purchase the US Roaming, its not a difficult step, its changing the wording on a simple web page.

[will13am]

I have been with this service for one year now.  This problem was talked about a lot a year ago and still nothing has been done.  What is the excuse for not doing something about it? 

[NDesai]

Buying an add-on is definitely a complicated process. A lot of users get confused when they buy it once because they don't want to get double charged. We have asked multiple times to the PM team to correct this issue. And finally, they only added a few wordings at the bottom of the buying add-on page: 

Purchasing an add-on? Be sure to: 
1. Add funds to your account, if you don`t have sufficient funds  2. Go back to the add-ons page and select your add-on.

Yes, it's not a proper solution, but they have advised us that they are looking into a better solution to remove 2 steps altogether. 

[ute1978]

---

@Permjit wrote:

 I should not be checking forums, I am paying for this service. 

---

I don't know if you already noticed: Public Mobile offers support through the community forum. So everybody who has or had problems comes to this forum to get help.

If you have any other concerns for the future we are here to help you get the answer you need.

[stonechucker]

I've just tested the *611 ---  OMG!!!! It's amazingly simple.  Tells me when my next AutoPay is (December (whatever) at 2:00AM (no longer on the payment date for sure))

Menu options to add addons, subscribe / unsubscribe from AutoPay.

Only thing you need to know... what your PIN is. 

If you know your pin, I suggest using *611 over self-serve now.

[Permjit]

I don't know what Public Lab is, nor am I in the slightest way interested, after the frustration I encountered and not knowing where the heck local shops/gas etc was on my trip what I want to know of is all the known PM flaws in a searchable format so I don't get screwed over in the future and know what to look out for, I should not be checking forums, I am paying for this service. 

[stonechucker]

Sad fact of the matter, this has already been suggested multiple times (all the various fixes), and has yet to be actted upon.

*611 should work if your credit card is registered with the system, and although I haven't tried *611 personally, I have a feeling it works smoother than the self-serve website, on any platform.

[closng]

---

@Permjit wrote:

So I understand this right, I have to select purchase US roaming again with the $20 amount to apply my credit for this purchase to actually go through? if this is correct this is really not intuitive

---

You got it.

And I agree, it is not inuitive at all and I don't think it is meant to be that way, Public needs to fix this...

[ute1978]

@PermjitThat is a good idea to post in the Public Lab because PM tries to listen to our concerns and fix or implement changes suggested in the Public Lab.

[Permjit]

That's simple, I selected purchase US Roaming at $20 and got confirmation this went through, I didn't think I had to now go and check forums. This is my first time buying a PM addon.

Have you tried to use your website on a phone?

Instead of excuses can you try the following to be proactive:

1) Fix this issue
2) Put a pop/notification to notify customers when they make the purchase
3) Mass notify your customers about this "gotcha" if 1) and 2) cannot be performed

1-3) Would save a great deal of frustration on both sides and time, I am sure you have better things to do in your time then to cover up.

[ute1978]

---

@Permjit wrote:

So I understand this, after I select buying US roaming just gets me the funds and doesn't add this to my balance? this is absurd, the wording should then be to buy funds and not misworded to present customers that they are purchasing US roaming which you confirmed is not the case.

How do you add the funds to your balance? I need these steps Verbatim

I do not see the options you mentioned, do you have a document describing this since you know of the issue which appears to be set to trip customers up

Its good to know now I can't 1)Can't trust the wording and from your response 2) need to check the forums before making future purchases, this does not inspire confidence

---

I understand your frustration but I am wondering a few things:

Why you didn't go to your account overview to check if the add on shows up?

You had Wi-Fi in hotels or restaurants and had the chance to check your account before the 10 days were up. The mods at Public Mobile would have been able to add the add on as soon as you contacted them.

[Permjit]

I purchased the addon from the "purchase US roaming" via the self serv portal.

So I understand this right, I have to select purchase US roaming again with the $20 amount to apply my credit for this purchase to actually go through? if this is correct this is really not intuitive

[stonechucker]

@Permjit, whether you add your funds the way you did (when you thought you were purchasing the US addon), or through the Self-Serve portal, you still must go to the addons after adding funds to get the addon.

Everyone else who has had this problem, gets the same explaination.

[Permjit]

So I understand this, after I select buying US roaming just gets me the funds and doesn't add this to my balance? this is absurd, the wording should then be to buy funds and not misworded to present customers that they are purchasing US roaming which you confirmed is not the case.

How do you add the funds to your balance? I need these steps Verbatim

I do not see the options you mentioned, do you have a document describing this since you know of the issue which appears to be set to trip customers up

Its good to know now I can't 1)Can't trust the wording and from your response 2) need to check the forums before making future purchases, this does not inspire confidence

[stonechucker]

So, as you've said you found $20 available balance when you returned, you did not actually complete the process.

At Public Mobile, you MUST add funds to your balance, before you can actually get the addon attached to your base plan.

The design of the current interface is flawed, and a warning or HEY YOU message should show once you've added the funds to say "GO BACK AND SELECT THE ADDON" again to attach to your base plan.

It's a flaw, which is well documented in the forums.  Personally, I always ADD MY FUNDS before doing anything on this system.

[Permjit]

That is not an option that is presented under my account, why do you present buying a US add on and then adding it to your account, again this is not visible to me. This is BLANK.

[ute1978]

---

@Permjit wrote:

Yes that's what I mentioned in my msg, I selected the USA roaming for 10 days

---

Yes, that would be step 1. Did you go back and did the second step by actually buying the add on after adding the funds?

[Permjit]

Yes that's what I mentioned in my msg, I selected the USA roaming for 10 days

[ute1978]

When buying an add on, you have to do it in two steps. First add the funds then you have to go back into your account and buy the addon from the account credit. Did you do those two steps?

EDIT: @closng beat me by a few seconds .

[closng]

Hi @Permjit,

You are correct that this is a common occurrence. The current system requires a two step approach to add addons (provided that you are able to, as that is a separate issue).

First step is to add the funds by paying with your credit card. I know it asks you to select the add-on and all, which is confusing, leading you to think that you are done with adding the addon after you finalize this step. This first step only adds funds to your account, it does not add the addon yet.

Second step is to go back to the addon page again and then do the same process, but this time, it will add properly as as there is now funds in your account to actually add and activate the addon.

I really hope this two-step approach gets fixed soon as it is confusing a lot of people, myself included, when I added my first addon.

Hope this clarifies and helps.