Walmart refused to sell SIM card unless it is activated in the store?

[BMatt]

As the title says: Walmart refused to sell me a Public Mobile Sim card unless it was activated in the store. 

Is this a legit thing? I said I just want to buy the Sim Card and do this online.

I left and drove down the road to another location and bought one, went home, and completed the process - ya know, setting up all MY account info and picking a phone number. 

What happened? Was this employee confused? I'm baffled by what happened. Happy I drove down the road to the other location!

[Guspublic1]

Yes the ee's at Walmart did the same to me. They wanted me to activate the sim with them, do they can get commission. So i went to another Walmart and got sim and activated myself to get bonus. These people are independent sellers in stores and Walmart does not really supervise them from what i see.  

[Sonvolt]

The location was Airdrie AB.

[Sonvolt]

Thanks for the info. This was about a month ago though, was picking one up for a relative.

[softech]

@Sonvolt 

"lied to me and told me PM no longer supports online activation."

should post the location  here as well as make PM aware of this unacceptable sales behavior..

I would also help "advertise" on Google Reviews..

[darlicious]

@Sonvolt 

OMG.....nothing surprises me about Wal-Mart phone counter employees. Pm currently has half price sim cards with a BOGO free offer being shipped surprisingly fast....a few days being reported. If you haven't activated yet submit your email for the current offer on the landing page and activate online by December 17th. 

If you don't have a referral code feel free to choose a member of the community and private message them asking if they don't mind being your friend (lol!) and sharing their referral code with you.

If you like you can click on the "find a store" at the bottom of your screen page and you can leave a review of the Wal-Mart location you visited.

[Sonvolt]

Not only did the Walmart employee refuse to sell me the sim if I didn't activate in store, he also blatantly lied to me and told me PM no longer supports online activation.

[darlicious]

@CountyDownIeUk 

Lol....The Mobile Shop. Stop by to talk about your mobile needs and they will add 1000 pts to your account.

[CountyDownIeUk]

@darlicious 

If TMI means Too Much Information

Then does TMS mean Too Much S

Or??

Darn acronyms🥴

[darlicious]

@cbx4evr 

The issue isn't activating in store its purchasing an unactivated sim card. If you do decide to activate in store they better be giving you the sim card for free!

@winterw 

Good point....always a good idea to call ahead for any questions you might have.....

@juanpablo03 

If you used the store locator you would find 28 retail locations offering pm products in downtown Toronto. You can easily avoid the two koodo locations. There is a Loblaws with a TMS that will price match a free sim if activating in store or will often have a spend $50 get 25,000 points back so 5×$10 pm sim cards will work out to $5 each. Or support one of the many other small business owners offering pm products.

BTW.... for anyone interested you can redeem up to a maximum 500,000 points for up to half the price of a new phone when purchasing it outright from TMS.

[winterw]

I totally agree that it is YMMV. I think if you can, you should call the Walmart beforehand and ask to be transferred to the kiosk person then you could talk to them about if they sell the PM sim card and/or do activation in store. It saves you the trip of going and being disappointed. That's what I did. 

I (fortunately) just activated my service at the kiosk with someone and it seemed to all work out great (will wait for first bill to come and verify it's all great) but I had to go twice because the other person working there said they weren't going to do it and the person I spoke to on the phone said they could do the activation for me with me being able to submit my own referral code. 

very very YMMV. 

[qwerty789]

The person at the kiosk also was hesitant to sell the SIM only to me. The activation service is nice to have for those that need it. 

[cbx4evr]

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@juanpablo03 wrote:

It is a struggle to get Public mobile SIM cards. 

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With some planning and a little patience the best way to get a Public SIM card is to order it online and it's delivered right to you.

I did get mine at Walmart though and had no quarrels over activating in store. 

[juanpablo03]

I had the same issue, I wasn't able to buy a SIM card in any store that was supposed to be selling these SIM cards here in downtown Toronto. I had to go to a Telus kiosk in the mall to get one. It is a struggle to get Public mobile SIM cards. 

[stevenanto]

Lol its just the employee trying to use their referral code if they are with PM. My local Walmart does not sell them at all because they say that it is a pain to activate and they get a lot of issues. 

[Yummy]

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@BMatt wrote:

"You can leave a review of the Wal-Mart location by clicking on the store locator at the bottom of your screen." - DONE, Thank YOU!

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Good luck with that... if anybody at walmart reads or cares for such comments...

Question is are those mobile peddlers at walmart actually walmart employees or walmart is 'renting' them space?

Photo centre at walmart has nothing to do with walmart! Completely independent company in walmart hangar.

[BMatt]

"You can leave a review of the Wal-Mart location by clicking on the store locator at the bottom of your screen." - DONE, Thank YOU!

[softech]

I don't comment with the buying SIM without activation.

But I have encountered Walmart activation many times , in at least 2 stores around me for different providers, the experiences were all good.

Of course, the agent himself/herself could make a difference.  Some are so inexperience

Store itself always pay a big role, people complains about buying sim with at least 2 Koodo stores lately

[CountyDownIeUk]

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@BMatt wrote:

As the title says: Walmart refused to sell me a Public Mobile Sim card unless it was activated in the store. 

Is this a legit thing? I said I just want to buy the Sim Card and do this online.

I left and drove down the road to another location and bought one, went home, and completed the process - ya know, setting up all MY account info and picking a phone number. 

What happened? Was this employee confused? I'm baffled by what happened. Happy I drove down the road to the other location!

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There have been many warnings here about Wal-Mart conduct. Personally any one I deal with I advise CCS or London Drugs.......I plainly say.....don’t bother with Wal-Mart.  

[HALIMACS]

@BMatt 

Oh.... the Walmart experience continues.

You will find that the service and flexibility you get from Walmart mobile centers are very much YMMV.

Sometimes just going to another Walmart store, or asking another employee when the fine employee who said 'no' is not around, is the simple solution.

Glad you got going.

Welcome to Public Mobile!!!

[darlicious]

@t_p 

There is no point in wasting the CSA's time with a complaint of this nature. Wal-Mart is pm's largest retail partner and the mobile services are independently owned....they can set their own policy.

@BMatt 

You can leave a review of the Wal-Mart location by clicking on the store locator at the bottom of your screen.

Since you activated at home did you choose a $35+ plan and enter the promo code 2GBBONUS to recieve the 2gb of bonus reoccurring plan data?

[hairbag1]

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@BMatt wrote:

Is there a way to report this Walmart to Public Mobile?

Or only on this open discussion form? 

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The best advise here is to get the sim from an honorable retailer. In the west, London Drug is a great place to get the sim.

Canadian Cell Supplies promises fast delivery or pick-up if you're in GTA...and usually much cheaper than anywhere. I've bought them for $1 each a few years ago...$5 seems to be the standard price now.

[t_p]

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@BMatt wrote:

Is there a way to report this Walmart to Public Mobile?

Or only on this open discussion form? 

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@BMatt 

If you want to complain to PM you can open a ticket:

https://widget.telus.tiia.ai/publicmobile/publicmobile.html

Type "complaint" then Click here to submit a ticket

Not sure if anything will come of it though.

[BMatt]

Is there a way to report this Walmart to Public Mobile?

Or only on this open discussion form? 

[hairbag1 · Accepted solution]

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@BMatt wrote:

If I would have agreed, what would the employee have done? Used a demo display computer, the Walmart internet and hold my hand?! 🤣

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The employee might include his own referal code on activating your sim. He'd get the refer-a-friend rewards for as long as you kept an active PM account.

[Anonymous]

@BMatt 

get a New SIM card from any Retail store and gas station near you,

Where To Buy A SIM card,

You can purchase a Public Mobile SIM card at a variety of retail locations. Click Here link 

to open our store locator and find the closest retailer to you.

or 

Too easy buy it online or in store visit Here link, or Pickup 1-2 Hours.

[BMatt]

If I would have agreed, what would the employee have done? Used a demo display computer, the Walmart internet and hold my hand?! 🤣

[hairbag1]

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@BMatt wrote:

As the title says: Walmart refused to sell me a Public Mobile Sim card unless it was activated in the store. 

Is this a legit thing? I said I just want to buy the Sim Card and do this online.

I left and drove down the road to another location and bought one, went home, and completed the process - ya know, setting up all MY account info and picking a phone number. 

What happened? Was this employee confused? I'm baffled by what happened. Happy I drove down the road to the other location!

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It's common practice that Walmart does this. Tell them that you just need a new sim to replace a stolen phone.

Or get a new sim from Canadian Cell Supplies....

https://canadiancellsupplies.com/collections/sim-cards/products/public-sim-card

[LeePublic]

Some retailers withhold the SIM card to get you to cave in and they make commission off your sale. A hassle free way to obtain a sim card is at the gas station like Shell.