** Why are so many customers' PM accounts blocked?

[John_A_Anderson]

Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at 3:36 pm and updated at 5:41 pm EST                                                   

Based on the messages posted here today, numerous customers' PM accounts are now blocked, beginning at about 11:45 am EST.  

The following link is to a message posted months ago by a customer and the respondent, Dunkman, states that this has been a recurring problem : https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Previous-customer-my-account-is-not-worki...

Here is a list of the links to the messages a small number of the affected customers have posted here in the last few hours alone : https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Cannot-see-my-account-to-cancel-my-subscr...

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/No-highlighted-errors-visible/td-p/135032...

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Impossible-to-access-my-account/td-p/1350...

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Cancel-Order-and-Get-a-Refund/td-p/135035...

Mine is one of them now.  Due to access problems with my PM phone account, I was forced to create another account a few days ago in order to post a message here (in the Public Mobile Community) to then learn how to communicate with a human customer service agent about how to fix that problem.

The new, unlinked account worked well for a few days and it seems like I was just minutes away from being able to access my original PM phone account.  That was yesterday night.

Now this afternoon, the newly created account is apparently blocked, without explanation or even so much as a intelligible error code, so I have been forced to create a third account.  This is just plain dumb. 

It's really difficult to determine what the cause of such problems are at Public Mobile because the error messages seem to be intentionally cryptic and vague, at best.  The MI5 type secrecy and unintelligible gibberish used for error messages and general failure to communicate clearly is so confusingly Orwellian that it borders on either deception or functional illiteracy.

If you weren't insane before experiencing this nonsense, it could push customers over the edge to the point of simply surrendering, giving up (on Public Mobile) and fixing the problems by terminating the PM account and taking one's business elsewhere.

Well, what is it this time?

A little more than an hour ago when I first tried to access my new account so I can provide the information to the PM customer service agent to finally get the PM phone linked account fixed, EverSafe and PM have blocked every attempt to do so.  Each step is carefully complied with : the correct email address and passcode are entered, then the verification passcode is received and entered (for the next step in the PM EverSafe process) and the Confirmation button is pressed with 3 1//2 to 4 minutes left on the time-out clock, then EverSafe immediately states that the session has been "timed out" and the creation of a new account didn't work.

The EverSafe program is not working properly as I was entering the correct information and "confirming" it to get access to an account which has been working already, not trying to create a new account.

All I - and all the other customers, presumably - want to do is be allowed to use our accounts to monitor usage (especially if the phone is for use by a child) and manage the account and payments. 

Why are these simple tasks turned into Orwellian or Kafka-esque torture sessions, which force customers to babysit them for hours on end?

Please, somebody, learn how to communicate clearly and effectively.  Do customers have to get on their hands and knees and beg for this and to stop these problems and keep on having to waste hours each week babysitting these problems?

So what's causing this problem (multiple customers have reported they are now unable to access their accounts) this time, how can it be fixed and when will it be fixed? **

[hTideGnow]

HI @John_A_Anderson 

the HTML error is either because you "copy and paste" contents, links from other places, or you formatted your text

a workaround is to highlight everything in your message, then delete them, then right click on blank space and select Paste as Text.  ALL Good and easy and no need to be upset

[John_A_Anderson]

It's an absolute farce if basic, plain text is programmed to be misinterpretted as if it is HTML code.   

If that's the case then PM should simply state what the limits are and that nobody is allowed to use anything except plain text - no emoticons, no pictures, no bold or underline - even though Khoros includes it in the programs hers - and that nobody should post more than 140 characters at a time.  

Welcome back to 1987.

[computergeek541]

---

@John_A_Anderson wrote:

Friday, July 11, 2025 at 4:22 am :

  Firstly, I did not state that the system was “down”, only that it isn’t working properly and is repeatedly providing a false error message.

Nobody can send a message if the system isn’t working.

I never include any HTML, which is what the PM computer program stated was the reason why the message couldn’t be sent. There is nothing but plain, ordinary text in any of my messages.

Bold and underline are simple, basic word processor features which have existed since decades before the internet was made available for public use and are included in the PM email and message posting systems.  If PM’s computer programmers have programmed the PM website and programs to misinterpret plain, ordinary text (such as a PM included features such as bold or underline) as if they are HTML programming code, then something is very wrong in the programming department and urgently needs to be fixed.

If Public Mobile’s website is unable to handle any plain text message of more than just a few paragraphs, then the programmers should program it accordingly, with a specific character limit and clearly state to customers what that limit is.

---

This isn't meant as an excuse, but the programming of this site isn't done by Public Mobile.  The platform is programmed by a company called Khoros.  I'm not disagreeing with you that the messaging platform has a lot to be desired, but it generally does work.  As for not using bold, underline, paragraphs, etc., I do agree with you that those are basic word processing functions, but to send a private message without issue, please follow the provided advice.  There is something in your messages that is being coded as HTML, although I'm well aware that this is no fault of yours.

[John_A_Anderson]

Friday, July 11, 2025 at 4:22 am :

  Firstly, I did not state that the system was “down”, only that it isn’t working properly and is repeatedly providing a false error message.

Nobody can send a message if the system isn’t working.

I never include any HTML, which is what the PM computer program stated was the reason why the message couldn’t be sent. There is nothing but plain, ordinary text in any of my messages.

Bold and underline are simple, basic word processor features which have existed since decades before the internet was made available for public use and are included in the PM email and message posting systems.  If PM’s computer programmers have programmed the PM website and programs to misinterpret plain, ordinary text (such as a PM included features such as bold or underline) as if they are HTML programming code, then something is very wrong in the programming department and urgently needs to be fixed.

If Public Mobile’s website is unable to handle any plain text message of more than just a few paragraphs, then the programmers should program it accordingly, with a specific character limit and clearly state to customers what that limit is.

[computergeek541]

Sorry, but nobody can send a private message to a CSA on your behalf. Only you can do this.  As for the private messaging system, I've checked and it isn't down.   As for the error message about HTML code, I agree that this is something that shouldn't be happening, but I would suggest not copy and pasting any content into the private messaging window and to avoid long messages.  Use plain text only and do not use anything such as bold, underline, or any such features.

[John_A_Anderson]

Thursday, July 10, 2025 at 9:17 pm and edited on Friday, July 11, 2025 at 2:37 am EST

Now I am completely disgusted. Each attempt to get these problems fixed has failed. I have provided all the information requested and tried to give a CSA two more pieces of information, but the PM communication system (email) has failed too, without any explanation. The error codes are vague at best and inexplicable gibberish in any case, which renders them utterly useless to try and fix the problems which caused them.  This forces me - and other customers - to effectively get on our hands and knees and beg for any kind of help which might fix the problems.

The problems with the EverSafe ID accounts began in May 2023 when it was first set up and went on for almost 18 months, based on the last messages posted to the message board about the numerous issues.  The current problems I and other customers are experiencing - based on their messages posted in Community - seem to be the same or very similar to what began  happening in May 2023.

Now, in retaliation for being forced to beg for help to get these problems fixed, this message has been labelled as "spam".  It is not part of a large scale mass advertising campaign to promote a business or some kind of criminal scam, which is what internet "spam" is.  There is nothing in this message hitting anybody up for large sums of cash or trying to steal any money from people. This desperate plea for help to fix my account is nothing of the sort.

Many customers' online Public Mobile accounts have been blocked for some unexplained reason, as is documented by their messages posted here.

It continues to happen, each day.  The website spins customers around in a circle of nonsense, without allowing one to get into one's online account.  Then, sometimes, it kind of works for a while.

For days now, I have battled with the company's malfunctioning website, for hours each day, just trying to force it work properly.

All I want is to finally get access to my PM phone linked online account, so I can monitor usage and maybe change the plan so my child has a better one for her needs now.

Now the Community private email system is failing.  

As requested by a CSA, I have sent six pieces of information, including the PM account number and PM phone number to them.  Today somebody else requested two more pieces of information which I have repeatedly tried to send to a CSA; but PM's communications system just isn't working.

Numerous attempts have been made to just send a simple email (without links, HTML or anything except words) to a CSA to finally get my PM phone linked online account fixed (so I can finally access it), but it repeatedly states there is some HTML code in the message and blocks the message from being sent.

This is bordering on abusive.  If this was done by an abusive spouse, I would have already packed everything up and left by now.  This nonsense has wasted hours of my time each day for almost the entire week now, and nothing has been accomplished.

This has been a complete waste of time - when I should have been able to do other things which need to get done - and utterly exhausting.  This has been absolutely terrible.  I am literally one the verge of crying. 

My child needs to have a functional phone and I need to have access to my years old PM phone linked online account.

Somebody at Public Mobile, please, I beg you, fix all these screw ups fast.  Customers shouldn’t have to beg on their hands and knees for basic systems to just work properly.

Somebody, please, I beg you, somehow fix this malfunctioning system and get a message to a CSA on my behalf so they know why I have been unable to respond and get a CSA to respond to me tomorrow, by late morning.  

[John_A_Anderson]

Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at 8:37 pm EST

Hi there hTideGnow :

The EverSafe transition fiasco and all the chaos and problems it caused is well documented here in these hundreds of messages from May 24, 2023 and after :                                                                                     https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Troubleshooting-Login-Issues-OTP-2FA-Ever...

It is clear from those messages that this transition was not well planned or executed, to be as polite as possible about how it was done.  How many hundreds of customers Public Mobile lost as a result of that mess is anybody’s guess.

The story of what happened to my original account, with some references to the EverSafe ID transition fiasco in general, can be read here and it was posted on March 2, 2025 : https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/How-do-I-set-up-an-EverSafe-account-for-a... .

Only a tiny fraction of customers affected by these kinds of very serious and entirely preventable problems will ever post a message about them, but some have posted messages about being blocked from accessing their accounts, whether it be EverSafe or Public Mobile, as I have listed in the original post here.

It seems obvious that perhaps the same problems which caused all the problems in May 2023 when the EverSafe transition fiasco occurred may be happening yet again now, two years later, although hopefully they will not affect nearly the same number of customers as they did back then.

Regarding the issues with my accounts, the answers are no because neither my original account has been fixed, nor has the next account I had to create (a few days ago) which I was unable to connect to since this afternoon, so I was forced to give up and create this new one (so I can resume communications about trying to fix my original account).

A response to today’s message (sent to a CSA) about getting access again to my original account has not been received, hours after it was sent; so either their communications system is down or they are so busy trying to fix all the blocked accounts again (just like in 2023 perhaps?) that they are unable to respond to anything else right now.

As long as I can access my phone linked account before the better, new $15 basic plan is closed (to customers who have had the old $15 plan) and before PM shuts off it’s 3G network here, that will be good enough.

This has been a long, tedious, slow, frustrating process for what should be a simple, easy task.  Babysitting this mess has wasted many hours of my time over a number of days now.

Many other customers simply cut their losses, stop paying PM, close the account and get a SIM card from another service provider, but I guess I am just a glutton for punishment and just too dumb to do the same.

Perhaps by tomorrow this whole mess will finally be cleaned up.  Pray for me and my child that somebody can finally get this  task done, once and for all.

[hTideGnow]

hi @John_A_Anderson 

honest, different cases could be different.  There are people who never login after EverSafe is used, there are people who actually had trouble with activation

So, your issue is now fully resolved?

[Yummy]

Never have to experience blocked Community nor PM access to my account.

I always use web browser to access both and do not full around with fancy app.

[TheSterlinger]

Yeah, unfortunately, this isn't new.  Every now and then it happens, they're aware, but I don't know, they don't seem to be any great big rush to fix it.

I personally have NEVER  knock on 🪵 lol experienced ANY issues whatsoever using the platform.