Why is Something So Simple Made So Hard?

[rosscline]

Buying extra data shouldn’t be a maze. I paid for 3 GB, it shows on my account, but it’s unusable. The fact customers must wonder why is the problem. This shouldn’t be this hard.

Buying extra data should be the simplest thing in the world. You run out, you pay more, you keep going. Instead, with Public Mobile, it’s turned into a circus.

I ran out of data and purchased an additional 3 GB. Screenshots show the add-on sitting there, paid for but unusable.

And that’s the real issue. Not whether it’s “roaming” or “domestic.” Not whether a menu option was buried or mislabeled. The fact that customers are even left to wonder about those things is the failure. This should never be confusing.

A company with a serious budget for a fantastic user interface, comparatively, to overlook something this basic really is an insult to injury. If a customer can accidentally buy the wrong thing—or worse, if there’s no right thing to buy—then the system is broken. Period.

Charging $30 for 3 GB and then sending customers through support tickets and weekend delays just to use what they’ve already paid for is backwards. Honestly, at that point it would almost be better not to offer extra data at all than to pretend it’s an option and make it this complicated.

Bottom line: This shouldn’t be this hard.

 

[RCraigLane]

I can't see where the original poster said they were on an unlimited plan. So you have deeper access to account information?

[RCraigLane]

I hear you, and am feeling similar frustration. I hope you eventually got what you wanted. Confusion is a bummer, eh.

[Dunkman]

@rosscline 

It looks like customers on the unlimited throttled plans are unable to purchase Canada data add ons.  PM staff is double-checking to see what is possible or whether PM policy will change in the future. 

If you run out of data earlier, it may be worth asking CSA agent to renew your present plan earlier. Better to pay $39 for another 60 GB data versus $30 for 3GB add on. Or as I mentioned earlier, you could go to a higher price plan for more data. Note: you may not be able to return back to the $39 plan afterwards. For existing customers, PM offers only personalized plans (which are usually more expensive than the present plan). 

I will update you if we find out more from PM side.  Not too many customers on the throttled data plan are interested in paying for expensive data add ons, while they use their unlimited throttled data until the next payment cycle. 

[computergeek541]

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@Dunkman wrote:

So, you are on the throttled data  plan.  I have a feeling that there is a glitch in the system.  Public mobile may be programmed so that customers like yourself who have unlimited throttled data are unable to purchase add on for Canadian data.  If I remember correctly, customers who had grandfathered Canada data add on (from XMAS holidays) were unable to use these add ons when they switched to the unlimited throttled data plan.  

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There isn't any way to add more data to use in Canada if the customer is on a plan with unlimited data.  Preventing customers from purchasing such an add-on is the way that things should be in the sense that such an add-on wouldn't be functional.  In the past, Public Mobile did allow such add-on purchases, but then the customer would need to ask a refund for the add-on price or the customer would need to switch to a different plan to be able to use the add-on.

[Dunkman]

@rosscline 

So, you are on the throttled data  plan.  I have a feeling that there is a glitch in the system.  Public mobile may be programmed so that customers like yourself who have unlimited throttled data are unable to purchase add on for Canadian data.  If I remember correctly, customers who had grandfathered Canada data add on (from XMAS holidays) were unable to use these add ons when they switched to the unlimited throttled data plan.  

I will bring your specific post to PM management.  

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is a $50 plan for 80 GB (includes US and Mexico roaming) available to most customers.  You might want to consider switching to this plan (if you use data often)

[hTideGnow]

hi @rosscline 

we have the same screen as what showed by @Dunkman 

can you show us what you see?

[rosscline]

Hi @Dunkman,

Thanks for posting that screenshot — I agree, the system clearly should be showing Canadian add-ons like the ones you see.

The problem is that on my account, they don’t appear at all. I’ve checked across browsers (Safari, Chrome), incognito/private mode, cleared cache, tried mobile vs desktop, even tested on the PM app. Every time, only US roaming data shows up as an option. No Canadian data options like the ones in your screenshot are visible to me.

For reference, here are my own screenshots from today showing what I see:
– Proof blog link with context
– Video capture of my account page

I’m on the $39 subscription (60 GB, throttled after use). I’ve already used my monthly allowance and simply want to purchase more Canadian data. But the option is missing entirely on my end — which is why support has been going in circles with me. They even refunded me once already when I tried to buy add-ons that weren’t usable.

So while I appreciate your suggestion, this really seems to be a system-side glitch rather than a matter of device or browser.

Ross

[Dunkman]

@rosscline 

Public mobile does indeed sell Canada data add on. I checked my account and I see the availability of the add ons. 

See above screenshot.  

Have you tried the PM app?  The website is finicky.  You could try a different web browser, clear cache or incognito mode. Or try on a different device. 

Which plan are you on?  One with unlimited throttled data? 

[rosscline]

Hi everyone,

At this point I need to put everything plainly on the table. What I am asking for is very simple: when my monthly data allowance runs out, I want to be able to buy additional Canadian data. Yet when I go into “Shop Add-Ons,” the only things visible are U.S. roaming packages and long-distance calling minutes. No Canadian data option appears. I even purchased a U.S. add-on once, only to discover it was unusable in Canada. Public Mobile refunded me, which proves the problem is real — but I still cannot buy usable Canadian data today.

Here is a short video I recorded to show exactly what I see on my account page:
https://youtu.be/ngeC37eVirA

And here are a few more links that put this small problem into the wider picture of what I’ve been living through:

• My blog: Interview: Arbitrary Punishment
• Taipei Times editorial (May 7, 2025): Legal nightmare in Taiwan
• Taipei Times editorial (June 20, 2025): Judicial complaint update
• Short TikTok summary: TikTok Video
• Other background: iLearn.tw/scam
• Additional interviews: YouTube Interview 1, YouTube Interview 2

Why am I mentioning these broader links here? Because the pattern matters. One glitch could be coincidence. Two or three anomalies could be bad luck. But when the list grows — my iCloud email aliases failing for months, Facebook vanishing, TV interviews corrupted, and now the simple act of buying 3 GB of data turning into a Kafkaesque loop — a person has to at least stop and ask: is this just a glitch, or something more?

I’m not alleging anything. I am not saying Public Mobile or any government is behind this. But as someone who has already been exiled from Taiwan on grounds that the judiciary itself called “arbitrary punishment,” I would be irresponsible not to notice that these things keep adding up. And for those who want to see the full context, my blog is here: rosscline.com/blogs/scam/interview-arbitrary-punishment.

But back to the point: the real question is very simple — does Public Mobile actually sell extra Canadian data add-ons once a customer’s allowance is used up, yes or no? If yes, please show me exactly where to click. If no, then please be honest and transparent with customers so no one else wastes time and money chasing something that doesn’t exist.

Thanks for reading,
Ross

[hTideGnow]

hi @rosscline  PM will text you when data runs out and ask you if you want extra data and all you need to do is to  reply YES.  

and when you buy data from app or My Account, in the page for add-on, there should be differnt tabs and you click on the right one , it is under Canadian Data Add-ons if you are using app

[rosscline]

Hi @hTideGnow,

I appreciate you following up, but just to be clear: I didn’t simply “buy the wrong type” of data. The problem is that there is no Canadian data add-on option available once my monthly data allowance runs out.

Support has already refunded me for the U.S. add-on I purchased — because it never worked in Canada. That refund alone confirms the issue is real, not just a user mistake. And yet, when I log in to my account, the only add-ons I ever see are U.S. roaming data and various long-distance minutes. Nowhere do I see a straightforward option to pay for extra Canadian data when I run out.

That’s why this situation is so frustrating: Public Mobile advertises “add-ons” as if topping up is possible, but in practice there’s nothing available for Canadian data. It would be far more transparent if the company simply said so, rather than leaving customers to click in circles and then be told they must have “bought the wrong thing.”

At this point, all I really want is a simple yes or no: Does Public Mobile actually sell extra Canadian data add-ons once your plan’s data is used up? If the answer is no, then customers deserve to be told that plainly instead of being pointed to options that don’t exist.

[hTideGnow]

hi @rosscline 

the receipt shows you fopped up $5, not sure what add-on you got from that screenshot.  I hope you didn't buy the Local calling minutes.  or maybe post us the Payment history page which should show which add-on you got 

but did you submit ticket to support agent? did they reply?

[rosscline]

Hi @hTideGnow, thanks for your comment. At this point I can confirm it isn’t about buying the “wrong type” of add-on. The real issue is that on Public Mobile’s own site, the only visible add-ons for data are labeled as US roaming, which makes no sense for a .ca service.

When I finally did see Canadian data add-ons appear, they showed up doubled, and when I tried purchasing one, the charge simply went into my account as “available funds” with a receipt calling it a Visa Debit top-up — not an actual data purchase. In other words, the system took the money but gave no data.

That makes it look less like user error and more like a glitch (or at the very least, a design that misleads customers). I even sent video proof to support, but they still replied as if the Canadian add-on exists normally — when it clearly doesn’t.

At the end of the day, the reality seems to be: once your monthly data is used up, there’s no straightforward way to buy more Canadian data. That’s the real elephant in the room.... For now, but hopefully this changes.

[Dunkman]

@rosscline 

That is unusual.  I login into my account and I see the Canada add ons.  The website is finicky at times.  Maybe try to clear cache first, incognito mode or try a different web browser.  Or try the PM app itself. 

By chance, are you on the Canadian wide plan with throttled unlimited data.  Ie. once you run out of data, you get unlimited very slow data?  If I remember correctly, customers who switched over to the unlimited throttled plans, they were unable to use their grandfathered data add ons (previous XMAS giveaways) 

BTW, there is a $50  80 GB Canada-US-Mexico plan available at the present time.  Might want to check your account to see whether that is available to you. 

[rosscline]

Honestly, the back-and-forth I’ve had with support feels almost joke-like. Instead of clear guidance, I keep getting circular replies such as “purchase the correct add-on” or “because at this moment you have enough add-on” — none of which actually answer the question. The truth is, there’s no visible option for me to purchase usable Canadian data once my subscription runs out.

I was refunded for the unusable add-on, which proves the problem is real, yet I’m still left without any solution to stay online. I even sent the support agent a short video to illustrate exactly what I’m seeing on my account page, and the fact that there is nowhere obvious to click:
https://youtu.be/ngeC37eVirA.

As customers, we shouldn’t be put through this kind of rigmarole just to buy 3 GB of extra data. If an add-on exists, it should be simple, obvious, and reliable to purchase. If it doesn’t exist, then customers shouldn’t be presented with misleading options in the first place.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about me buying the “wrong type” of data — it’s about there being no straightforward way to buy the right type. That’s the real frustration. This shouldn’t be this hard.

[hTideGnow]

hi @rosscline 

did you buy the wrong tyoe if data?  honest, it was something domestic and roaming data clearly in the purchase page 

so, you submitted ticket? did PM support agent able to sort this out for you?