incoming vs outgoing usage calculation

[Rick10]

I have the base plan which includes 100 'outgoing' talk minutes. I am careful about my usage and don't use the phone for extended 'outgoing' calls. This month (and in other past months) I have been in disagreement with the Public calculation of my minutes, but there seems to be no method to contact A REAL PERSON at Public. By my accounting, from the stats on the call history chart, I have made only 44 minutes 'outgoing' calls and some 73 minutes of 'incoming' calls, but I'm now in an 'overage' situation whereby my 'total minutes' are over 100 and I have to pay for the additional minutes used. 

Can somebody tell me how to clarify this or how to contact some form of customer service who can look into it?

[walker1]

@Rick10 

Glad you liked that advice 😃

That's just me 😊. I never sugar coat any thing 🙂

If you ever need any other help, don't hesitate to private message me.  It's free and won't count towards your outgoing calls 🤙  lol 

Have a great weekend and Holidays!

[Rick10]

walker1

Love the advice: "Hope that doesn't keep you from calling people as much and waiting for them to call you, like some people."

[dabr]

@Rick10    Thanks for updating your post...yeah it's not easy to keep track of how PM displays the usage field, but I've never felt my minutes were being  incorrectly deducted (not to say it doesn't happen occasionally on some accounts).    Plus the add-on mins are so cheap and convenient to keep on the account, I guess I've never really given it too much thought either.

BTW you can close this thread by selecting a solution and I believe wetcoaster basically summed up everything in his first response to your question.

Good luck with your next gripe!  😉

[walker1 · Accepted solution]

@Rick10 

Glad and surprised to hear that you were able to get in contact with someone from Customer service so fast.  Sorry you didn't get the answer you were expecting but now you know what's going on with your minutes now 😉

Hope that doesn't keep you from calling people as much and waiting for them to call you, like some people.   lol

[Rick10]

Hello to all in this thread:

Thanks for your feedback, comments and suggestions! I've been in touch with Customer Service and they assure me that Public is only counting 'outgoing' call minutes. I suppose my count is off (by quite a bit) and that I'm just not fully accounting the myriad ways that the minutes add up toward my max of 100.

I did suggest to them that on the 'view usage history' chart, that they might consider a SEPARATE COLUMN for 'outgoing only' minutes and a RUNNING TOTAL of 'outgoing only'. This is the only stat of interest to those of us with limited calling minutes (100 outgoing in my case). 

Brenda at CS was very nice!

As I said to darlicious... it's on to my next consumer gripe 😉

Cheers,

R

[darlicious]

@Rick10 

I keep a pretty strict eye on mine, using fongo for voicemail, having friends call me....but then I have to remind myself that I have been given thousands of free minutes and even if I purchased the $5/500min add on they are $0.01/min. It's $1 to double your outgoing calling minutes!😃

[softech]

@Rick10   glad it got sorted out  🙂  Generally speaking, PM tracks data and minutes quiet accurately.  

[Rick10]

Hey darlicious, thanks for all that. I suppose I'm just not correctly counting the myriad of 'timed' outgoing interactions and they add up faster than I realize. I have been in touch with customer service and they assure me that they are only counting 'outgoing' calls and that I'm over my monthly alotment. 

I did suggest to them that on the 'view usage history' chart, that they might consider a SEPARATE COLUMN for 'outgoing only' minutes and a RUNNING TOTAL of 'outgoing only'. This is the only stat of interest to those of us with limited calling minutes (100 outgoing in my case). 

I shall now have to move on to my next consumer gripe... 😉

Cheers, R

[darlicious]

@Rick10 

How long have you been a customer? Longer than 2 years? Almost 3? In the spring of 2019 pm first introduced the $15 plan w/100 limited incoming and outgoing minutes. This plan was updated a few months later to include unlimited incoming calls and 100 limited outgoing minutes.

Check your plan details on the plans page to see the exact details of your plan. If this applies to you then you can schedule a change plan on next renewal to the current $15 plan. Otherwise it is possible there is a glitch in your account causing all calls to be metered.

Lastly your minute counter may not have reset upon renewal. Going forward you may want to screenshot your overview page before and after renewal so if a text, minute or data counter does not reset you can easily check and contact customer support to reset the affected counter.

Note:

• Technically the timed counter for calls starts as soon as you finish dialing the phone number you wish to call this adds about 7 seconds to your first minute of calling. If you are clock watching your minutes then hang up before 53 seconds=1 minute, 1min+53 seconds=2 minutes and so on. If your call does not connect no minutes are metered on your minute counter.
• Your minute counter resets on renewal at midnight eastern. If you live in bc that's at 9pm pacific or in nova scotia that's 1am Atlantic.
• Outside of the eastern time zone the time stamp in your daily usage pages can be confusing. All texts are logged in eastern time. Incoming calling redirected to voicemail is also in eastern.
• Incoming and outgoing calling that is answered are logged in usage at local time.
• Pm sends a text from 611 when you have 10 minutes remaining of your 100 plan minutes. If you have the $5/500 min add on or the "More is Merrier" holiday gift international minute add on(s) your calling will switch seamlessly to the $5/500min add on (and/or) followed by the holiday gift international calling add on.
• Calls to voicemail from your mobile phone count towards your limited 100 outgoing minutes.
• Calls to North American toll free numbers, 611, 911 and call forwarded numbers do not count.

I hope this helps clarify how your calling minutes usage is calculated by public mobile.

[Rick10]

@Rick10 

That's what I was thinking when I made my first post and reread your post.

PM has added them up before for other customers too.  

It's up to you if you want to hold them accountable.  It's your dime.

walker1 - I do intend to follow up and I do have a ticket in with customer service. TX

[CountyDownIeUk]

Also keep in mind if you have an option to call an 800 number...those calls do not count against your 100. 

[CountyDownIeUk]

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@Rick10 wrote:

Thanks Westcoaster:

I had purchased the 'add on' of 500 minutes to cover the situation such as this, (i.e. when I went over the 100 plan minutes). I see that I am using up some of these 500 minutes, which means that Public thinks I've gone over my plan's 100 minutes. Again, I dispute that I've called 'out' more that 100 minutes. By my calculation it's about 44 minutes - and I have rounded-up all calls to the next, higher number.

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Keep in mind the More the Merrier 500 LD international minutes will work for your Canadian calls as we'll. 

[t_p]

@Rick10 

If PM has indeed messed up the calculation of your minutes, You should ask for compensation.

The least they can do is refund you the cost of the 500 minutes add-on you had to use.

[dabr]

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@Rick10 wrote:

Thanks dabr! I think I was successful at submitting via your first method, but I'm justa thinkin' to do the other as well.

r

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@Rick10   If you managed to submit a ticket successfully via chatbot then you don't need to send a private message as well.  You might have two different agents to respond to and probably create more unnecessary back and forth between you and them. 

Good to hear you were able to submit a ticket as many users find the chatbot troublesome.

Update your thread when you get you get your answer and good luck. 😊

[Rick10]

Thanks dabr! I think I was successful at submitting via your first method, but I'm justa thinkin' to do the other as well.

r

[Rick10]

Thanks walker1, I do believe I found CSA and submitted a ticket.

[Rick10]

gpixel4 - I don't check voicemail that often. Perhaps 4 or 5 times per month.

[gpixel]

@Rick10 

do you ever call your voicemail?

that is the only question you haven't answered...

[softech]

@Rick10   did you go through all the pages of your "cycle month"?  if you use sort feature on the usage page, please note that it is NOT reliable.  The sort looks working as you see the type of usage are grouped... for example , the outgoing calls are together.  But if you scroll couple more pages, you will see outgoing calls again.    In short, sorting does not work and you need to go through each page. 

And remember to round up the minutes,  1 second call and 59 seconds calls both counted as 1 minute call

[walker1]

@Rick10 

Use the chat bubble at the page bottom right corner to get a ticket for help with that problem 😉

[dabr]

@Rick10    Two ways to contact CSA, first the chatbot to submit a ticket here:  https://widget.telus.tiia.ai/publicmobile/publicmobile.html

Second option is to private message CS_Agent here:  https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

Edit:  Also just as a heads up use the @key and you can click on the username of the person who you are responding to.  😊

[HALIMACS]

@Rick10 

To contact a Customer Support Agent, there are 2 methods:

1. Use the ticketing system for a faster response time. Click here and type Customer Support Agent, then select contact Customer Support Agent, then select other (or the topic that more closely matches your request).  Click the result which states Click here to submit a ticket and follow the prompts,  or, 
2. Send a private message to the Customer Support Agent by clicking here  You’ll need to be logged into your Community account for the link to work.

Watch for their response in your Community private mailbox which will be indicated by a number on the small envelope icon to the left of your Community avatar.

[walker1]

@Rick10 

That's what I was thinking when I made my first post and reread your post.

PM has added them up before for other customers too.  

It's up to you if you want to hold them accountable.  It's your dime.

[Rick10]

dabr - great, I will be happy to get that text for a gift!

As for CSA, for the life of me I can't find a method to contact some form of admin at Public. Can you direct me to CSA?

[Rick10]

@walker1 Yes, it just seems to me that they're adding the in/out calls together.

[dabr]

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@Rick10 wrote:

dabr, that sounds like a great gift. Is that something I have to ask for?

r

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@Rick10    Not at all, it's available to all customers, you should get a text from 4911 with the offer and respond with a YES.  Texts are being sent out to everyone from Dec 1st to 15th.

Here's the announcement:    https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Update-More-is-Merrier-is-back/m-p/7518...

Edit:  CSA are Customer Support Agents formerly called moderators.

[Rick10]

What is CSA?

r

[Rick10]

dabr, that sounds like a great gift. Is that something I have to ask for?

r

[walker1]

@Rick10 

You may want to get a hold of a CSA and have them look into your call history of your account.  

I've heard of a few cases where the system was counting both incoming and outgoing calls towards your 100 minutes allowed.   By mistake.

It's up to you if you want to do that 🙂

That's what I'd do.  But that's just me 😊

[Rick10]

Right, I'm using my month and not the calendar month.

r