payment vouchers in Sarnia Ontario

[smarsden]

So my bill is becoming due soon and i looked on the website for places to pick up a payment voucher and chose to try greers variety,when i arrived there the owner looked at me completely confused and told they did not sell anything related to public mobile and that i wasnt the first person to make this mistake,so who in sarnia then sells payment vouchers? since apparantly the seller information from the public mobile website isnt accurate

[smarsden]

the rest of the numbers were called on my house phone while my cell was charging but doing quick searches will show these as various stores i was told to check in sarnia as well as confirming wow mobile,i cant give picture proof regarding greers and others but greers variety,star variety,vidal variety, and london food mart all told me in person they didnt.sorry its amateur at best but this isnt my forte.

[mimmo]

@smarsden glad you found a voucher. 

@David_J agree 100% with @will13am customers should not have to do so much legwork to top up.  A little goodwill token should go towards smarsden if possible.

Possibly better communication on what to ask for is needed. I didn't know  clerks looked up the vouchers in their "interact machine" 

[NDesai]

@mimmo Good to know. 

I think that is the case for pretty much most of the stores and gas station. Those clerks are usually taking an easy way out by saying no. Since rarely anyone purchases vouchers or clerks never heard about PM, they straight tell you no. But as you said, it is usually listed on their machine if they check carefully. Retail stores like SDM and CT makes it easy because we can just look on shelves. And that is i why i am suggesting that these retails stores should be on top of the list. 

[will13am]

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@David_J wrote:

Thanks for alerting me to this. Please PM me with the store and I'll remove it from the list and alert our partners who we work with distributing payment vouchers (and give use the list of stores) and we'll get the store removed from the list and updated on publicmobile.ca.

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@David_J, I find it extremely out of place and disappointing for a vendor to ask a customer to provide feedback in this regard.  TBH, it should have been the vendor or agent that got on the phone and did all this leg work.  As discussed, sometimes the clerks give the convenient answer and so the information discussed here may not be totally accurate.  Public Mobile should have the means provide a verified list of vendors.  @smarsden  should be commended for staying with the service and going the extra mile for something that ought not have been a customer's responsibility.  The typical customer would likely be doing business with the competition by now.  Having said that, I strongly urge Public Mobile to show some goodwill here and provide this customer with a token of appreciation.  Some form of service credit would be totally appropriate.  If any others out there agree with me, let's put some pressure of public opinion on this matter. 

[smarsden]

wow lots of replies since i left this morning for work!,and yes i can now offically confirm wow mobile in sarnia does sell the vouchers and will upload a picture of it as well as screenshots of the few i called as well,but again some were speaking in person,but for the ones in person,they werent average clerks they were ma and pa variety store shops where your dealing with the owner like with greers and a few others,i took the suggestions of previous posters and called places like shoppers drug marts and canadian tire gas stations as well as walmarts hence why my number of people contacted is more than the list.

[mimmo]

Just to add to the above post the vouchers are managed/outsourced  by a third party called InComm and their "fastpin service". 

Pure speculation but i don't think PM is actually going out and getting new sellers but simply using the InComm network of merchants who may or may not know what vouchers they are selling.

[mimmo]

@smarsden, @NDesai @srlawren I was curious so on my way home I stopped at a 7-11 and a shell gas station.  At 7-11 there were 2 clerks, one didn't know the other said I think let me check, and he checked the interact machine and confirmed they did.

I then went to shell and thete wete 3 people again the first answer from all 3 was no, i asked can you check the machine and sure enough they found it. In the mean time one of the three ended up also finding the attached voucher card.  

Moral of the story I guess is 

Ask the clerks to check their interact machines for the voucher before taking no as an answer.

Both shell and 7-11 are not on the list

[NDesai]

@srlawren Yes, i did not mean to just add new ones and don't remove any. From the past comments from David_J, he specifically says to remove and clean up but never said to add new ones. And we are talking Legit Retail stores here that are confirmed selling vouchers by me and others. These retail stores should always be at the top of the list if they are nearby. They should be the recommended place for voucher purchase before any 3rd party stores or gas stations. It's a no brainer to not have retail stores in that list. 

[srlawren]

@NDesai @David_J I would argue both are important, but that removing places that erroneously are listed as selling vouchers but don't is probably a higher priority than adding new places.  I'd rather have a smaller list with very little likelihood of travelling there and not having success, personally.  I would do the clean up (removal of invalid locations) first, and then focus on adding the new ones that are missing.  Personally.  IMHO.

[NDesai]

@David_J@ wrote

Thanks for alerting me to this. Please PM me with the store and I'll remove it from the list and alert our partners who we work with distributing payment vouchers (and give use the list of stores) and we'll get the store removed from the list and updated on publicmobile.ca.

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Instead of removing why haven't you add the retail stores that are confirmed to be selling PM vouchers. I and other members have confirmed and I also mentioned previously that SDM and Canadian Tire are selling vouchers, but they are not listed. I only see 3rd party stores and gas stations in my area. I am not sure why retail stores are not listed. 

[srlawren]

@smarsden did you have any luck at WoW Mobile?  I sure hope so!

[mimmo]

@smarsden  are you able to confirm you contacted all the retailers on Public Mobiles Sarnia list?

@David_J it is a small list of official retailers in Sarnia (11), might be worth the elbow  grease to call them up yourself and follow up.  I think @smarsden has gone above and beyond.

also wow mobile doesn't see, to appear on that list, which is a starnge ommission

[smarsden]

So after calling over 12 different locations in town W0W mobile appears to be the only place in town that sells them,will confirm this after work when I attempt to pick up a voucher and not just be told no over the phone

[David_J]

Thanks for alerting me to this. Please PM me with the store and I'll remove it from the list and alert our partners who we work with distributing payment vouchers (and give use the list of stores) and we'll get the store removed from the list and updated on publicmobile.ca.

[stonechucker]

SOME Walmarts display Public Mobile prepaid voucher 'display tags'.  But the cashier needs to look into a separate system or "something" to actually make the voucher active - I have not done this, however there were a few issues where people bought 3 at $25 each, but wre given no voucher activation information to activate on their plans.

It's rough.  I know.

As for prepaid visa, I have one that works, very low (ie $10/year) fee.  It's through ScotiaBank.  To obtain,you must apply in person a branch.  It's a $10 activation fee.  The card is essentially a temporary holding place for cash, to be used 'like' a credit card.  *if* you have a ScotiaBank regular chequing or savings account, transfers to the card are free to you.  Other online banking 'bill payments' will also not cost you to load the funds, but a 3-4 business day to make the funds available to be used.

It's the 'ScotiaBank Scene preaid reloadable card'.  I've been using since I joined here June of 2016.  It's NOT a prepaid gift card.  It works like a normal visa, and if you collect SCENE points, you get points towards that.

[smarsden]

Called the local shell and Canadian tire gas bar,was told by both they've been asked before and don't sell the vouchers,have to wait a couple more hours to check with wow mobile.

[smarsden]

Called the local shell and Canadian tire gas bar,was told by both they've been asked before and don't sell the vouchers,have to wait a couple more hours to check with wow mobile

[smarsden]

I'll be checking all those tomorrow when stores open.if I find no stores in town provide the vouchers then ill simply take my buisness elsewhere.I came to this service because between the website and a friend I was under the impression that it was cheaper,less hassle,less drama,and helped multiple people through their various perks system, so for someone on average who makes well below the poverty line like me this was great in theory,but becoming pointless in practice if it becomes the scenario of having to spend an average extra 8 dollars a month on prepaid credit card monthly and reloading fees. Some people see 8 bucks and see nothing,i see 8 bucks and see 4 meals I lose,this is why im not liking this at all.

[mimmo]

Defiantly check shell gas.  When I called my local station. The girl I talked to said no, the boss overheard us talking and said yes they did. 

So ask them to check the gift cards they sell to make sure.

Walmart dies not sell vouchers, and its ct gas bars not actual stores I believe.

Have you gone to wow mobile?

Lambton Mall, 1380 London Road, Sarnia, ON N7S 1P8

Got address from google.

[smarsden]

I called a few more variety stores as well as all shoppers drug marts in town to no avail,ill be calling the local walmart and Canadian tire stores tomorrow and will keep everyone updated

[will13am]

@smarsden, I agree it is inexcusable that the list of retail outlets where vouchers can be purchased is totally out of date.  This has been brought to the attention to the decision makers already.  Who knows why this list is not being updated. 

[KMG]

You're right - I was thinking of SIM cards.  I actually don't know if Walmart sells vouchers.  My bad.

[mimmo]

@David_J Didn't you just update the voucher search?  Does this user's experience mean it is still not working properly? 

[mimmo]

@KMG  are you sure walmart sells  vouchers?  My understading was they only sold sim cards.

[KMG]

Walmart is probably your best bet.

[smarsden]

yes i am calling ahead now,but the point is now im having to call every store in town which is a huge hassle,i wouldnt have switched to public mobile if this is what i was gonna deal with.

[wetcoaster]

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@Mana wrote:

But there are prepaid cards that just charge maybe $3 to $4 when you buy it but then there is no monthly fee or any other fees. 

I just thiught that instead of your driving around and wasting gas looking for a voucher, why not just get a prepaid card and save the trouble. 

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There is always the option of calling ahead... 😉

To add to @mimmo's list: At least out here on the west coast some 7-11 convenience stores stock PM vouchers as well.

[smarsden]

or maybe public mobile shouldnt lie about what stores provide their vouchers in the first place so this hassle could be avoided,and frankly to be blunt,if none of you are from sarnia,then how would you know where to buy the vouchers in town instead of recommending a suggestion i clearly dont intend to use?

[Mana]

But there are prepaid cards that just charge maybe $3 to $4 when you buy it but then there is no monthly fee or any other fees. 

I just thiught that instead of your driving around and wasting gas looking for a voucher, why not just get a prepaid card and save the trouble. 

[smarsden]

because prepaid credit cards charge monthly fees as well as extra money to reload