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NIGHTMARE with billing and payments-Started with USA roaming!!

rrturner
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@Shazia_K@Mary_M@MarieHelene_L@Simon_O

 

Hi everyone,

Signing up with Public Mobile back in November, when they had the $120 promo (less with autopay), everything was great.  Service worked perfectly.  Then we bought a weeklong USA roaming package.  Thus begins the nightmare.  If you don't want the details, I would suggest NOT using this service at this point, and using a 3rd party provider.  Here's what happened, if interested:

-Getting the roaming for my wife and me worked perfectly. 

-Coming off the roaming package on April 4th is where the massive problems began.  As many have experienced, we could not receive texts within Canada when the USA roaming expired.  A known issue on their part.

-In trying to fix this issue for us is where EVERYTHING fell apart.  They essentially reset my wife's account (I told PM mods, who told teck support, to not touch my number, because I could wait a day without receiving texts).  In doing so, they removed my initial refer-a-friend credit that I received from signing up my wife.  Teck support insists that I did not refer her anymore, since they see her as having begun with PM in APRIL, when we returned from the USA roaming package and the tecks reset my wife's phone package.  So, I lost my referral bonus for this, which I see as fraudulent at the moment.

Next, you will see that that 3 months after April 4th brings us to today.  Coming back from Canada Day camping, where we had no cell service, we return to discover that her account was shut down.  Apparently, her billing cycle was also reset as of their April 4th fix.  Previously, it was in line with my payments, so we wouldn't be needing to pay until August (since that is a 3-month cycle from November, when we initially signed up). 

-Luckily, we return on July 4th, when we see from a text from PM that our payment is due.  That's today.  However, they have already shut down her account for some reason.  In the past couple months, my wife's credit card had expired.  Now that we can't access her account, we cannot make any payment to PM.  Even though payment is due today.  And her service is shut down.

 

All because we signed up for PM's USA roaming, and they couldn't properly fix a known issue that they have with returning from a USA roaming package.

 

I've been dealing with teck support about my loss of refer a friend credit for 10 days, and they say I never referred my wife.  I cannot access detailed PM billing to prove that my wife's number was my refer-a-friend credit for my first 2 billing periods (but you would think they could see this!!).  But now, to have my wife's account suspended, with no way to make a payment, this is over-the-top problematic.

 

Hopefully some of you can learn from the issues that I am facing.  I've sent private messages to the moderators, nothing yet. 😞

Thanks for reading.

Ryan

13 REPLIES 13

Mary_M
Retraité / Retired
Retraité / Retired

Good morning @rrturner,

 

thank you for reaching out to us and for sharing feedback regarding your experience.

 

I'm really sorry to hear that you've come across a bumpy road since joining Public Mobile. As you may know, we do have some system issues that may have already impacted you, and I do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. No customer should ever have to experience this. 

 

Furthermore, I have received your private message and I'll look into it shortly. I will try my best to assist you and get everything in order, please allow me some time - you should receive a reply throughout the course of the day :).

 

Respectfully,

 

Mary 

** Please do not post private info such as: phone number, account number, pin etc.. This is a public forum. **

rrturner
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@Shazia_K@Mary_M@MarieHelene_L@Simon_O

OK, more frustration.  Thanks @Luddite for mentioning that the account locking must be a bug.  Even trying the "forgot password", it tells us "unable to verify email".  Despite having the records of Public Mobile communicating with us with that email.

 

Now, as suggested by @SD08, I went to another location that is listed where I can purchase PM vouchers, here in Calgary. That would be what is listed as a Circle K at 3111 Edmonton Trail NE (but is actually a Centex gas station).  The guy had no idea what I was talking about when I asked to make a payment to Public Mobile, couldn't help me at all, despite me trying to explain what I wanted.  So back I went to the original Canadian Tire gas bar that rejected me.  Sure enough, a new employee, who would process the Public Mobile PIN.  However, only in max $40 denominations.  I got 4 x $40, 1 x $25.  Was charged a $1 convenience fee (Convenience indeed--haha).  Came home, called *611, allowed me to add them via her phone.  HOWEVER: it looks like it's just given her a month-to-month Talk and text only plan!  I can only surmise this, though, since my wife's email (for checking plan online) and PIN (for listening to add-ons via 611) have both seemingly been erased, and she's getting no data.  But voice and text is working.  

I've now "paid it (whatever "IT" is) on-time." 

Did I mention this process has been a nightmare?

Again, hope others can learn from this. 

Ryan

The lock down of her account is not related to the suspension; it's a bug. Accounts remain accessible for 90 days after the last plan expires; even a 10 day plan.


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.

rrturner
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen
Not a bad idea, actually, about trying later today. Of course, would be much simpler if we could get into the account that has been, but should not be, locked down. Why deny.access to a user's account the day payment is due? I don't understand why they wouldn't try at Canadian tire, but I alsoI don't get that PM process either.

SD08
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

I'm not sure I understand her reluctance to process the transaction. How would she end up paying for it? There is no difference in the taxes charged for either type. Being entirely electronic (like gift card purchases), the transaction won't complete if payment is not made (via cash or credit card) right on the spot. As long as she knows how to actually punch the keys for any cell carrier vouchers, there should be no problem. The PIN vouchers are only available in amounts up to $100 anyway, while the real-time vouchers go up to $200, so that's another way to tell the difference - the machine should stop the transaction if you try to purchase more than the allowed amount. I would just tell her you'll accept either kind of voucher, so it doesn't matter which one she gives you. The requirement of the phone number for real-time voucher will become obvious if needed. If she won't do it, maybe there's another clerk at another time who is willing to do it (call ahead to ask about anything, and maybe you'll get another clerk).

rrturner
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Thanks @SD08.  You are correct about the amount being off (I was looking at a previous amount paid for my account for reference).  Either way, as you say, $200 would cover it.

As for which to use, I think we can surmise which to use, but not with 100% confidence.  I was totally blocked at the Gas Bar at the end; she would go no further until her manager figures it out, to avoid any mistakes on their end.  So even if we are "pretty sure", it wouldn't be enough at this point. 

 

Originally, back in April, we wanted the "no texting" issue resolved promptly for my wife's account, since it is her personal contact number for her business.  For the same reasons, this is a real PITA at the moment.  Aside from the other issues mentioned above, of course.

SD08
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@rrturner wrote:

...then it would be the $117.60 (120 less $6 autopay plus GST).

------

She went on her PIN pad, found 2 entries for Public Mobile, where they sell this type of product for other service providers--Public Mobile PIN and Public Mobile RTR.  I told her I didn't know which to use, neither did she; I told her I imagine it would be the PIN, so I'd go with that (since PIN is what's needed for the vouchers), but she said if she's wrong, she'd have to pay for the mistake, so she wouldn't do it.  She tried calling her manager, who also said "It's a new product, so she's not sure either.".  End of story: They wouldn't sell it to me without knowing for sure.  


 

@rrturner

Just to clarify your calculation, $114 plus GST should be more than $117.60, since GST is 5%. If you're in another province than Alberta then there's also PST/HST. But if you're buying $200, you're safe anyway.  In any case, when you buy PM vouchers, you simply specify the before-tax amount you want to buy from the retailer, then they will add tax. For example, if your plan calls for a payment due of $114, you would buy $114 worth of vouchers from the retailer, since that's the amount you need to load onto your account.

 

Some clarification on the two types of PM vouchers available:
A regular voucher gives you a code that you can use later to top-up your account when you want, and these will be in set denominations up to $100.
A real time voucher loads the value immediately onto your account at the store, and the value can be any amount you'd like. Your phone number will be required to complete the transaction. This in itself will help you determine which type is which when the retailer tries to process it.

 

It makes sense that "RTR" should be the real-time voucher, and "PIN" would be the regular voucher that you can take home to use later. The PIN printed out on the receipt would be a 12-digit number. See photo of a regular (PIN) voucher I purchased recently:

PM_PIN_Voucher.jpg

 

Perhaps with this knowledge in hand, you can go back to that retailer and show her the difference, to let you make the purchase.  Good luck.

rrturner
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

OK, so the level of service that I've been dealing with continues.  I made the drive to the only relatively nearby Canadian Tire Gas Bar that sells Public Mobile Purchase Vouchers.  I told the teller that I was looking to purchase one of these.  Not knowing what my wife's bill is (should be 117.60), I was going to make it an even $200 to be safe.  BUT, the teller didn't know it existed.  Didn't even know that Public Mobile existed, had to repeat it to her.  She went on her PIN pad, found 2 entries for Public Mobile, where they sell this type of product for other service providers--Public Mobile PIN and Public Mobile RTR.  I told her I didn't know which to use, neither did she; I told her I imagine it would be the PIN, so I'd go with that (since PIN is what's needed for the vouchers), but she said if she's wrong, she'd have to pay for the mistake, so she wouldn't do it.  She tried calling her manager, who also said "It's a new product", so she wasn't sure either.  End of story: They wouldn't sell it to me without knowing for sure.  Once again, blocked.  This was at the 5040 Dalton Drive Canadian Tire Gas Bar, about 15 minutes ago.
I'm learning that when things go well, we have a very good product here.  When it goes South, boy does it go South.

rrturner
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

OK, so the level of service that I've been dealing with continues.  I made the drive to only relatively nearby Canadian Tire Gas Bar that sells Public Mobile Purchase Vouchers.  I told the teller that I was looking to purchase one of these.  Not knowing what my wife's bill is (should be 117.60), I was going to make it an even $200 to be safe.  BUT, the teller didn't know it existed.  Didn't even know that Public Mobile existed, had to repeat it to her.  She went on her PIN pad, found 2 entries for Public Mobile, where they sell this type of product for other service providers--Public Mobile PIN and Public Mobile RTR.  I told her I didn't know which to use, neither did she; I told her I imagine it would be the PIN, so I'd go with that (since PIN is what's needed for the vouchers), but she said if she's wrong, she'd have to pay for the mistake, so she wouldn't do it.  She tried calling her manager, who also said "It's a new product, so she's not sure either.".  End of story: They wouldn't sell it to me without knowing for sure.  Once again, blocked.  This was at the 5040 Dalton Drive Canadian Tire Gas Bar, about 15 minutes ago.
I'm learning that when things go well, we have a very good product here.  When it goes South, boy does it go South.

😞

rrturner
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Hi Luddite,

Thanks for the response.  I can track down a location where I can use a payment voucher, though I don't know the exact amount I need to pay.  Because I can't get into the account, and none of the text messages sent to my wife tell how much is due.  If I'm going by the "before PM messed up the USA roaming problem", then it would be the $117.60 (120 less $6 autopay plus GST).  Maybe I'll take a chance; never puchased voucher before.

 

UPDATE: OK, so the level of service that I've been dealing with continues.  @Luddite made a good suggestion to get a Payment Voucher.  I made the drive to only relatively nearby Canadian Tire Gas Bar that sells Public Mobile Purchase Vouchers.  I told the teller that I was looking to purchase one of these.  Not knowing what my wife's bill is (should be 117.60), I was going to make it an even $200 to be safe.  BUT, the teller didn't know it existed.  Didn't even know that Public Mobile existed, had to repeat it to her.  She went on her PIN pad, found 2 entries for Public Mobile, where they sell this type of product for other service providers--Public Mobile PIN and Public Mobile RTR.  I told her I didn't know which to use, neither did she; I told her I imagine it would be the PIN, so I'd go with that (since PIN is what's needed for the vouchers), but she said if she's wrong, she'd have to pay for the mistake, so she wouldn't do it.  She tried calling her manager, who also said "It's a new product, so she's not sure either.".  End of story: They wouldn't sell it to me without knowing for sure.  Once again, blocked.  This was at the 5040 Dalton Drive Canadian Tire Gas Bar in Calgary, about 15 minutes ago.
I'm learning that when things go well, we have a very good product here.  When it goes South, boy does it go South.

Acekiller
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

an unfortunate series of events... hope you will get your service up and running soon.

jeffster1970
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

Hopefully one of the mods can fix your problem... 

Sounds like a major issue! 

Luddite
Oracle
Oracle

@rrturner You really fell down the rabbit hole to land in this mess. 👺 Do just persist, the moderators will get it sorted. Though, given their backlog it may be a day, or two, before you have a response. Perhaps, turn on email notification of private messages to see their response as soon as it arrives.

Meanwhile, if your wife needs to make phone calls try an application like that from fongo.com. It provides free calling across Canada from wherever you are connected to wifi. 

Also, try dialing *611 from her phone. If that goes through you could purchase vouchers and add them to her account that way. https://publicmobile.ca/en/on/how-to-pay


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.
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