Upcoming Changes to our Old Rewards Program

[J_PM]

Hey Community,

We have an important announcement to share with our subscribers who are currently enrolled in our old Rewards program.

We’re making changes to our rewards program and are sharing how these changes impact some of our subscribers. Starting in May, we’ll be retiring our old Rewards program and moving all subscribers to our Public Points™ program. 

We launched the Public Points™ program in January 2022 to provide our subscribers with more ways to earn and spend rewards, with greater flexibility. As part of our commitment to continuously evolve our products and services, it's time to retire our old Rewards program and shift our focus on enhancing our Points program.

To show our appreciation for your continued loyalty, subscribers on our old Rewards program will receive a special thank you. We'll send you a text message when it has been added to your account by March 31st. 

We’re excited to continue providing you, our valued subscribers, more opportunities to earn and spend rewards with Public Points™ moving forward.

To learn more about your move to Public Points, check out our FAQ here.

The Public Mobile Team

[anotheran]

Yup exactly same impact to family I switched over to public mobile. The loyalty discount was the sticky but now I'll go shop around and by September when all the back to school specials are running, I'll probably be switched out.

With this switch, I'll be paying $5-7 more per line. Erodes the competitive advantage pm had for me

[EddieG]

I am deeply disappointed that Public Mobile considers it acceptable to unilaterally terminate the trusting relationships of loyalty that have been built over the years. This also prompts former loyal customers to seek better deals and turn to other mobile operators who truly value customer loyalty.

[tkr]

Very bad move, PM !! Working on my exit strategy after 8 yrs!

You've effectively removed any incentive to stay with PM, as the Loyalty bonus has changed from $5/month to 0.83/mth, accrued annually.  Your 240G loyalty bonus is useless to me, as I don't need it, and I certainly don't want something with an expiry date and downgrading rules.

PM. why are you letting the marketing types in head office play these silly little games with your points system, and Plans for "New Users Only", and just have a transparent system where the customer is not being gamed by the PM marketing department ?!

[Virkam]

I agree this sucks. My bill will almost double. I have been supporting additional users by getting them to join and getting a dollar off my bill etc. Now seems like this will be wiped up. Not a happy camper.

[EdN]

Good thing Public Mobile doesn't have retention department.

[dabr]

@ShawnC13   Thanks for finding the link but it really doesn't change anything regarding how I think most customers' expectations were of believing the legacy rewards would stay as long as they remained with PM.   Obviously, that belief was misplaced.

Also noting that the FAQ link goes to a page saying "article not found".

[mikewo]

In the FAQ:

"What is the difference between the old Rewards Program and Public Points Program? What do I keep? What do I lose?

For detailed comparisons and what changes to expect, please refer to our current help articles."

Where are these "current help articles". It seems like my plans will change how they are treated/billed, why is it not more clear what the material changes will be?

At the end of the day: Am I paying more for the same service?
Can the points be auto-redeemed?

My wife and father in law are set up on accounts. Neither will be interested in logging in to redeem. Can they auto redeem?

[Dunkman]

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@Peeg wrote:

Very disappointed that I received this information through social media rather than an email. My bill is going to increase by $7 per month, and the bonus data will be unusable since I already have unlimited throttled data. Will start searching for a new provider.

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@Peeg 

From our understanding, this bonus Data add on should work with unlimited throttled PM plan.  This was asked to PM management. 

Once your regular data runs out, this bonus data add on should kick in and you will have regular speed with this bonus add on.  If that works in reality, we won't know until somebody tries it out.  The older grandfathered data add ons (ie. XMAS bonus) does not work with the unlimited data plans. 

It obviously still disappointing with the forced migration.  

[DLS_64]

I really am hoping they will change their mind, although I doubt it will happen. They could have even just introduced a cap on the discount you receive each month? Like max it out at $10 or something. Some people still would have been upset, but again would have been an easier pill to swallow.

[terrywkw]

Imagine having one of the worst quarters on record right after a record breaking quarter. How funny would that be

[Wolfcore]

Truth is, costs aren't really up (not significantly). They've just posted one of their highest yearly earnings on record. It's really just price gouging. They have an old system where people are paying very little for their service, including people who are paying absolutely nothing, and they don't like that. Telus isn't in the business of being generous, so they see these people who are paying very low bills, and feel there's no reason why they can't siphon more money from them. 

This strategy almost always wins, but sometimes the consumer backlash is so bad, and reputation-destroying, that it ends up being the opposite. Guess we'll see how this one goes.

[Tiffani_]

Dear Public Mobile,

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment and dissatisfaction with the recent decision to terminate the Old Rewards program. I have been a loyal Public Mobile customer for 10 years and have consistently relied on the benefits and savings that this program provided.

The Old Rewards program was a significant factor in my decision to choose Public Mobile as my phone service provider. The ability to earn points towards reducing my monthly bill and the additional perks offered by the program made Public Mobile a more appealing and affordable option compared to other carriers.

Ending this program unexpectedly feels like a breach of trust. I have actively participated in the program by referring friends, consistently paying my bills on time, and maintaining a long tenure. To have these benefits removed without sufficient notice or a suitable replacement is deeply frustrating.

I understand that businesses make operational changes, but the lack of transparency and minimal options offered to compensate for the loss of these rewards is unacceptable. I would urge Public Mobile to reconsider this decision or introduce a new program that provides similar value to loyal customers.

If no resolution is possible, I will be forced to re-evaluate my service options with other providers who offer more consistent loyalty programs.

[ily]

And leave we will. Just watch.

[computergeek541]

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@d3rdonnergott wrote:

They already censored my original post! The wording was a bit different but I wrote: What a crappy way to treat your customers! 

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I understand that you do not liike this announcement. However, inappropriate language isn't permitted.

[MichelPM1]

Very disappointed...to say the least. I will start shopping around for better deals for my 2 accounts. I thought I would be grandfathered and would keep my $15 in monthly credits. I have no use for the additional data received. So much for a special thank.

[Wolfcore]

For those who are going to be sticking around, I think the most important thing to remember moving forward, is that PM should no longer have your trust, or even benefit of the doubt. They've lied about things in the past, but nothing of this scale.

Of course, the truth is that nobody should be trusting any of these companies to begin with, but when you're out there preaching about "no surprises", and being transparent with your customers, and then you pull something like this, it's just a whole different level.

Consumer trust should be non-existent after this. If PM advertises something and claims that there will be no surprises, they should not only be called out on that, but you should go into it expecting to eventually lose what you signed up for. 

Subscribers should also speak with their wallet, and port out at a moments notice. With sim cards being as cheap as they are, and e-sim's being a thing now, there's no reason to support companies that screw over their customers like this.

Blind loyalty should not be a thing. If there's a better offer out there, just take it. It's not like it's a hard process to make a switch. Follow your wallet, and that's it. If PM wants you back, make them lure you back in by offering something better. 

[Peeg]

Very disappointed that I received this information through social media rather than an email. My bill is going to increase by $7 per month, and the bonus data will be unusable since I already have unlimited throttled data. Will start searching for a new provider.

[Chalupa_Batman]

Only thing is they don't have any US roaming. Not even any addons to purchase.

[terrywkw]

Submitted a complaint to CCTS anyways. They probably can't do much but at least this will bring it to their attention. In the meantime, I will be looking at viable alternatives for my 4 lines.

[d3rdonnergott]

They already censored my original post! The wording was a bit different but I wrote: What a crappy way to treat your customers! 

[Stelawrat]

Thank you @Dunkman! 

I'll definitely stay with my current $35 plan for the next two payments, March & April, to take advantage of the $10.00 monthly reductions, until they're lost in May, at which time, I'll downgrade to PM's $25 plan.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to shop around, speak with family etc. for something comparable, or better than PM's $25 plan. 

Thanks to you & to everyone who replied to my posts! o/

[DLS_64]

This is just so disappointing. The way they went about this was all wrong too, why try and make it sounds like this is a good change for your long-term customers? I think this pill would have been easier to swallow if they had just owned up to it and said costs are up and instead of changing the price of plans, they're switching their loyal customers to the much less attractive point system.

I think the most insulting thing is that they used to offer points for every month you had been with Public if you voluntarily switched to the point system... this really should have been given to those of us who are being forced on to the new point system as well. Even if the data had no expiry date it would have been better; it just feels like this was poorly executed and I think they underestimate how many people will switch to other carriers, and even possibly pay a bit more, to get some of the premium features Public doesn't have (Wi-Fi Calling, Visual Voicemail, unthrottled data speeds, etc.).

I would love to see them reverse this decision, but I do think that's unlikely. At the very least, I would like to see them offer the customers being forced to switch the points for each month they've been with Public.

[Sasser]

Glad to see I am not the only upset and frustrated customer. I have 2 phones but they put them on seperate accounts saying it had to be this way. Can even access the one account and I need the Account Number Grrrrr

[AnnoyedByPublic]

Kinda sounds like they knows it’s ridiculous and suggesting a switch without outright doing so. Don’t oust their name.

[AlexS888]

I had already been in contact with a moderator for another issues, and after HE brought up the switch to Points I replied that I was not happy about being forced to switch and told him that it removed any incentive to stay with PM, this was his reply:

"Regarding the switch to Points, you are not actually forced to make the change, this doesn't need consent or approval, it will be done and it's unavoidable. No department can't change that, but I will also point out that these are prepaid services with no contract, which means the customer can change to any carrier at any point"

So, I guess they don't care about customers AT ALL and have no problem with us leaving.

[KatMacNeil]

This "new" point base system is a slap.  Wholly supported and promoted PM on their loyalty program to anyone who was interested.  The automatic loyalty program was a HUGE incentive as it was credited to the account every month; bonus for those of us on fixed/limited incomes and very helpful. I get the "redesign" of the program but now it's a "wait and build up"  which is USELESS.  Why not have the "points" automatically credited to the account EACH month and not leave it to the user to manually "apply".  This now has me and my other referred friends now looking at other options/providers. NO THANKS PM!

[pm-smayer97]

YES!

Then you can work at trying to apply any points you earn over time.... lol

[ily]

The fact that they haven't thought of this is mind-boggling. It goes to show that their "thank you" data is nothing but an afterthought.

[Dunkman]

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@Stelawrat wrote:

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@Dunkman wrote:

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@Stelawrat wrote:

I've read all of the posts up to page 16... pretty sure no one has asked this so, can anyone please advise if customers located in Quebec will still receive the $5 off per month, or is this lost as well? 

Signed up in July '20 for a $35 plan (- $5 off QC location - $2 Auto pay - $3 Loyalty) = $25 per month currently. 

I've had a quick look at other providers & the choices are limited. When the enforced points system comes into effect, I'm leaning towards downgrading my plan to the one PM provides for $25 per month, meaning I'll lose 1 GB of data per month & forfeit the gift of 240 GB special bonus data. I'll get to keep all of my Add-Ons earned over the years = 6 GB data & 1500 minutes INTL Long Distance incl CA & US.

I really wish I could downgrade to the $24 per month plan, currently available for new activations only. I sincerely believe that if PM made that an option, it would compensate a bit for the loss of our legacy rewards, especially so if Quebec residents lose that $5 per month reduction. 

I can't imagine that the difference in what the two plans provide would have that great an impact on PM's bottom line. Making it available to everyone would restore a fair amount of the good will PM customers normally have for them. Currently it's being drained away by the enforced point system, combined with the restriction to this attractive plan.

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@Stelawrat 

You actually should keep the ongoing $5/month discount as long as you don't change the original plan $35.  Yes, you will lose your loyalty and autopay rewards.  

If you are planning to change as described above, you will need to do it soon.  Some customers have already received the data bonus (ranging from 5GB top 240 GB).  Once you get the data bonus, if you change plan, your data bonus will be removed according to FAQ.  

I agree with you.  Making the $24 and $29 "new activation only" plans available to existing customers would be a positive step in helping with this transition.  Better than the offer of the data bonus for many customers. 

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Aarrggg! 😲

I hope that you're wrong re: the $5 reduction as a Quebec resident.

As per PM's Service Terms, I've never received any notification, or warning, by email, text, or here on my account summary, that I could lose the reduction if I ever changed plans. When I joined PM, I understood that it was a defacto reduction for all Quebec residents, not plan specific.

It's quite possible that I misunderstood, hopefully not though. If I did, then that doubles my total monthly loss to $10.00. 

As described above, when I downgrade, I don't mind losing the 1 GB of data per month & forfeiting the gift of 240 GB special bonus data.

I do get to keep all of my Add-Ons earned over the years = 6 GB data & 1500 minutes INTL Long Distance incl CA & US though right? 

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@Stelawrat 

If you downgrade your plan, you will likely lose the $5 Quebec discount.  Discount was plan specific.  If you change plans, you will lose that discount most likely. 

[pm-smayer97]

Just keep in mind that if you want to earn community rewards (LOL), you need to use the same email address as your Self-Serve login. You can have CS_Agent fix that if needed.