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

[ck6]

I have been with Public Mobile since just a few months after it became Public Mobile, so long that I remember Martin.   I suspect that there may not be a whole lot of others who can say the same.

In the past, PM has grandfathered plans/raised prices.  There have been complaints but I think everyone recognizes, deep down, that these things happen in business.

The current situation is different.  For me, as others have mentioned, it is the perceived breach of trust that is most disappointing.  We were promised that we could keep our loyalty rewards.

IMO the person who dreamed up this announcement has a cord that doesn’t quite reach the outlet.  Instead of terminating loyalty rewards, PM might examine why the Points program apparently has been such a colossal failure.

[Mikep3]

Very true. They basically had their customer "locked" in to a contract by providing enough incentive for us to stay. Now everyone will just jump as soon as there is a better option.

[Mikep3]

If you cost out Freedom and a phone over a 24 month period it's basically the same price. With Freedom you get live tech support and brick and mortar stores.

[ninjastar]

Guess they didn't like my comments about how they did this with their Koodo brand too.. $6 hike

https://forums.redflagdeals.com/four-months-later-koodo-brings-6-price-increase-29-black-friday-plan...

[yelopage]

I'd like to make a complaint here: Public mobile doesn't offer a choice "not to move to the new points reward system". 

This will be my reference for my CCTS complaint.  

[Mikep3]

It doesn't matter if they promised or not. Yes, they can make any changes they see fit. 

I think the problem is that people came to Public Mobile for cheaper plans. But it was only cheaper because in turn the customer sacrificed live tech support, brick and mortar stores and having to do their own account management.

With this change they are now basically the same price as the competitors but they haven't provided us anything in return. We still do not have live tech support, brick and mortar stores and we still have to do our own account management. Not only that, we need to do even more management work to be able to redeem the points.

I think they have lost sight of the fact there are a lot of services they don't provide, so they shouldn't be almost the same price.

[Tccchris1]

I’ve got 4 phone numbers with PB…all these numbers will be leaving to go with other providers unless the old rewards program stays. 

[michyNB]

Gotta love the corporate greed and price gouging... I've been a loyal user for years, and recommended PM to many. No longer, I'll move tot he next provider I see with a decent or better deal, this point system is a joke, and the bonus data offer is a slap in the face... it was a good run.

[TheNguyen]

4 year customer. Goodbye PM! Thanks but it's not OK to lure us in and now screw us over. We've already had to troubleshoot and figure out issues with the forums. You don't provide customer support and now you're ruining it for long time customers. Back to the hopping game between providers I go!

[Dell27]

Well then, was a fun 7 years. PC Mobile it is

[timmaytimbit]

I stuck it out and stayed on PM because the loyalty points made it really hard to go elsewhere. After being a customer for 6 years, it was a good run. See you later PM. 

Boo!

[Michael6666]

I'm not disputing that loyalty programs change.

I'm just saying that this isn't a devaluation. It's a bait and switch. 

Old referral should remain 1$ off. New referrals, give me points, that's the deal at that time. Imagine if koodo stopped giving the 5$ per month after 5 months instead of 10. Same logic applies here. 

Loyalty program discontinued? Sure, but freeze the accrued discount. 

These would be fair for time based rewards. Not this insulting useless data bucket. 

[FuzzyFish]

Terrible. Public Points sucks, do better. If this is the loyalty shown to long time customers, I have no loyalty for this company and I'll actively look at other providers from now on. 

[ninjastar]

I switched to PC Mobile today. The first time in 7 years I could actually speak to someone over the phone and pay $29 instead of $50. 

[Tinop]

So true , such a slow app and web site. I will be saying good by to Public mobile and Telus home services.  Don't be fooled this new rewards program isn't that good.

[PBForMe1]

If I'm going to pay more I might as well switch to a provider with real support and a website that actually works. 

Trying to figure out how much this is going to cost me a month and your website portal won't even load the account details. Typical. 

[Bottomshelf]

If I interpret PM’s FAQ response correctly, the bonus data from prior years’ would carryover.  See link to FAQ in the original post by PM up top.

I still have leftover rewards from the old program that I want to use - do I lose these rewards?

No, you won’t lose any leftover rewards from the old program. Any credits earned up to May 2024 will remain on your account and be applied to your future bills

[Shan_Bhai]

So, the $2 autopay reward has been removed, and the 6 years of loyalty for $6 is no longer available. You now receive a $1 discount through loyalty inn points. Additionally, there used to be a $1 discount for referrals. Is that referral discount also gone?
Due to inadequate customer support and subpar infrastructure allocation by Public Mobile, I’ve decided to switch providers within a month. When I reached out to them to enable VoLTE, they lacked the expertise to do so. Interestingly, when I tested my phone on Freedom Mobile, it worked flawlessly.

[ShawnC13]

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@MrToad wrote:

The bootlicker Oracles are here to tell you not to file CCTS complaints because they cost Public Mobile money! The Loyalty rewards are bait-and-switch tactics; you should make a complaint if you feel you have been misled.

I feel these tactics and the one previously made in 2018 warrant a complaint to the CCTS and in both of my complaints the CCTS has deemed them warranted as they have sent this current one off to PM for clarification.

Don't listen to the Oracles in this thread, do what is best for you!

---

@MrToad Does this sound like I am saying not to file CCTS?  Do I not start off by saying everyone must do what is best for them financially?

Re: Upcoming Changes to our Old Rewards Program - Page 84 - Community (publicmobile.ca)

[ShawnC13]

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@Michael6666 wrote:

Your logic is flawed. 

Autopay, I agree, change it whenever. There is no time aspect to that benefit. 

Referrals, wouldn't make sense to remove the 1$ per month as that is what is agreed upon when I worked on getting someone to join. It's already murky waters to convert to a point instead that can be devalued anytime. The promise was 1$ off per month as long as the person is a customer. 

Loyalty on the other hand is implicitly a long term agreement. Doesn't make sense to remove it whenever you please. What stops any company from simply making promises like, stay with us for 5 years and get 50% off in the sixth year. And after 4 years they just say, oops too bad, changed our minds?

Not my fault that public mobile used to care about loyalty and customer retention.

I remain adamant that a CCTS complaint is valid.

I also believe in voting with my wallet and will change provider once this change becomes irreversible. 

---

@Michael6666 I have always said people should follow their wallet for the best deals.  It is obvious that legacy rewards are costing PM a lot of money with the activity in this thread.  I am sure they have done the planning and projecting of how many people will leave.  We are still seeing a lot of people signing up DAILY all on the new points system which is costing PM a fraction of what the legacy rewards do.  If there wasn't the growth in subscribers I can't see PM doing this change at this time.  They obviously feel that it wouldn't take long to replace the discounted value of the Legacy rewards with new customers.

I haven't said don't file a CCTS complaint but there are rewards programs with so many companies and they get changed or altered all the time.  Plus again I have never read or heard any PM employee say we could keep the legacy rewards forever, like they said in 2016 ont eh Fall Promo that our price would never increase as long as we were subscribed to that plan.

Most of my family and referrals are actually on cheaper plans than when they started with PM and have maxed out rewards so  they are making less money than just the rewards for these long time customers.

[ninjastar]

Looks like Telus is pulling this stunt with their Koodo brand... Just boycott anything Telus. They don't deserve your hard earned dollars. 

https://forums.redflagdeals.com/four-months-later-koodo-brings-6-price-increase-29-black-friday-plan...

[MrToad]

The bootlicker Oracles are here to tell you not to file CCTS complaints because they cost Public Mobile money! The Loyalty rewards are bait-and-switch tactics; you should make a complaint if you feel you have been misled.

I feel these tactics and the one previously made in 2018 warrant a complaint to the CCTS and in both of my complaints the CCTS has deemed them warranted as they have sent this current one off to PM for clarification.

Don't listen to the Oracles in this thread, do what is best for you!

[Sandalwood1]

Well said !!

[Singh11]

Yep stuck with PM for years and said I'd never switch. Now with this, I am jumping ship the first chance I get. This is not how you treat loyal customers!!!!!!

[PopcornHead]

Some of it depends on where you live. I am currently looking at going to Freedom or Fizz. 

[SeniorCitizen]

Move the concerns of losing the old rewards away to another media is a good idea.  
Posts here can be changed or be reassigned to lounge or hidden in “ unmoderated” posts. 

I am a senior and am tech savvy but find Reddit and Redflagdeals are too awkward and uncomfortable to use. 
I would join Facebook if there is a dedicated page that controlled by someone that  is a concerned customer. 

Without getting into a Telus squabble, I must mention that I have been a Telus customer for over 50 years. And since Jan of 2023 when they started the fibre install I hate Telus and would leave tomorrow. You can no longer get past the IVR. And if you do, you land in another country with a third party vendor that is incompetent (stupid) that has no customer service skills. And they will not transfer you back to Canada. I’m done! I can see why PM is going the way they are. 

But where do you go? Let’s face it…..towers are Bell, Telus, Rogers and some smaller company owned ones (Manitoba and ?). Telus, right now is losing to Rogers. 

[Michael6666]

Your logic is flawed. 

Autopay, I agree, change it whenever. There is no time aspect to that benefit. 

Referrals, wouldn't make sense to remove the 1$ per month as that is what is agreed upon when I worked on getting someone to join. It's already murky waters to convert to a point instead that can be devalued anytime. The promise was 1$ off per month as long as the person is a customer. 

Loyalty on the other hand is implicitly a long term agreement. Doesn't make sense to remove it whenever you please. What stops any company from simply making promises like, stay with us for 5 years and get 50% off in the sixth year. And after 4 years they just say, oops too bad, changed our minds?

Not my fault that public mobile used to care about loyalty and customer retention.

I remain adamant that a CCTS complaint is valid.

I also believe in voting with my wallet and will change provider once this change becomes irreversible. 

[dshartill]

well this probably sucks.  Right now I have the $34 plan and have $10 rewards.  No idea what I will save with "points"  .  I'm a good shopper so I will leave for a better rate when I see one.  Freedom has $34 usa canada plans.

[Camera4617]

Too bad there is no 'thumbs down' on these comments.

[Sandalwood1]

"Received confirmation from CS Agent A******** that rewards customers will not be receiving 1 point per month of loyalty when migrating to the points program.  Makes a bad situation even worse."

WOW, That is awful... this just goes from bad to worse. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound for loyal legacy customers.