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

[Dunkman]

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@Soon-ex-PM-user wrote:

Correct no USA roaming but current PM plans, also lacking the the follow features or service:

- Not capable of WiFi calling or VoLTE features

- Zero human customer support

- Not working outside of Canada/USA.  No roaming International. 

- no way to receive 2FA text messages when traveling abroad -  I learnt the hard lesson when travelling overseas last year with PM for lacking this important feature. 

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Public mobile does have VoLTE features.

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/ab/get-help/articles/volte

Not all phones will be compatible with Public mobile VoLTE though.  

It is true that Public mobile has no live human customer service, but it does have human customer service via the ticketing, private messaging system.  It does take time for customer service agents to respond, but it usually takes  a few hours to fix most issues.  

Definitely, all customers should do their own research and figure what what is best for their needs and price point.  Certain PM plans (including the $34 US Canada 5G plans) are competitive enough that many new customers did port over to Public mobile under the new points system. Unfortunately, for the $15 and $25 plans without the legacy rewards, there are better options outside Public mobile.  

[hTideGnow]

HI @Sophia 

if you have EPP, then yes, you might save more from there than staying with PM without the old rewards system.   🙂

[Sophia]

LOL! I wish I had that kind of power 😂

All jokes aside though, and yes I know you were only joking... but we were paying $6 because of the system THEY enabled. We weren't and aren't cheating our way into a cheaper plan.

It's just such a slap in the face that they unceremoniously take away the old rewards. If they had approached it differently, I wouldn't be so angry/hurt/disappointed. For example, if they had given us a number of extra points  (like 15 points head start) to ease into the new system. Or an increase over a period of time. 

As it is, the expiring data gift is a huge slap in the face. My husband was on the $15 plan BECAUSE he has little use for data - he still has all his previous bonus gifts that he got during Xmas etc. It was literally the worst "gift" imaginable.

So yeah, I decided to move elsewhere, because at least we'll get the benefit of an EPP discount then.

[Soon-ex-PM-user]

Correct no USA roaming but current PM plans, also lacking the the follow features or service:

- Not capable of WiFi calling or VoLTE features

- Zero human customer support

- Not working outside of Canada/USA.  No roaming International. 

- no way to receive 2FA text messages when traveling abroad -  I learnt the hard lesson when travelling overseas last year with PM for lacking this important feature. 

- etc.

It is up to each person in figuring if one can live without the disadvantages above and if are you ok with paying a few bucks more to go with Rogers or Bell as they have these features or advantage. 

Also for your USA roaming concern, non-PM providers have add-ons or use one of a provider here https://forums.redflagdeals.com/roaming-sims-esims-travelers-2183565/

[hTideGnow]

HI @Ausome 

I can't agree more.  Yes, if you are in the region, it works.  But the reason to get mobile phone is the phone moves with you and you always have a chance, high chance that you will get poor reception.  

I tried to point this out, but couple "free" "sales reps" here insists it is as good.  Price-wise yes, because they cut down the price knowing the product is not comparable to others.  This is especially concerning when people paying for an annual plan not knowing fully the product they lock down for a year

[Ausome]

Why is any one at all, comparing to Freedom. It's apple and oranges. Freedom has half the coverage that Public does. No wonder Freedom's price is cheaper. If people are going to compare, understand what it is being compared. Ridiculous.

[HALIMACS]

Aren’t we all, @JDBlue1966?

[kb_mv]

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@Burdwood  I owe you an apology! I completely screwed up the comparison!

[Wolfcore]

Some people in this thread clearly have ulterior motives. They're constantly repeating the exact same messages, constantly claiming that things aren't important, yet they've spoken about them 30 times. Constantly spreading outright lies while claiming others are doing it. They'll also make outrageous claims but are never willing to back them up, etc.

I've also started to see certain people completely switch their tune from being pro-pm for all of last week, and now pretending to be anti-pm a lot more. Clearly farming bravos, which is hilarious, because they claimed others were doing this as well, and even went as far as saying that Bravos shouldn't count in threads like this 🤣

I stopped paying them much attention once I figured out what was going on.

[Ausome]

I joined recently. Like a month ago. I understand what people's complaints are cause they are saving, what sounds like, a lot of money per month. However comparatively to what they will be spending by going to another carrier for something of similar value, they will be spending more in comparison. 

[JDBlue1966]

If you are interested in the numbers, then fine. I’m just interested in PM doing the right thing.

[HALIMACS]

It doesn’t matter @JDBlue1966 - who said it did?

 Can’t a guy be curious about the numbers?

[hTideGnow]

HI @Ausome you are on the new points system already or you have enough friend referrals to help to lower the cost?

yes, rather than just leave here because being upset by the decision, better to check around and wait for a plan that really save you money.  Go with your wallet

[hTideGnow]

yes @bcsuazon  if you have a Canada-US $34 plan, it is still one of the better one

I would say no rush to leave, price come down a lot last 2 years, you never know what better offers around in couple months

[bcsuazon]

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@Markaps wrote:

@TrentJ4  No US roaming

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That's the biggest catch with many of the competitor plans.  It's either no roaming or that the $34 plan they offer is only after a 24 month $5 credit which means at the end of 24 months you have to do the dance and negotiate or find another plan at that time.

Still have over a month to go before the switch so hopefully something better comes along that meets my needs.  For those that only need talk & text there are already some decent plans out there from the competitors.

[Ausome]

I'm not affected by the change. So I know my opinion may not matter. However, comparatively, to other competitors, PM is giving my wife and I a saving of $150/month compared to our last mobile plan. 

This side of the grass may not seem as green as before. However, like many have stated before, it may be greener than you think. 

Even now after the Big 3 have decided to "jump"on this bandwagon. What they offer still isn't as good as what PM is offering. Telus couldn't even match the Can-US 75GB plan. Not for $40. Telus comparable was still $85, 2x what I'm paying. 

Good luck to all those still comparing and researching plans with other carriers

[JDBlue1966]

Why does it matter about the number of posters? For me it all about PM customers being upset and angry about what they are doing. 

[HALIMACS]

No ones pretending the number of unique posters is small @dabr , as some might imply.

I’d go so far as to say that for every 1 poster on this site, there’s at least 20-30 other people impacted.

Of course, Public Mobile would never share the actual numbers, but it’s got to be well over 20,000 subscribers still on legacy rewards.

EDIT :  MAYBE even 200,000 ? Who knows???

[Burdwood]

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@kb_mv wrote:

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@Burdwood wrote:

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Lets say unlimited talk and text plus 1GB of data...  Full price at PM as of May: 12*$25=$300. Compare with Freedom yearly prepaid: $119/15GB/year. That is potential of $181 savings per year. (Yes, that is based on the assumption that you live in Freedom's native coverage. Things are, unfortunately, different for people in rural settings and in the Maritimes.)

@Burdwood The monthly prepaid Freedom plan that is identical to the PM plan (other than 3G/4G) that you mention is $19/month. By all means mention the option of paying yearly but I think it's easier to compare providers if we are comparing the same thing.

 

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True. But then you can go and pick that plan apart as well and find that it's not perfectly equal to PM's... Discounts, bonus data etc. Technically, as it is as $ price in your screen shot, it's still $72 savings over PM... 😉

If I can reasonably do so, I'm a fan of set and forget. Up until the recent upheaval in plan prices where the flexibility of monthly payments is an advantage, I personally go for the longer term prepaid offerings, as long as the price is right. I always loved the "use x GB over 90days" here at PM, it's what drew me here in the plan builder days. For the line that we will move to that $119 plan has very irregular data use, the person would go months and months without any data usage, and then the usage would spike considerably for a month or two. So the 15GB/year included are more flexible and convenient, as well as cheaper than switching plans or now expiring data add-ons at PM.

IMHO what this is boiling down is simply that we all have different needs, we all have to do our own homework about what is the best solution for our current needs. What works for me is not the silver bullet for you.

[hTideGnow]

HI @bw2024 

if you have 3 mobiles lines and internet and TV services, check with Telus for bundle discount. Of course, other carriers also have bundle discounts that might save you money altogether

[bw2024]

My family and I have 3 accounts with Public Mobile and 3 Internet and TV services with TELUS. We do not agree to this alternative form of increase billing (via removal of the $5 loyalty discount per month and $2 auto-pay discount per month), and public mobile has frequent signal disruptions on its network given the lower price/priority network. If the company does not listen to the consumer's voice, we can only file complaints and eventually leave the Public Mobile and TELUS network altogether.

[hTideGnow]

HI @byildir but rewards are not really plan price, it is not regulated by CRTC.  CRTC only regulates service and plan price.  While rewards affect how much you pay in the end, it is not really part of the plan price

on the other hand it is try you can complain PM rewards like people have complain with  Starbucks, Aeroplan, credit card rewards/cashback program via other government agencies But in the end, they will tell you the businesses reserve the rights to make changes to their rewards with notice.   

We don't like it, I am going to pay $7 more, but I also see PM is using his rights properly

[kb_mv]

Lots of post from people offering legal opinions (not specifically aimed at you @byildir ). I assume PM/Telus has a lot of high powered legal help and would have been told if they had no leg to stand on vis-a-vis the TOS. Has anyone actually sought real legal advice from a lawyer (showing them the TOS)? I see mentions of class action law suits. Anyone find a law firm willing to take one on?

[byildir]

Running away from PM to another provider is the easiest thing to do. That is what PM wants. We should stay and fight. PM does not have the right to change the conditions of the agreement unilaterally.

This is no Starbucks, Aeroplan, credit card rewards/cashback program, where there is no regulator like CRTC or CCTS. Coffee business is not like the communications industry which is protected and regulated in Canada. Here is a link to CCTS to file a complaint about Public Mobile:

https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/for-consumers/complaints/complaint-form/

Complain about the misleading untrue promises (lies) but also complain about the fact that this change constitutes a violation of the agreement and your consumer rights.

What PM calls “Service Terms between You and Public Mobile” is an “implied” contract imposed on the customer. This change of terms constitutes a violation of the contract. We were promised a service at a certain price. Now the service provider is reneging on it. They rely on the 30-day notice clause for increasing the price to us. The same clause makes this contract totally lop-sided in their favor, so much so that it becomes an "unconscionable" agreement which is invalid by law. Therefore, that condition is null and void.

PM can discontinue the existing program and/or bring out a new program, but they cannot weasel out of an agreement to which they are bound, unless PM renegotiates a new deal acceptable to all of us or PM no longer exists.

We strongly urge PM to grandfather the existing contract obligations and introduce this points program for new activations. This is our bottom line. Otherwise, there will be lawsuits launched against PM, in small claims courts all over the country.

[kb_mv]

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@Burdwood wrote:

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Lets say unlimited talk and text plus 1GB of data...  Full price at PM as of May: 12*$25=$300. Compare with Freedom yearly prepaid: $119/15GB/year. That is potential of $181 savings per year. (Yes, that is based on the assumption that you live in Freedom's native coverage. Things are, unfortunately, different for people in rural settings and in the Maritimes.)

@Burdwood The monthly prepaid Freedom plan that is identical to the PM plan (other than 3G/4G) that you mention is $19/month. By all means mention the option of paying yearly but I think it's easier to compare providers if we are comparing the same thing.

 

[Burdwood]

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@marcnoel wrote:

Just in case there hasn't been enough said about this.

One of the effects (side-effects?) of the Rewards-to-Points switch advisory coming with almost two months' notice is that it gives one time to think about the best course of action.

Points were introduced in January of 2022, so, anyone that joined after that started out with Points. Those people are unaffected by the switch, and some of us may have referrals that started after the Points switch, so they have no reason to leave (regarding this particular subject). Also, I find it hard to believe that NO-ONE started after the switch, because they didn't like that change.

Separately, I have gotten the impression that some people think they can leave PM, and take their rewards/discounts with them to another carrier. For example, if you are on a $ 34.00 PM plan now, and get $ 20.00/month in Rewards, you're paying $ 14.00/month. Do you really expect to jump ship, and go to Koodo, Freedom, etc., and get the same plan for $ 14.00? We all had to earn loyalty over time - five years to get $ 5.00 off per month. Most likely, a person would try a new carrier for a while, to see if it's worth recommending someone to join, so it would take some time to get referrals. You can TRY to switch, and get all your referrals to follow you immediately, but, if you all encounter problems with the new carrier, because you didn't wait to see how things went first, the referrals might not thank you.

I would prefer us to not lose $ 107.20 year in AutoPay and Loyalty discounts, but, it's still cheaper to stay put.

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That depends on your PM plan, where you are, what device you are using.

And I don't think that the comparisons are to the PM plans minus current rewards. Since we'll all be paying full price as of May (points have to be accumulated and manually redeemed once you have a minimum of $15), we are comparing full price at PM with full price at competitor X for the same or better offerings.

Lets say unlimited talk and text plus 1GB of data...  Full price at PM as of May: 12*$25=$300. Compare with Freedom yearly prepaid: $119/15GB/year. That is potential of $181 savings per year. (Yes, that is based on the assumption that you live in Freedom's native coverage. Things are, unfortunately, different for people in rural settings and in the Maritimes.)

Of course, people on the $34/50GB/Can-US plan will have a harder time to find an equal plan at the same / better price somewhere else, so it likely makes sense for them to stay at PM.

If one doesn't have friends on the target provider in the same area that can share their experience, get a prepaid SIM for a month and compare to PM side by side. If all works out and you want to change to the other provider, contact that provider to help you porting your number from PM at around 4 days before the May renewal?

[Public_Cust_17]

@Wolfcore  yeah, an Oracle also removed an "Off Topic" post I made that mentioned it might be an idea to share this decision, that affects their most vulnerable customers disproportionately, with a consumers advocate organization.  Not sure how sharing this information and potentially engaging someone with more influence would be off topic but hey I'm just a lowly customer so what do I know.  😉

[marcnoel]

What next?

"It's my God-given right to spend MORE money!"  Okay.  Help yourself.

I had a client switch to PM, but his phone was so old, it had its own operating system, and we couldn't get it set up.  He got so frustrated that he went back to Telus, for more money, even though we could have gotten it working, then, he bought a new Android phone anyway.  Good thing he's paying more now.  He would've just wasted it on magic beans.

[Markaps]

@Soon-ex-PM-user No US roaming

[hTideGnow]

hi @marcnoel yes, some people want to go just because they are mad, some even said they are willing to pay $10 more for the same thing just because they want to leave.  To me, I think we should follow our wallet