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

[G_Pomzz]

Yeah, we have had to reset the APN twice on both our phones in the last few months. My phone is Android 13 & 5G and my wife's is Android 9 & 4G. What I've noticed is if your phone does an Android update you'll almost always have to reset the APN. When it boots up after an update it automatically picks up the Telus APN which works fine for calls but there's no data until you switch to the proper Public Mobile APN settings. And searching in the community, you might not get the latest settings as there are old threads with the wrong APN. 

Glad to hear you figured it out 👍🏻 😃

[RNk6xib2]

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@G_Pomzz wrote:

Your phone should be okay.

My wife's phone is an old Android. (Umidigi F1) Her MMS stopped working also. Following the PM suggestion I updated her APN settings and now it's working fine again.

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What is weird is that I had to do that awhile ago

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/APN-Settings-text-from-PM/m-p/1031595/hig...

And I've been having weird MMS problems on and off for a couple weeks now until yesterday morning It just gave out. I didn't play with the settings at all, I just used the phone as normal. I played with the settings a bit yesterday and couldn't get it to work. Tested my sim in a friends phone and it worked no problem so I thought PM finally cut me off.
This morning I played with it some more. Deleted everything 10+ times, reset, airplane mode, just everything I could think of. Eventually the APN settings were back to the IP and port 80, which was good news. I updated it back to the proper settings, airplane mode, rebooted, and now MMS are working again.

What I have a problem with is that It stopped working in the middle of a group chat (MMS) conversation. I guess it's my phones fault. I have no idea. my bad.

[golfball]

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@fixin1 wrote:

@Bester30 - At least people who are on the $15 250MB plan with 100min outgoing calls keep it unless they switch to another plan including the $15 unlimited talk & text.

Also the competition has $15 100min calling but with 250MB when on autopay.

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Hopefully the competition will hold on to the 250MB so PM will bring it back to match them. Any data is much better than 0.

[El_Gato]

It sounds great but it’s not a rule. The reason some lose their bonus data while others are fortunate to keep it seems to be at the whim of the CS agent.  

[El_Gato]

That’s very cool!

[SandyC]

this makes zero sense to me. I understand that they are only offering the $21 plan to new subscribers but why would they refuse to give a plan that costs ($21) more to someone who is on a cheaper plan ($15)? where is the business sense in this ?

Also, i outright do not understand why some plans are only offered to new members. New membership numbers mean something for sure, but "losing subscribers" is also an important metric. But that's just me

[golfball]

I too was told by CS today that I could keep my 240Gb when downgrading from the $34 50GB to the "$25/20GB" for 90 days. They even said to let them know if the system automatically removes it, and they will re-add it.

[El_Gato]

I’m not sure if most realize that we are all responding and commenting to a person that presently is not working for Public Mobile. Maybe that’s why this thread is mostly out of control and allowed to swell to more than 5000 posts. 

[SandyC]

i pre-emptively asked if I can switch my plan to the $15 one and keep my 240GB data bonus and the agent replied yes. Taking a screenshot of it just in case

[SandyC]

agree. i think their FAQs leave so many questions unanswered. Thank you for trying to answer some of our questions here

[El_Gato]

What seems obvious, fair, reasonable and legal does not apply to this forced switch to the points system. It’s seems that contracts promising the moon with a disclaimer burried in the fine print mean absolutely nothing. This practice is a grey area and I dare to say it seems like legal scams. 

[RetiredGuy1]

@Godzillaz As PM are prepaid plans which have a ToS that applies upon each renewal, It would seem to follow that if a 90-day plan extends through May and beyond, then PM would have a legal responsibility to uphold that ToS. I think you should be okay until next renewal but I’m not a lawyer and I must say, based on their track record, I have little confidence in PM honouring commitments they make. Its sad that your case is yet another example of poor communications on PM’s part. In my opinion, all types of scenarios should have been addressed in the FAQs.

[G_Pomzz]

Your phone should be okay.

My wife's phone is an old Android. (Umidigi F1) Her MMS stopped working also. Following the PM suggestion I updated her APN settings and now it's working fine again.

[Godzillaz]

Its weird that the old rewards are supposed to be removed in May, yet we still appear to have the old rewards active....

Is this because we are on a 90 day plan? (In other words will the forced migration to public points happen on next renewal AFTER May?)

[RetiredGuy1]

@Jiee I did the same ($34 to $29) and kept the 240GB. Others have mentioned they kept the 240GB as well for that range. But @Chalupa_Batman is indicating he lowered his plan all the way down to $15 and got his 240GB reinstated (after making a complaint). Not sure if that means he just got lucky or we have to contact a CS agent and make a complaint as he did to get it done or if PM will change the rule in a proactive manner.

[Jiee]

I downgraded my plan from $34 to $29. The bonus data still there. Is the rule changed?

[RetiredGuy1]

@Chalupa_Batman  Are you saying a CS agent put the 240GB bonus data back on your account after you switched to the $15 plan? If so, thats a whopper of a precedent!

[Chalupa_Batman]

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@Chalupa_Batman wrote:

I encourage EVERYONE to follow my lead and file a secondary complaint with the CCTS as I have.

Hello Public Mobile.

As per the rules of the CCTS, I must reach out to you and inform you that I fully disagree with your rules over the 240GB "Loyalty" data that was given to us for being loyal customers. As you can see by the first screenshot in the second paragraph you state, "To thank you for your continued loyalty, we're giving you a special bonus. Enjoy 240GB bonus data for 150 days on us. Bonus data will be added to your account by March 30th 2024, as long as your account is active." There are no other text messages after that.

Today, I lowered my my plan from the $35 a month to the $15 a month plan. My account is still active and it has not been 150 days. 

As I have done some research on your forum, I direct you to your link here.

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/get-help/articles/move-to-public-points

This was under the heading, Bonus Data Details.

Will I lose my special bonus data if I switch plans?

The bonus data will remain active unless your account becomes inactive, you switch to a plan of lower value or to an incompatible plan.

As I mentioned before. I switched to a lower value plan. It is in my opinion that by the wording used in your forum about changing the plan to a lower valued plan was nothing more than extortion.

Extortion: The practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats. 

Here is the proof it was here then removed.

Please accept this as my official complaint.

To remedy this complaint, I request you place the unused 240GB of loyalty data back on my account on the next billing cycle with a refreshed 150 days. <--- Resolution Accepted. 

@CS_Agent @Chalupa_Batman 

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Hello Public Mobile,

This matter has now been resolved. My complaint will be withdrawn. Thank you.

Chalupa Batman

[RetiredGuy1]

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@El_Gato wrote:

If one parallel switches to same price plans would they lose their gift data?

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Will I lose my special bonus data if I switch plans?

The bonus data will remain active unless your account becomes inactive, you switch to a plan of lower value or to an incompatible plan.

What constitutes an incompatible plan?

At Public Mobile, you have the option between fixed data plans and unlimited data plans. Switching from one type of data plan to the other will cause your special bonus data to be incompatible and removed from your account.

——————————-

If you’re referring to the $15 plans, since the switch is not of “lower value” price-wise, then normally, you shouldn’t lose the bonus data. However, the example used for an “incompatible” plan switch uses fixed vs. unlimited data as the example. Now, with the new $15 plan a comparison can be made between fixed vs. no data. If PM considers this to be an “incompatible” switch as well then PM should update the FAQ regarding bonus data. In fact, if this is the case, it should have been done at the same time the new $15 plan was posted to help prevent even more contact with CS agents who are, apparently, already swamped dealing with technical issues.

[wetcoaster]

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@RNk6xib2 wrote:

jfc, I knew this day was coming because of https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Picture-and-Group-Messaging-End-Date-Fe...

but it continued to work so I just decided to run out the clock... so as of this morning my MMSes no longer work on my Nexus5 phone.... So I'm losing my $6 plan and I NEED a new phone to use MMSes.

While I'm here let me just echo other people here and point out this https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/mobile/occa.htm and say that the new PM Plan does not offer data on their $15 plan which is required as per the gc.ca websites.

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Their argument re CRTC mandate will be that those guidelines only apply to postpaid providers. Public Mobile is fully prepaid.

Don't get me wrong, like many, I'd have preferred the opposite direction, ie upping the data on the $15 plan instead of taking it away altogether, and find it incomprehensible that, for 30day plans (not everybocy can afford paying for 90days upfront these days), to get more plan data existing customers would need to essentially double their payment now... (Yes, I have tried asking CSA politely for an upgrade from $15 to $21 - I was outright refused.)

[RNk6xib2]

jfc, I knew this day was coming because of https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Picture-and-Group-Messaging-End-Date-Fe...

but it continued to work so I just decided to run out the clock... so as of this morning my MMSes no longer work on my Nexus5 phone.... So I'm losing my $6 plan and I NEED a new phone to use MMSes.

While I'm here let me just echo other people here and point out this https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/mobile/occa.htm and say that the new PM Plan does not offer data on their $15 plan which is required as per the gc.ca websites.

[El_Gato]

If one parallel switches to same price plans would they lose their gift data?

[computergeek541]

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@eyes wrote:

I’m making the assumption that the old $15 will be automatically updated to the new $15 plan. 

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This assumption isn't correct.  The two $15 plans are different plans.  For the $15 price point, customers need to choose one plan or the other.

[becks]

I'm dissapppointed in the direction public mobile is headed. As someone who was so grateful to find this company and get away from the explotation of the large companies. The price increases and now Changing the reward plan to one that cuts costs when profits have only been up is insane. Telus finally decided it wants this company to be more like all the other phone companies they already own.

and an apology gift of data that expires in less than half a year is a insulting attempt to show compassion during these times. I doubt I'll have any luck, but i officially have started hunting for a new company and if i find one I'll be sharing with everyone I know as i originally did when i found public mobile and its was operated for the people who were sick of paying an arm and a leg for basic telephone services. 

[RetiredGuy1]

Hi @wetcoaster . Yes, all those listed have the condition of auto-pay attached. I should note I believe the Telus plan data may be at 3G speed. As telecoms are apt to do, they advertise making extensive use of footnotes. Of the 5 monthly prepaid plans listed on the Telus website, the $15 plan is the only one that does not contain the footnote (#3) referring to 4G speed. So, by that absence it likely is 3G but I really don’t know for sure. What I do believe is if a telecom is going to advertise a service they expect someone to pay for, they should be upfront and clear within the advertisement what the data speed is in the first place.

[Bunnyhop]

I suggest you switch to a non-telus provider and file a complaint to ccts about this.

[wetcoaster]

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@RetiredGuy1 wrote:

For potential new subscribers on a tight budget looking for a $15 prepaid plan with 250MB of data, it looks like there is currently only 5 choices now (since the new PM $15 plan has no data anymore):

Lucky - 100 minutes/unlimited text and 250 MB data (with auto pay) at 4G speed                                                                
Virgin - 100 minutes/unlimited text and promo offer of 250 MB (with auto pay) at 4G speed                                                                                                                     
Chatr - 100 minutes/unlimited text and 250 MB data (with auto pay) at 3G speed                            
                       
Koodo - 100 minutes/unlimited text and 250 MB data (with auto pay) at 3G speed

Telus - limited time offer - 100 minutes/unlimited text and 250 MB bonus data (with auto pay) at 4G speed

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Thanks for the compilation. Was about to go scrape together that information myself.

This means that the grandfathered PM $15/100 outgoing minutes/250MB is the only one that doesn't require autopay? Also, autopay being a requirement with the other providers means that those plans continue to be not as straightforward to suspend and reactivate as the ones here...

Hm, might need to rethink strategy on one account, then... We have one old $15 plan that we intended to abandon after this billing cycle, we don't need to keep the number. It was worth maintaining it for family from overseas for $7 or $8 ($28 - $48/year beating the SpeakOut cost and features (cheapest data plan $25 and no MMS on basic plans)), at $15 (min $60) with expiring data, and their home provider's roaming options being sooo much cheaper now, I don't see the point of keeping it alive anymore. While all data add-ons are all used up, free non-expiring minutes (1500 CW + 1000 international LD, incl. CW = more than 40 hours) remain intact. Just because it's no use to us anymore, it can be a good plan for someone on low usage that needs a bit of data, say for RCS/iMessage/WhatsApp on the road, and isn't in Freedom native coverage...

[RetiredGuy1]

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@EdN wrote:

We made it 👍🏻

More than 5000 responses before May 1st 

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While there is a core group of regular posters who contribute to the counts for this thread, the fact that there are now over ONE-QUARTER MILLION views with only 28 bravos speaks volumes towards what has to be one of (if not) the most unpopular announcement any telecom has ever made (certainly for PM anyway)

[fixin1]

@eyes - There may be a chance of the old customers of the $15 plan with 250MB getting offers or transferred over to the unlimited talk text $15 plan.

[eyes]

Yes all true - but us that used to be on the reward system - now we should factor in the points we will now be getting. For example- on the $15 plan —  first of all we will be getting points each month. Also in addition to the now unlimited voice and texting we will —- at least for the next 6 months, have the 5 gb gift bonus . ——- I’m making the assumption that the old $15 will be automatically updated to the new $15 plan.