The Unofficial 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless Canada Consumer Page 
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4:05 pm
I am shocked at first, and then feel disappointed for the rates hike. I have use SO for over three years and I love its service and low per minute rate. But now, I have a different feeling.
I think I will use up my current minutes, switch to PCM in about the end of Aug, of course, that is, if their rate remain the same... For me, $25 voucher will last about 6 months, so PCM 6 months expirary date is not a concern for me. Beside, I have my old phone for a few years already and I kinda like the sleek design of Nokia 2630. Now I have more reasons for me to switch.
10:05 pm
Dont expect to see a price drop this is just the auction you still have a ton of things happening after.
People dont invest billions into a cell phone company and then bid afterwards.
8:40 am
k said:
Hi, Looking over this site and wondering what is SO and what is PCM? Bottom line - I need to get a phone before the end of this week. The 7-11 deal seems pretty good. I want a camera phone and plan about 30-40 minutes of long distance calling over the next week (during my vacation). After that I really don't care because I don't even care if I keep the damn thing. Any suggestions??
k,
If the long distance you were talking about is just calling from Canada to US, then either SO/PCM should be fine for you. If you meant international calls, you may be better off buying calling cards. Refer to FAQ#4a for details.
If you don't plan on keeping the phone and the SIM, you may also consider selling it before you leave? 😉
10:20 am
Flyfox99
Thanks.
Right now looks like the best deal for me is the PCM 2630 since it has a camera, and costs $100 plus gives up to 100 minutes free air. SO offers the 2760 for $125 but no extra air. My only concern now is network coverage. I'm going to northeastern ontario and the coverage map for PCM doesn't include my destination. Do they have analog as well? In previous years at the same location my friends have had service after driving into the nearest town.
1:37 pm
My only concern now is network coverage. I'm going to northeastern ontario and the coverage map for PCM doesn't include my destination. Do they have analog as well?
Both SO and PCM use the Rogers network. If your friends use Rogers then you should be OK. If they use Bell then Virgin or President's Choice should work as they're on the Bell network.
Otherwise it's a gamble. At PCM "If you are not satisfied with your Petro-Canada Mobility phone within 15 days of purchasing it, you may return the phone for a full refund of its purchase price only..." I don't know what SO's policy is.
3:39 pm
Bylo
Great! Thanks for that info.
Peter, as a newbie to this site, I'd like to also thank you and all the guests for their posts. A most helpful site indeed.
8:01 pm
Am I understanding that the rate increase is retro active... applies to previous purchases of airtime service?
11:31 pm
Great, so because I already have $115 left on my phone (I purchased another $100 voucher a month ago), I'll still get charged $0.25/minute or local calls?
3:25 am
So they just up the rates 20% without even bothering to notify their customers. Or even bothering to put together a functioning website. I'll be switching as soon as my airtime runs out. By virtually any measure, SPEAKOUT IS NO LONGER THE BEST DEAL. It's not even really a good deal all things considered. And they treat their customers poorly as well.
10:25 am
Actually, they raised the rate by 25%. Yeah, that's insane. It's still relatively cheap, but what ever happened to gradually raising prices. Time to ponder Petro Can's service.
3:33 pm
Of course 7-Eleven can raise the price going forward anytime they want, but how can they lure a Customer into buying a $25 card for up to 125 minutes that is good for 365 days and then simply take a profit increase of 5 cents a minute? They must have a huge profit margin now. Next thing you know they will shut down the service and take it all as profit. What then?
5:07 pm
Yeah, they probably should have given some kind of advance notice of the price increase. I'm not sure if that lack of notice is due to carelessness, incompetence, or just trying to be mean to their customers (which I doubt). Do the SpeakOut "Terms of Service" (which you've all read, right?) say anything about giving advance notice of price changes? And let's say that they did give, say, 30 days notice. How many users would actually change carriers based on that?
Just one comment for those who claim that SpeakOut or PetroCan or Rogers or anyone else is "not the best deal". A particular plan or carrier being a "good deal" depends entirely on YOUR usage and situation. Your airtime usage, your text habits, your proximity to 7-11 or Petro-Can stores, where you travel, do you have a credit card, etc.
For example, I am a very low-usage user. A single $25 card will probably last me an entire year. $25 for a full year of cell phone access is cheaper than any other carrier in Canada. The per-minute rate really doesn't concern me, because I use so little airtime. Thus, SpeakOut IS the "best deal" for me. If you use more airtime, maybe PetroCan or Virgin Mobile is a better fit for your usage.
7:56 pm
Actual, if you buy an $25 voucher, it you only have 52 minutes because of .99 911 fee. Even through it only 50 cents for the fee. The rest is for voice mail, caller id stuff, I think.
10:42 pm
I just wanted to comment that the new price-hike is terrible. It's basically saying, "if it wasn't difficult enough to obtain SO from busy & understaffed 7-11 stores from un-knowledgeable gas station attendants, here's a price-hike to go with your incoming SMS charges, $1/month maintenance fees, etc."
Thanks.
If you feel that Rogers is behind this, please sign the petition against their greedy butts (ruinediphone.com).
Also, I wanted to say that I really appreciate this site's FAQ & bulletins...thank you (even though SO is sabotaging itself).
7:35 pm
Excuse me for my ignorance, but can someone enlighten me and tell me what the acronyms PCM and SO stand for.
I'm an ocassional cell phone user (7-Eleven)
10:12 pm
PCM = President Choice Mobility
SO = Speakout Wireless (7 eleven)
5:18 pm
Looking at the PCM site, I can't see why I would choose SO... What is the advantage of SO over PCM? I was looking to get an SO phone but the 25% increase just turned me off.
http://retail.petro-canada.ca/...../2307.aspx
Are the phones unlocked and can I sell them easily? I already have an unlocked phone that I want to use for either PCM or SO.
5:31 pm
What is the advantage of SO over PCM?
1. All SO airtime lasts 365 days rather than 180 days for PCM (except $100 vouchers.) If you're an occasional or emergency-only user then cost per minute is less important than long airtime life.
2. I'm not sure if PCM has retail outlets from coast to coast. SO certainly does not. There may be regions of the country where you can buy phones and airtime from one but not the other.
