Canadian Mobile Phone Companies Violate their Customers
And not in a warm and fuzzy way either...
Moving from Montreal to Toronto in Mid-2005 signaled a bunch of changes in my life. First and foremost was not only moving to a new city, but moving out of my mother's place (THONKS MA!). During all the decision making associated with such an endeavor, I had to choose; land line or cellphone?
The choice seemed obvious. Landlines cost their fair share of money every month, and are only available while I'm plopped on my couch, not while I'm out on the town. Which I of course planned to be more often than not, so I got a Bell cell phone for what seemed like a decent 3 year term deal.
One day I was in the York-ish area and I stumbled upon a Chinese restaurant with a sign outside declaring "Hung Rian". The 11 year old in me instantly prevails and I snap a pic to send to my lady friend.
-ERROR! MESSAGE FAILED!-
Right here is where I should have checked the fricking fine print...
--
Message failed, you say? That's dumb. I could see it had only sent a few kilobytes of data before it crapped out. So I try again, twice, and no dice. I figure I'll just show her when I get home. I don't have it anymore, but really, it still provides hours of entertainment at the mere thought. "Hung Rian", heh heh...
Fast forward two weeks. I get my month bill from Bell, which should fall into the realm about about 40$ with tax. There's a 7 dollar "multimedia message" charge staring back at me; obviously an error. I hadn't exactly been using my phone to surf the net for pr0n, so I give Bell a call to straighten out the mild mess.
"The charge is for sending multiple photos to another Bell user."
The damn pictures didn't even make it through! Didn't matter, turns out that at the time Bell had some horrendous charging scheme for MMS messages, which amounted to $50 CAD per 100 kilobytes (or some other absurd amount; I've long since gotten rid of the plan). In trying to send a tiny cell phone cam pic that never completely made it through, I'd transferred enough KB to load a text-only web page, and Bell wanted my cash. The agent even sympathized with me, saying her daughter had racked up a $270 charge a few months prior.
It turns out that it's not only Bell. According to Thomas Purves, Canada ranks high enough to be only the third worst in the world when it comes to mobile data access vs cost.
With city-wide wifi initiatives providing faster and more abundant access to the intertubes, why is it that cell phones, while ACE when it comes to feature lists, get the shit end of the stick when it comes to checking out what's new on BlogTO? And how on Earth does Rwanda come out ahead of Canada? I'm not sure about firing an actual bullet between the CRTC's eyes, but a proverbial one would do just as well. Thomas Purves wants you to make sure your MP knows that you give a crap about being so far behind the curve, to the point where Bell can charge you $3600 an hour for high speed net access through your phone.
Oh, and no offense meant to Rwanda, of course. So, ever been donkey punched by your mobile carrier? Stupid me... of course you have! Share time!
Photo from BlogTO Flickr Groupie Artinxyz, mildly cropped for dramatic effect.
PS: Sorry Sameer, but it doesn't seem like Rogers has the right plan for you.
Comments (29)
For almost 4 months, my phone was mysteriously using ~20kb of data transfer every day (not using the internet, not using email, no error messages or transfer visible).
The result? $30 per month extra tacked onto my Rogers bill, and no plausible explanation from them. They ended up refunding most of it (after I huffed and puffed) and blamed it on my phone, saying that it must be "updating" daily (which I know is bogus).
I ended up having to request a total block on net activity on my account to make it stop happening.
It's gotten ridiculous to the point that I am constantly paranoid about pressing the LOCK button on my cell phone when slipping it into my pocket.
Too many times, I've reached for my phone to discover I had unknowingly been editing a text message or Google searching "758#0" for the over an hour. God knows the kind of bill I'd get if the SEND button had been knocked into.
Uh oh - my phone's ringer broke a while ago and I was told to take all of my pictures off of it before bringing it in. So I bluetoothed them all to my laptop. I hope I'm not staring at a $300 phone bill later this month.
My husband has this unlimited data plan that Fido discontinued years ago for obvious reasons. Fido must HATE when we go on long car trips! :o)
Carly, there's no charge for Bluetooth usage - that's just local wireless transmission between your computer/phone; No carrier involvement.
I just signed up for a data/voice contract with Rogers after picking up a BlackBerry Pearl last week, and I'm kind of dreading to see how far over my data plan limit I've already gone...
Well, you first mistake was to go with bell... but then again, i wouldn't know what to recommend now.
I have the original city fido which i've been extending to 4 years now. I get all calls unlimited withing 416 area, which is pretty much enough for me.
After Fido was canned, there are no more competing carriers in Canada. There's absolutely zero competition right now and everybody except consumers enjoy the status quo.
Basicaly, if you don't really care about having a super duper phone and don't spend half a day on the phone, I would get pay-as-you-go Virgin...
Bottom line, prepare to bend over and get shafted regardless.
What gets me is that carriers don't even *offer* an unlimited plan. The highest I can get with Rogers is $100 a month for 200megs. 200 megs? Hell, I could transfer 200 megs in a heartbeat. Wake up Rogers, this isn't 1995. These are supposed to be high-speed networks and people are going to be transferring big files. They offer unlimited plans for their wired internet. (Though not really because they throttle your traffic and limit you to 60gig transfer. I guess Rogers isn't familiar with false advertising.)
In the states you can get unlimited plans for much less and they actually are unlimited. Rogers, Bell and Telus need to go take a hike if they're not willing to provide the service. The problem is that the telecommunications industry is a regulated oligopoly and none of them have the incentive to change.
It's laughable that these companies came out against the Toronto Wifi program saying that it should left in the hands of corporations to provide these services. Well, they're not doing it. They're providing services at prices that may have been acceptable 10 years ago.
There needs to be a big shakeup. I hope when WiMAX comes along that things will change.
(By the way, on the subject of Toronto's wifi, is it just me or is the coverage totally not even close to being good enough yet? I can never seem to get a good signal, and I've only occasionally seen the network up around UofT, where I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be by now.
I most definitely agree with the post. I caught a great post from Sameer's Blog covering Thomas Purves' article on how Canadians are getting hammed. And in true blogging spirit, I posted an article about my international experiences with mobile phones over at One Degree.
(phew, tons of links in that one)
Alex G hit it on the head... when fido got eaten up by rogers, along with it died the only company brining any price competition to canada. thanks Canadian Competition Bureau...
The wife is actually gonna go to the 7/11 pay as you go plan soon.
WHAT?!?! 7/11 phone plan??
It's actually pretty good. Great rates, comparable/better than Virgin, and the phone cards last 365 days, not 30.
Loving my Virgin phone right now. Coming from the UK (where mobile phone useage isn't charged at an ass stupid rate) Virgin just seemed to make the most sense as it fit the no hidden charges, most UK-like model. Why should I pay for voicemail? It's just stupid. I used to have a Rogers phone and every month my supposed $25 monthly plan would come it at something like 30-50 bucks. It's the hidden charges I really resent and mobile phone companies, along with banks in Canada really seem to know how to shaft you with them.
Ahem...
Okay. I work for Rogers. And I actually USED to work in the Data Department.
For us, net usage without a data plan is $.05/kb = $50/MB, not per 100kb. If bell is charing $50 per 100kb, thats ridiculous. Hell, $50/mb is ridiculous, I agree. I was one fo the front line reps that constantly was pleading to have the data plans change to reflect the world we live in, not the world our executives grew up in.
I think the problem is twofold, and this is only my opinion: They don't understand the current zeitgeist and how technology is being used. They figure $5 for 75kb is TOTALLY enough for the average cell user. But the new browsers are much more capable than the ones from even a couple of years ago. They are a corporation, and they ARE a business, but I sincerely don't think Rogers is trying to figure out how to SCREW their customers. They just don't understand that those Price Plans are unrealistic, and until people start leaving in droves to convince them otherwise, they're not likely to change.
The second is the infrastructure. I believe I've heard whispers that, if we WERE to offer an unlimited plan again, the estimated usage would kill the system. Again, this is hearsay, I don't have the actual specs.
I say "again", because Rogers USED to have Unlimited plans, 3 or 4 years ago. Then they became "unlimited", with the quotes attached on your contract, with a fine print saying that $.007 would be charged per additional kb over 100M. Then they got rid of them altogether.
But still, if you want your iPhone, or whatever new shiny piece of technology comes down the pike, and you want to be the elite hipster that has it first, well, Welcome To Rogers, how can I help you?
"I sincerely don't think Rogers is trying to figure out how to SCREW their customers"
No, they've clearly already figured it out and are already screwing us!
Heh I understand the frustration, believe me. Try being the guy that gets 40 of these calls a day, and documents them, and shows their manager "Hey, we would do a lot more business if we had realistic Price Plans", and everyone goes "Hmm, interesting, lets feed that to Marketing", and you feel all pleased with yourself, and then...nothing.
But thats not because the corp is evil. It's because it's a corporation, which by definition is a short sighted, navel gazing, narcissistic entity.
My friends in Myrtle Beach have unlimited plans , they dont own a home phone .
Not only that they can call across the USA
but no long distance .
Im tired of getting humped at the pumps
and my cell bill
Bell keeps sending fancy "comeback to us" postcards
F*** YOU Bell
jp
I tried Virgin, and it was the best deal going -- until they started systematically raising their rates to edge closer to Bell's and Rogers'. Then Virgin's credit card authentication system crashed, so I could no longer refill my minutes, and instead of accepting blame for their mistake accused me of trying to scam them with phony credit card numbers! I dumped Virgin and, FYI, I'm still using that credit card everywhere else with no trouble.
In the entertainment industry for the past couple years execs were all over the idea of mobisodes - condensed episodes (read trailers) for your mobile phone, so I was sent out to do some research for the TV company I worked for. Even though everyone was talking about this being the next big thing, cell phone companies included, I couldn't find one person who had actually watched a mobisode on their phone, or a cell phone company who could show me how well the service worked. When I got a data-transmission charge one month for $150 for a ring tone download using my new cell phone's browser option I knew why. Who's gonna pay that kind of money to watch a one-two minute episode?
Internet over cell phone? Not at these kind of prices! Utterly ridiculous!
Honestly, though, I am more concerned with finding decently-priced plans for plain ole phone calls. I'm by no means a luddite, but I do not understand the need to have a phone with internet access and picture-taking capabilities and all those other gimmicks that do not really work anyway. Cell phones take crappy pictures and provide crappy internet access. I use the most basic Nokia model I could find and use it to make phone calls, plain and simple. That's what phones are for.
I use bell with unlimited mobile browser for $5 a month and opera mini
if they could figure out how to fix their damn text messaging it wouldn't be so bad
Yea, data fees in Canada are outrageous. Consider this: when I lived in the USA, I had a T-Mobile plan with 600 min, free long-distance calls and roaming to/from anywhere in the US, free nights and weekends, unlimited EDGE data - $40/month. Guess what Fido/Rodgers charge for a comparable plan?
The real problem here is not the backward management, bandwidth problems or lack of investment -- there simply isn't any market competition. There is only one serious GSM provider here (Rodgers and Fido are the same company). Your government has let telcom consolidate and unionize, and we're all getting screwed. No end in sight!
It is CRIMINAL OR RATHER IT Should be criminal that pay as you go lose their paid for minutes if they haven't been used.What kind of crap is that??????
It's time we got serious and refused to allow it anylonger
It is CRIMINAL OR RATHER IT Should be criminal that pay as you go lose their paid for minutes if they haven't been used.What kind of crap is that??????
It's time we got serious and refused to allow it anylonger
It is CRIMINAL OR RATHER IT Should be criminal that pay as you go lose their paid for minutes if they haven't been used.What kind of crap is that??????
It's time we got serious and refused to allow it anylonger
in the question about ripping people off with them phones i to was ripped of i used my browser 2 times and downloaded 2 ringtones it cost me $66 and when i got the bill i called fido and they said i was on there alot i asked wat times of the day or nites was i on there she then started saying the times and there was times on there that i was working and my phone was home plus i said i cant be working and on phone browser at the same time and my phone was home i said she said i was on there so no matter wat u say to them your always wrong and they are always the thiefts and you wrong wat cane you do
I'm considering filing a class-action law suit against BELL and need some input from anyone who uses a Bell cellphone. The thing is this: BELL has a $7 Mobile Browser fee which in some cases (depending on the plan/package) may be a "hidden" fee. That is, it's not disclosed on the monthly bill you receive from them and, if and when it is (i.e. if you have one of those special packages and receive a paper bill), its purpose/raison d'etre is not explained anywhere. Only after speaking with a CSR did I come to know that this charge is applied to anyone with a Mobile browser on their cellphones, regardless of use. As it turns out, this charge is not "mandatory" (unlike the infamous "service access fee") and can be reversed upon request from the customer if he/she wishes to do so. I don't use my mobile browser AND I was never informed by Bell of this charge or what exactly it covers. In fact, I just found out about it after almost 3 years of being a BELL customer and only got to know about it after receiving my past 3 bills which do include detailed charges (because I changed my plan). It so happens that this alleatory fee smacks of a deliberate attempt by Bell to illegally profit from their customers' disinformation, which Bell itself promotes by hiding this fee or omitting any explanation as to what it consists of. If you have been charged this fee in the past or know of anyone who has, please post a reply. I'd like to hear from people who are in the same situation as me, and who'd like to bring Bell's abusive, absurd practice of charging for a mobile browser to an end. I'm fed up of being lied to and robbed by Bell and other such carriers in Canada. I'd take the easy road and simply cancel my service with Bell, but they want me to pay them a $400 ETF (early termination fee) on top of the monthly bill. This is just outrageous and unacceptable.
I'm considering filing a class-action law suit against BELL and need some input from anyone who uses a Bell cellphone. The thing is this: BELL has a $7 Mobile Browser fee which in some cases (depending on the plan/package) may be a "hidden" fee. That is, it's not disclosed on the monthly bill you receive from them and, if and when it is (i.e. if you have one of those special packages and receive a paper bill), its purpose/raison d'etre is not explained anywhere. Only after speaking with a CSR did I come to know that this charge is applied to anyone with a Mobile browser on their cellphones, regardless of use. As it turns out, this charge is not "mandatory" (unlike the infamous "service access fee") and can be reversed upon request from the customer if he/she wishes to do so. I don't use my mobile browser AND I was never informed by Bell of this charge or what exactly it covers. In fact, I just found out about it after almost 3 years of being a BELL customer and only got to know about it after receiving my past 3 bills which do include detailed charges (because I changed my plan). It so happens that this alleatory fee smacks of a deliberate attempt by Bell to illegally profit from their customers' disinformation, which Bell itself promotes by hiding this fee or omitting any explanation as to what it consists of. If you have been charged this fee in the past or know of anyone who has, please post a reply. I'd like to hear from people who are in the same situation as me, and who'd like to bring Bell's abusive, absurd practice of charging for a mobile browser to an end. I'm fed up of being lied to and robbed by Bell and other such carriers in Canada. I'd take the easy road and simply cancel my service with Bell, but they want me to pay them a $400 ETF (early termination fee) on top of the monthly bill. This is just outrageous and unacceptable.
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