Have you ever wondered how cell phone companies keep ripping off the general public without having to answer for it? I've had a contract with one of the biggest wireless providers in Canada for three years, and that three years has been frought with ups and downs. First, there is no way I will ever understand how a $30 monthly plan can be jacked up to $200.00.
There are so many different fees you'd think it was an American hospital - connection fees, 911 fees, over minute fees, texting fees. If you're on the wrong plan and want to change it, they extend your contract by a year and don't disclose it until your next call, which is such an exercise in frustration that you end up in tears. So you don't call because you know it'll be a 45 minute wait and you'll be taken advantage of in some way but when the bill comes and it's $150.00 more than you thought it'd be, you're screwed.
If these huge companies wanted to really help stimulate the economy, they'd all drop their bull shit long enough for people to get back on their feet. One of these days, I'm going to be part of a huge class action lawsuit.
there are just too many companies and the plans are just tooooo confusing!
ReplyDeleteOver here, contracts get extended for 24 months, no just 12 *sigh*
I think everyone should get rid of their cell phones and go back to talking very loudly.
ReplyDeleteMy contract is up this month and I am getting the cheapest plan I can find. I have a land line and use it most of the time. I just use the cell for when Jim is out and about.
ReplyDeleteRoz
I have a Bell Mobility contract and haven't had any problems with them, but I am pissed that they won't extend the same price for a new phone to a four year member as they will to a new subscriber. I might cancel my cellphone this December, but really, Rogers or Telus are no cheaper.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about the fees. Many of them are government imposed and amount to taxes. They aren't called taxes but user fees. Governments hate to raise taxes, you see and fees sound like something the phone companies imposed.
ReplyDeleteMove to Oz!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your cell troubles, Kate. I don't like cell phones at all. I lived 43 years without one and didn't break down and buy one until just 3 years ago.
ReplyDeleteNow though, you almost have to have one because there aren't very many pay phones anymore.
I always say that shopping for a cell phone plan is like buying a car...stressful and having the feeling like you're being ripped-off.
ReplyDeleteWe have a telecommunications ombudsman here in Aus which would be the best place to comnplain about the kind of rorting you list. Maggs
ReplyDeleteThis is why I have prepaid. No nasty bills and I get to have a connected phone for a few months for free. Given the fact I hate using a phone - suits me just fine!
ReplyDeleteThey really try every which way to rip us off. So frustrating.
ReplyDeletePersonally and in business I deal with them. I yell at them once a month and I refuse to pay the connection fees etc. If they yell back I ask for a manager; it's the only strategy I've found that works. It sucks. The problem with the companies is that the left hand never talks to the right hand; if you have a technical problem and they "put a note on your account", the billing department might never know. So, when you have an issue, try to be patient because they only hire idiots and immigrants who don't speak any bloody English.
ReplyDeleteComparing Canadian cellular phone companies to American Hospitals struck my funny bone (thanks for the laughter).
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right. Our medical care system here really sucks. It's not just the hospital system involved in criminal secret billing either. If we go to the doctors here, we pay a copay fee (what insurance requires for each visit). Then later, we're sent whatever's left of the doctor's bill after insurance paid its share, then we get another bill for any lab tests done, then get an additional bill for having had blood drawn by a specialist, then get an additional bill for something that's completely in code and makes NO SENSE AT ALL. All those separate bills came to my house for a typical annual checkup (nothing was wrong healthwise).
Sign me up for that lawsuit! I'm so sick of my "flat rate" plan costing me anywhere from 50 dollars to several hundred extra a month. Then I have to call in, every month, and challenge the charges, cuss, scream, get completely and utterly frustrated.......I have to pay for 5 cell phones per month. For that monthly fee I could finance a swanky, expensive car. Disgusting~
ReplyDeleteGood God, I would think you were talking about U.S. cellmafia. Totally sad to here something like this about Canada.
ReplyDeleteOH, SIMON, I'VE BEEN YELLING, BUT YOU AREN'T PICKING UP...ARE YOU IGNORING ME?
make that "hear" (I don't need spell check to catch that one).
ReplyDeleteI'm in the US, but I first heard of Rogers when the iPhone was introduced in Canada (I had Google iPhone news alerts at the time). Rogers really sounded like a royal pain. Are they still the monopoly up there?
ReplyDeleteSM - Bell and Telus are big here as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for everyone's input! It's definitely a universal thing with wireless companies.
Amen! I'm biding my time w/a crappy phone and a plan with not a enough minutes until my contract is up in December. B/c if I make any changes before then, they'll snag me for another two years. Yes, my $40/month plan is frequently $150 or more.
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