$85,000 cellphone bill shocker

[midget-boyd91]

Whatever happened to having a cell phone that was just that... a phone? One without all the gizmos and gadgets with laser beams and coffee machines built into them.

 

[PMedMoe]

Geez, I don't even have a cell phone.  I hate people calling me at home, let alone anywhere else! 

I know, I'm such a dinosaur!!

 

[midget-boyd91]

Geez, I don't even have a cell phone.  I hate people calling me at home, let alone anywhere else! 

I know, I'm such a dinosaur!!

.... No cell phone here, the only time I pick up the home phone is to order pizza when there's nobody to cook for me  ;D
Dinosaur is such an ugly word..... Prehistoric animal technician sounds fancier.

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

Um Curmudgeon is a good word too!  ;D

 

[geo]

heh.... Sergeant Major is always a favorite ?

 

[Roy Harding]

heh.... Sergeant Major is always a favorite ?

I was always partial to "Warrant" 

 

[JBoyd]

I concur with the shoddy customer service. 3 years ago my wife and I got a cell phone through bell, a prepaid account, simply because she was preganant at the time and we needed to make sure I was contactable 24/7 for obvious reasons. Well I put $30 on my account and a week goes by and I notice that my time doesnt add up, I am $15 short. Well I call them and apparently I signed up for some $15/month free evenings and weekends (which of course I did not), explained this to them, got the feature turned off so I would not be billed again in the future (which of course I was). It took me almost 3 months of fighting with agents and managers to get the $30 they charged to my account refunded. They even had the gall to tell me "Well its only $30, its not that much cant you just live with out it?". I ended up getting a sensible agent that asked me to fax in the contract I signed when I bought the phone and created the account (yes, I suggested this to previous agents and managers but they stated that they have it on 'file' and it shows the aforementioned feature). I can say with confidence that I will NEVER deal with Bell Mobility again willingly.

 

[Airbrat]

Whatever happened to having a cell phone that was just that... a phone? One without all the gizmos and gadgets with laser beams and coffee machines built into them.

  Because too many ppl these days want to do everything on the run and in a hurry.  If you can call someone while you're at a concert, take a picture of the band, and email it to your friends while texting them you're doing so it makes it all the more attractive to have the mega-phones that are being put out by every company.  (Oh yah...I forgot you can also look at where you are exactly in the world while watching your concert with the built in GPS  :  )

 

[Colin Parkinson]

We use Primus, the service has been good the rates affordable.

 

[Sheerin]

I'm with bell and have been for over 7 years now.  I've had a few problems with them, nothing too big, more like minor annoyances.  Last September my then 16 month old phone start breaking down.  The casing around the the antenna was broken and wouldn't hold it in place.  The phone was essentially useless since i couldn't get a signal.  Bell, like most cell phone companies, offers free upgrades every so often.  In my case it was every 18 months.  Seeing that i was a little under 2 months away from getting the free upgrade i called up bell to see if they would allow me to get a new phone two months early. 
The agent I spoke to had no real interest in helping me.  I explained the problem, she looked at my file and basically said that "Sorry, theres nothing I can do.  You have to wait the two months to get the upgrade".  I explained that this woudln't work as my phone was useless, she replied that "Oh, you could go get a refurbished phone, we'll switch your account over to that one and you can use that for 2 months". 
Annoyed I asked "Why would I do that?  Why should I spend an additional x amount of money on a crappy phone that i'll be replacing in two months?  When I could easily just go to rogers or telus and get a new deal and a new phone." I then asked how badly did bell want to retain me as a customer. 
Her reply was simple "Well you've signed a contract with us. " and then asked if there was anyhting else she could do for me.  i asked to speak to the supervisor and she said he was unavailable. 
At that point I ended the call.

A few days later I called back, got a different agent who was much nicer.  She said that no one could autorize the upgrade for some stupid reason, but that she would be able to give me approximately 2 months free service (which amounted to about 120 bucks).  So I did this, bought a new phone and all was well, at least for the most part.  My next bill came in a showed the 120$ credit, but below were about 40 dollars worth charges related to activating the new phone. 

Cell phone companies have us by the balls... and they know it. 

 

[Roy Harding]

...

Cell phone companies have us by the balls... and they know it. 

ONLY if we THINK we NEED their services.

Just to be clear - I happen to be a cell phone owner, what company (not BELL) doesn't matter.  My wife and I use it as a handy intercom - IE - "I'm leaving town now, is there anything you need?"

We DON'T view it as a vital service - simply a convenience that we're willing to pay $50.00 a month for.

As long as the convenience remains worth $50.00 a month to us, we'll keep it.  (We live in a semi-remote area, and the fact that my wife can call me (usually) if she gets into some kind of road accident is worth $50.00 a month to us.)  On the day that this service is NOT worth $50.00 a month to us - we'll get rid of it.

It's that simple - if you think the service is worth what you're being asked to pay - then by all means use it.  If you don't, then don't.  There are no "rights" involved here.


Edit:  typo - "thing" changed to "think"

 

[PMedMoe]

+1 Roy.  It's all supply and demand, if you don't want/need it, they can't sell it.

 

[JBoyd]

+1 Roy

That was why I my wife and I got a cellphone originally, well to keep contact available at all times due to the fact she was preganant. Since then My wife and I have gotten our own phones in a family plan, 1) so her clients can call her and 2) so we can keep in touch when I leave (hopefully) for BMQ (yes I have read all the posts regarding use and non use of cellphones on course). I do not give my number out to everyone I know, frankly I got rid of my first cellphone which I had from 18 to 21 because I couldn't stand being called all the time, I like the fact that when I (or we) leave the house that I am inaccesible, I enjoy the privacy.

 

[geo]

Very good Roy,

In my personal case, I use FIDO.  Only gang that bills by the second and provides my wife, my son & myself with unlimited FIDO to FIDO communication.  All in all, they provide a reasonnable service..... AND IT'S NOT BELL!!!

 

[Rayman]

My experience with Fido wasnt that great. Though I think it might have been cause my dad didnt go to a Fido vendor but called and ordered over the phone. Anyways they sent him the wrong phone in the first place (he wanted some Motorola flip deal and got something else). SO anyways then he went and tried to exchange it AT a vendor and they didnt want anything to do with it since he called them and they mailed the phone to him. So finally they sent him the Motorola flip phone and told him to mail the other phone back in the packaging he recieved. He did and the phone worked for about two weeks before his service was cut. We didnt even recieve any bills but when he called billing they said he owed over 200 dollars for the new Motorola phone. They tried to say that the original phone he had got (I think was Samsung or Siemens or something like that) was part of the promotion he had called about meanwhile his girlfriend who had got the same package as him got the Motorola flip phone he had later gotten. I know he spent many nights on the phone trying to figure things out with billing with the zinger being he was at that time starting to develop MS, and was working his last days before having to go on disability, and had gotten the phone so he could call for help or if he needed a taxi ride somewhere. He asked the Fido rep if he could at least call a cab for him or something since that was the reason he got the phone and all he got was "well were in Montreal, I wouldnt even know who to call for that." I know its beyond their responsibilities though its a little shoddy of them.

Me personally I had a Rogers phone. Used it rarely and still had nice huge bills. It sits in a drawer and hasnt seen light of day since last year. Thank god the contract is up next month.

 

[deedster]

I never really had any problems with FIDO but switched to Telus back in 2003 (they were offering a shiny new phone for free & matching my FIDO plan).  I can't say enough about Telus, they've been incredible.  And they're still matching that old FIDO plan which is a really good deal by today's standards.  I recently got a new phone as my contract was almost up, opted for the BlackBerry Pearl, for $0.  I did, however, have to add a data plan (nothing is free, I may be old but I'm not totally clueless) in order to take full advantage of this awesome smart phone.  First 3 months are unlimited usage and I'll be monitoring those 1st statements closely, too much wireless Army.ca and I'll be in the same boat as our $85K buddy.

As far as Ma Bell, I switched to my local cable tv/internet provider as soon as they got digital phone service going...I thought it would be smart to "bundle".  My phone service is less than half what I was paying Bell for basic service and I have unlimited LD calling in North America.  I get a phone call from Bell at least once a month asking me to "come back" even though they still can't match what I'm getting.  Ya gotta wonder.   

 

[aesop081]

  I did, however, have to add a data plan (nothing is free, I may be old but I'm not totally clueless) in order to take full advantage of this awesome smart phone.  First 3 months are unlimited usage and I'll be monitoring those 1st statements closely, too much wireless Army.ca and I'll be in the same boat as our $85K buddy.

 

Until recently i had a Treo 650 with matching data plan from Telus. I found their data plans to be expensive for what you get. I found that in the end i was barely using the internet features on it and ended up going back to a regular phone as soon as my data plan obligation was up ( 1 year).

 

[Rayman]

I originally wanted to go with Telus as my girlfriend at the time had a Telus phone and we wanted to take advantage of the free Telus to Telus but since I had just turned 18 they wanted me to deposit 200 dollars. Ive heard nothing but good about them and I remember in her last year of high school some grade 9er stole her phone. They were quick and really good about replacing it and I got her a new phone from them with a good discount too.

 

[Roy Harding]

The phones we currently have are the result of a Telus "Three month free offer", which we took advantage of when we moved here.  Our previous provider (Rogers) doesn't cover this area - so we were left with what was available.

We took the "three months free" offer - which included Internet access, texting, and other things we didn't use.  I will admit that I fooled around a little bit with surfing on the 'Net on my phone.  Pretty kewl - but I'm not willing to pay for it.

What we are left with (after the initial three month trial), is two phones which communicate with each other for free without affecting our "minutes"  (known as a "family plan" or something similar across the industry)  - and two very small voice mail boxes (more than two short messages, and I'm told that I'm out of space - please delete unwanted messages).

I'm happy enough with that - as I said previously, we use these phones like an intercom between us (no one else, aside from close family, has the numbers) - and given our circumstances, that justifies the cost for us.  They give us peace of mind - the last thing I say to my wife as she departs the house in the morning is "Have you got your cell phone?"  It's worth the $50.00 a month we pay - FOR US.

It may NOT be worth the same $50.00 to someone else.  There are choices to be made here - and once those choices are made, there are RESPONSIBILITIES to be met (my cell bill is always paid on time - why isn't $85K guys??)

 

[Roy Harding]

From Calgary Herald, 2007-12-20. Page 2

Bell sued over N.W.T 911 charges

JORGE BARRERA


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CANWEST NEWS SERVICE A Yellowknife man has launched a $6-million class-action lawsuit against Bell Mobility for charging 75 cents per month for 911 emergency call services that don’t exist in the Northwest Territories. The lawsuit, filed Nov. 29 in N.W.T. Supreme Court, also seeks to force Bell Mobility to release information mapping out the areas in Canada that receive Bell coverage but do not have 911 services. James Anderson, 55, said Bell makes enough money and should not charge customers for things they can’t use. “What Bell Mobility is doing is not fair,” said Anderson, a former school superintendent based out of Inuvik, N.W.T. “The fact they have knowingly done this — charged for services they are not providing — is irksome.” Anderson hopes others across the country in the same predicament will join the class action lawsuit, which still needs to be certified. None of the lawsuit’s allegations have been proven in court. The statement of claim says Bell Mobility has “behaved with arrogance and high-handedness, has shown a callous disregard and complete lack of care . . . and ought to be punished and deterred from future misconduct.” It goes on to state that Bell’s “conduct was sufficiently harsh, vindictive, reprehensible and malicious.”

Interestingly enough, I've made a similar complaint (to the company involved (not Bell) - I don't have the energy or financial resources to consider a civil suit)  regarding monthly "911 access fees" on BOTH my landline and cell bills.  We don't HAVE 911 service where I live - so what am I being charged for access to?