Personal Finance

Am I screwed? (Fido early cancellation fee). [Updated]

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  • May 22nd, 2014 5:34 pm
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Newbie
User avatar
Aug 9, 2011
33 posts
2 upvotes
GTA

Am I screwed? (Fido early cancellation fee). [Updated]

I started my iPhone 4S three year contract in October 2011 and recently wanted to upgrade to a Samsung Note 3. My contract ends up in October 2014, so I phoned up Fido and asked them how much it would cost to break my contract. The representative I spoke to informed me it would be $200. I asked him to explain it to me and he just rambled on saying "um oh because well the contract you started well it's because the contract and if you want to break it will be $200. The only other way is to upgrade your phone and pay $66."

It seemed very weird because he kept trying to make me upgrade into a new contract and pay $66. (Fido does not offer the Note 3 and I wanted to go with a different company).

During the same day, I walk by the Fido store at the mall and asked a representative there to double check for me. He pulled up my account and told me that the $66 is actually my cancellation fee because my contract is up in October. I asked him if he was sure and he told me yes.

Because of what the second Fido representative informed me, I went ahead and forwarded my cell phone number over to Wind and purchased the Samsung Note 3.

I received my final bill yesterday from Fido and there is a charge of $200 for the contract early termination. I phoned their billing department and was told to go to the Fido store to speak to the employees there who will be able to make adjustments towards my bill based on what I was told.

I went to the Fido store and spoke to the manager and he said I can't be helped there because they cannot work on billing and I would have to reach Fido's cancellation department.

I phoned into Fido a second time and asked for the cancellation department and the person speaking to me informed me that it's her (the billing department) that will take care of my issue. She said that I will need to find the representative who told me about the $66 cancellation fee, so that he can call into Fido for adjustments to the bill to be made.

I don't think I can wait all day at the Fido store for him? Am I screwed? I can try to check the store every day. Any advice? Just pay the termination fee? If I knew it was going to be $200, then I would have waited until October.

Also, on my account, Fido employees can see a note saying that a representative told me about the $200 cancellation fee, but there is no note from the guy who told me it was $66.


Update:

I found the in-store representative and he called in to Fido to tell them about what he told me. They credited me so that my cancellation fee is $66 instead of $200.
11 replies
Deal Expert
User avatar
May 8, 2009
50593 posts
6557 upvotes
Toronto
If there is no note of the $66 cancellation fee then you're out of luck basically. Otherwise you could file a CCTS complaint to get it straight but nope there is no note. Last type of people you would trust are the employees at retail locations, they'll flat out lie to you just to make some commission!

It's hard to get provide any proof regardless when you deal with retail employees because i don't think they note anything.
Deal Fanatic
May 13, 2005
5147 posts
5846 upvotes
Montreal
You have to know the exact date of your contract end and depends on what plan you have then calculate the cancellation fee to see if it matched $200.
If your service is terminated prior to the end of the Fido Agreement, you’ll be charged an Early Cancellation Fee (ECF). The ECF is the greater of (i) $100 or (ii) $10 per month remaining in the Fido Agreement, to a maximum of $300 (plus applicable taxes), and applies for each deactivated phone number. If you have subscribed to your monthly plan before February 1, 2007 and you continue or renew on the same monthly plan on a 2- or 3-year term, the ECF will be equal to $20 times the number of months remaining in the term, to a maximum of $200 (plus applicable taxes). If you have subscribed to your monthly plan on or after February 1, 2007 but before July 19, 2009 and you continue or renew on the same monthly plan on a 2- or 3-year term, the ECF will be the greater of (i) $100 or (ii) $20 per month remaining in the term, to a maximum of $400 (plus applicable taxes).

If you subscribe to a data option, a Data Early Cancellation Fee (DECF) also applies if, for any reason, your data option is terminated prior to the end of your data option’s commitment term (Data Term). The DECF is the greater of (i) $100 or (ii) $10 per month remaining in the Data Term, to a maximum of $200 (plus applicable taxes), and applies in addition to the ECF for termination of your Fido Agreement. If you have subscribed to your data option before July 19, 2009 and you continue or renew on the same option on a 2- or 3-year term, the DECF will be the greater of (i) $25 or (ii) $5 per month remaining in the Data Term, to a maximum of $100 (plus applicable taxes), and applies in addition to the ECF for termination of your Fido Agreement.
http://www.fido.ca/cms/html/en/importan ... tion.shtml
Newbie
User avatar
Aug 9, 2011
33 posts
2 upvotes
GTA
Good find.

According to the information, early termination fee would be $100, and data early termination fee is another $100, which equates to $200...

I will still speak to Fido about the in-person representative to see if adjustments can be made. I don't believe a sane person would break their contract with only five months remaining to pay $200.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 30, 2009
12178 posts
603 upvotes
Toronto
^ You went to WIND, so I assume you're saving more over 5 months?

In store they don't process cancellations, so all they will see is your "upgrade" costs.
[QUOTE]I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.[/QUOTE] ~Andy Bernard, The Office (U.S.)
Deal Addict
Nov 11, 2004
3503 posts
615 upvotes
Ottawa
to get anything productive done, you need to call in

Those stores are pretty much useless.
Hello
Sr. Member
Dec 26, 2013
668 posts
59 upvotes
Why would Fido even consider reimbursing you because you refused to read your contract with them and lack common sense? This world is so weird sometimes.

Surely you have the contract and could read it for the answer yourself but didn't bother 'cause you know nobody reads those things right?

You did the second best thing called them and asked for the answer and you were given the correct answer but, you didn't like the answer or understand the answer so you went searching for a different answer. You got that different answer from a sales person working in one of their retail outlets and trusted that over the CSR who deals with cancellation all day long 'cause that totally makes sense.
Deal Addict
Oct 7, 2012
2005 posts
696 upvotes
Montreal
Mindfulmonkey wrote: Why would Fido even consider reimbursing you because you refused to read your contract with them and lack common sense? This world is so weird sometimes.

Surely you have the contract and could read it for the answer yourself but didn't bother 'cause you know nobody reads those things right?

You did the second best thing called them and asked for the answer and you were given the correct answer but, you didn't like the answer or understand the answer so you went searching for a different answer. You got that different answer from a sales person working in one of their retail outlets and trusted that over the CSR who deals with cancellation all day long 'cause that totally makes sense.
Best answer
Deal Addict
Jan 30, 2012
1836 posts
1399 upvotes
TORONTO
Mindfulmonkey wrote: Why would Fido even consider reimbursing you because you refused to read your contract with them and lack common sense? This world is so weird sometimes.
If OP is telling the truth, they were told $66 is the cancellation fee. OP should have got that in writing.
Member
Mar 2, 2013
364 posts
27 upvotes
Langley
The 66$ was your upgrade fee..not cancellation..
That's what you would pay if you'd stayed with fido and renewed there..
If customer service had told you that then you could do something because the record calls..but now it's just he said she said ..
Moral of the story ..read contract carefully..
Newbie
User avatar
Aug 9, 2011
33 posts
2 upvotes
GTA
Update:

I found the in-store representative and he called in to Fido to tell them about what he told me. They credited me so that my cancellation fee is $66 instead of $200.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 9, 2010
1341 posts
854 upvotes
Waterloo
winson wrote: Update:

I found the in-store representative and he called in to Fido to tell them about what he told me. They credited me so that my cancellation fee is $66 instead of $200.
Lucky you, OP. Mindfulmonkey still has it 100% right though.

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