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Bell TV - CANCEL YOUR TERM WITHOUT PENALTY (Limited Time)

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  • Mar 10th, 2012 1:29 am
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2003
1879 posts
55 upvotes
Toronto

Bell TV - CANCEL YOUR TERM WITHOUT PENALTY (Limited Time)

For anyone who is waiting for their Term Contract with Bell TV to end before jumping ship or scrapping TV altogether, you may have an option out. Check your February Bill or March Bill to see if you have the same notice I did. You should be allowed to cancel without any penalty (no need to pay early termination fee)

I posted a brief narrative of my success further down in this post:
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/bell-tv- ... st14358385

Should this be moved to HOT DEALS?

Original post
I read over my February 2012 bill from Bell and noticed this excerpt from Page 4:

"As of April 19th, the Interactive movie guides will no longer be available. If you wish to modify or cancel your service as a result of this change, please call 1 888 759-3474."

I declare this to be a change in my Programming with Bell that can not be replaced, and I decide to cancel my services with Bell for this reason, among other issues I have had with Bell's Programming.

Section 3 of Bell's Residential Customer Agreement states the following:

"Subject to applicable law, Bell TV
reserves the right to change the terms and conditions
of this Agreement and the rates, charges, fees and
Programming at any time. Bell TV will notify you at
least 30 days in advance of any change to the terms
and conditions and the effective date of that change, so
that you may, as your sole and exclusive remedy,
cancel your subscription if you don't agree."

On March 1, 2012 I called in to Bell to cancel my subscription as a result of this change. I spoke with one of the front line customer service representatives who understood my concern and agreed that this change in Programming is a breach of the Agreement. He passed me to the cancellation department where I spoke with whom I believe would be a loyalty rep. She advised she can cancel my subscription; however, I am still required to pay the early termination fee regardless of the breach of the Agreement.

I requested to speak with a manager and spoke with a Bell Supervisor. I explained my situation, explained the excerpt from my February bill and the change in Programming under the Terms and Conditions of the Agreement.

The supervisor was adament in deciphering why I would cancel my subscription due to the deletion of the Interactive movie guides, and she failed to pay attention to the Agreement with respect to handling my cancellation request. I was presented with the same response; I can cancel my subscription, but I would still be required to pay the early termination fee.

My position is that Section 3 of the Agreement states I have 30 days to cancel my subscription upon a change of the terms and conditions I do not agree with. This act would dissolve me from the Agreement and its provisions and I would not be subject to the early termination fee.

My February bill is dated February 10, 2012. I called on March 1, 2012, which is well within the 30 day period to cancel my subscription. Because the early termination fee is an extension of the Agreement (Term Contract), I feel I should not have to pay said fee.

Am I trying to find a loop hole to get out of paying the ETF? If I'm successful, it's my gift to anyone else in this situation.

Thoughts? Flames? Errors in my grammar?
21 replies
Deal Addict
Dec 26, 2005
1265 posts
986 upvotes
Ottawa
You're definitley in the right.

A good buddy of mine went through something similar (with rogers), and won.
He wrote a huge rant, and it went viral.... with newspapers, and i believe tv news picking up the story.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?no ... 6464705398

Check that out, it should be public, and talk to him if you have questions.... he's good. very good.
Deal Fanatic
Feb 17, 2007
6412 posts
2624 upvotes
Mort Réal, QC
Trying to reason with Bell agents/supervisor and even (in my case) the office of the President staff, is futile, even if you're right.

You can go ahead, cancel and take this to Court as far as penalty fees, if you like. I'm very sorry, but that's how it went with me, and I can only speak of my experience (and other people I know/at work etc).

In QC, you could also file a mediation/complaint with the OPC (consumer's rights office). Don't know if you have something similar in your province?
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2003
1879 posts
55 upvotes
Toronto
jay_w:

Thanks for the link. I posted this message on the comments and asked for his thoughts. We'll see what he says.


WHO:
In Ontario we have the Ministry of Consumer Services. I went over their website and didn't see anything pertaining to my situation or contracts for television services. I did file a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission - CRTC, though.


Everyone else:
I would still appreciate your thoughts/comments.

Thanks in advance.
Sr. Member
May 30, 2009
502 posts
31 upvotes
they are getting rid of the movie menus.. because they are starting new a service like Rogers on demand, so you are getting something to replace the interactive movie menus
Deal Fanatic
Mar 21, 2002
6826 posts
1482 upvotes
Manitoba
Business as usual at Bell. :twisted:
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 13, 2008
6132 posts
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Fort Saskatchewan
MadCow wrote: jay_w:

Thanks for the link. I posted this message on the comments and asked for his thoughts. We'll see what he says.


WHO:
In Ontario we have the Ministry of Consumer Services. I went over their website and didn't see anything pertaining to my situation or contracts for television services. I did file a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission - CRTC, though.


Everyone else:
I would still appreciate your thoughts/comments.

Thanks in advance.

IANAL, but I think you are in the right.

"Bell TV will notify you at
least 30 days in advance of any change to the terms
and conditions and the effective date of that change, so
that you may, as your sole and exclusive remedy,
cancel your subscription if you don't agree"

Note it does not say

"Bell TV will notify you at
least 30 days in advance of any change to the terms
and conditions and the effective date of that change, so
that you may, as your sole and exclusive remedy,
cancel your subscription with no penalty if you don't agree."

However as far as I am concerned it is implied, because you can ALWAYS cancel WITH penalty, so there would be no point in mentioning it.

If you can find an email for some higher up executives at bell, I think your best bet is to email them, as well as CC a newspaper or some type of consumer new media person, and try to either seek the media help, or at least let the implied threat of media persuade them.
˙dlǝɥ ɹoɟ ǝɯ WԀ oʇ ǝɯoɔlǝʍ lǝǝℲ ˙spɹolɹǝʌO pℲɹ ʎɯ ɟo ǝɔᴉʌɹǝs uᴉ ƃuᴉʇɐɹǝpoW ʎlᴉddɐH
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2003
1879 posts
55 upvotes
Toronto
ally12:

Bell did not announce this on my bill. It just stated there were "Important changes regarding [my] service." The representatives did not mention this on the phone either. Thank you for the information, though.


woof:

Business as usual for many large corporations... at least that is how it seems with the rants and complaints I have come across on the internet.


EmperorOfCanada:

I sent an e-mail to Wade Oosterman who is the President of Bell Residential Services. The Residential Customer Agreement is very ambiguous in its language, and you're right that it infers that a subscriber would be able to cancel without penalty. From my knowledge of contractual law, any ambiguity in a contract is held as a disadvantage to the writer or party the contract was written on behalf of. There's even a case against Rogers that is nicknamed the "Million Dollar Comma" because the grammar of one sentence left ambiguity due to the omission of a comma.

Knowing Bell, I may have to escalate this with legal action or media attention. I wonder how long CTV's W5 Investigative Reports take to respond to submissions.


Everyone else:

Please chime in if you have something to say. Anything would be appreciated.
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2003
1879 posts
55 upvotes
Toronto
I received a call from the Bell Executive Offices regarding my letter to Wade Oosterman.

They confirmed my position and advised I am entitled to cancel my services without penalty as a result of this change. They waived the Early Termination Fee and the 30 Day Notice period. All that was required of me was to pay for the services that have been unbilled and return my receivers that Bell will obtain at their own cost.

I'll change the title of this thread to bring more awareness to others on this forum who wish to get out of their Bell TV contract before the Term expires. Time is of the essence.

Thank you all for your help.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
May 25, 2009
9113 posts
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MadCow wrote: I received a call from the Bell Executive Offices regarding my letter to Wade Oosterman.

They confirmed my position and advised I am entitled to cancel my services without penalty as a result of this change. They waived the Early Termination Fee and the 30 Day Notice period. All that was required of me was to pay for the services that have been unbilled and return my receivers that Bell will obtain at their own cost.

I'll change the title of this thread to bring more awareness to others on this forum who wish to get out of their Bell TV contract before the Term expires. Time is of the essence.

Thank you all for your help.

Well done!
"God's in His heaven. All's right with the world." - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
Sr. Member
May 30, 2009
502 posts
31 upvotes
its not a public announcement, my mom works for bell they took her office space for the programmers to move in and work, she got relocated but didnt lose her job. They have this service rolled out in other areas in the country for a soft open and its doing well that's why they are expanding. They should tell their subscribers though of the change
Deal Addict
Dec 26, 2005
1265 posts
986 upvotes
Ottawa
Good on ya, man.
Glad it worked out.
Deal Fanatic
Feb 17, 2007
6412 posts
2624 upvotes
Mort Réal, QC
Nice!! W5? CTV? CTV belongs to Bhell! LOL. No chance, better with Market Place most likely...
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 13, 2008
6132 posts
1005 upvotes
Fort Saskatchewan
I am very pro-consumer, and as such I am very happy for you =D
˙dlǝɥ ɹoɟ ǝɯ WԀ oʇ ǝɯoɔlǝʍ lǝǝℲ ˙spɹolɹǝʌO pℲɹ ʎɯ ɟo ǝɔᴉʌɹǝs uᴉ ƃuᴉʇɐɹǝpoW ʎlᴉddɐH
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2003
1879 posts
55 upvotes
Toronto
Just to put a little icing on the cake, I was also able to lower my Bell Fibe Internet bill in half when I asked to cancel that, too. It's cheaper than the competition and it will suffice for me for now. I also got them to raise my monthly bandwidth at no extra cost (only 65GB total, but it should do).


WHO:

Well crap. I forgot CTV was owned by Bell. I'm glad I didn't have to end up going to the media.
Deal Fanatic
Feb 17, 2007
6412 posts
2624 upvotes
Mort Réal, QC
MadCow wrote: WHO:

Well crap. I forgot CTV was owned by Bell. I'm glad I didn't have to end up going to the media.

Yeah. They own the Maple Leafs (in part with Robbers, figures...) and the Habs, too! It makes sense, since they own CTV (which owns TSN). Hell, BNN is theirs, too! As is Discovery channel, and it goes on, and on, and on.

Don't we all love convergence? ;)
Deal Addict
Mar 10, 2011
2583 posts
798 upvotes
Toronto
Five months ago, when renewing my Dad's TV contract with Bell retentions, we were told that Bell TV no longer did contracts and any subsequent dealings we had were month to month and we could cancel at any time with no penalities..even with the retention freebies they provided. This was later reiterated when we decided to return one rented reciever and we confiirmed that there would be no cancellation fee to return it. So I am not surprised that they would now give others the opportunity to cancel as a result of the change described earlier in the thread.
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2003
1879 posts
55 upvotes
Toronto
Biff88 wrote: Five months ago, when renewing my Dad's TV contract with Bell retentions, we were told that Bell TV no longer did contracts and any subsequent dealings we had were month to month and we could cancel at any time with no penalities..even with the retention freebies they provided. This was later reiterated when we decided to return one rented reciever and we confiirmed that there would be no cancellation fee to return it. So I am not surprised that they would now give others the opportunity to cancel as a result of the change described earlier in the thread.

From my dealings with Bell representatives, they were not willing to break the contract. They were very keen on charging the early termination fee. I think what I posted above is a nice loop hole for anyone who wants to get out now.

I've resorted to online streaming for my TV needs. No more overpriced Bell TV and their downtime during a storm. :D
Deal Fanatic
Feb 17, 2007
6412 posts
2624 upvotes
Mort Réal, QC
MadCow wrote: From my dealings with Bell representatives, they were not willing to break the contract. They were very keen on charging the early termination fee. I think what I posted above is a nice loop hole for anyone who wants to get out now.

I've resorted to online streaming for my TV needs. No more overpriced Bell TV and their downtime during a storm. :D

Nice, BTW I'm sure you know, but a simple 2$ rabbit ears set would give you at least the local channels, mostly in HD. So you can get the local news, variety shows etc.

For the rest, internet is king indeed. Started 2012 fresh with no paid BHell TV service and after only 3 months, the savings already allowed us a nice week-end getaway in a rented coutry house up North. One getaway every 3 months sure beats all the reruns and crap they feed us on cable TV, especially with the piss-poor service we got from bHell..

In my case, I had to go with a bigger roof-top antenna to get the US channels, most importantly PBS.

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