Shopping Discussion

'I've been cheated,' says senior with $1,400 Bell prepaid cellphone credit

  • Last Updated:
  • May 5th, 2019 4:59 pm
23 replies
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
29135 upvotes
Waterloo, ON
cslusarc wrote: Are prepaid cellphones plans really the best option for older seniors?
Absolutely for someone who "was given the cellphone several years ago to keep with her in case she encountered an emergency while driving. She has since sold her car and has a home medical alert system in case of emergency."

The issue isn't with prepaid plans but rather with the carrier. Bhell is the perhaps the worst solution for someone with her needs.

Something like SpeakOut at $25/year would have been a far better option. And that $25/year would have stopped automatically once she stopped renewing it. You can even get flip phones with a "panic button" that will call/text an emergency message. That would eliminate the need for home medical alert system too, all for $25/year plus the cost of the phone.
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Deal Fanatic
Nov 22, 2015
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I fail to see how this is Bell's fault

$1400 is almost 7 years worth of payments... totally her fault for not checking over the years. At least it was accumulating as a credit... there's probably tons of seniors on more expensive post-paid plans that have been over-paying and not accumulating any sort of balance.
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
29135 upvotes
Waterloo, ON
superfresh89 wrote: I fail to see how this is Bell's fault
Let me rephrase, "The issue isn't with prepaid plans but rather with the choice of carrier."
$1400 is almost 7 years worth of payments... totally her fault for not checking over the years. At least it was accumulating as a credit... there's probably tons of seniors on more expensive post-paid plans that have been over-paying and not accumulating any sort of balance.
Agreed that post-paid would be even worse.

I realize also that no carrier refunds balances accumulated on pre-paid plans. However IMO they should, at least all but some reasonable monthly service fee. The CRTC should force them to do so.

And Bhell should have done so voluntarily in this woman's case as a goodwill gesture--especially if they really believe the bullshit their marketing department spews about how Bhell cares about vulnerable people.
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Deal Fanatic
Jan 21, 2014
8520 posts
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some carriers allow you to switch to post paid and use the credit for the phone/plan. If she can get an iPhone X with extra credits for her post paid plan then not all is lost
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
29135 upvotes
Waterloo, ON
mkl38s wrote: some carriers allow you to switch to post paid and use the credit for the phone/plan. If she can get an iPhone X with extra credits for her post paid plan then not all is lost
But she claims she no longer needs a cellphone. Perhaps she could do what you suggest, then sell the phone or give it to a relative. But that's a real hassle, especially for an 88-year old.
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Sr. Member
User avatar
Jun 10, 2016
525 posts
407 upvotes
Burlington, ON
superfresh89 wrote: I fail to see how this is Bell's fault

$1400 is almost 7 years worth of payments... totally her fault for not checking over the years. At least it was accumulating as a credit... there's probably tons of seniors on more expensive post-paid plans that have been over-paying and not accumulating any sort of balance.
Totally agree. I have a prepaid phone that I have to top up three times per year at $25 each time. Because I barely use it, I end up having extra money roll over that I will probably never use. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be entitled to ask for a refund on that money. As someone else said, no carrier refunds balances on pre-paid plans.
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
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Waterloo, ON
muscleflex wrote: Totally agree.
Mostly disagree.
I have a prepaid phone that I have to top up three times per year at $25 each time. Because I barely use it, I end up having extra money roll over that I will probably never use. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be entitled to ask for a refund on that money. As someone else said, no carrier refunds balances on pre-paid plans.
Except that Bhell was charging her $17.25 per month.

I bet those who blame the victim here are relatively young. Wait until you're 88 years old. Let's see how sharp your mind is then and how invulnerable you are to these sorts of situations. I'll bet you won't be wagging your arthritis-ridden fingers quite as hard ;)
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Deal Fanatic
Oct 18, 2004
5534 posts
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Wat
Isn't it everyone's own responsibility to check their credit card statements??
Deal Fanatic
Nov 22, 2015
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bylo wrote: Mostly disagree.

Except that Bhell was charging her $17.25 per month.

I bet those who blame the victim here are relatively young. Wait until you're 88 years old. Let's see how sharp your mind is then and how invulnerable you are to these sorts of situations. I'll bet you won't be wagging your arthritis-ridden fingers quite as hard ;)
It's a prepaid service. The lady CHOSE recurring monthly payments, no one forced her to do that. My FIL used to be on pre-paid... we'd load it with $50 and get a warning text message when the balance dropped below $10
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
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Waterloo, ON
Yes, I understand that she entered into this "deal" voluntarily, that she should have checked her bills and statements more carefully, that Bhell's terms and conditions were spelled out, etc.

As I said. wait until you're 88 years old. Then we'll see how smug you are. And we'll get to see how much empathy Bhell bestows on you. It won't be pretty.
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Deal Fanatic
Oct 18, 2004
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bylo wrote: As I said. wait until you're 88 years old. Then we'll see how smug you are. And we'll get to see how much empathy Bhell bestows on you. It won't be pretty.
Did these people have alzheimer's or something?

Even if you are elderly, if you see something on your credit card bill that you don't agree with, do you just pay it?
To be able to accumulate that much credit, some of these people must have called Bell to update their credit card expiry. The person with $1400 credit and $17.xx monthly bill was getting billed for almost 7 years.. I don't think CC companies give out cards with expiry dates that far ahead.

I loathe Bell myself but in this case they didn't do anything wrong. And the customers did receive a service all these years.. they had a cell phone available in case of an emergency.
Deal Addict
Sep 20, 2008
1605 posts
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Calgary
bylo wrote: Mostly disagree.

Except that Bhell was charging her $17.25 per month.

I bet those who blame the victim here are relatively young. Wait until you're 88 years old. Let's see how sharp your mind is then and how invulnerable you are to these sorts of situations. I'll bet you won't be wagging your arthritis-ridden fingers quite as hard ;)
So at what age do you suggest we take away a person's right to enter into contracts for services?
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
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Waterloo, ON
Dark Phoenix wrote: So at what age do you suggest we take away a person's right to enter into contracts for services?
That issue isn't based on age. It's based on mental competence.

While those individuals may not [yet] meet the criteria to be legally declared mentally incompetent, there's no doubt that their ability to deal with this sort of stuff diminishes with age. I've seen that decline in my parents. And I'm seeing that same decline beginning in me as I've become a senior myself.

All I'm asking from telcos and other large organizations is to have some empathy and compassion for seniors, especially older ones. Currently they all like to talk the talk. But few if any actually walk the walk.

That's hardly surprising if their management holds the same attitudes that are so prevalent in this thread.

Just wait until you're older. You'll start to understand when you begin to succumb to the same decline.
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Deal Fanatic
Oct 18, 2004
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I can see with Telco's being lenient and allowing refunds for a few months of services for benefit of doubt but 7 years, really?

Come on, in 7 years you don't question the charge, and most likely you called into to update your credit card expiry... Sounds like the senior is gaming the system. They got the service for 7 years (as an emergency phone) and now want the money back.
Deal Addict
Dec 5, 2005
1304 posts
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Cambridge,Ontario
bylo wrote: That issue isn't based on age. It's based on mental competence.

While those individuals may not [yet] meet the criteria to be legally declared mentally incompetent, there's no doubt that their ability to deal with this sort of stuff diminishes with age. I've seen that decline in my parents. And I'm seeing that same decline beginning in me as I've become a senior myself.

All I'm asking from telcos and other large organizations is to have some empathy and compassion for seniors, especially older ones. Currently they all like to talk the talk. But few if any actually walk the walk.

That's hardly surprising if their management holds the same attitudes that are so prevalent in this thread.

Just wait until you're older. You'll start to understand when you begin to succumb to the same decline.
Actually it sounds like you think Bell or any other carrier should be checking for mental competence. Bit out of their comfort zone isn't it?
Deal Fanatic
May 4, 2014
5217 posts
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Toronto, ON
Simple solution to this.

Send Granny for a vacation across the border, activate roaming data on it as a courtesy, send some cat youtube video links to her while abroad.

Her 1400 in prepaid credits magically disappear.
Sr. Member
Apr 10, 2019
575 posts
1192 upvotes
Ottawa
Wiseman wrote: Isn't it everyone's own responsibility to check their credit card statements??
To add to this, every credit card issued is only valid for 3 or 4 years. These people have been voluntarily and knowingly handing out their updated credit card info to Bell...if I have a card expiring I'll get calls/letters/emails from every bill being paid monthly with that card.
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
29135 upvotes
Waterloo, ON
GrumpyOne1 wrote: To add to this, every credit card issued is only valid for 3 or 4 years. These people have been voluntarily and knowingly handing out their updated credit card info to Bell...if I have a card expiring I'll get calls/letters/emails from every bill being paid monthly with that card.
Nice theory but very likely wrong!

<sarcasm>
Again, in the absence of information just blame the victim. Bhell couldn't possibly be complicit.
</sarcasm>
And this didn't just affect 88-year olds. It caught a youngster [based on her photos] like Vanessa Acuña who reported this to CBC.
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Deal Addict
Feb 16, 2018
1292 posts
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bylo wrote: Nice theory but very likely wrong!

<sarcasm>
Again, in the absence of information just blame the victim. Bhell couldn't possibly be complicit.
</sarcasm>


And this didn't just affect 88-year olds. It caught a youngster [based on her photos] like Vanessa Acuña who reported this to CBC.
Actually hes correct. Credit cards need to be updated every 3 years or so as they expire.

And the fact that a youngster was caught up in this of argues against your point that this is a decline in the mental acuity of the elderly so there should be some compassion.

But in all seriousness if you are approaching the age of a senior citizen and you are funding difficulty in doing some of these things anymore I would consult a Dr. Its not like you are in your 80’s or something. You shouldnt be losing the ability to deal with these things in your early 60’s unless there are underlying causes.

My mother is 76 and is sharp as a whip. My father is 77 and was the same until he was diagnosed with the onset of dimensia. I know a lot of seniors and the ones that are finding it difficult with some of these things are mot the ones approaching 65

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